July, 2012

For one weekend this summer, Scotland’s only dedicated cider-makers Thistly Cross will give their time and attention to some of Scotland’s most dedicated musicians,the indoor festival to be held at Belhaven Fruit Farm in Dunbar, East Lothian, will not only feature some of Scotland’s best new music but also be serving up exclusive beer and cider from across Europe/US, berry picking on the fruit farm and some cracking food.

A mainstay at many of Scotland’s independent music festivals, the bond between Thistly Cross and good music is already a strong one, and now the people behind the cider are inviting you along to the shed where it all began to explore a little further. Acts already confirmed for the day long indoor festival include; Woodenbox, Remember Remember, Found, Bwani Junction, Capitals, Kitty The Lion, Fatherson and, on the cusp of their third Album, Edinburgh band of the moment Meursault.

Tickets are available here where you can also book bus travel to and from the festival at this link.

Physical tickets can be purchased at Ripping Records and Ticket Scotland in Edinburgh.

Tickets to Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival have sold out for a fourth year running weeks before the event is due to take place at Beauly, Inverness-shire on 3rd and 4th August. Other than upgrades, no further tickets to the ninth edition of the festival of any type are available, including child 12 & under tickets. Upgrade tickets from Saturday to Weekend (£30*) and from Campervan/Caravan to Campervan/Caravan Electrical Hook-up (£80*) are still available from www.skiddle.com

“We are really delighted that, in what has been a tough year for live music sales across the UK against a background of astringent economic recession, Belladrum has sold out in advance yet again,” said festival promoter Joe Gibbs. “That we have is a tribute to the loyal audience who have supported us in gradually increasing numbers over the years, to the very talented artists that have provided music and performing arts to the event throughout its history, and to the amazing team of people who work on the festival and make it all happen each August. Bonnets off to you, one and all.”

Bella fans wanting to buy or sell printed tickets to Belladrum on the secondary market this year are being urged to avoid scammers on social networking and e-commerce sites by using an honest broker exchange set up by the Association of Independent Festivals, of which Bella is a member. Tickets may be sold at face value and bought with a 10% booking fee and postage costs from The Ticket Trust http://www.thetickettrust.com/ This is the only method of dealing in secondary tickets that the festival endorses. E-tickets should only be bought and sold via www.skiddle.com.

This year’s theme at the festival is ‘royalty’ and as usual, thousands of audience members are expected to come in fancy dress. The 15000 capacity event takes place in the beautiful Highland surroundings of Belladrum Estate, near Beauly in Inverness-shire. The independent festival has built a reputation for its eclectic line-ups, its off beat non-musical entertainments and its all-ages approach. The festival won a VisitScotland Thistle Award in 2009 and is a past winner of the Grassroots Festival Award at the UK Festival Awards, the festival industry’s ‘oscars’.

A Mystery Special Guest has been added to the main stage line up on the Friday evening “The identity of this artist will not be revealed until they appear on the Garden Stage at 1830 on Friday 3rd August,” said Joe Gibbs. “But – and here’s a hint – judging by their previous receptions at Bella, they’re going to be a popular choice.”

Set against faded blue lighting and with barely a nod of introduction Sharon van Etten and band strike up ‘Warsaw’ and set the mood for the evening at once.

It’s a slow burner, a song that seems to go nowhere but creeps up the gears as verse turns to verse turns to verse.

The same might be said about a lot of the songs tonight but, as with new album Tramp, this quiet quality is what drives van Etten’s sound.

Van Etten is an oddly un-engaging figure in-between songs, struggling to interact with the crowd while tuning, but she is at her best talking about the music.

She describes ‘Give Out’ as a song about moving to New York and understanding a difficult relationship before delivering an engrossing, vulnerable performance.

Lyrics like “it’s not because I always give up/it might be I always give out” have a sadness and a knowing quality that somehow suits the music to perfection and shows some real excellence in songwriting.

Amid all the grungey guitars it’s easy to forget that it wasn’t always thus.

Previous albums are more folksy affairs and when the band exit the stage to leave van Etten alone beneath the spotlight she picks up the acoustic guitar.

‘Much More Than This’ is a sad little song that relies entirely on the voice to provide impact.

Perhaps it’s just because we can hear said voice in isolation but on swooning choruses and understated verses it’s a stunning solo performance and quite removed from the songs that had gone before.

And then there’s ‘Serpents’ - even the first few strums of the introduction draw a ripple of anticipation from the crowd before the songs crashes into existence.

With thunderous drumming and overdriven guitars throughout the song is a complete change of pace from the rest of the set.

Van Etten is as the eye of the storm, her vocals floating beautifully across the chaos as the song thumps to a conclusion and huge ovation from the crowd.

But the trouble with having a song that stands out quite so much as that one is where to go next.

Nothing in the rest of the set can quite reach those heights and we’re back to what might be considered ‘the album tracks’ to fill out the evening, but maybe that’s OK.

The songs set moods where others would want to set feet dancing.

There’s great reward in the slow build of Sharon van Etten’s set for those with the patience to go with it.

Words: Alastair Mitchell
Photos: Warrick Beyers

Tonight sees a masterclass in the heavyweight purveyors of all things noisy heralded by Seattle’s Big Business and New York City’s Unsane.

Both have been scene mainstays for the past decade or two respectively, and tonight neither band pull any punches from an increasingly intense night of heavy music.

This is perhaps a good time for Big Business, with the recent relative success of their peers Baroness, Torche and Kylesa, the Seattle band are due some credit for their early role in what some may (perhaps derogatorily) call ‘girlfriend metal’.

Tonight, a three-piece (there never seems to be a consistent number with them) the band are in fine form as they rattle through tracks from their new EP Quadruple Single.

Clearly there’s no sign of their cult status letting up tonight, as the audience are in excellent reception of old fan favourites like ‘Grounds for Divorce’.

Going even further back, even more bands owe debts to Unsane, which go largely unnoticed.

They have been a mainstay of the New York hardcore scene for years but have only found so much in terms of wide success.

This shows no sign of a problem tonight though, as the trio absolutely rip through their set, featuring songs from across their career including from the recent accomplished record Wreck such as ‘Rat’ and ‘Decay’.

Equally, they have no problem revisiting songs from across their 20 year plus career, including perhaps best known banger ‘Scrape’.

The entire night then is suitably heavy and greeted to much burst ear-drums met with smiles at sold out Sleazy’s.

An excellent case of destruction (mostly of hearing, but some necks too).

Words: Adam Turner-Heffer
Photos: Amandine Eap

Playing a gig during the final of Euro 2012 might not be the best marketing ploy; Tut’s is less than half full tonight but the result is to give the evening the intimate feel of an even smaller venue.

Everyone is so close to the stage that Jesca Hoop, looking spectacular clutching a white Gibson with stylishly chaotic hair, often speaks directly to members of the audience.

In fact she speaks a great deal and the show is part storytelling exercise - we are told the story behind almost every song in the set.

Sometimes these are delivered from the heart, as with that of teaching her mother to smoke pot in order to ease the pain of cancer.

Others are long, memorised prose delivered like an actress, all flourishes and dramatic emphasis.

Ms Hoop makes for an engaging presence in these moments and it eases the usual audience unease at hearing a set almost entirely made-up of songs from new album The House That Jack Built.

Jesca Hoop made her name with songs like tonight’s opener ‘Murder of Birds’, a beautiful and understated folk track however, the new album brings a different side to the performer and a more upbeat approach.

She is flanked by a guitarist and back-up vocalist and backed up by electronic drums and backing tracks.

The effect is that songs like new single ‘Born To’ sound big and more like conventional pop tracks.

“A lot of people don’t know that you can dance to this music,” she tells us in a wry attempt to encourage some movement in the crowd, but that seems to be the slogan that drove the new album.

At times there’s an almost garage rock ethic while the enjoyable ‘Hospital’ is just built around a big, old fashioned hooky chorus.

This does not mean that the Jesca Hoop of old has gone - when the band leave the stage a striking solo performance of ‘Peacemaker’, laden with effects on the record and stripped back here, silences the room.

As does the title track of the album, which relies almost solely on her beautiful vocals and lyrics that aren’t explained to us tonight, perhaps because they are just a little too personal.

“It’s not enough” goes the chorus, and for the lucky few of us here tonight, that’s very true.

An artist that deserves a wider audience and a live performance that deserves to be seen.

Words: Alastair Mitchell
Photos: Ingrid Mur