Sonic Youth, Manchester & London
How best to see in the new year? With friends, and hot wine? Or perhaps with some of the most uncheery rock acts of the last 30 years? Unlikely as it may seem, there's a lot to be said for the latter course. Another of the well-programmed events put together under the ATP banner, Strange Days is headlined by Sonic Youth, a band now living a double life. In one, they're a strafing free music ensemble. In the other, they remain the makers of some beguilingly odd rock; it's simply a question of which you're going to get. They have their own headlining show in Manchester the previous night, with support from the reformed Pop Group, before both bands are joined in London by Steve Albini's band, Shellac, and Factory Floor.
Manchester Academy, Thu 30; HMV Apollo, W6, New Year's Eve
John Robinson
Saint Etienne, London
Slightly kitsch, a little nostalgic, occasionally touching: it's no wonder that Saint Etienne have occasionally alighted on Christmas for inspiration. It's only now, however, that they've joined Low, Phil Spector et al in completing a seasonal album called ? with a sly nod to the TV specials of the 70s ? A Glimpse Of Stocking. The fan with money to burn can buy a copy of the album with a personalised song. A less extreme option might be to simply attend this show, at which a high level of bonhomie seems certain. A band with an ardent fanbase, well-catered for by their recent comprehensive reissue campaign, Sarah Cracknell, Pete Wiggs and Bob Stanley end 2010 as you might imagine they would prefer: a cultish but well-liked concern.
HMV Forum, NW5, Sat 18
JR
Messiah, Perth & Edinburgh
Performances of Handel's best known oratorio have long proliferated at this time of year, and come in all shapes and sizes, from the traditional big band sound of amateur choral societies to the small-scale stylishness of specialist baroque groups. Many such events have been transformed into local traditions, and the performances that the Dunedin Consort put on each year in Perth and Edinburgh belong firmly in that category. Though the Dunedin Consort's repertory ranges from the middle ages to the present day, it's in baroque choral works that the group has really cemented its reputation, with outstanding live performances and recordings of Bach and Handel in particular. Conductor John Butt favours the original version of the score, as premiered in Dublin in 1741; it may lack some of the tonal splendour of more traditional accounts, but its drama and vividness are more than sufficient compensation.
Concert Hall, Perth, Tue 21; St Mary's Metropolitan Cathedral, Edinburgh, Wed 22
Andrew Clements
Sarah Jane Morris, London
Sarah Jane Morris's obscurity in the UK is hard to fathom. In Europe, there's a wider view of this unique artist; when she celebrated a quarter-century on the road with After All These Years, the album made the Top 40 on the continent. Morris emerged in the mid-80s with political bands the Republic and the Happy End; had a UK No 1 hit Don't Leave Me This Way with radical pop act the Communards; and built a worldwide following for her four-octave vocal power, rousing soul sensibility hitched as often to politics as love, and unflinching honesty. On a haunting classic like Nick Cave's Into My Arms, Morris will load all the spaces with implication. She might then scare with a raw original, then exhilarate with a driving R&B groover. Whatever she does, it comes from a unique balance of heart and mind.
Vortex Jazz Club, N16, Sat 18; 606 Club, SW10, Sun 19
John Fordham
Liane Carroll, Glasgow & London
Much-loved UK singer-pianist Liane Carroll has confidence in the expressiveness of the smallest utterances. But if she's expressive at low volumes, she's devastating at full throttle, whether on straight R&B shuffles, jazz swingers, or exultant gospel proclamations. Carroll, who has worked in plenty of rock, pop and producers' bands as well as in the jazz settings that are her natural home, is capable of jazz broadsides that touch on Betty Carter and Bobby McFerrin but hard-rocking or haunting blues confessions are rarely far away. She's been at her most spontaneous and relaxed in recent times, and she certainly won't forget the obligation to get her listeners in the party mood.
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Tue 21; Ronnie Scott's Club, W1, Mon 27 to Tue 28
JF
Coldplay, Liverpool & Newcastle upon Tyne
With Coldplay, it's often a case of two steps forward, one step back. Forwards: the band make an album with Brian Eno. Backwards: it has no tunes. Forwards: the band play two "secret" shows in aid of homeless charity Crisis. Back: they accompany them with a single, Christmas Lights, which sees them performing on a stage on which is written "I believe Elvis Lives" in Latin. Still, these secret gigs are a decent example of how a band can use its influence fairly unshowily for good. The only catch for the punter is uncertainty as to where the gigs are taking place; the better ? the group rather crassly explain ? that they might "experience some of the uncertainty of where they're going to spend the night". Like we say, one step forwards ?
Liverpool, Sun 19; Newcastle upon Tyne, Mon 20
JR
Theatre Strictly Come Dancing Protest Sri Lanka Cornwall Women
No comments:
Post a Comment