O2 Love Music Column – May 2014
Glasgow is bringing its mightiest of spring flings Stag & Dagger to the Bank Holiday on Sunday 4 May. Now in its sixth year, the concept is simple: one ticket, eight stages, and a battalion of acts across Broadcast, Nice 'n' Sleazy, CCA, The Art School, and the O2 ABC, all from 2pm. Strap in for a big one; this extravaganza reliably purveys both big and small name acts from the UK and overseas.
Look out for headliner Albert Hammond, Jr., he of The Strokes fame, Brooklyn rock storytellers The Hold Steady, and Wichita Recordings indie sextet Los Campesinos!, all at the O2 ABC1. There's plenty else on offer next door at the ABC2, with neo folk crew Anderson McGinty Webster Ward and Fisher, Welsh jangle-pop merchants Catfish and the Bottlemen, feral punk collective Fat White Family, rising visceral Brighton rock duo Royal Blood, angel-voiced soloist Sivu, and indie R&B trio Wet who’ll probably catch the same flight from Brooklyn as The Hold Steady. Probably.
Do you want more? 5 May sees the return of Big Daddy Kane to the ABC – the hip-hop legend behind the Juice Crew and Cold Chillin' Records is still going strong, and apart from dabbling in acting, and touring with his R&B / soul project Las Supper, still knows how to set it off with a set of old school hip-hop classics. Feel the wrath of Kane as he plays the O2 ABC in Glasgow, with support from Soundsci and The Mixkings.
Only a few weeks after the 20th anniversary of late husband Kurt Cobain’s untimely passing (and subsequent landmark LP Live Through This), Courtney Love brings her latest entourage to the O2 Academy on Thursday 15 May. With a reunion of her career-launching band Hole reportedly in the pipeline, here's a rare opportunity to see the actress-cum-rock-chick give it laldy in her own right.
Meanwhile, your mid-May weekend kicks off with BBC radio veteran Craig Charles Funk & Soul Club (O2 ABC, Fri 16 May), where Lister himself will be spinning a selection of classic tracks from the titular genres. Don’t miss the support, courtesy of Federation of the Disco Pimp, a seven-piece jazz 'n' funk troupe from these parts, known for aggressively groovy sets.
The following Friday, class is in session: Mad Professor and The Ariwa Posse (O2 ABC, Fri 23 May) come to school you in all things dub. Heralded as the genre’s own technical pioneer, Neal Fraser – Guyana-born but London-based – earned his nickname through an obsession with audio electronics in his youth, and it’s that nerdiness that helped digitise dub and reggae music. Needless to say, you’ll be in safe hands.
If your May’s been too serious by this point, however, we’ve one last recommendation. This isn’t quite Spinal Tap, but it’s along the same pastiche vein; The Rutles (O2 ABC, Fri 30 May) a Beatles parody group, originally formed in the 70s as a spoof by Monty Python's Eric Idle and Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band's Neil Innes return to life. With Innes and original drummer John Halsey onboard, expect such familiar classics as Cheese and Onions, Ouch!, Blue Suede Schubert, and Eine Kleine Middle Klass Musik. Seriously. [George Sully]