O2 Love Music Column – July 2014
If you’re looking for summertime soul, there are few safer hands than Lalah Hathaway, daughter of Chicago legend Donny. Having scooped a Grammy this year for her astonishing performance on Something with Snarky Puppy, Hathaway brings her sultry tones to the O2 ABC on Sunday 6 July. On support are Scottish Soulful Weekender maestro DJ Yogi Haughton and British up-and-comer Unoma Okudo (whose debut EP Odyssey drops soon).
Riding that high, you’d do well to return to the ABC for yet more rhythm ’n’ blues with Mavis Staples (O2 ABC, Wed 9 Jul). With a career spanning over a half century, Staples is best known for singing with family band The Staple Singers, the voice of the US civil rights movement in the 50s and 60s. Her move into solo work still carries the same sense of activism and heartache, netting her a Grammy Award in 2011 for her thirteenth album You Are Not Alone.
Def Jam titans and longtime collaborating MCs Method Man & Redman storm the O2 ABC on Saturday 12 July. With hefty individual legacies – Wu-Tang and Def Squad notwithstanding – as a duo Red & Mef are a dynamic live presence, as much now as when they first hooked up twenty years ago. Drawing mainly on the seminal Blackout! and Blackout! 2, the pair’ll no doubt delve into their own respective catalogues as well as serving up a few boom bap classics.
And if that isn't enough Def Jam action for you, look no further than a swift Scottish encore for the politically incendiary hip-hop crew Public Enemy (O2 ABC, Wed 30 July). Some thirty years in the game haven’t slowed down Chuck, Flav and their synchronised SW1s, so expect them to rip it up with slick cuts, promiscuous sampling, and militant hooks.
We don't need to tell you that 2014 is a big year for Glasgow, what with them there Commonwealth Games on the horizon. As such, a slew of class acts have been branded official Games events; don’t miss a whole night of grooving with the former Robot Wars presenter and radio regular Craig Charles Funk & Soul Club (O2 ABC, Fri 25 July), reggae mega-veteran and one of the only two surviving members of the Wailers Bunny Wailer (O2 ABC, Tue 29 Jul), and local lively electro-folk outfit Sketch (O2 ABC, Thu 31 July). Peeking ahead to August, we advise keeping the first Friday free for Asian Dub Foundation (O2 ABC, Fri 1 Aug), the genre-splicing big beat collective who blend drum ’n’ bass with punk and Eastern sensibilities.
One last Games event deserves a spotlight: the Club Noir Commonwealth Carnival & 10th Birthday Party (O2 Academy, Sat 2 Aug), the Guiness World Record holder for biggest burlesque club. This time they’re inviting you – Glasgow’s Glambassadors – to welcome our international guests, with over twenty burlesque acts themed around the Commonwealth. And, of course, a massive birthday cake. [George Sully]