O2 Love Music Column – August 2014
When the British Empire was decolonised in 1949 and the Commonwealth of Nations declared, it’s not entirely clear if Queen Lizzie stipulated that Glasgow should host the Club Noir Official Commonwealth Carnival & 10th Birthday Party (O2 Academy, Sat 2 Aug), but she could well have had a kink for burlesque. Either way, start your August off right with what The Times call 'the UK’s best burlesque night' and a club that’s spangled up to the rafters with awards. The theme is countries of the Commonwealth, with over 20 burlesque and cabaret acts to marvel at, and this time they’re even relaxing their dress code to go easy on our international guests.
Relative newbies to the reggae scene, but trailblazers all the same, rasta quintet Raging Fyah (O2 ABC2, Mon 4 Aug) bring their special, soul-infused flavour of roots music to Glasgow this summer. Formed in 2006, but inspired by the way-back greats of the genre like Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, Raging Fyah retain much of the historical character that makes reggae so distinctive, all while giving it a refreshing contemporary edge.
Two big-name dames dazzle Sauchiehall Street later this month. First up is bewitching diva Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent (O2 ABC, Tue 26 Aug), a rescheduled date but still hot off the heels of fourth solo LP St. Vincent (i.e. not including her standout LP with David Byrne, Love This Giant). The ex-Polyphonic Spree guitarist and otherwise very talented singer/songwriter, in her St. Vincent guise Clark conjures squelchy, potent art-pop that can be both weird and funky but always spectacular. Not a night to be missed.
The second would be disco punk pioneer Debbie Harry and her Blondie cohorts (O2 ABC, Wed 27 Aug), whose career is substantially longer than the aforementioned Ms. Clark has been alive (this tour is celebrating not only the band’s tenth album Ghosts of Download but also their 40th anniversary), but whose groundbreaking rock & new wave stylings are no less fresh. A surefire grab-bag of hits await all whose weekends start on Wednesday. Atomic.
If there was ever a band that was made for a country festival, it’d be the Felice Brothers (O2 ABC, Thu 28 Aug) who started playing in the New York City subway and at family barbecues, before self-releasing an album in the mid-noughties and rockin’ it from there. This year they’re opening Glasgow’s own No Mean City Americana extravaganza, which runs throughout September and boasts a stonking line-up of folk and country acts at various venues in the city (stay tuned to www.nomeancity.co.uk for the full bill). Ian and James Felice, the titular brothers, along with three other band-mates, will be touring their latest LP Favourite Waitress which came out in June.