What's On Scotland 17-24 Sep: Eastern Promises

Zap by Anna Docherty | 17 Sep 2015
1. MUSIC | Eastern Promise
Platform, Glasgow. 18 & 19 Sep, 7pm, £15 weekend here

Platform's e'er lovely mini fest Eastern Promise returns for a fifth surveying of some of the finest alternative music-makers around, spreading its wares across Friday and Saturday evening – with the venerable Bill Wells and Aidan Moffat (pictured), and disco destroying Glasgow ensemble Golden Teacher headlining either night respectively, plus support from the likes of Euros Child, Supermoon, Richard Dawson, and Bossy Love. Bus leaves from Monorail (6.30pm, £5 return).
2. MUSIC | Limbo
The Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh. 19 Sep, 8pm, £8 here

Longstanding Edinburgh gig-in-a-club night Limbo returns for the first of a batch of autumn outings (gearing up towards its 8th birthday special in November), with September's edition headered by Stephen Lawrie's cult space rockers The Telescopes (pictured in their original guise) and their dreamy, shoegaze pop soundscapes. Support comes from Lawrie's new bandmates Delta Mainline and St Deluxe, with the Black Spring DJs playing into the wee hours.
3. CLUBS | Nightvision: Series 3 Launch
The Liquid Room, Edinburgh. 19 Sep, 9pm, from £15 here

Having launched with back in autumn last year, carefully curated Edinburgh clubbing series Nightvision rolls around once again – this time out celebrating the launch of Series 3. They hit up regular haunt The Liquid Room with a double whammy set from house and techno figurehead Joris Voorn (pictured) and stripped-back house chappie Route 94, bolstered by a 'very special' guest they're keeping under wraps for now. Teases.
4. MUSIC | Transplanted
The Glad Cafe, Glasgow. 17 Sep, 7.30pm, £12 here

One of the more intriguing-sounding gigs of the week, Transplanted sees eight Scottish composers – among them David Fennessy, Hanna Tuulikki, and Judith Weir – unveil new miniatures exploring the characteristic sounds of native wild plants, taking inspiration from Scottish Baroque composer James Oswald's 1755 Airs for the Seasons, backdropped by a selection of Laurie Campbell's plant portraits. Could it sound any lovelier?
5. THEATRE | Waiting for Godot
Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh. 18 Sep-10 Oct, times vary, from £10 here

Kicking off the Royal Lyceum Theatre Company's 50th anniversary year official, original company member Brian Cox and fellow well-kent Scottish actor Bill Paterson sink their teeth into a new adaptation of Samuel Beckett’s absurdist black comedy, Waiting for Godot, in which two characters wait endlessly and in vain for the arrival of someone named Godot. Discounted £10 preview airings 18, 19 & 21 Sep. Watch the teaser trailer: here.
Don’t miss Photography: A Victorian Sensation

On until 22 November at the National Museum of Scotland, The Scotsman five-starred Photography: A Victorian Sensation features around 1,500 photographs, from iconic images of the day to quirky Victorian humour, revealing the remarkable stories of the people both in front of and behind the camera. Plus, students with a valid NUS or Young Scot card get discounted £5 entry to the exhibition on Tuesdays.

Book now via www.nms.ac.uk/photography
6. FILM | Bikes vs Cars
Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. 22 Sep, 7.30pm, £6 (£4.50) here

After last week's launch, Take One Action continues into another week – this time with a bit of audience involvement involved – celebrating International Car Free Day at Edinburgh's Botanic Gardens with a bike-powered screening of Fredrik Gertten's Bikes vs Cars, documenting the struggles for cyclists in a car-dominated society, from bike activists in Sao Paulo, to Copenhagen and its 40% by-bike commuters. Take note.
7. BOOKS | The Creative Unconscious
The Sutton Gallery, Edinburgh. 20 Sep, 11.30am-6pm, £25 (£20) here

The Scottish Poetry Library present a day-long event exploring the links between psychoanalysis and poetry – The Creative Unconscious – with psychoanalyst Ken Robinson interviewing poet and psychoanalyst Nuar Alsadir (pictured), plus a live reading of her mysterious poems, while the SPL's own JL Williams will lead a workshop on writing from the unconscious. Lunch and snacks included (tickets also available for the interview-only and reading-only, see here).
8. MUSIC | Joanna Gruesome
Summerhall, Edinburgh. 23 Sep, 8pm, £10 here

Fortuna PoP! signed indie-popsters Joanna Gruesome hit town to give sophomore LP Peanut Butter the noisy live treatment – a diminutive gem chiming in at a short-but-sweet 21 minutes of noisepop perfection; read our review here. They'll be ripping through Summerhall as part of the venue's Nothing Ever Happens Here gig series; browse the recently-announced additions to the series here. Also playing Glasgow's The Glad Cafe the following night: details here.
9. FILM | Alien
Cameo Cinema, Edinburgh. 21 Sep, 9pm, £7 (£6) here

Showing as part of its 'Culture Shock' series of screenings – returning cult films to the big screen for one-night-only – Edinburgh's Cameo dig out Alien for a one-off airing, with Sigourney Weaver doing her feminist icon thing as alien-slaying Ellen Ripley. But, let's face it, it's Jonesy the cat that really steals the show (watch the YouTube tribute dedicated to him here). Also screening Carpenter classic The Thing later in the month (28 Sep).
10. FILM | Tremors
Filmhouse, Edinburgh. 20 Sep, 8.30pm, £9 (£7.20) here


It's a good week that includes classic screenings of both Alien and Tremors – and the Filmhouse's showing of the latter, Ron Underwood’s perfectly executed B-movie in which a small Nevada township is terrorised by subterranean slugs, comes with the bells'n'whistles of our former Film blogger Jonathan Melville discussing his new book Seeking Perfection: The Unofficial Guide to Tremors, plus a Skype Q&A with Underwood. Happy 25th anniversary, Tremors!

VIDEO OF THE WEEK: Rodion & Mammarella – 'Inner Outer' (premiere)

Competitions & Reader Offers

Pleasance Sessions tickets: Win a pair of tickets to next month's Pleasance Sessions weekender in Edinburgh (9-11 Oct), featuring the likes of Blanck Mass, PAWS and Withered Hand. Closes 30 Sep.
Neu! Reekie! tickets: Win a pair of tickets (and a free meal) to Neu! Reekie!'s City Link Festival special (26 Sep). Simply send your best begging email to zap@theskinny.co.uk. Closes 25 Sep.
Frank Gossner tickets: Win a pair of tickets to intercontinental groove excavator Frank Gossner's Scottish debut at Glasgow's CCA (26 Sep). Closes 23 Sep.

Spot the Difference: Spot the difference between these 'hotdogs' to win a copy of The Well by Catherine Chanter, care of our pals at Canongate. Closes 1 Oct.

More competitions here >>