Tuesday, December 13, 2011

SPIRITAID CHRISTMAS COMEDY SPECIAL featuring Kevin Bridges / Frankie Boyle / Greg McHugh (Gary Tank Commander) at the ORAN MOR



I was given a tip from a poster from the Celticminded forum for a charity comedy night for the brilliant SpiritAid Charity.The event was sold out in less than 30 minutes of him advertising it.That is the beauty of Celticminded , likeminded progressive people in all fields and outlooks.

When i got the tickets there was great disappointment for my Son , the event was for over 18s only.No matter his brave attempt to grow stubble and pass of as an adult there was no way i could take him.

Most of my Friends were out of town , so i scrapped the bottom of the barrel looking to drag someone along ; scrapped it again ,and realised that i had no option but to take my Wife.

Frankie Boyle is usually as funny as a kick in the balls ; followed by another kick in the balls and then a kick in the teeth thrown in for good measure.This time he was surprisingly funny , though he did lapse into his favourite subject ( raping kids) to let himself down.Frankie Boyle has a great political outlook and helps many fine Humanitarian and Charity projects.He will have to dispense with the brearthtakingly outrageous offensive celebrity "jokes" and become a sophisticated political satire commentator and critic in the mould of Mark Thomas.He has the ability to do it but i dont know if he will get where he can go.

Fred MacAuley was a superb compere for an all round brilliant night , i havent laughed so much for many a long year.

Gary The Tank Commander was just sensational , im still laughing thinking about him now.

Kevin Bridges was brilliant , i regret my Son not getting to see him this time round.

Monday, December 12, 2011

KASABIAN at the SECC Glasgow



Kasabian were highly recommended by some i know to like Green Day , im really glad i took their advice and saw a unique show of all the majesty a modern band should be given the heritage of earlier classic and progressive bands.

I deliberately did not listen to any of their songs or watch videos of them prior to the concert.One relative who did said they appear to have no rhythmn , no beat , no structure to their songs.Information which endured me to them even more.

The band themselves have members of all of the ages of rock , the lead singer looks like an teddy boy , the co-lead vocalist and guitarist goes for the Aerosmith rock-god look , the brilliant bassist has the minimalist moody bastart arrogant casualness , the guitarist does his business with the instrument talking , the drummer looks like a session hired musician and they even had a poor forlorn looking guy with a trumpet who stood around like someone with all the enthusiasm and vibrancy of someone dragged of the street and put on community service.

But when they played it was electric; intense and fantastic.

The best way to describe Kasabian is quality rapping with a thundering technotronic beat and a solid rock foundation.

A good concert is like going to church should be like , an uplifting and wondrous spiritual experience that stay with you for a very long time , on this basis the concert was the best sermon ive had for a very long time.

Here is a song of theirs called Rewired:




The song below encapsulates just about everything about the bands diverse sounds.

Days Are Forgotten:



And below is a sensational powerhouse packet of devastating energy:

Switchblade Smiles:

Monday, November 28, 2011

KEITH JAMES at the GFT



A special evening of an incredible musical project by Keith James performing his personal interpretations of the musical genius of Joni Mitchell ; Neil Young and Leonard Cohen.

Keith James holds a special place for taking on an earlier project commissioned by the trustees of the estate of legendary Poet Federico Lorca to transcribe some of his poems into musical arrangements.Elvis Costello had been initially asked to do so but had not managed to deliver.In stepped Keith James with 2 remarkable albums , in some cases translating the works of Lorca into English for the first time himself and then working them into a viable musical format.

The event started of with a documentary on the music and life of Joni Mitchell.Here is an emotionally charged uplifting scene from it relating Joni meeting her daughter ( who she had given up to foster parents many years before in a story similar to the experiences of Patti Smith)for the first time after nearly two decades of suppressed yearning.



The programme also included a rare never before transcribed poem of Leonard Cohens from 1956 ( when he was only 22)made into a musical arrangement for the very first time.



And Last , and definitely not least, a rare treat , a happy and uplifting paced song by Leonard Cohen , superbly sung by Keith.

DEEP PURPLE at the SECC




Cheap Trick as a support act , i couldnt believe my eyes and ears.Apparently the State of Illinois has an Official Cheap Trick Day - April 1st , i for one believe it.Only halfway into their set did it sink in this was no imitation band.Very stylish rockers from the old school.



The beauty of Deep Purple is they have stuck to what they do best , they have become the best blues band on the circuit with an added rock bass.

Here is an example of where they originally came from and what they have gone back to:



Ian Gillan disappeared several times backstage , like a diabetic constantly needing a leak.His vocal performance and pitch were dead-on.

The generic outcrops of Deep Purple , namely Whitesnake used to skip the songs and go straight into the nauseating solos.The band now have cut this to a minimum , acceptable long intros would be a more accurate description.

The good thing about Deep Purple is they do not try to the repertoire they could only do several decades back.Instead they do a classic blues and rock show with a crisp freshness with subtle touches of the progressive rock they were masters of in the seventies.

The orchestra was an odd touch , it was like the law of the jungle on stage as the band gave no leeway or quarter to the orchestra who had to carve out a sound for themselves if and when they could.Some would say that is the best and only way to listen to an Orchestra these days.

Here is another example of their current brilliant blues rock style:



And just to show they have still got it here is an example of their ability to mix progressive rock with a blues foundation:

Monday, November 14, 2011

SMASHING PUMPKINS at the GLASGOW CARLING ACADEMY



Quality rockers with modern lifestyle lyrics and a love for innovative musical expression , never completely abandoning the guitar in a small enclosed venue , a mix that keeps giving.

Like Green Day the Smashing Pumpkins attract three kinds of fans.The first are the types who always bemoan the line-up of yesteryear was better , the second want less exploration of the musical themes of the songs and more "hits".The former are arseholes who think they own the band , the latter think the band are nothing more than a three dimensional jukebox , a glorified ipod.And the third , thats me , are happy to see the band perform what they see fits the situation and times best as long as they do not disrespect the audience and are wholly sincere in what they do.A band , at the end of the day must express themselves honestly.

I managed to weasel my way to the very front , into that magical zone where the pushing and shoving is going on all around , leaving us to stand in the tranquil eye of the force and enjoy a modern spiritual experience.

At first there was a very disconcerting sight i have never seen before , the lead singer sticking earplugs on before commencing with the concert.The mix did not seem to work as his voice for the first two songs did not rise at all.Silent miming , it was like being in a crowd for top of the pops.

By the third song it had all fallen into place , an immense song called Starla:



Throughout the concert there was a burly bouncertype roadcrew member looking like an overfed Taleban with Mona Lisa type eyes that seemed to bore right into me no matter if i even tried to hide my head behind someone else , those eyes were still there glaring at me.The vibe of his stare seemed to say " you bastard , just wait to the end of the gig im going to get you".

The encore had the popular song Bullet with Butterfly Wings



Still those Mona Lisa eyes were laser trained on me , saying " you bastard , i know what your all about , concert nearly over , im going to beat the shit out of you."

And below is a video of the actual concert , featuring the song Martha.



And so we return to the attitude of those who could not enjoy the night in its own right because the line-up was not what it was a decade and a half ago , or there was to much guitar playing and not enough parade of older "hits".The former are the worst kind of snobs - Underground music snobs.The latter have to accept the band are entitled to showcase new material and not become a insincere tribute band to the beck and call to an insular musical attitude whose very breaking and challenging was what made The Smashing Pumpkins the band they became in the first place.They do not have a spiritual appreciation of music , rather a commodified liking of it.

The next time i go to a Smashing Pumpkins concert i will know that i will enjoy every minute of it as i will have the right attitude before the first note is even struck.

At last i made my way out an obscure side door and ran all the way home , never looking back.

YES at the CLYDE AUDITORIUM



The Yes song "A Time And A Word" was the first time that music spoke to me in a meaningful way.It became my mission statement , as Martin O'Neil would say my "benchmark" for all projects.

Its been a long 27 years or so ive been waiting to see Yes.When i got into them they had just made Drama , and then stopped touring for what appeared to be ever.There were always tantalising rumours they might get back together , but always one or another was not up for it.

Eventually they got back with a brilliant triumphant return album called 90125 , this time with former lead singer Jon Anderson returning , only to have Steve Howe absent.And so it went on for many more years , with Lawyers becoming involved to "simplify" matters, at one stage the only official members of Yes were Steve Howe ( too busy with new band Asia) and Jeff Downes ( the other half of the Buggles).

Alas the years have not been kind to the external appearances of the band line-up

Steve Howe looks like he has just been interrupted from an indefinite spell of Somnambulistic therapy in a coffin , dusted down with as much mascara as John Lewis perfumery department could provide , then rounded of with a dusting of whiter than white cement from Perkins and Travis.

Chris Squire takes after the Giant Haystack on a eating crawl bender Look , he took no prisoners if any former-Yes member ever lost focus , now he appears to be doing the same with desserts.

Drummer Alan White looks in worse nick than Steve Howe and Jeff Downes looks like only a half member of the Buggles can.

But dont get me wrong , that is only a superficial comment on the worst aspect of the music business scene , the external appearances.Music is the Food of the Soul and these Musicians are , and especially tonight , beautiful in every long term Human way.

Though they have been doing full length versions of "Close To The Edge" on this tour the song they done from that Album was the majestically haunting harmony to all loved ones called "And You And I" from side Two.



Another glorious song they performed was from the incredible landmark Drama Album titled "Machine Messiah".



A Yes concert is first and foremost a Rock Show , with the progressive part being a most valued added factor of the Rock Show , that is why , no matter how their material may appear in the studio album format , a Live Yes concert is one of the greatest experiences in Art.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

STEVE EARLE at the GLASGOW CARLING ACADEMY



After many years of acoustic performances Steve Earle returns with his full rock backing band.

It was refreshing to hear his old time hits the way they are supposed to sound.

Here is a good quality footage of his current tour ( The song "someday" starts at the 2min 30 sec mark:



His ubiquitous high profile political comment of the concert concerned immigration , "Immigration is Americas past ; present and ,if it has one, the Future."

Here is a good example of the tight sound the band has from footage taken at the concert:



For the second night in a row , the other being James , the Barrowlands got a glowing mention.
Steve related when he gets together with many musicians to do session work or jam the topic of Glasgow being an extra special place for concerts always comes up.The proof this is not just patronising talk is in the pudding as they say , and this being Steve third visit to Glasgow in little over two years is ample proof of that.

Here is a recording of the song Copperhead Road from the tour:

JAMES at THE ROYAL GLASGOW CONCERT HALL



A night of re-remembered favourites was how the Band advertised the evening , forewarning not to expect too many hits in the setlist.They will be coming in December if you want the classic rabble rousing roadshow.

James were accompanied by An Orchestra and Choir lending weight to the reworked songs.The good thing about the Show was the band had full instruments for the rock show , the Orchestral arrangements were genuine enhancers to the stock musicality of the band itself.

The video below gives a good example of the Orchestra giving depth , weight and added dimension to the bands material:




"This is a long way from the Barrowlands" was the statement the lead singer made , but this version of one song i did recognise certainly brought the Barrowlands back to the Royal Concert Hall.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

ZAINAB AND ZOHAS DAY OF FUN

An action packed day of Fun...involving Nature ; rioting and riotous assembly.( click on the images for full size pics).



Zainab does not give a duck about pondlife....




Zainab does her bit to contribute to the UK riots....alas it did not catch on in Scotland ( due to the inclement weather).




Band of Brotheresses , a Full Dress rehearsal minus the warpaint and creme eggs ,getting ready for an evening of Adult annoying and driving Parents up the Walls ( a.k.a. Halloween night).

MARGARET CHO at the STAND




Margaret Cho is loud;brass;out-spoken and (very)occasionally funny.

This does highlight the very important point the differential of freedom to say what you want and being politically empowered are massive gaps in US politics.Money and privatised lobby talks , the right to free speech comes a long long second , if anything , serving as an anger dissipation tool.Hence why things such as facebook are seen as revolutionary instruments in places like the Arab World , but in the West are get-off-your-chest whinger distractions which cover impotent stunts against the real power sources in the West.

Margaret has talent to be a real cutting advocate , but tonight she crossed the line from entertaining educator that makes the audience laugh and think deeply to brazen vanity queen exhibitionist and kept going.

She could do with taking up Nancy Frasers challenge to make minority rights into a mass poverty issue , rather than a self-defeating labelling and cultural issue which is blocking progress on many fronts from Feminism to Child Poverty which can only be addressed by taking all these challenges to the economic forum.

Here is Margaret discussing issues of Race:

Monday, October 10, 2011

SNOOP DOGG at the GLASGOW CARLING ACADEMY



In these days of cataclysmic economic crisis requiring new and innovative solutions for new and innovative problems David Cameron has come up with something bordering on genius , despite the sanitised name and spin giving the Chimera of depth and substance to the policy, he has come up with what amounts to a Shop-A-Darkey Scheme.Darkeys will be required to prove they are not illegal , and the Police will be required to following up any tip-offs that there is a Darkey in the neighbourhood.Its Political incorrectness gone mad.

A long time back i went to a Michael Jackson concert at Glasgow Green , i would never have normally gone but i was babysitting for my Nephew , accompanying him as a grown up chaperon.

Im glad i went as it was one of the finest shows you ever will see.The most striking remarkable experience was , despite his gyrating dance moves and incredible gymnastics , his voice was pitch perfect.I always felt if he had no visual frills to his show he would be rightly famous for being one of the finest singers of all time.

So nearly two decades later the very same nephew had a spare ticket for Snoop Dogg , an opportunity well worth experiencing even though im not a rap fan , except for Krazy by Tupac Shakur which drives me crazy.

I really liked the second support act , thundering bass and quality guitars.

Snoop finally came on , deliberately so late that he could only perform a 60 minute set before the curfew set in whether the crowd wanted encores or not."Shafted" is the word my nephew used.

After spending the first 5 minutes or so establishing that his motherfuckin name is indeed Snoop Dogg , he spent many more what his motherfuckin game is , apparently he claims to be a big hit with the ladies , though the only ladies on stage were being paid for the privilege.He also had a motherfuckin dog , like hoopy the hound (the Celtic Mascot), doing odd things with his tail.A motherfuckin fat guy would appear once in a while to give depth to the chorus segments.A brilliant PA gave out a great sound to the spare set.

Videos of his concert on youtube are not of the quality to do him justice , this is the best i could find:



Dont get me wrong , this was a great concert , just not enough pride to put on a show that was in the moment as it were.A small criticism on a great night.

Monday, October 3, 2011

THE RAGGED TROUSERED PHILANTHROPISTS at the CITIZENS



This year is the hundredth anniversary of the passing away of Robert Noonan ( familiar to us as Robert Tressell).He died in the workhouse hospital and was buried in an unmarked paupers grave.

This year also sees a stage version of his book ( published after he was long dead) by a very talented duo playing the various characters of this classic iconic tale.

You can get a preview of the production in the video below:


Alas Noonan does have flaws representative of the UK left which it has failed to shake off , hence the reason , along with other left movements in the West and Continental Europe , the left have failed to be an effective counter-balance to the Right.

Noonan joined up with the Boers in South Africa to fight the British , the oddity of the conflict was both sides were fighting for the right to dominate the Natives and exploit the natural resources of the land for their exclusive benefit.

Noonans leadership of the Trade Union Movement brought to prominence his only high profile strike action , he led strikes to exclude Black skilled Labour taking the jobs of the Whites.

It is in this context his place as a Hero of the Working Man has to be seen , along with such other heroes as H.G.Wells ; George Bernard Shaw and others who wanted equal rights for the British Worker , but , as Edward Said has identified , had no intention of ever seeing the British Empire or the wealth generated from the Colonies put under threat , a position which reached its heights when the British Left almost universally supported the War Effort , including Noonan himself in what turned out to be WW1 on the basis that German expansion , especially Naval , would threaten British livelihoods generated from domination of the Seas and Trade Treaties resulting from imperial Empire policies.

Noonan is much to be admired for what he is , though he should not be elevated to what he was definitely not.The review of his Novel in the Guardian gives a good account of what the strength of the Book is , identifying the nature of industrial capitalism , though the article is deft to say the least on the counter-balance of the great money trick passage ("The Great Oration"), which reads more like a sales pitch for an Albanian Pyramid selling scheme than a world wide universal alternate to the unjust blight of capitalism.A White Labourers Manifesto would be a more accurate description.Unironically the play also misses out on the "solution" element of the "Great Oration" as well , though not a surprise to me at all.

The video below concerned a passage "The Great Money Trick" from his Book in which he is in his best element:


All of this does lead to a very serious point of the great fallacy of the Left in that its heroes of yester-century did have these un-universal views ( and therefore solutions) on Society and Justice.As E.L. Doctorow pointed out in his Book of Daniel an Activist is only as good as his Analysis , if the foundation rocks of the Lefts dogma are flawed , so will any projects , no matter how sincere to re-visit and re-invent Marxism be equally fundamentally flawed.

This is especially true in the preposterous romantic notions the left have based their mirages on based around 68 , as Eammon McCann has pointed out those events are best understood in the context of a global mass civil rights movement , not a cusp of a Trotskyite Revolution.The various Governments of the time were never really threatened with collapse , The British and French retained power in subsequent elections and in the US took a turn to the right.If anything the organised Left stiffled universal progress by joining up with the Right to restore block party political status quo at the expense of allowing the mass movements to grow organically.

If the Left want to leave the later 19th Century and challenge successfully in the 21st they best leave Marx in Peace and have a good look at Bolivar ( to do this they need to escape the cycle of Marx having wrote of Bolivar in disparaging terms , even though Bolivar was successful where Marx did not even get off the ground).A Good starting point for the would be to read Gabriel Garcia Marquezs "The General In His Labyrinth" and his views on Debt and External influences in developing Regional mass Movements with Universal Goals.

The Greens , with progress in Germany and our very Own Scotland show what can be done with good analysis and being a bone fide participant in a mass movement.Rather than the dismal performances of the Left and its pre-occupation of occupying and trying to control the public for their own dogmatic out of date ends.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

THE MISSING at the TRAMWAY THEATRE



This play is based on a book by Andrew O'Hagan about the ones that slip out of contention in the great Thatcherite no society project.

The Book is well worth reading is its own right:




A personal attraction for me is Andrew was born not far from where i grew up , haunts mentioned in the Book are very familiar playgrounds i knew very well.

In this article O'Hagan discusses the complex emotions when he tried to adapt the book to the dramatic format.

The video below gives good background rehearsal insights from the cast and the writer himself.


Sunday, September 11, 2011

THE PRINCE: THE JOHNNY THOMSON STORY




Those of you who were lucky to see The Celtic Story play marking the centenary by Wildcat productions ( and the later version in the late 90s with updated material covering the legendary bunnet and the souness years) will recall the general hilarity of proceeding is brought to an eerie sobering sentimental halt with the scene featuring the tragic accident during the old firm game in which John Thomson was fatally injured.The scene ends with a rendition of the eulogy at the funeral calling for an end to rivalry based on hate , with John Thomson being held as an example to all to follow.

This play is a tribute to John Thomson The Bhoy , Man and his all inclusive attitude to life , a tragedy with a truly noble hero.

The co-writer explains the background to the production in the video below:



The play was a first to last blub-fest , there wasnt a dry eye in the house, and that was just the ushers and usherettes.The night i attended was on the anniversary of Jock Steins death.Things began with a rousing one minutes applause and the fever pitch emotion never let up.The Family aspect of our Club was on full display in a manner in which any neutral would have instantly understood and also accept this is something uniquely special to Celtic.

A special mention should be made for Sam English , the unfortunate Rangers Forward who was involved in this tragic accident.When one watches footage of the incident one is taken by the utter Humanity of Sam as he , in great personal pain , limps up to check on his colleague and to frantically call for urgent medical assistance , showing no concern for himself.

Ultimately the lesson of John Thomson , his life and his death , is that If you truly try your best to do something worth doing , then you will never have regrets.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

THE RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES



To kill some time before the train back to Glasgow i decided to go and see the new Planet of The Apes Film.

It was enjoyably entertaining , with graphics restricted to expressions of facial emotion of the apes.

I saw a lot of old haunts from San Francisco , especially looking down to the Embarcadero through Market Street.

But there should be an enquiry how the US Military with close Air Support and full spectrum Satellite Visual Intelligence coverage could not beat a bunch of monkeys with broken fence posts.But then again , the same mismatch is taking place in Afghanistan , with similar results.

Below is a thoughtful and perceptive review of the film from the Los Angeles Times:

TUESDAYS AT TESCOS



Suffering somewhat from Fasting , i settled down on a bench near the Registrar of Scotland Building.

Reading Mona Lisa by Donald Sassoon i could hear the dulcet tones of Colin Fox trying to ferment revolution , next to him was a stall-installation of the Falun Dafa being glared at by Chinese tourists , with sniggering Japanese looking from afar and Koreans trying to mix it whilst pretending to be preserving the peace.All the while we had a bag-piper stressing everyone out with searing whining ear piercing atonal drones.


Simon Callow is the Maradona of actors , so it came as no surprise he is going to play a 24 year old girl in drag.The play he is starring in is based on a Parisian hit called Le Mardi a Monoprix.

Simon takes up the story in the video below:



Critics have queued up to miss the point , looking at the first glance visuals and not , as a good audience looks for the substance.The play is about acceptance and the pain when it is not offered by one when the other tries everything possible to fuse a severed bond.

On that front the play is a roaring success.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL


Zainab is very pwoud , typical girl she is actually looking forward to the first day at school.





She is pleased with her seating arrangements.




First lesson safely negotiated , but how to reach the plate whilst seated is a tougher conundrum?




Relaxing in the lounge after a hard fist day at school

Monday, July 18, 2011

TREE OF LIFE at the GFT



"A flawed film that everyone should see" is about the best distilled description of this wonderful work.A genuine work of art in an age of flippant texting style communication and attention spans to match.

Music also plays a large part with touching , tender scores as seen in the video below:



Malicks Films obliquely phrase questions, leaving the responsibility of answering them to the viewer No one will be too exuberant in praising the execution of the plot in the film , but then again , how exactly do you phrase a spiritual question to a mainly modern secular audience.

According to Karen Armstrong take on George Steiners Real Presences what he call "the indiscretion of serious art and literature and music " , which " queries the last privacies of our existence".Such Art , Steiner argues , tells us in effect : "change your life".It is an encounter with a transcendent dimension that breaks into "the small house of our cautionary being".Once we have listened to the summons of such art , this house is not "habitable in quite the same way as it was before."

When Heidegger made the mistake in the 1930s , admittedly a very big mistake hard to live down,a becoming a full pledged Nazi replete with persecuting Jews in his sphere of academic influence , including his early teacher Husserl , his later work , especially in the fields of aesthetics and the nature of truth failed to have the influence , post-war that it merited.In its stead the work of Sartre took the lead , with the inherit weakness that it took an atheistic hue with the corollary negative attendant trapping of making the debate for truth in the post-modernist orbit into a materialist sphere , with the spiritual component being seen as an optional luxury add-on , a surplus and if needs be expendable dimension , but not essential to the pursuit of the essential nature of truth.

As Eagleton has observed , and Vattimo has documented , the eclipsing of Heideggers later correctives on Phenomenology by the likes of Sartre have yielded a very sorry birth to the likes of Dawkins and Hitchens , who have gone the whole hog in pursuit of materialism to an extent even the concept of Faith is an abomination to be railed against in the relentless drive to a material evolutionary road.In creating the very parody of the concepts they purport to erase , Dawkins and Hitchens have created a crass , gross and boorish atheistic fundamentalism preachermen set condemning all non-adherents into a secular Hell.Materialism has so infected their dogmatic ideology they have become an intellectual equivalent to what Monetarism has become to financial markets.It is no surprise that this elitist cabal of material atheists have taken advantage of the current governments policy to create an elite university charging the highest allowable rate , as opposed to joining the camp to spread universal access to higher education that a more altruistic philosophy would encourage.This rabid brand of atheism , which is actually related to and borne out of aggressive capitalism ( which makes some of their left orientated supporters position a little odd) is not a new concept , but an age old material contagion which Dostoyevsky explored in Demons, of a vanity ego-ridden self-declared elite claiming to champion the very people they despise.

Fortunately later Heidegger is making a comeback as Post-Modernism and its ertwhistle champions are being exposed as morally amd materially bankrupt.Terence Malick is a student of Heidegger and according to Hwanhee Lee "Malicks understanding of cinema seems to be influenced by Heideggers contention that it is a cardinal symptom of modernity...to apprehend reality as something to be differentiated from how it appears to a subjective consciousness and that reality is understood at its most fundamental level as something to be mastered."
This fundamental divergence of treating reality as a material to be mastered , rather than a grace to be revered has the ultimate fundamental weakness of recognising the Human as a commodity , rather than a material, moral and spiritual three-dimensional being.


Malick seeing "God in science and Science in God" presents no problems to a Jewish or Muslim audience , some of the more notable Jewish and Muslim scholars were also avant garde Scientists, but in the West the state ordained version of Religion , the Manichean dogma of the clerical elite and the early relationship between state and religion in Power politics has destroyed this most natural and harmonious symbiosis , pitting Church and science at odds with each other.One of the films most penetrating questions posed is can Science and Religion get their latent state harmonious symbiotic relationship back?.To Muslims and Jews this is a rhetorical question.

Below is a review of the film by Mark Kermode:

Thursday, July 7, 2011

ROGER DALTREY at the CLYDE AUDITORIUM




Roger wanted to perform the Pinball Wizard album in its entirety as he himself had only recently discovered what made the album unique at a time of concept albums pushing the boundaries of progressive rock.

The musicality of the Album is what he recently rediscovered , away from the circus that is a rock and roll show which had covered up the main attraction.

Daltrey was in fine voice and great physical shape , allaying false rumours , like Roger Waters before him , that he has lost his voice to perform the classics.

The song chosen below is because the view is the same as i had from the 4th row.Quite an achievement as the loyal Who Fan Club member who alerted me of the concert could only secure row K.



After the full rendition of the Album , the band performed many Who classics including my favourite Baba O'Reilly



This is the best ill get to seeing The Who , and from this concert i can see what all the fuss and passion of dedicated loyalist Who fans is all about.

Monday, July 4, 2011

JOHN MELLENCAMP at THE ROYAL CONCERT HALL



After a two decade wait rock of hall fame legend finally made an appearance to our shores.

He was in fine gravelly voice , with a mixture of Johnson blues ; old country ballads ; new country rock and his old classics.

Here is version of a song that captures a Rushkinian sentiment about how empires which lose their perceived spiritual mission begin to fade.Also contained by a Fergusonian doctrine mentioned as far back as Thucydides about the balance sheet of an empire being a root indicator about how it will behave and fare to challenges.




The next song is about never shutting out your soul from your lifes overall mission.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

KD LANG at the CLYDE AUDITORIUM


The lady with the sweet Angelic voice was in tip top form.

As Oscar Wilde said good art , and a good artist , should spiritualise the audience.She does it with a nonchalant ease.

A voice like hers should not be wasted singing material which any decent semi-professional could knock off , so the concert did have that slight tone though her version of Leonard Cohens Hallelujah was of another world and dimension entirely and eternally.

Here is my favourite song of hers at the moment:



And this song of hers is my all time favourite performance.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

WEANS



Zainab and Zoha getting ready for a trip.



Zainab and Zoha on a trip.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Monday, May 23, 2011

ROGER WATERS THE WALL at O2 LONDON



Roger Waters spectacular updated legendary live Pink Floyd The Wall show hit London nearly 30 years after the original , featuring new advanced graphics and stage effects to add to the scintillating music which comes alive in a live rock show concert in a way that never can happen on the album , belaying the rock and blues heritage of classic Pink Floyd soundbeat.

Below is a video of the breathtaking finale:

Thursday, May 19, 2011

RUSH at the SECC



A Farewell to Kings Album recommendation made me realise what criticism should be all about.I was in a record shop fiddling through albums when a complete stranger said " get this album its fucking brilliant , mate".I did get it and it was fucking brilliant.It made me realise criticism should be simple and to the point.A good art critic should reduce a work to a parable , a parable to a proverb.No need for long-winded verbiage when "fuckin" will do.

In the 80s i saw Rush a few times , always finding myself in the front , a zone where all the pushing was going on around me and a circle of guys leaving us in a eye of the storm tranquil equilibrium to enjoy the concert in a spiritual serenity.

It was an all to familiar feeling seeing over half the crowd in the audience being younger than the last time i saw the band.

Rushs secret has always been , no matter how innovative and cutting edge the music has been throughout the decades , they are still a rock band with a blues ; jazz and strong reggae backbeat and jamming style.

Here is Spirit of The Radio from the recent tour:




And the evergreen favourite Subdivisions.




Here is a review of the concert.

Friday, April 22, 2011

CHRISTY MOORE at the BARROWLANDS




After the pleasant and sedate pace at the Royal Concert Hall with an older opera type crowd we had the footy style rock crowd giving a raw energy only the Barrowlands can lend , hence its legendary status among performers and concert goers alike.

The first song of the night was a tribute to Allende:



Later we had a classic cover of a Jackson Browne song which has strong sentiments to the cavalier attitudes shown by the bankers just prior to the inevitable collapse of the system.



There was also the brilliant Wally page song to the murdered civil rights activist by the Apartheid regime in South Africa:



Of all the many occassions i have sen Christy at this famous venue this was by far the most crisp;sharp;incisive and melodic of the lot.The crowd was in great voice too.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

MARK THOMAS at the CITIZENS THEATRE



As promised Mark Thomas returned to Glasgow with his all Palestine experience set.

He played the Citizens Theatre on April 4 and 5.

"The others are early outings for a completely NEW show called "Walking The Wall"*


Never one to take the easy option, Mark decided to go rambling in the Middle East and walked the entire length of the Israeli Separation Barrier crossing between the Israeli and the Palestinian side.

This is the story of 300 000 settlers; a 750 km wall; six arrests, one stoning; too much humuus and a simple question...

"Can you ever get away from it all with a good walk?"

There will also be a new book telling the story of the walk, published Spring 2011."

He is a genuine World Class comedian and a passionate supporter of the Palestinians as well as excellent all round social justice politics.I would go as far as to say he is the best in the World.

Here is a video introduction to his latest project:



The tour is an epic journey around Britain as well , a whole year on the road and visiting spots all around where you would not imagine a strong captive audience.And the venues he is playing a big ones as well , town halls , large victorian theatres and venues where few comedians would dare to venture.Not only that but he is getting big turnouts and many completely sold out shows as the two in Glasgow testify.

Here Mark reads from the Book he has written of his travels in the areas devastated by the Wall:( you can get more parts of this reading from clicking the relevant videos from the side-header.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

CHRISTY MOORE at the ROYAL CONCERT HALL



Out of all the many pleasurable occasions i have seen him , Christy was in especially fine melodic voice this time.He has that rare quality of being reflective and crisply incisive at one and the same time , a magic quality which makes his concerts such wondrous experiences.

Among the back to back highlights were

Missing You:


The exquisite Richard Thompson song Beeswing:


And a poignant tribute on the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster:



The performance ended with a scintillating rendition of No Time For Love:

Monday, April 18, 2011

STAND UP FOR PALESTINE at the KINGS THEATRE



Frankie Boyles last appearance in a live format this year , and possibly the last time ever was rightly dedicated to the vast injustice and denial of basic Human Rights by the long neglected Palestinians.

Frankie Boyle himself organised the sell out fundraising show for the Palestine Legal Fund.As the blurb stated.You can get more details of the fund and its object from the Human Rights Legal Aid Fund website
"An all star line-up featuring Gary Tank Commander, Fred Macaulay, Susan Calman, Miles Jupp, Tom Stade and a special guest spot from Frankie Boyle in aid of the Palestine Legal Aid Fund (An unprecedented legal aid fund for Palestine, inspired by the successes of a similar fund during the South African anti-apartheid movement.)

The fund is dedicated to supporting Palestinians in accessing international justice, securing accountability and redress for human rights abuse. With stars of TV and radio lined up for the cause, this one-off show is sure to be one of the hottest tickets in the festival (and is currently scheduled to be Frankie’s only live appearance this year)."

It was good to see such a varied line-up and audience demographics supporting this very apt cause.

Here are two videos featuring Canadian funnyman Tom Stade and Scottish comic Fred MacAuley.

Tom Stade:


Fred MacAuley:

Sunday, April 10, 2011

WILL HUTTON at AYEWRITE



Will Hutton gave his take on how the present economic climate can give the UK an opportunity to re-structure the financial resource management system integration fundamental structurisation towards a more Human orientated mechanism veering away from the heartless practice of treating People as commodities rather than beings.

As with all economists his points were high on vision , low on substance.

A major point he did make was the UK debt , though high on paper , is secured over a long period ( 30 to 40 years) as well as favourable terms.On the other hand many countries on the Continent has very sort term loans ( 3 to 7 years) as well as high end repayment regimes.


Wednesday, March 9, 2011

KING LEAR AT THE THEATRE ROYAL




A very fit and mobile Derek Jacobi give a performance which will live long for its austere minimalist majesty.

Though it is almost sacrilegious to say , Shakespeare has a dramatic lapse in conveying the graduation from top down aspirations to hand over absolute power to a troika of wards , albeit to his own blood.From self satisfaction to outright incurable rage does not quite happen convincingly.And less convincing are justifications that tyrants playing at being benevolent would behave in that way , but there is a certain tone of our bard can do no wrong about their argumentation.

This point is worth remembering because King Lear , of all the major roles of Shakespeare , is one in which the actor has to get past this in order to proceed to the much stronger balance later in the play without it appearing to be a melodrama rather than a study of the closest of universal familial and close knot social society themes this otherwise great work explores.

Derek does a great job as the role he plays is more emotional than overtly political , which is the easiest get-out way to look into the role , with bombast and hysterics replacing the substance.

Derek takes the role full on and shows his class by achieving all the good points with an almost nonchalant degree of ease.

RAJA SHEHADEH AT AYEWRITE



Humanitarian lawyer and author Raja Shehadeh has a long established connection to Scotland.I first saw him at the Edinburgh Book Festival in 2003.Since then he has collaborated with Scottish playwright David Greig to have a stage adaptation of When The Bulbul Stops Singing performed in the same city , it won the Amnesty International Award for Best Human Rights Themed Play for that year.

Raja is an eloquent, understated , highly effective articulator of the genuine Human Right for the Palestinians to be treated equally before the great court of Universal Justice.

His latest Book is on the material and transcendent them of land and time.The Rift in the title is a play on the geographical location of Palestine in the Great Rift Valley , beginning in present day Turkey , going along Lebanon to the Jordan Valley , the Dead Sea ( the lowest point on Earth) and all along Eastern Africa.Raja Great Uncle , like Raja was born within the great mountain ranges on either side of the Valley , though at a point North of Ramallah hence the continuum through space and time of their relative experiences , one fighting the later Ottomans , todays taking on the bitter ender zionist colonialists.

The Rift in time , is no rift at all but another continuum , generations before him saw of external empires , and so will the children of today.

One point worth bearing in mind is Rajas statement the Ottoman Empire in its 400 year reign was tolerant of religion , allowing all communities to co-exist without one dominating the other.Debt and bureaucratic decline in the later years is where problems set in.Israel , on the other hand is systematically tied to domination , to the point , which will be reached within a decade or so , of using artificial ethical gymnastics to ensure domination of an area in which non-Jews will be in the majority.

One continuum Raja has learned from his Uncle of the past is that the region can only live in Peace if there is equality and complete Freedom of movement within the region for all its population , including the right of return for those unjustly expelled in the traumas of 48 and later.





In the video below Raja talks about his walks in todays Palestine , what comes out is that all that is seemingly lost is remembered and will will return no matter what perverse policies are persued totake the Humanity in the Region.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

AN APPOINTMENT WITH MR.YEATS THE WATERBOYS at the RCH




This unique long awaited project to translate some of Irelands legendary poet work into an album of music by Scottish musician Mike Scott of The Waterboys came to Glasgow.

According to Scott the appeal of WB Yeats through time and cultures is his universal themes of Love;Politics;Mysticism;Celtic love of the land as part of the body;Soul and that remarkable thing called the Human Experience.

Here is a version of The Stolen Child from the album:



And from the actual concert itself , a magnificent version of Dont Bang The Drum which presented the poetry reading like no other could be.



And last but by no means least is a version of Politics , this poem was the last one in the last collection published by Yeats before his passing at a vital phase in a juncture of history that meant so much in 1939.A prescient and fitting way to go.
This recording was made at a series of concerts at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin which Yeats helped to set up.You can get a review of the show from the Irish Times.



The Scotsman Newspaper has a review of the Glasgow Concert ,a concert , as she correctly states, was 20 years in the making and well worth it for the audience, though Fiona Shepherd does get the object of the video incorrect as it shows images from Iran during the last elections and not in this case Iraq.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

THIN LIZZY live at the CARLING ACADEMY GLASGOW




I missed them in their heyday for a reason so trivial i can barely recall what it was , something like only having £6 in my pocket when the tickets were £7.A big regret in my life which i hoped to rectify in this tour.

A sensational performance it was , most striking was to hear fairly placid songs like "waiting for an alibi" as thundering live experiences along with the classics.

This is a video of the electric Cowboy Song/Boys are back in Town.



You have got to catch these bands while you can these days.Thundering live experiences bringing some of the old magic back to what live music is all about.

When they played my favourite song i was thinking of Tommy Sheridan and how he would love to rock and sing-a-long-with -it.



This interview with lead singer Ricky Warwick describes the experience and positive feedback of the tour