Coffee-Table Notes

Roky Erickson, singer, musician, song-writer Born July 15 1947; died May 31 2019 Roky Erikson, who has died aged 71, was a psychedelic rock pioneer. His tenure fronting Texas-sired 1960s punk-brats The 13 th Floor Elevators saw him embrace the era’s pioneering aesthetic in a way that would strip rock and roll down to its raw basics before reimagining it into new stratospheres. This Erickson did with a nervy urgency that announced itself with the manic break-up anthem of his band’s debut single, You’re Gonna Miss Me, released in 1966. Over four albums with The 13 th Floor Elevators followed by many years in the musical wilderness and an erratic but still charged set of solo records, for those in search of rock music’s holy grail, Erickson became a cult figure several times over.       When You’re Gonna Miss Me appeared on Nuggets, the Lenny Kaye-compiled double album of original psych-garage obscurities originally released in 1972, heard alongside contributions from conte

The Pleasance, Edinburgh Four stars There’s something strange going on in downtown Vondorvotteimittiss (geddit?) at the start of Dave Robb’s solo reimagining of Edgar Allan Poe’s nineteenth century short story, and the hyper-active chap in the vintage ragamuffin apparel carrying the violin wants us to know all about it. First of all, however, like any shyster on his soapbox, he wants to make sure he can be seen and heard. After bustling his way onto the stage, this necessitates him getting advice from the audience on where his best spot might be.   This is just a pre-cursor to the pop-eyed gentleman’s extended and increasingly fantastical recruitment drive for an army to rise up against the diabolical stranger lurking all too close to home, and who may or may not herald all manner of unruly elements into our midst. Our host is one Handel Fledermaus, a man with an unfeasibly small head who lost his parents in a major pig incident. His best friend Bernice has gone on the run,

Giles Havergal has always been the perfect host. During his thirty-odd year tenure as co-artistic director of the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow, Havergal would be there in the foyer on each opening night, meeting and greeting with an old school charm that came to define the Gorbals-based emporium. While many directors prefer to duck out of view, only meeting their public once the first night stresses have subsided, in contrast, Havergal seemed joyously unfazed by such things. Only when he was acting in a show was he absent from his task. All of which makes Havergal the ideal choice as guest presenter of this year’s Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland, the ceremony for which takes place at Tramway in Glasgow this Sunday afternoon. This year’s awards see a smorgasbord of productions and artists from the last year’s crop of home-grown shows celebrated by Scotland’s theatre critics in its annual ceremony. With winners announced on the day, nominations include Birds of Paradise a