Skip to main content

Shamanic

University of Edinburgh Old College Quad, Edinburgh
Four stars

A horned creature is projected in mid-leap across the full back wall of The Robert Adam designed Old Quad at the opening of this Friday night multi-media spectacular, which set live paintings by Russian artist Maria Rud against a psychedelic soundtrack by a Scots-American supergroup. Created by Rud and Rezillos singer Fay Fife under the banner of The AniMotion Show, the night is ushered in by the tribal rhythms of DJ Dolphin Boy. Rud stands to one side leaning busily over her instant creations, wiping away the image of the beast as she conjures a gothic looking backdrop into being. Her hand and head bob into view on the wall as if she’s manipulating the creepiest of doll’s houses.

Into the darkness below steps majestic-looking former Rock Follies star Rula Lenska, who lends her fruity cut-glass tones to a reading of Edgar Allan Poe’s epic poem, The Raven. As she departs, extravagantly caped former Cramp and Bad Seed Kid Congo Powers is joined by Fife and a black-clad Martin Metcalfe of The Filthy Tongues and Goodbye Mr Mackenzie. The rhythm section of Rezillos bassist Chris Agnew and Skids drummer Mike Baillie completes the line-up of what could be a Hammer horror house-band let out from some Haight-Ashbury crypt for the night to whip up an unholy musical storm.

Fife plays trippy organ and theremin, snarling her dervish-like way across the Old Quad steps, her voice erupting with hitherto undiscovered Grace Slick style dimensions. With the band raising their hands to meet their maker, Lenska appears for another recitation. As diabolical iconography appears behind, jungle drums ramp up the Juju, with Powers incanting lasciviously like a defrocked hellfire preacher. Garage-band wig-outs rumble, bump and grind behind him to conclude a monumental after-hours experience.

The Herald, October 1st 2018

Ends







Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Losing Touch With My Mind - Psychedelia in Britain 1986-1990

DISC 1 1. THE STONE ROSES   -  Don’t Stop 2. SPACEMEN 3   -  Losing Touch With My Mind (Demo) 3. THE MODERN ART   -  Mind Train 4. 14 ICED BEARS   -  Mother Sleep 5. RED CHAIR FADEAWAY  -  Myra 6. BIFF BANG POW!   -  Five Minutes In The Life Of Greenwood Goulding 7. THE STAIRS  -  I Remember A Day 8. THE PRISONERS  -  In From The Cold 9. THE TELESCOPES   -  Everso 10. THE SEERS   -  Psych Out 11. MAGIC MUSHROOM BAND  -  You Can Be My L-S-D 12. THE HONEY SMUGGLERS  - Smokey Ice-Cream 13. THE MOONFLOWERS  -  We Dig Your Earth 14. THE SUGAR BATTLE   -  Colliding Minds 15. GOL GAPPAS   -  Albert Parker 16. PAUL ROLAND  -  In The Opium Den 17. THE THANES  -  Days Go Slowly By 18. THEE HYPNOTICS   -  Justice In Freedom (12" Version) ...

Myra Mcfadyen - An Obituary

Myra McFadyen – Actress   Born January 12th 1956; died October 18th 2024   Myra McFadyen, who has died aged 68, was an actress who brought a mercurial mix of lightness and depth to her work on stage and screen. Playwright and artistic director of the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, David Greig, called McFadyen “an utterly transformative, shamanic actor who could change a room and command an audience with a blink”. Citizens’ Theatre artistic director Dominic Hill described McFadyen’s portrayal of Puck in his 2019 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in London as “funny, mischievous and ultimately heartbreaking.”   For many, McFadyen will be most recognisable from Mamma Mia!, the smash hit musical based around ABBA songs. McFadyen spent two years on the West End in Phyllida Lloyd’s original 1999 stage production, and was in both film offshoots. Other big screen turns included Rob Roy (1995) and Our Ladies (2019), both directed by Mi...

Big Gold Dreams – A Story of Scottish Independent Music 1977-1989

Disc 1 1. THE REZILLOS (My Baby Does) Good Sculptures (12/77)  2. THE EXILE Hooked On You (8/77) 3. DRIVE Jerkin’ (8/77) 4. VALVES Robot Love (9/77) 5. P.V.C. 2 Put You In The Picture (10/77) 6. JOHNNY & THE SELF ABUSERS Dead Vandals (11/77) 7. BEE BEE CEE You Gotta Know Girl (11/77) 8. SUBS Gimme Your Heart (2/78) 9. SKIDS Reasons (No Bad NB 1, 4/78) 10. FINGERPRINTZ Dancing With Myself (1/79)  11. THE ZIPS Take Me Down (4/79) 12. ANOTHER PRETTY FACE All The Boys Love Carrie (5/79)  13. VISITORS Electric Heat (5/79) 14. JOLT See Saw (6/79) 15. SIMPLE MINDS Chelsea Girl (6/79) 16. SHAKE Culture Shock (7/79) 17. HEADBOYS The Shape Of Things To Come (7/79) 18. FIRE EXIT Time Wall (8/79) 19. FREEZE Paranoia (9/79) 20. FAKES Sylvia Clarke (9/79) 21. TPI She’s Too Clever For Me (10/79) 22. FUN 4 Singing In The Showers (11/79) 23. FLOWERS Confessions (12/79) 24. TV21 Playing With Fire (4/80) 25. ALEX FERGUSSON Stay With Me Tonight (1980) ...