rainbows in curved air (or curves in rainbowed air)

Happenings

There is so much going on in Glasgow. You would think we had more hotels than you could ever need, but all 12, 500 rooms were full this weekend.

The weather didn’t really suit the Indian Summer Festival in Victoria Park, but it did stay dry most of Saturday. There are many bands at this event I would have liked to see…e.g. Camera Obscura, Fall & Antony & Johnsons. Devendra Banhart was playing @ the ABC, Sauchiehall St. We passed by the ABC & hundreds of kilted members of the tartan army who were celebrating the rebirth of the 6-0 winning Scotland side. Yes, we are back & proud.

No, we were not on our way to Hampden Park to see Robbie Williams, but to the fairly, empty CCA, where there were more people on the stage than there was in front of it, in the audience.

I have such high regard for Raymond MacDonald & Geoge Burt. I have caught them a few times @ Brels, during the West End Festival playing with one of my heroes, Lol Coxhill. Sadly they didn’t perform together this year.

Also there is the connection surrounding the cd they recorded about the Tobermory Clock, that has a personal history in my family. I bought that cd recently & visited the clock last September. So, one year later I managed to persuade my wife to come along with me to see MacDonald & Burt with the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra. The venue has such a history for us, when it was the Third Eye Centre. Mind you at that time there wasn’t all those semi-clothed drunken girls & boys cruising Sauchiehall St.

The actual concert itself reminded me of one of the 60s ‘Happenings’. We were told there was 6 pieces (6 goals, 6 improvised pieces….co-incidence?). There was such diverse sounds with varying dynamics. My wife & I agreed on something & this was that the quiet piece was our favourite. There was an AMM Keith Rowe/George Burt connection with the latter.

It was weird again, after the concert, to be walking amid the kilted throngs & the miniskirted girls with thongs in Sauchiehall St. It was such a sharp contrast to where we had been during the previous 90 minutes (another fitba reference!).It was a very enjoyable affair & thanks to the Happy Highlanders for letting us know about the event.