An appearance from Scottish songwriting legend James Grant is the big draw in Perth this weekend.
The longtime frontman of Glasgow sophisti-pop hit-makers Love And Money is playing Perth Theatre’s Joan Knight Studio tomorrow – his first Courier Country gig since impressing at Beat Generator in June.
The Holy Love songsmith started out in Friends Again back in 1982 before forming his acclaimed power-pop outfit three years later.
Despite a string of classic singles including Candybar Express, Hallelujah Man, Jocelyn Square and Winter, major chart success proved elusive and Love And Money broke up in 1994.
Solo success
Now 58, super-droll Grant’s solo career started with 1998 opus Sawdust In My Veins, the first of five studio albums in 11 years.
His most recent release was a live album recorded at Celtic Connections in 2016 with The Hallelujah Strings.
He toured with Teenage Fanclub leader Norman Blake and ex-Suede guitarist Bernard Butler earlier this year and also featured as part of a separate Southern Fried Festival ensemble show at Perth Concert Hall in July.
Fans can expect to hear a selection of highlights from every stage of always-opinionated Grant’s lengthy career tomorrow.
Punks rising in Dundee
Meanwhile, one of the looming highlights on the Dundee scene is a chance to catch a trio of rising punk outfits at Beat Generator on Thursday.
The North Lindsay Street venue is hosting a showcase session put together by no-nonsense label Ripcord Records which features Volcano, Hyperstasis and live debutants Dinosaur Death Pose.
Over at Conroy’s Basement, it’s Leeds feminist punks Nervous Twitch plus emo noiseniks Arsenic Annie and Crocodile Tears tonight.
Glasgow four-piece riff exponents Wife Guys Of Reddit are joined by hometown bands Holy Snakes and Nick Shane at Meadowside on Sunday.
In Fife, PJ Molloys has the return of ever-popular Blondie tribute Dirty Harry tonight, with support from old-school punk swindlers Troops Of Tomorrow.
Stirlingshire-raised Celtic folk singer Liam McGrandles – he performed a much-publicized online duet with megastar Rod Stewart last year – is at the Dunfermline venue next Friday.
Blitzkrieg in the kingdom
Still in the kingdom, there’s a punk blitzkrieg in store at McQ’s Upstairs At Coadys tomorrow.
The Pilmuir Street venue has lined up Stiff Little Fingers spin-off XSLF, who’ll be joined on a packed bill by Fife firebrands Anarchic Disorder, Sequence 3-6-9, The Deploied and Aye Hobos.
Separately, it’s an unusually quiet few days on the live music front at the Green Hotel – but that’s all set to change come next Friday.
The Kinross venue has Genesis tribute outfit Mama dropping by for the first time since March 2019 to play a double-header on November 18 and 19.
The band perform classics from every era of the acclaimed prog arena-fillers’ career, from the early albums with original frontman Peter Gabriel on through the Phil Collins-as-singer era in the late 70s and 80s, and right up to their final studio album, 1991’s We Can’t Dance.
They’re followed at the Green on November 20 by R’n’B soulsters Lights Out By Nine – currently in the midst of a series of gigs to mark 35 years since forming.
The Kirkcaldy-founded band’s special guest will be their erstwhile frontman Al Hughes – he led LOBN for two decades – and a few collaborations are expected at the Sunday afternoon gig, which is due to start at 2pm.
Rocking from the USA
A further imminent highlight at the Backstage platform is a visit from Massachusetts heartland rocker Sarah Borges and her guitarist sidekick Eric Ambel on November 23.
Sarah’s been knocking out her own anthemic take on alt-country since 2004, both solo and with her band The Broken Singles, with her more swaggering offerings often carrying hints of a Sheryl Crow-like vibe.
Ambel will be familiar to many as a member of Nashville icon Steve Earle’s cohorts The Dukes, while he also featured in both Joan Jett and The Blackhearts and roots-punk outfit The Del-Lords in the 80s, and has played alongside Georgia Satellites chief Dan Baird in on-off good-time hellraisers The Yayhoos since the mid-90s.
