DELTAMAIDOutsideLooking In

MEATPUPPETSLollipop

JENNIFERLOPEZLove?

MARTINCARTHYEssential

HEARING her debut, youwould be forgiven for thinking25-year-old Delta Maid isstraight out of Nashville ratherthan Liverpool.Her bluegrass style and

fingerpicking guitar are purecountry and with her husky,soft voice the effect is comfort-ing and familiar.Broken Branches and

Dance With My Broken Heartare pure heartbreak countrywith themes that will befamiliar to fans of queen ofthe genre Dolly Parton.Sexy, young and with a

talent for writing songs thatcut right to theemotional core,she won’ tremain an out-sider for long.

JS

BRITISH folk icon Carthyfamously guided a youngBob Dylan in the ways oftraditional song.On May 21, he beats Bob

to his 70th birthday by threedays and this fine double CDcollection draws from hismany albums for TopicRecords over 50 years.Listen to his fabulous

rendition of Lord Franklin andthen Bob Dylan’s Dream fromFreewheelin’ and you’ll hearhow ancient tunes werepassed around.Like his old acquaintance,

Carthy’s voice is an acquiredtaste but his innate under-standing of thefolk genremakes for agreat listen anda history lessonto boot. SC

3.5

THEY are remembered as theband that played with KurtCobain as he made his lastbreathtaking stand, namelyNirvana’s MTV Unpluggedset in New York.But the trio can celebrate

30 years in the business satis-fied that this album is a highpoint. Possibly their prettiest,poppiest yet, it runs througha range of styles with consis-tently fine melodies andnicely understated vocals.Orange is an insistent

rocker, Baby Don’t is purerockabilly and Amazing is allacoustic loveli-ness.These Pup-

pets will havetheir listenerson a string.

SC

3

4

4

JENNY from the Block facedobscurity when her lastalbum failed to ignite thecharts. But now the love forJ-Lo has returned, thanks toplenty of tears as a judgeon American Idol and analbum that includes suchA-list collaborators as LadyGaGa, Lil Wayne, TrickyStewart and RedOne.Musically it’s very safe –

shiny, slick pop and catchymelodies which don’t comeclose to her career highs ofWaiting For Tonight or If YouHad My Love.But on the Latin-flavoured

Papi and theGaGa-pennedelectropop daz-zler InvadingMy Mind, hertalent shinesthrough. JS

FILMSMUSIC DVDsGAMES BOOKSCOMEDY

HOTGIGS

TWIN ATLANTIC — tonight, Barrowland,Glasgow 0141 552 4601; FIXERS — King Tut’sWah Wah Hut, Glasgow 0141 221 5279; TheMOUSE THAT ATE THE CAT — tomorrow, King

Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow 0141 221 5279;ERIC CLAPTON — Thursday, SECC, Glasgow0844 395 4000; SIMON McBRIDE — Thursday,Stereo, Glasgow, 0141 222 2254.

NEWMUSIC

NNEEWWMMUUSSIICC

DAY OF DAYSWHO: Paul Petrie (vocals/guitars/keyboards), Gordon Speedie(guitar/effects/vocals), Garry Gra-ham (bass), Graeme MacDonald(drums)WHERE: CrieffFOR FANS OF: Placebo, Muse,RadioheadJIM SAYS: I’m really enjoyingwhat these Perthshire electro-rockers are doing at the moment.It’s a massive sound that’s

come a long way from their earlybedroom recordings.The track Dreams was the one

that really sold the band for me,sounding like Chemical Brothersmashed up with vocals fromPlacebo’s Brian Molko.On hearing their debut album,

Indecency Of The Few, I discov-

ered more of a rock band, with asound geared for arenas ratherthan the pubs and clubs they arecurrently playing.Much like Primal Scream have

done over the years, Day OfDays seem to switch from rock toelectronica with ease.Importantly, such gear-

changes still sound like the sameband. I can see these guys beingmassive in the States given theright breaks.But for now, recognition in their

own country seems like a morethan achievable goal.Put them on stage at the SECC

with a major rock act and they’llhave the audience baying formore.Day Of Days launch the album

tonight with a gig at the O2 ABCin Glasgow.For more info, check out dayof-

days.co.ukQ Jim will be playing Day OfDays on In:Demand Uncut, Sun-day 7-10pm on Clyde 1, ForthOne, Northsound 1, Radio Bor-ders, Tay FM, West FM & WestSound FM. See jimgellatly.com

By JACQUI SWIFT

FOR legendary rockersAC/DC, the show starts anhour before theytake to the stage.The stadium ispacked, the atmosphereelectric — and it’s timefor guitarist and song-writer Angus Young toput on his trademarkuniform.The schoolboy shorts,blazer, tie and cap havebeen the symbol of theAustralian band sincethey formed in 1973and, along with theirlightning strike logo, arerecognised across theworld.“I have my quirks andwhen my uniform’s onthere’s just one more thing I have toget right or there’s no point megoing on stage,” said Angus, whohas 12 spare uniforms with him onthe road.“And that’s the shoelaces. If Idon’t get my shoelaces right thenI’m going to trip over and thatwould be a disaster.”The sight of the rock hero struttingacross the stage, right arm held aloft,his head jerking in rhythm to themusic, is one of rock’s most famousimages.When he first does it in their newfilm, the crowd erupts into an ocean

of waving arms. Geordie singerBrian Johnson admitted: “I felt sea-sick looking out to that crowd. Thefans were all moving up and down

like being at sea. Argen-tina was something else.I’ve never seen 100,000people jump up anddown in time. Youcouldn’t choreograph it.”SFTW are with Angus,56, and Brian, 63, in acentral London hoteljust ahead of the releaseof their Live At RiverPlate DVD.Filmed at BuenosAires’ River PlateStadium, it was a high-light of the Black IceWorld Tour when theyplayed to more thanfive million fans in108 cities in 28

countries over 20 months.It featured their most impressivestage design yet with a huge steamtrain crashing on the stage foropener Rock ’n’ Roll Train.Tonight is the premiere of the filmat London’s Hammersmith Apolloand rock fans from around theworld will descend on the venue tosee the band introduce it, along witha special filmed message from OzzyOsbourne.AC/DC are the world’s biggestrock band. They’ve sold more than200MILLION albums, including thecareer-defining Back In Black, thesecond biggest-selling album everbehind Michael Jackson’s Thriller.

Having flown in from his home inFlorida, Brian is his bright andbreezy self even if he lets out a fewjetlag yawns here and there.The quieter Angus, who lives inHolland, laughed along to Brian’sjokes about the premiere.“We’re just inviting a bunch ofpals, really. That’s it. Tara PalmerParker Plonkington (sic) is not goingto be there, thank God. All thosecelebrities are all w*****s.”Black Ice, AC/DC’s 16th studioalbum, was No1 in 31 c o u n -tries including the USA— where it sold 784,000copies in its first week —and the UK.Here it was their firstchart-topping albumsince 1980’s 49millioncopy-selling Back InBlack.Brian said: “It wasnice it was such a suc-cessful album. So manypeople wanted tickets.Those who saw theshow had the night oftheir lives — as youcan see from the film.”Angus added: “Wehave such diehardfans, old and new.We’ve survived manychanging fashions ofmusic — we’ve out-lived the lot ofthem.”“Aye,” agreedBrian in his Geordieaccent. “Every night

on that tour I’d stand on stage andsay to myself, ‘Wow, I’m in a greatband. These are good lads. Andwe’ve got cracking songs.’”Filming such a huge showinvolved 32 high-definition camerasfollowing the band around on stage.But filming it didn’t interfere asthey performed.Brian says: “That’s one reason If****** love this film. It was like I’dnever seen our show before. I’veseen other films but not one as goodas this. The Bullring (1996’s No Bull

DVD filmed at Madrid’sPlaza deToros de LasVentas) is bril-liant. Live atDonington in’91? Brilliant.But you hadall these guyson stage tell-ing you whatto do and fol-lowing youaround.“And the

audience wouldbe going, ‘Getthe f*** out ofthe way.’ Butall that haschanged witht e c h n o l o g y .There was onecamera onwires, one on atower and somehandheld guyswho kept their

distance. Angus and Mal (rhythm gui-tarist Malcolm Young) had a wordwith them and told them to keepout of our area.”AC/DC were formed in Sydney in1973 by Young and his older brotherMalcolm. With Bon Scott replacingoriginal singer Dave Evans in 1974,they were popular in Australiabefore international success from1976, starting off with their albumDirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.But tragedy struck in 1980 whenBon was found dead in the back ofa car in London after a night ofdrinking. The coroner recorded a ver-dict of death by misadventurecaused by acute alcohol poisoning.

AnthemsBrian, ex-singer of Newcastle bandGeordie, stepped into Bon’s shoesand the band carried on, releasingthe classic Back In Black.Young admits he counts hisblessings the band lived on andadded: “Because we had youth onour side and found Brian we couldgive it our best shot. We had thereputation of being a good band.None of us were celebrities. It wasall about the music.”Angus says he has never taken anyof AC/DC’s success for granted.He said: “I remember when weplayed the Marquee (club formerly inLondon’s Wardour Street) at thestart and I thought, ‘Wow, we’re atthe Marquee and on the stage’. Itwas the same thrill looking out tothe audience in Argentina and

wherever else we have been luckyenough to play. Whatever size of gig,whatever level of success we’vereached we give each show our all.”Angus and Brian say they neverget sick of playing anthems such asas Whole Lotta Rosie, Hell’s Bells,Highway To Hell and For ThoseAbout To Rock (We Salute You).Brian adds that friendships withinthe band, which also includesMalcolm, Cliff Williams on bass andPhil Rudd on drums, remain strong.He said: “We’re one of the fewbands who still do travel alltogether. We still talk before we goon stage and hang out afterwards.”Brian says getting older meanstaking pre-tour fitness seriously.He added: “I have to keep up withthese young ‘uns. I don’t want to letthe team down. A couple of nightswhen it was hot I was on the floor.Angus had to step over me.”Angus is still constantly writingand was so inspired by the successof Black Ice and the accompanyingtour that he’s sure that AC/DC willhit the road again some time.He says: “We always thought we’ddone the biggest thing ever on our(1983) Flick Of The Switch Tour.“We thought, ‘How the hell are wegoing to beat that?’ Now we think,‘How can we ever better the BlackIce Tour?’ But we will and that’swhy AC/DC is the most excitingband to be in — even at our age.”l AC/DC Live At River Plate is

released on Monday.

BYJIM

GELLATLY

6 SFTW Friday, May 6, 2011 Friday, May 6, 2011 SFTW 7