Issue 53 / March 2015

26
Bido Lito! March 2015
MARCH IN BRIEF
ABANDON SILENCE 5.4
The penultimate event of a five-part fifth birthday celebration sees ABANDON SILENCE notch up a truly earth-shaking double billing. Novel Sound label
boss LEVON VINCENT (pictured) has a New York upbringing to thank for his raw brand of dubbed-out beats, which have been refined in his new home of
Berlin. One of Vincent’s staunchest fans, CRAIG RICHARDS, joins him in the main room for this stellar night. Richards has realised worldwide recognition
for his quirky, abstract style due to the wild successes of his fabric residency in London.
The Kazimier / 6th March
BC CAMPLIGHT
Proving that hidden gems don’t need to come from the distant past, BC CAMPLIGHT returns from a psychologically bruising seven-year wilderness with
one hell of a story to tell. His third LP, How To Die In The North, feels more like a spiritual re-birth, veering from blue-eyed soul to haunting piano balladry
with all the charm of Harry Nilsson. Released by Bella Union in January, the album documents Brain Christinzio’s relocation to Manchester from the fertile
pastures of Philly, and shows that “the man who blew it” still retains a few of the old tricks.
Leaf / 11th March
DUKE SPECIAL
The UK’s answer to Rufus Wainwright, DUKE SPECIAL brings a cerebral edge to his typically Vaudevillian style of piano balladry. The Belfast-based musician’s
theatrical style, which often sees his live sets incorporating the sounds of old 78s played through a gramophone, is steeped in the warm romanticism of
music hall tradition. Since completing a year-long residency at Belfast’s Empire Hall, Duke has been running a Pledge Music campaign to help bring his
new album, Look Out Machines!, to fruition. Now complete, March sees him hit the road to bring the record to life for the fans who helped him create it.
Arts Club / 13th March
FRANCESCO DI FIORE
Italian pianist and composer FRANCESCO DI FIORE has been performing as a concert pianist since the mid-90s, but his more recent work has seen him turn his eye
towards abstract performance of his own compositions. VISUAL PIANO is a multimedia project that Di Fiore has developed with his partner, the visual artist Valeria
Di Matteo, which weaves shape-shifting visuals around the live performance of contemporary and classical pieces. This fascinating collision of worlds is part of the
Capstone’s Contemporary Piano Series, which brings a host of world-class performers to the venue this spring.
The Capstone Theatre / 5th March
GORGEOUS BULLY
A stalwart of the tremendous indie label Art Is Hard, GORGEOUS BULLY is the work of musician Thomas Crang. Since moving from the south coast in 2013,
Crang has recruited a full band to help flesh out his grungey self-loathing ditties, and the results have been mightily impressive. Now based in Manchester,
Gorgeous Bully have followed up their gorgeously clattering EP Nobody Hates You As Much As You Hate Yourself with a string of tour dates with Cymbals
and Joanna Gruesome.
Maguire’s Pizza Bar / 12th March
HAPPILY EVER AFTER?
Prepare your flask of strong coffee and dust off that side-reinforcing corset: Impropriety’s annual IMPROVATHON is back. The theme for this year’s thirtythree-and-a-half-hour
bout of non-stop, improvised comedy – Happily Ever After? – comes with a fairytale slant to it: so expect weird twists on those wellworn
childhood stories, as the action flits from enchanted forests to troll-infested bridges and God knows what else. Step inside the wickedly strange
imaginations of some of the UK's best improvvers in this brilliant exploration of storytelling.
The Kazimier / 21st and 22nd March
IAN MCCULLOCH
Even in a city with a music history as storied as Liverpool’s, musical icons don’t come much bigger than IAN MCCULLOCH. Famed for his laconic wit
and dismissive attitude to most other music makers, Mac’s embodiment of the post-punk spirit made him a magnetic character during one of the most
culturally important periods in the city’s recent history. His contribution to rock music’s pantheon of great hits will be on show here, with stripped-down
versions of both his Bunnymen and solo material taking centre stage.
Floral Pavilion / 19th March
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