Byrne-ing desire

DAVID BYRNE, Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow

THE rapturous, two-minute ovation that greets the ex-Talking Heads mainman when he walks onstage is so loud, the sound engineer has to clamp his hands over his ears.

It's not the kind of raucous reception normally associated with the genteel surroundings of the RCH.

But if we'd anticipated just how good this thrilling, two-hour show was going to be, the applause would have been TWICE as loud.

"We've got what we came for, we can go home now," jokes the Dumbarton-born, New York-bred art rocker in response.

Once in a lifetime, you might just find yourself lucky enough to see a live show where a white-haired man in his late fifties wearing a white ballet tutu hugs a white guitar while a dancer leapfrogs over his head and two others skid across the stage on speeding, swivelling office chairs.

Armed with a seven-piece band, Byrne delivers reminder after reminder that he's an artist with a brilliant and unparalleled track record in pushing rock's boundaries.

Opening with the loping acoustic funk of Strange Overtones - from the new Everything That Happens Will Happen Today album - he quickly proves that the new material is every bit as exhilarating as his past glories. But the Talking Heads favourites are stripped down and refreshed too, with revitalised reworkings of hits like Heaven, Life During Wartime, I Zimbra and Once In A Lifetime.

The sound is crystal clear, guitar and bass lines meshing perfectly to create an edgy, endlessly thrilling backdrop for Byrne's offbeat tales of life, loss and weirdness.

It's visually dazzling too, with the dancers weaving acrobatically, and unexpectedly, around the musicians.

Among the highlights of the evening are re-interpretations of classic Remain In Light-era tracks like Houses In Motion, Cross Eyed And Painless, Born Under Punches and The Great Curve.

Although they're now nearly 30 years old, Byrne makes them sound as fresh, innovative and funky as they were when first released.

The full ensemble - including those three amazing dancers - return wearing tutus for a climactic encore of Take Me To The River and Burning Down The House that, predictably, brings the house down.

Inspired, innovative and totally incredible stuff.

RONNIE GURR

PETE DOHERTY, Picture House, Edinburgh

THE shrill female screams of "Peeeeete . . . Peeeeeete" are deafening as Pete/Peter walks on to an onslaught of beer, T-shirts and scribbled love-notes.

He's joined by Babyshambles bandmates Drew McConnell and Adam Ficek, Blur guitarist Graham Coxon and even a string quartet, which adds a more grown-up quality to a usually shambolic performer.

That's not to say the gig is without incident as Doherty hurls himself offstage after new single Last Of The English Roses, his shirt ripped by the adoring mob.

However, this is the best Doherty has sounded in years, and the crowd are rewarded for their screams with acoustic versions of Libertines classics Don't Look Back Into The Sun and Can't Stand Me Now.

"You're lucky I haven't been electrocuted," Doherty laughs as yet another pint nails him on the head. "Scottish crowds really are the wildest."

Set closer Time For Heroes sees limbs fly and bodies collapse over the mosh pit barrier. Doherty IS good - and we have the injuries to prove it.

JAMIE CROSSAN

D12, ABC, Glasgow

AFTER a five-year absence and without the stellar presence of Eminem and mainman Proof - shot to death in 2006 - the dons of Detroit hip hop erase all doubts about their future with a set peppered with classics like My Band, Fight Music, 40oz and Purple Pills.

Bizarre brings comedy to the proceedings in a shower cap among an energy and enthusiasm hard to resist. And for 40 minutes after lights-up, they are still posing for photos and signing autographs. Feel the love.

DAVE CRAIG

THE AIRBOURNE TOXIC EVENT, QMU, Glasgow

"WE come from the part of LA that isn't Hollywood," grins frontman Mike Jollett.

"So before you ask, we don't know Paris Hilton." But judging by the sell-out crowd here tonight, TATE's stint in the celebrity shadows may not last. The hotly-tipped five-piece deliver a set that covers almost all their debut album, with Sometime Around Midnight and Goodbye Horses both highlights. After set-closer Missy, Jollet (left) dives in the crowd and stays to shake hands and sign autographs. Ace.

JAMES DOUGLAS

EAGLES OF DEATH METAL, ABC, Glasgow

EAGLES are best seen amidst the sweat and airborne alcohol of a dancefloor, so as frontman Jesse 'The Devil' Hughes points out, it's appropriate they're under Europe's biggest mirrorball tonight.

Songs like Whorehoppin' and I Want You So Hard define their sound, and Hughes - with General Custer moustache and Aviators - ensures it never gets boring. He's part-showboater, part-caricature, and, judging by his flirtations with female audience members, all man. Both ridiculous 'n sublime.

BARRY NICOLSON

ISOLATED ATOMS, The Tunnels, Aberdeen

WITH a sound that takes the best aspects of the new wave of new wave and gives them a refreshing twist, the Black Country boys have come up with an intriguing brand of moody electro-rock.

Opener Run To You sets the pace nicely, and Here We Go powers along, driven by some great guitar work by Mark Neat. On the opening track of their debut EP Tell Me What I Want, singer Grant Ashman suggests a cooler version of The Killers. The Atoms ought to bomb up the charts.

DAVE CRAIG

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