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out and about: let’s fill this town with artists;
I decided a couple of days ago that I’d take this Thursday and Friday off from the day job, both because (i) I’m not as young as I used to be and I am aware of The Hold Steady’s tendency to almost kill...
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the silver linings pixlet: on the other side of the mirror;
So I can’t stop thinking about this photography project I read about on Slate. In it, the artist tries to capture the reality of living with mental illness: what people see when you put on your brave...
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out and about: arts collective 2|1|4|1’s annual members’ show;
As both a music writer and blogger, I could talk for hours about the personal and professional value of networks. I’ve lost count of the number of opportunities that have come my way simply because I...
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out and about: the first big weekend of the summer;
Ah, Glasgow. It’s true what they say about you: when a girl gets tired of you, she is tired of life. Of course, nobody says that about you: they say it about somewhere else entirely. But they should,...
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out and about: glasgow’s festival of museums;
In what is either one heck of a coincidence or a clever point of scheduling, this weekend many of Glasgow’s best-loved museums and art galleries will be participating in not one, but two nationwide...
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out and about: dramatic license at atg’s glasgow theatres;
So most of you know me as a music writer, and it’s true that I spend more time and money thinking about it, playing it, purchasing it and seeing it live than is healthy for either my bank balance or my...
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last year’s girl at the festivals: she makes war;
She Makes War shouldn’t need much introduction to long-term Last Year’s Girl readers: gloom-pop goddess, multi-instrumentalist and musician Laura Kidd has snuck onto many a mix tape around these parts,...
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last year’s girl at the festivals: the pale imitation festival;
As the man behind the Song, By Toad blog, podcast and record label Matthew Young has a reputation as one of Scottish music’s most passionate and committed cheerleaders. He is also – as regular...
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theatre review: avenue q, king’s theatre, glasgow;
This week I saw my favourite show for the third time, and in my third different city. Which is pretty apt, as these things go, because if any contemporary musical deserves to be celebrated for the...
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drawing on, drawing on glass with cass art;
In my second year of high school, I had an art teacher who took a bit of a shine to me. The fact in itself was not surprising - I was a quiet, hard-working kid, the sort that teachers loved and other...
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dance review: matthew bourne’s sleeping beauty;
For a cultural critic, I've never been particularly cultured. Straight up: I like my stories told with words. Paintings, for example, rarely move me, and I'll forgive a lot musically for a great lyric....
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out and about: hello, my name is paul smith;
I didn't know what to expect when I was invited to attend a preview of Hello, My Name is Paul Smith - a new exhibition focusing on the life and work of the world-famous designer - in Glasgow last week....
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venturing south: daylight music at the union chapel;
Perennial Last Year’s Girl faves the Second Hand Marching Band have recorded a new album, Faults, with their long-term friends and collaborator Benni Hemm Hemm, and a thing of marvellous, folky,...
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practice makes perfect sense: the laurence made me cry interview;
When I finally met Jo Whitby - the artist and musician known as Laurence Made Me Cry - in person (at Stan's Studio in Dennistoun through our mutual friend formerly known as Sarah J Stanley), it was one...
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yer maw’s a ‘proper writer’: a response to danielle tarento;
The minute you start talking - as theatre producer Danielle Tarento did, at a recent event - about some people not having the "intellectual background" to write about the arts, you are in some...
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out and about: paisleymake, paisley’s first festival of design;
Are you sure? As sure as I am that nobody looks good in Paisley. - ELLE WOODS Okay, the leading lady of Legally Blonde (Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde to be exact) may have meant the infamous...
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six shows to catch at the 10th scottish mental health arts and film festival;
The Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival (SMHAFF) is 10! Taking place in venues across Scotland, SMHAFF - which starts today, and runs until the end of the month - aims to use the arts in...
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2017: the year of living creatively;
If I all but predicted that 2016 would be a quiet one for me on the professional/self-development front, I guess I don't get to complain when I turned out to be right. While I don't think I was...
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culture consumption: january 2017;
After all my proclamations about 2017 being the year I rediscover my creative spark, I'm ending January having written less than I have in a long time. And, honestly, it feels fantastic. Not counting...
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culture consumption: february 2017;
February has been a pretty decent month for me on the ol' arts front. I broke my gigging duck for the year (48 days in - a new record), saw a whole THREE films at the Glasgow Film Festival and rid my...
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