The hidden gems, pop-ups and top tips in Scotland this week.
1. SUMMER is here and the time is right for dancing under the streets. Get yourself down to the pretty fabulous, Pretty Ugly’s TRNSMT afterparty. Saturday night is the night they like. Have you seen your mates? Aarti and Pamela keep serving up the best tunes. From Bananarama to Blossoms and Peaches to Pulp. A mere pittance for such musical perfection – a fiver of your drinking money at the door of the Admiral Bar. Saturday, July 13, from 11pm. Follow them on Twitter or Instagram @prettyuglyclub.
2. IF you aren’t on your holidays blissing out on Balearic beats at the moment, then try the next best thing – tune into Trance Party 10 at the wicked SWG3. A favourite venue of this column and for good reason. From the cooler than cool (literally) outdoor rooftop terrace at the acid bar, to the sweaty and sexy poetry club, and always with the best events and hipper than park slope parties. Friday, July 12, from 10pm for trance in its purest form, featuring Evian Christ and Yung Sherman. Tickets £15.
3. THE Big Easy comes to Auld Reekie. Mardigrassmarket (see what I did there?) goes party central for a free event, families and dugs welcome, a host of stages hosting soul gypsy jazz and Dixieland funk as part of the Edinburgh International Jazz and Blues Festival. It all kicks off on Friday, July 12.
4. BE still my teenage heart. Paul Weller, the Modfather himself, is pitching up at Edinburgh Castle this week, Thursday, July 11, 7pm. Tickets from £48 at Ticketmaster. Nothing else needs saying. I would literally crawl over broken stones to see this man lift a guitar. That’s entertainment.
5. JUST back from a sell-out European Tour, Circus Extreme is a mix of the modern and magical with a punk soundtrack. Be prepared to be amazed and mesmerised at Aberdeen’s Queens Links from Thursday, July 11, showing through until July 21. Tickets from £12.00, check www.circusextreme.co.uk/venues/aberdeen/ for full details on times.
6. IT’S now one of the coolest cities in the UK, but what was 17th-century Dundee like? Was it just as full of feisty women and rabble rousers extraordinaire? I suspect the answer is, as it is to most questions asked of Dundee, a resounding YES! So the powers that be are opening up the vaults of old Dundee. Deeply dark tales will be told as you travel down beneath the town. Tickets are £12 new money and hard hats will be provided. All deets are available online at www.ddtours.co.uk/tours/the-vaults
7. THE Citizens’ Assembly. You will have heard this term bandied about recently, and it is undoubtedly a good thing ... but do you wonder what’s actually involved? Well, a team of people who know exactly what it is are here to talk it through, via livestream to the comfort of your own couch. The team on the panel include the fabulous Jo Cherry QC MP and bonnie fechter Lesley Riddoch, along with Louise Caldwell, who has played an important role in Ireland’s citizens’ assemblies. The time is 6pm-8pm tomorrow. View online at https://livestream.com/DemocracyTV/ers-citizens-assembly
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