The Girl Effect 2 at Mono

Thursday night at Mono was delightful; loads of Scottish bands/artists coming together to support Scottish Women's Aid. There was glitter, fun, fantastic music and a friendly and uplifting atmosphere.

The Girl Effect #2 was curated by my sister Carla from TeenCanteen. The first Girl Effect had taken place in Edinburgh back in May for her 30th birthday. It was so successful, raising just under £3,500 plus a heap of awareness, that Scottish Women's Aid asked her if she would do a second one. Now back in Glasgow with the rest of the band, Carla decided to go for it and was amazed by the response.

I would like to say a personal thank you to all the artists involved, the incredible tech team led by Ronan from La Chunky studios, the sound engineer, the team from Scottish Women's Aid, the MSP's that came down, the girls from TYCI who dj'd, looked after artists and helped on the door, to everyone who donated a prize for the raffle, to all at Mono and to everyone who supported the event by attending or by writing about it in advance.

And also well done to my sister for organising another incredible night. Here is what happened....

Carla and representatives from Scottish Women's Aid took to the stage at 7pm sharp. Doors had opened at 6.30pm and it was fantastic to have the venue busy for the first bands coming on.

The Just Joans - Will He Kiss Me Tonight by Dolly Mixtures, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? by The Shirelles

It can't be easy to be the first band on, but The Just Joans made it look easy, the 6-piece sounded superb and their take on The Shirelles was particularly well received.

Adam from Randolph's Leap - Bud by Honeyblood, Us Little Kids by The Roches
A quick changeover and Adam was into Bud by Honeyblood and sounding fantastic. I discovered some great new songs through the night and Us Little Kids was one of them.

Bodyheat - The Loving Kind by Girls Aloud, Love In The First Degree by Bananarama
With 12 bands in 4-hours, it was going to be tight. A delayed train meant that the drummer from Bodyheat literally walked into the venue and on to the stage with the rest of his band! Just in time for some pop magic with the Bananarama cover an early highlight of the night.

Sharptooth - Remember Walking In The Sand by The Shrangri La's, Rebel Girl by Bikini Kill

I hadn't heard of Sharptooth (above) before the night but I'l definitely be checking them out. Their guitars sounded glorious and they delivered their covers with attitude and style.

Broken Records - Modern Girl by Sleater Kinney, Stop In The Name Of Love by The Supremes

Top marks to Broken Records (pictured with Sita and Carla from TeenCanteen who joined them for the Supremes cover) for travelling through from Edinburgh to play.  They were a highlight from the Girl Effect #1, playing with total confidence, tight as you like, strong vocals and superb song choices.

Jo Mango - November by Auzure Ray, Before The World Was Big by Girlpool

I watched Jo Mango and her from the side of the stage, getting a close up view of the way they beautifully construct melodies from some out of the ordinary instruments. Their ability to do this with songs that are not their own was stunning.

Cairn String Quartet - Just A Girl by No Doubt, Waltz by Rachel Sermanni, Honey by TeenCanteen

Jaws dropped around Mono when the Cairn String Quartet started their covers. They sounded beautiful and at times you couldn't believe there was only 4 of them. They soon became 8 when the girls from TeenCanteen joined them to perform their debut single Honey that they rerecorded with the Cairn String Quartet for their album - gorgeous. Watch a video of the performance HERE

Skies Fell - Work by Kelly Rowland, Stay by Shakespears Sister

A standout performance. Running slightly late, I was beginning to get a little stressed as my sister had put me in charge of artist liaison and timings! It was worth the hold up as Skies Fell absolutely smashed it out the park with both performances. Singer David Pollock shaker and shimmied to Kelly Rowland's Work and hit the falsetto with ease. Stay was a real highlight from the night. Exceptionally tight performance.

Honey and the Herbs - Soft Sands by The Chordettes and Dance by ESG

Wow! My sister described Honey and the Herbs as 'Glasgow's best kept secret'. They were sensational, brilliant musicians who delivered 2 stunning performances. Dance by ESG really got the crowd going. I look forward to seeing them live in the future.

Kathryn Joseph - I'll Set You Free by The Bangles, Call The Shots by Girls Aloud

Simply beautiful. SAY Award winner Kathryn Joseph was absolutely lovely - in performance and person. Coming for the start and staying until the last record was spun. A hush fell over Mono when Kathryn began to sing, backed only by 2 different antique keyboard/organ style instruments, one for each song. Her voice is exquisite, delivery unique and she melted hearts.

BMX Bandits - That's How Heartaches Are Made by The Marvelettes, It's Gonna Take A Miracle by The Royalettes

Duglas T Stewart has been an incredible help to my sister since she formed TeenCanteen and he was as supportive as always in the build up to The Girl Effect #2, helping with promotion and writing a brilliant piece for Louder Than War featuring his 10 favourite girl group songs. Check it HERE.

Duglas and his BMX Bandits were in fine form and I probably wasn't the only one who wished they could have chosen and played a few more songs. That's How Heartaches Are Made was soulful, stretching on heart strings and Duglas was in fine voice. It's Gonna Take A Miracle was sung beautifully and powerfully by Chloe, a stunning performance with the Bandits backing her in style.

TeenCanteen - Trouble by Shampoo, Waterfalls by TLC and I Know Where It's At by All Saints (mash-up), Sister by TeenCanteen

On to the curators, TeenCanteen started with the relatively obscure Trouble by Shampoo, a mid-90's outfit who wrote fanzines about the Manic St Preachers and came through the Riot Grrl scene before delivering this slice of punky pop perfection. Deborah took lead vocals, while all the girls were on harmonies.

TeenCanteen's take on TLC's Waterfalls into I Know Where It's At by All Saints was stunning and captured on film by Duglas from BMX Bandits. Watch it HERE

The girls ended with their own song Sister and the message was clear;

I know I've got something good

When I feel the sisterhood

With me

The raffle was drawn and then there was time for 90-minutes of dancing with the TYCI dj's playing some cracking pop tunes, ending the night in fine style with Madonna's Like A Prayer. The girls had been dj-ing between songs all night and their taste and style was perfect for the night.

The final total has still to be confirmed but it is well over £2,000! Well done again to all involved.

TeenCanteen launch The Girl Effect 2

An exhausted but happy sister at The Girl Effect #1

watching Stanley Odd cover her song 'Honey'

Earlier on this year my sister Carla decided to do something rather special to mark her 30th birthday.

In actual fact it was truly special - Carla curated a night to raise funds and awareness for Scottish Women's Aid with a whole heap of bands and artists covering girl group songs from the 1950's through to present day.

The event at Summerhall in Edinburgh sold out and raised almost £3,500. Artists including Eugene Kelly (The Vaselines), Duglas T Stewart (BMX Bandits), Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub), Broken Records, The Spook School, Machines In Heaven, Flash Talk, Stanley Odd and of course Carla's band TeenCanteen covered artists ranging from Martha Reeves and the Vandellas through to The Sugababes with Betty Boo, Destiny's Child, All Saints and TLC in between. A full list of artists and the songs they covered is available HERE

Scottish Women's Aid were so delighted with the awareness and funds raised that they asked Carla if she could do a second night to mark Glasgow taking part in 16 days of action this November.

Emma Davies from Scottish Women's Aid explained; "The 16 days take place every year between November 25th - the International Day of No Violence Against Women, and December 10th - Human Rights Day.

The global campaign sees communities, NGO's and charities hold events aimed at raising awareness of violence against women, and trying to influence behaviour and secure political commitment to ending it.

Every year as a different theme and 2015 is about the links between militarism and the right to education - both in conflict and in peace. The most recent estimates suggest that, worldwide, 31 million girls at primary level and 34 million at lower secondary level are not enrolled in school.

Scottish Women's Aid has used the 16 Days Campaign to raise awareness about domestic violence and to push for changes that make women and children safer."

It is 2015. Lets make a difference.

So here is the line-up for The Girl Effect #2 taking place at Mono in Glasgow on Thursday 26th November. All the artists, the production crew (La Chunky Studios) and the venue are giving their services for free!

Please spread the word and I hope to see you there! Who will SAY Award winner Kathryn Joseph cover? And will anyone cover 'Trouble' by Shampoo?! You'll need to attend to find out.

The Girl Effect

On Saturday night I headed through to Edinburgh as my sister Carla, singer and songwriter in TeenCanteen,  celebrated her 30th birthday by putting on an incredible show in aid of Scottish Women's Aid.

Indie legends like Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub), Duglas T Stewart (BMX Bandits), Eugene Kelly (The Vaselines) were included in the line-up that also featured TeenCanteen, Machines In Heaven, Broken Records, Flash Talk, No More Tiger and The Spook School.

The aim of the night was relatively simple;

• each act was asked to cover 2-songs by girl groups and had a maximum of 10-minutes
• the night was to raise funds for Scottish Women's Aid
• all acts, the venue, tech staff etc etc gave up their time for free

Could my sister really pull this off? An incredible 14-acts in the stunning Summerhall, all the changeovers, tech issues and timings...

The answer, as anyone who was there will testify, was a resounding yes. Everyone embraced the spirit of the night, creating a positive atmosphere from the off that only increased as the night went on.

There was a large queue snaking down the stairs waiting for the doors to open at 7pm sharp and at 7.20pm Carla, Megan from Scottish Women's Aid and the poet Jenny Lindsay told us about the acts playing and the aims of the night and we were off.

It would be impossible to do the night justice, but a full list of the acts and songs covered is noted below. The range of pop music from the 60's through to the present day was fantastic, I thoroughly enjoyed the choice of songs and the way bands stamped their own authority on them.

I would personally like to say thanks and well done to everyone involved in the night - it was brilliant to be part of - like a mini-festival and it raised some much needed money for Scottish Women's Aid.

Thanks to Kat Gollock Photography for the pictures.

The GT's - Chains by The Cookies, Tell Me Baby Why You've Been Gone So Song - Brenda Lee and Jessi Coulter

2 guys in black suits playing acoustic guitars (one of them formerly in OMD) opened proceedings. Their startling ability on the guitars was mesmerising. They extended the songs to use their full 10-minutes, jamming on in glorious fashion.

Bodyheat - I Never Dreamed by The Cookies, We Got The Beat by The Go-Go's

The beautiful flow of I Never Dreamed was an early highlight of the night and a song I'll be tracking down.

Machines In Heaven - Bills, Bills, Bills by Destiny's Child, Nowhere To Run by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas

A huge pulsating electro riff ushered in the second song by Machines In Heaven with singer Davie using a vocoder. The melody sounded familiar - this was the classic Nowhere To Run being modernised and sounding absolutely amazing. I hope they record it.

Photo by Kat Gollock

Henry and Fleetwood - Fortunately Gone by The Breeders, Manic Monday by The Bangles

Manic Monday was another highlight of the evening for me with many around me singing along. The combination of bass and synth and male and female vocals was very enjoyable.

Golder Arm - Walk Like An Egyptian by The Bangles, Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me - The Pipettes

Goldern Arm got the crowd going with a romp through another Bangles song before getting the crowd to clap along with the pure pop rush of The Pipettes.

Flash Talk - Freak Like Me/I Love Rock n Roll by Sugababes/Joan Jett, Push It/Cherry Bomb by Salt n Pepa/The Runaways

Flash Talk really got the crowd going; using their full 10-minute allocation and musical excellence to mash up some classic girl group songs - pop, rock, rap and punk. 

Duglas T Stewart with Norman Blake - That Lonely Feeling by The McKinleys, Nobody Knows What's Going On In My Mind by The Chiffons

A brilliant performance from Mr Stewart, tugging on the heartstrings with his opener before going full on garage with the closer.

Raffle - we then had a raffle with some superb prices generously donated by the acts on offer. Duglas and Norman stayed on to help draw the raffle.

 Photos by Kat Gollock

Stanley Odd - Really Saying Something/Doin' The Do by The Velvettes/Betty Boo, Honey by TeenCanteen

Dave Hook (Solareye) had been bounding around the crowd with a huge grin on his face all night and it transferred to the crowd when he took to the stage. Veronika on vocals sang beautifully over a sample of The Velvettes with Hook adding some smart comeback lines before coming in with a brilliant rap about girl groups, the band then threw in a bit of Betty Boo for good measure, much to the delight of the crowd.

Hook was then extremely generous in his praise of the next song; introducing it as an incredible pop song by a girl group we might have heard of.

I was delighted when he announced it was Honey by TeenCanteen and it was brilliant to hear Stanley Odd remain pretty true to the original but just add their own twist on it, turning it into a duet and ad libbing at the end.

A superb performance.

Photo by Kat Gollock

No More Tiger - I Can Hear Music by The Ronettes, I Love How You Love Me by The Paris Sisters

Two gorgeous covers, the first song in particular was a favourite of mine from the night.

Photo by Kat Gollock

Jenny Lindsay - A girl group poem made up of girl group lyrics suggested by the audience

Co-compere Jenny invited the audience to write their favourite girl group lyrics down and then she somehow assembled them into a poem full of humour. Very clever.

The Spook School - Gimme Brains by Bratmobile, I Love It by Icona Pop

The Spook School look like they are still at school. Their delicious punk pop romp through the modern pop classic I Love It was brilliant, causing a spot of pogo-ing. The band looked like they were having loads of fun on stage.

Broken Records - Stop In The Name of Love by The Supremes, Modern Girl by Sleater Kinney

Carla and Sita from TeenCanteen joined Broken Records for a soaring version of The Supremes classic before the band enjoyed toying and playing with the beautiful riffs of Sleater Kinney. Both songs were exceptional from a band oozing with confidence.

Photo by Kat Gollock

Eugene Kelly with TeenCanteen - My Boyfriend's Back by The Angels, Never Ever by All Saints

TeenCanteen played backing band to Eugene Kelly who was allowed to show that his love of pop ranged from The Angels through to All Saints. The extended version of Never Ever was quite brilliant.

Photo by Kat Gollock

TeenCanteen with Eugene Kelly and Dave Hook from Stanley Odd - Say My Name by Destiny's Child, Waterfalls by TLC, Be My Baby by The Ronettes

A huge cheer greeted TeenCanteen and Carla as she told us the night will have raised well over £3,000 for Scottish Women's Aid with the final total to be announced on Monday.

I imagine it will be more like £4,000+ based on ticket sales, the raffle (they sold out of tickets) and the glitter table manned by Sita and Chloe from TeenCanteen who loved painting people's faces all night.

The closing two songs in particular were exceptional. Solareye from Stanley Odd joined the band for the rap in Waterfalls - a gloriously beautiful pop song.

Carla's voice (which she was really worried about due to doing so much work for the event) sounded absolutely incredible on Be My Baby with the crowd singing along in style. It was a brilliant version of a truly amazing song.

A happy Carla watching Stanley Odd cover her song Honey

Photos by Kat Gollock