ITM? recently caught up with Chute Records supremo Jan Burnett, to discuss the two shows he is organising at the V&A Dundee this month.
The shows are intended to mark a particular label anniversary but Jan has wider aims.
“Thirty-three and a third years of Chute is a nice tag to the shows. But it’s really also to make a bit of a statement as well – to let people know that Spare Snare exist, or that the Grand Gestures or Chute exists.
“Spare Snare haven’t played Dundee for a while, our last gig was in August down in Brighton, and the Grand Gestures have never played Dundee. So it’s nice to do something around the 33 and 3.”
Securing a space at the prestigious V&A has been key to Jan’s plans for the shows.
“The V&A have actually been very good. I’ve had a couple meetings with them and they’re happy with what I’m doing, otherwise they would say no!
“I was really keen to get people from outside of Dundee to come, that’s why the V&A was quite important, and it shows Dundee off a wee bit.
“So I gave plenty of notice on the mailing list to allow people from down south and abroad to come over.”
An unexpected clash with a superstar has had a marginal impact on the shows and a slightly larger one for Jan.
“All the hotels are now booked up because of Billie Eilish – she’s on the same two nights in Edinburgh. If you can’t stay in Edinburgh then an hour away from Edinburgh is Dundee!
“Sadly, I can’t go and see her, which, actually, I am quite sad about. But, hey ho, my dates went in first!”
Anyone who has seen a show at the V&A before will know these are usually in the foyer area near the entrance – which necessitates quite an epic trip to secure a drink. Jan’s taken account of that in the planning the shows.
“We’re in one of the boring rooms upstairs (laughs), but actually, it’s right next to the bar and right next to toilets.
“I think the fire limit is 140, but the sound desk is going to take up space and there might be some seats as well, so I reckon it’s about 120 legally. But with eight Grand Gestures, plus another six Spare Snares on top of that, and each of them will have at least one or two guests each night, there’s not actually that many tickets for sale.”
Jan confirms that the two nights will follow the same format.
“It’s an early start and The Grand Gestures will start pretty sharp at 7 and will do an hour-ish. Spare Snare will also do an hour-ish with probably about a 45 minute to an hour break in the middle. So it should all be done and dusted just after 10, but the license and the curfew’s actually til 11.”
Jan intimates that the shows will feature plenty of guests.
“For the Grand Gestures, the band is quite minimal. I’ll press some buttons, my dad (Dave) is playing guitar and Barry Gibson is playing drums, like the shows we did at Tuts and in London.
“Sanjeev Kohli, Emma Pollock, Jill O’Sullivan and Celie Byrne are all on both days for the Grand Gestures, but Phill Jupitus can only do the Monday, so that’ll be the one and only time I’ve done his song live.
“For Spare Snare, we’ve got Terry Edwards and Gary Barnacle playing brass and we’ve never played with live with them either. So we’re going to do 99% of ‘The Brutal’ live, and then rearrange a few other tunes for the brass, which should be interesting as well.”
Some thought has been given to visuals for the show although Jan cautions against high expectations for technical reasons!
“Alan (Cormack)’s keen to do something visually on the screen but I don’t think the screen’s that big! So it might just be like a little railway screen and maybe a bit Spinal Tap. But it’ll be something for people to look at if they’re bored of looking at us!”
With so much to organise Jan is looking forward to having everything in place.
“I’m looking forward to both nights but I think the first night will be a bit of a whirlwind, because we’re rehearsing all day on that first day across the road. So that’ll be a bit mental. But once we’re in, once we’re sound-checking, then I’ll be happy.
“And then I think Tuesday will be more relaxing and I can kind of maybe enjoy it a bit more.”
Limited tickets for the shows at the V&A Dundee on 7 and 8 July are available from the Chute Records Bandcamp site.
- Spare Snare / The Grand Gestures - 3 July 2025
- Robert Dallas Gray - 2 July 2025
- M. John Henry - 19 June 2025