The January Concert Trilogy: Day 3

The third and final of the concert trilogy took place at Hoxton Bar and Grill (you may have noticed, dear reader, that each night the venues have gotten increasingly smaller) to see Lykke Li.

To be honest, I had only come along with the intention of seeing Lykke Li, and hoping that the support acts sets would be short and sweet, but to my surprise and delight, the first two acts were brilliant!

First up was the Pencil Toes, who sounded like a less raw, more pop orientated Be Your Own Pet, with a singer who resembled a blonde version of Paramore's Hayley Williams. Oh, and the drummer was amazing!

Next up was Fanfarlo, (which, we first thought was the stage crew setting up for the next band!) who were akin to Arcade Fire, via the Spinto Band.

Each member revolved around a multitude of instruments including xylophone, violin, trumpet, and mandolin. They were indeed very fun, and for lack of a better word, “cute”. They need to be signed.

Soon after, Lykke Li and band took to the stage.

(and claim to fame: She walked through the crowd to get to the stage and grazed past me!)

Note to self: when writing blogs write them as soon after the date as possible: I've forgotten exact details, but suffice it to say, it was a great gig!

January Concert Trilogy: Part 2

Today was a good day indeed: after having not seen her for nearly a month, Elisabeth came down :D I missed her loads.

Thankfully, I was not deafened by the previous nights gig, as we headed to the Astoria for Explosions in the Sky. We arrived pretty early, but unfortunately, they didn't have any shirts left in my size. Oh well!


About 2o minutes after arriving JJ arrived, looking quite like a grifter! Before long the support act came on, and started out promising, but soon became an unbearable noise, at which point we headed upstairs to see Martin, but rather than wade through the crowd, we just stood at the side for a while, and briefly chatted to Jo. (at some point in the proceedings JJ produced a can of Guinness from his pocket, which he had managed to smuggle in!)


Explosions took to the stage at about 9, and after a brief introduction, they picked up their instruments and began making beautiful music. (I'd like to point out at this stage that I am fairly new to Explosions: I only know about 4 tracks, and when there are no lyrics, its often difficult to tell where one piece ends and the other starts, but this didn't affect the aural bliss that was taking place)

After approximately an hour and a half, they finished, said thanks, and left stage. It was brilliant! (Though i feel that they would be better appreciated by an audience sat in armchairs, sofas and bean bags, relaxing) My only slight slight slight disappointment of the night was the fact they didn't play Your Hand in Mine.

Post gig, we headed to McDonalds across the road and treated ourselves to cheeseburgers, then headed towards Charing Cross for the train, passing Martin, who was earnestly handing out flyers for the upcoming Codes in the Clouds gig. As we arrived, noticed a Mickey D's right next to it) At this point, we said bye to JJ, and headed home, smiles on our faces, and warm hearts.

Two Down, one to go!

The January Concert Trilogy: Day 1

My most recent concert (not counting E's book alunch) was Last year's Tennet's Vital, so its safe to say I've been getting some withdrawl symptoms.

Thus, for some insane reason, this week I'll be going to 3 in 3 nights! First, a trip to the O2....

(I had never been to the O2 before, and whilst huge, it seemed smaller in person)

Riaz (mate from Ravensbourne) told me last week he had a spare ticket for Linkin Park's 2^nd sold out performance at the 02, and was wondering if i'd be interested. To be honest, I couldn't really afford it, but, as its a band I've been a fan of for quite a while, and when would I get a chance to see them again?

When we got to the actual arena, it was MASSIVE! (for those back home in Norn Iron, about the size of the Odyseey, but seating going higher.)

Biffy Clyro were the support, and, as brilliant as their set was, I still can't understand how he plays the guitar when its so close to his neck!

During the interval, I bought some chips: £2.70 – rip off!

After a short wait (or, so it seemed: we had seats, and were front row, with a pretty decent view) the lights faded, and the intro to No More Sorrow began, with the curtain dropping with the band on stage. The Set continues with the heavier songs from Hybrid Theory and Meteora (with a performance of Given Up being filmed for a music video).

Following Points of Authority, the mood becomes more relaxed as the keyboard is brought out and they launch into Leave Out All the Rest.
After the relaxed section, things kick off again with Bleed it Out which goes on for about 10 minutes, with drum solo inbetween, before exited stage.

They soon returned to stage for a 2 song encore of What I've Done and One Step Closer.

And just when we thought it was over, they return to play Faint (my favourite LP song) to close.

A good night indeed, which I will get to relive again and again, as they recorded the show for download!

(thank again to Riaz for the ticket!)

Coming Soon, to a theatre near you

2007: I miss it already. Twas the 20th anniversary of my birth, and I like the number 7. I'll do a recap of it shortly, but first, here's to tomorrow (well, technically today, oh never mind)

2008 promises us many cinematic delights, so here's a few I'm pretty excited about.

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First and foremost, this month sees the release of the much hyped Cloverfield. Produced by Lost creator JJ Abrams, it's looking like a cross between Godzilla and Blair Witch Project, or something. If you haven't seen the teaser trailer that aired before Transformers, check it out here:

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What a damn good year to be a comic book fan at the movies. First up, we have Iron Man. Now, I've never been a fan of the comic, and Tony Stark is currently public enemy number 1 for most Marvel fans, but everything about this film sounds right on target:

+ Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man? - Check!

+ Jon Favreau directing? - Check!

+ Rumoured cameo by Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury? - muthafeckin check!

The trailer looks fantastic, and Robert Downey Jr is a perfect fit. Plus, he is a former drug addict, so if Tony's alcoholism is brought up at some point, he knows first hand what its like to live with addiction.

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From one millionaire hero to another, this year also sees the release of The Dark Knight (sequel to the brilliant Batman Begins). First off, if you haven't seen Batman Begins, go watch it RIGHT NOW!

The viral marketing campaign has so far been extraordinarily fun, with secret meeting, messages, and puzzles.



I want this shirt!

Sadly, it looks certain that the remainder of the marketing plan may be temporarily derailed, and no doubt altered given the untimely death of Heath Ledger is will be appearing as the Joker, in what will be his final completed role.

Check out the trailer here:

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Hopping back to Marvel again, this year also has the sequel-that's-not-a-remake-but-more-a-reboot of the Hulk franchise with Incredible Hulk.



Ang Lee's Hulk (which I am currently writing an essay on) was a flawed masterpiece. The Special effects were quite revolutionary, and the editing spectacular, but was overall too long, and perhaps too cerebral for its target audience.

This new film, which has a totally new cast, is apparently not an origin story, but begins with Bruce Banner on the run. Hopefully this time around, we will see Hulk smash a bit more: directing duties are being taken over by Transporters Louis Leterrier.

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Moving away from comics, another film I eagerly anticipate is Be Kind, Rewind.


You may not be familiar with the name Michel Gondry, but you will no doubt know his work. Science of Sleep was a beautiful film, if a little hard to follow (and I understood Eternal Sunshine first time!), but Rewind looks set to be a hilarious crowd pleaser (thanks in no small part to Jack Black.

There's bound to be some I'm forgetting, but I'll post more next time!

Heath Ledger: 1979 - 2008

I don't wish to speculate as to the exact nature of his untimely demise, but he'll be missed. And if early footage is anything to go by, his portrayal of the Joker will be the definitive one.

And here is a beautiful tribute by Massimo Carnevale

Rest in peace.

2 for the price of 1

At the end of last term, my music video group worked on a live studio based video for Their Strange Gathering. I was director, and will probably never be so again (studio directing: not for me!)

Here is the video for There is Change.



After we wrapped, the guys asked if they could get a performance of Arc Angel on film, so, I let my camera crew and vision mixer have free reign.

Bootlegging!

http://www.sendspace.com/file/snwy40

My first ever attempt at bootlegging.

Biff! Pow! Kersplat!

Cameron (home slice from Dalriada days) is over in London visiting his brother in Camden, so we met up for a catch up. As with any friend who comes over to London, I took him to Ed's Diner for some eats. (i highly recommend everyone try a malt. It's a milkshake, but so much better!)

After a might fine meal (and being abandoned for about 10 minutes mid-meal so he could find his brother) we headed towards to Shaftsbury avenue, and I introduced them both to Fopp.

The ridiculously cheap prices made be succumb to buying 2 DVD's that I don't really need. But, as they came to the grand total £6, I can't really complain.



A cinematic masterpiece, Batman isn't (Bat Shark Repellent, anyone?) But at this price, I couldn't refuse, and with THAT free gift, I'd be insane to say no!





(and I've come to the conclusion that my mobile phone camera leaves much to be desired)

Things the Grandchildren Should Know

Thursday night I witnessed a janitor saying “motherfucker” in a packed church without so much as a gasp from the crowd.

Ok, that's a little misleading: the janitor was in fact Mark Oliver Everett, the genius behind The Eels, who was launching his first book “Things the Grandchildren Should Know”, with a solo performance at St James Church in London, and it was the heartbreakingly beautiful “It's a Motherfucker” that he was singing (he even added “Sorry Lord” at the end of the song).

I headed from college at 4pm to the train station and, foolishly decided against taking an umbrella.

Finally arriving at the St James church just after 5.30pm, i was drenched, but passed the time chatting to someone in the line in front of me (who had seen the Eels perform a number of times before, and told me to expect anything!)

Luckily, I was one of the first 200 in the queue, so received a wristband allowing me to get my book signed: sweet.

With the lights dimmed, candles lit, and to thunderous applause, Mr. E took the stage, armed with guitar.

Four songs in, and he takes the podium. Insisting that it would be entirely pretentious to read extracts from his book, he invites a member of the audience to do so.

After this short interruption, he returns to the piano to play “A Magic World”.

Towards the end of the set, (and after an attempt at an extract by someone who had 4 beers) he invited a guy called Pete to the stage to read the final extract about the song “Souljacker”.

Yep, that Pete was none other than Pete Townshend of the Who!

Closing with “Girl From the north country”, E bid thanks and farewell to the crowd after what was a truly moving set.

Half an hour later, he emerged to sign copies for the 200 lucky people who had wristbands. I shook his hand and thanked him, saying it was the first time i'd seen him perform, to which he responded “you know what they say, you never forget your first”

And I don't think i will

(Partly due to my attempt at bootlegging it on my mp3 player!)

(and for the celebrity obsessed, Alex James of Blur was also in attendence)