The ICA has always struck me an odd gig venue; with it’s white lights and shiny floors, viagra 100mgsymptoms but on Friday 22nd May, pilule something exciting was rumbling in it’s deep dark underbelly and I went home prepared to eat my hat…
I didn’t know too much about Comet Gain before the gig, viagra 40mg and expected them to be over-shadowed by the rest of the line-up, but they held their own in spectacular fashion with their unique blend of Northern Soul and lo-fi, to create a danceable but refreshing rock n’roll.
The Bats
Putting age before beauty, the Bats were on right before young whipper-snappers Crystal Stilts; the most magical inhabitants of New Zealand since hobbits. Having been around since the early 80s and having released a string of consistently good records they seemed to have avoided become publicly known and are quite the cult institution. The crowd at the ICA, myself included, are, blown away by their awesome crashing and soaring folky rock, with Crimson Envy going down like a treat. They have the look of the modern day Pixies (kinda old), with a sound that veers towards early Yo La Tengo or Low.
The Bats
Whilst loving the Crystal Stilts’ debut album, I’m always sceptical of hype bands, but Crystal Stilts most definitely deserve their hype. From the first note, their post-punk, melancholic wall of bassy noise and murmur vocals enrapture the audience. Their single ‘Love is a Wave’, the second song played is a butterfly in the stomach shoe-gaze fest of blurry noise and the rest of the set follows to form.
Crystal Stilts
It is perhaps over easy to compare Crystal Stilts to My Bloody Valentine and their shoe-gaze peers, (it seems that a lot of Brooklyn bands at the moment are being shoehorned into a neo-shoe gaze poor fit) and whilst an element of that is present; mostly from Jesus and Mary Chain‘s Psychocandy, Crystal Stilts are more indebted to the Velvet Underground in their sustaining of a glorious continous noise, and the tuneful grumble of Brad Hargett’s voice is not dissimilar to Lou Reed. Whilst having roots buried in a deep and fruitful musical heritage, Crystal Stilts manage to create something unique to themselves. A band not to be missed.
Crystal Stilts
Photos appear courtesy of Roisin Conway and Cari Steel
Written by Roisin Conway on Tuesday June 2nd, 2009 3:22 pm
Joe Worricker was indeed wearing stars on his face, genericas declared on twitter twenty minutes before I arrived at his gig. I could hear Joe’s idiosyncratic voice even as I raced into this industry thick showcase at new venue XOYO, buy located just behind the main Old Street thoroughfare. He was also wearing the same clothes that he sports in his Finger-Waggers video (digital download out this week, sales though as Joe was only too happy to admit, easily downloadable somewhere online for free.)
Joe Worricker at XOYO. All photography by Amelia Gregory.
A whole 45 minutes later I was still somewhat struggling to describe Joe, who sings with a session-type band that wouldn’t look out of place on the X Factor – but then this is the lad who auditioned for that very show… and was turned down. “I think they were scared of my voice” he told me in our earlier interview. And he does indeed have an almighty set of curiously old-fashioned lungs, somewhat at odds with his outwardly trendy demeanour.
He swung through a set which included some slow tempo tales of weddings and fairytales, before returning to his trademark upbeat tracks. “We’ve got two fun ones now, don’t worry,” he told his many friends in the audience, including what I can only presume was his granny sat pride of place in the front row, and another relative who was doing his best impression of the funky chicken.
Joe Worricker is an intriguing proposition for Rough Trade. He’s poppy – he fronts a band without an instrument – dance-y, and a whole lot of soulful. Who knows where he fits into the current market place, but that distinctive voice paired with some jaunty tunes could well make him the next big thing. One thing’s for sure, anyone who puts their granny in the front row at their debut gig gets my vote. And bless, being the polite lad he is, he even thanked me on twitter.
5. Mumford & Sons Mumford & Sons have had a special piece in my heart for a couple of years now. Having played their debut to death and enjoyed their live shows just as much, ampoule the band never fail to disappoint. When they arrived at the NME/Radio 1 Tent they packed out the space and the surrounding areas had hundreds of fans trying to capture the performance.
Despite not being able to see the band or even hear them over the crowd singing along, shop I still had hairs on my neck shooting up. I felt quite proud of the most modest band around who could not have put more effort in. They were made for moments like this. ‘Little Lion Man’ had never sounded so perfect and the new songs were greeted with the same enthusiasm from the crowd.
4. Weezer
Sunday evening, abortion there was a chill in the air, ‘nu metal’ pioneers Limp Bizit had been and gone, the heavy rain had done the same. American geek rockers Weezer brought the sun to the main-stage along with a greatest hits set. They are a band I would never choose the listen to but I wouldn’t turn them off either.
Along with the classics, ‘Buddy Holly’, ‘Hash Pipe’ and ‘Beverly Hills’ the old timers covered Wheatus’ ‘Teenage Dirtbag’, MGMT’s ‘Kids’ and Lady GaGa’s ‘Pokerface’ where energetic front-man Rivers Cuomo sported a blonde wig whilst rolling about in the mud.
3. Mystery Jets Mystery Jets have been knocking about for sometime now with a collection of pop songs that would give Simon Cowell’s song-writing team a fright. Today wasn’t just about the hits, it was to see if the band could work main-stage after a few appearances on the smaller ones previously.
Not only did they get some sing-a-longs from the crowd but also got them dancing when Count & Sinden joined the band to play the party tune of the year, ‘After Dark’. It wasn’t just the stage that the band controlled as the lively band members spent a decent about of time amongst the crowd too.
The main-stage witnessed the band play just their forth gig since their recent reformation. It was professional and energetic. I don’t think I have ever seen the band play that well; they meant business. Talk was kept to a minimum whilst thrashing out tune after tune, they were unfazed when they had to have a quick break whilst the crowd calmed down. A tear was shed when Pete and Carl, hugged and kissed onstage, I had been waiting too long for that moment.
1. Arcade Fire
It was Arcade Fire’s last Reading Festival performance that really won me over. Win Butler lead the seven piece on a emphatic set that included songs from all three records but it was the material from their latest, The Suburbs that really had the wow factor. Words struggle to some up this performance, it was more than just music, more like a religion.
Many thanks to our illustrators. Thumbnail illustration of Weezer by Julie Lee
Written by Matt Pinder on Monday September 6th, 2010 11:59 am
Sorry about that, click it is in the listings, possibly you are even reading this after the exhibition has closed in which case HELLO IN THE FUTURE (look out for flying cars, in the London Transport Museum, which would be the appropriate place, just don’t pay the £10 entrance fee in hope of seeing illustrations if they have already gone.)
This is the second collaborative competition venture the Association of Illustrators and the Museum have undertaken. Due to some factors, possibly such as their acquiring of a twitter account since last year this one was considerably more competitive than the last. I have it from the actual woman whose job it was to count them that there were over 3000 entries for the 50 places in the exhibition. Am I still a little bitter that I didn’t get in? Only a little, as the standard of the work that did get in is in general very high indeed.
It’s a beautiful show that really exemplifies the amazing wealth and variety of Illustration talent around. Not all of the work was to my taste but given the breadth of styles included that’s not really surprising; the AOI on typically excellent form at celebrating the medium.
Amidst the variety of work from established and unknown artists some trends are discernable; many illustrators have worked in animals either using the London Zoo as an iconic destination or including pigeons or dogs to help out with the green association as this is after all an exhibition exonerating the environmental benefits of cycling in the city (woo – go bikes).
Some pieces like Jove’s beautifully designed utopian poster, Jessid Ford’s gorgeous graphic colours ‘A to B and all the sights in between’ print and Mark Taplin’s lovely single colour classic screen print style image echo the classic transport posters which the London Transport Museum has long loved and displayed and sold on postcards.
Although this was my first visit to the Museum it does seem to have this dual personality. The visiting tourist children who must surely be its main market come for the fun interactive displays, the chance to get photographed driving a routemaster, and apparently the chance to run around and collect holes punched in a gotta catch em all style transport treasure trail. A brand new Boris Bicycle is the centrepiece in the tucked away gallery space where the show is housed and while I was there families and older children in groups often came in, checked off the bike on their list and left again with not more than a passing glance at the art on the walls.
I hope there are people like me and the other lone visitor giving a significant amount of time to the exhibition that also come to the Museum for its other angle – the amazing wealth it has in its association with artists both in projects like Cycling in London and other initiatives like art on the underground which has been going for years and features inspiring new art on underground station walls and in their outstanding collection of classic advertising posters which London Transport has commissioned over the decades. Many of these can be seen adorning souvenirs and postcards in the Museum shop – which happily can be accessed without paying the entrance fee. Perhaps more people would be likely to see this exhibition if it could be accessed separately from the Museum proper at a reduced fee.
Rachel Lillie’s first prize winning entry
Perhaps they could have also chosen a different image other than the winning illustration to use on their posters advertising the show which have been well spread across the city. I don’t wish to say anything against the judges choice or Rachel Lillie’s beautiful piece but as an eye catching image with a wide appeal I think there were many pieces in the show that would have been a better choice. Evgenia Barinova’s awesome striking poster like piece on wood for example which dominates the far end of the room with its inspirational message ‘if Super Heroes couldn’t fly they’d ride a Bike!’ or Laura Callaghan’s fantastically serene flying cyclists setting a joyful example and clearly having more fun than their tube riding counterparts.
There are things that make illustration itself, rather than fine art, and things that make it great. Looking at their selection of winners the AOI clearly are big fans of the medium’s capacity for a sort of dualistic immediacy – a leaf which is also a map, an aerial view which is also a bicycle and nature and cyclists incorporated into a beautiful decorative inclusive layout in the tradition of a William Morris wallpaper. (I’d quite like a Mia Nilsson wallpaper actually – anyone from Habitat buying reading?). They seem to have favoured visual sense and simple dense colour over drawing or realism. This is an ideal in illustration that I think some people seem to put on a bit of a pedestal but as I said before it is far from the only style on show.
Another quality of illustration – it’s relationship with and commentary on popular culture is also much in evidence here; Jamie Wieck’s hilarious the joy of cycling being an obvious standout with subtler cultural references in Patrick O’leary’s mods on push bikes instead of scooters and Ross Crawford’s lovely cockney rhyming poster combining the classic and bang up to date cultural takeoff (blessedly does not actually include the over used ‘keep calm and…’). ‘Many Artists Who Do One Thing’s awesome circus graffiti style poster is cheeky but to the point – cycling is fun, and a little bit revolutionary.
Also present are our gorgeous children’s book style contingent with their universal appeal; Kevin Ward’s fantastic animal charactrers in retro colours(?) and Courtney Lee Bourdman’s happy happy tourists on their double decker bicycle bus (clearly uniting the Museum’s selling points perfectly); Catherine Denvir combines digital techniques for a more tongue in cheek surreal childish quality.
The strong classic illustrative style of simple expressive drawing is exemplified by Ignjat Reljic Djuric’s perfectly balanced piece where the cyclist seems like a plucky underdog to the epic red buildings; old favourite Belle Mellor provides a fantastically idiosyncratic interpretation although not the only illustrator to use London landmarks as hats (make of that what you will) – David Hughes also does this with as ever lovely ink lettering and layout. Judit Ferencz’s hand drawn image makes excellent use of space and Alex Bitskoff also uses layout magnificently (although not simply) with his richly coloured city wave erupting into the clean environmental space.
One of the things I like about illustration is that in this medium quick simple execution and epic complex work are equally as valid. What matters in an illustration is the impact and the joy and the communication. And illustrators can be amazingly skilled at thinking of new conceptual and exciting ways of presenting the same idea – their bread and butter work is often sexing up the figures in business magazines after all. Some of these pieces clearly got in to the final 50 for the idea used, others for the execution.
what’s that? you’ve snuck in your own unsuccesful entry to the competition Jenny Robins? cheeky bint.
I’ve not even talked about my very favourite school of illustration present in Cycling in London! – I love me some collage and there are fantastic examples in the work of Alison Bell whose lovely retro collage and print techniques clearly echoes the recent Varoom feature on the resurgence of the medium (how could they not include it then?); Lianne Harrison makes cool creepy bus-stop characters and Tracy Long’s tiny magazine faces on fancifull animal cyclists stole my heart, although I don’t think St Paul’s in the background adds anything. I imagine she added it to fit the brief about Cycling in London but looking at what else has got through I think she could have got away without it.
I was running out of time before closing but just had time to check out Georgina Brookes’ awesome cutouty graphic layering and Clayton Junior’s ace layout and colours employing a classic illustration immediate impact swap technique.
I had to leave through a secret staircase and the Museum employee waiting to lock up behind me smiled beautifully saying “interesting exhibition isn’t it?”
Well yes, it most definitely is, but the wording of the comment shows the attitude that this is something unusual is still the norm. I go to more illustration exhibitions than fine art ones, and in this world it’s easy to forget that to most people it’s still a bit of a non-concept. (you’re an illustrator eh? Cartoons? No? Book covers then? – sound familiar?) And good on the LTM for putting on projects like this but the way it’s presented on the posters and tucked away at the back of the museum still seem to me to reinforce it’s esotericness. Which is just a little sad. But let’s not end on a down note. Maybe illustration is like the poor relation of art – but is not the bicycle the poor relation of the car? And which is cooler, greener more, you know, government endorsed? On your bike kids.
You don’t have long left to visit the Cycling in London Exhibition at the London Transport Museum!
Sorry about that, it is in the listings, link possibly you are even reading this after the exhibition has closed in which case HELLO IN THE FUTURE (look out for flying cars, visit web in the London Transport Museum, which would be the appropriate place, just don’t pay the £10 entrance fee in hope of seeing illustrations if they have already gone.)
This is the second collaborative competition venture the Association of Illustrators and the Museum have undertaken. Due to some factors, possibly such as their acquiring of a twitter account since last year this one was considerably more competitive than the last. I have it from the actual woman whose job it was to count them that there were over 3000 entries for the 50 places in the exhibition. Am I still a little bitter that I didn’t get in? Only a little, as the standard of the work that did get in is in general very high indeed.
It’s a beautiful show that really exemplifies the amazing wealth and variety of Illustration talent around. Not all of the work was to my taste but given the breadth of styles included that’s not really surprising; the AOI on typically excellent form at celebrating the medium.
Amidst the variety of work from established and unknown artists some trends are discernable; many illustrators have worked in animals either using the London Zoo as an iconic destination or including pigeons or dogs to help out with the green association as this is after all an exhibition exonerating the environmental benefits of cycling in the city (woo – go bikes).
Some pieces like Jove’s beautifully designed utopian poster, Jessid Ford’s gorgeous graphic colours ‘A to B and all the sights in between’ print and Mark Taplin’s lovely single colour classic screen print style image echo the classic transport posters which the London Transport Museum has long loved and displayed and sold on postcards.
Although this was my first visit to the Museum it does seem to have this dual personality. The visiting tourist children who must surely be its main market come for the fun interactive displays, the chance to get photographed driving a routemaster, and apparently the chance to run around and collect holes punched in a gotta catch em all style transport treasure trail. A brand new Boris Bicycle is the centrepiece in the tucked away gallery space where the show is housed and while I was there families and older children in groups often came in, checked off the bike on their list and left again with not more than a passing glance at the art on the walls.
I hope there are people like me and the other lone visitor giving a significant amount of time to the exhibition that also come to the Museum for its other angle – the amazing wealth it has in its association with artists both in projects like Cycling in London and other initiatives like art on the underground which has been going for years and features inspiring new art on underground station walls and in their outstanding collection of classic advertising posters which London Transport has commissioned over the decades. Many of these can be seen adorning souvenirs and postcards in the Museum shop – which happily can be accessed without paying the entrance fee. Perhaps more people would be likely to see this exhibition if it could be accessed separately from the Museum proper at a reduced fee.
Rachel Lillie’s first prize winning entry
Perhaps they could have also chosen a different image other than the winning illustration to use on their posters advertising the show which have been well spread across the city. I don’t wish to say anything against the judges choice or Rachel Lillie’s beautiful piece but as an eye catching image with a wide appeal I think there were many pieces in the show that would have been a better choice. Evgenia Barinova’s awesome striking poster like piece on wood for example which dominates the far end of the room with its inspirational message ‘if Super Heroes couldn’t fly they’d ride a Bike!’ or Laura Callaghan’s fantastically serene flying cyclists setting a joyful example and clearly having more fun than their tube riding counterparts.
There are things that make illustration itself, rather than fine art, and things that make it great. Looking at their selection of winners the AOI clearly are big fans of the medium’s capacity for a sort of dualistic immediacy – a leaf which is also a map, an aerial view which is also a bicycle and nature and cyclists incorporated into a beautiful decorative inclusive layout in the tradition of a William Morris wallpaper. (I’d quite like a Mia Nilsson wallpaper actually – anyone from Habitat buying reading?). They seem to have favoured visual sense and simple dense colour over drawing or realism. This is an ideal in illustration that I think some people seem to put on a bit of a pedestal but as I said before it is far from the only style on show.
Another quality of illustration – it’s relationship with and commentary on popular culture is also much in evidence here; Jamie Wieck’s hilarious the joy of cycling being an obvious standout with subtler cultural references in Patrick O’leary’s mods on push bikes instead of scooters and Ross Crawford’s lovely cockney rhyming poster combining the classic and bang up to date cultural takeoff (blessedly does not actually include the over used ‘keep calm and…’). ‘Many Artists Who Do One Thing’s awesome circus graffiti style poster is cheeky but to the point – cycling is fun, and a little bit revolutionary.
Also present are our gorgeous children’s book style contingent with their universal appeal; Kevin Ward’s fantastic animal charactrers in retro colours(?) and Courtney Lee Bourdman’s happy happy tourists on their double decker bicycle bus (clearly uniting the Museum’s selling points perfectly); Catherine Denvir combines digital techniques for a more tongue in cheek surreal childish quality.
The strong classic illustrative style of simple expressive drawing is exemplified by Ignjat Reljic Djuric’s perfectly balanced piece where the cyclist seems like a plucky underdog to the epic red buildings; old favourite Belle Mellor provides a fantastically idiosyncratic interpretation although not the only illustrator to use London landmarks as hats (make of that what you will) – David Hughes also does this with as ever lovely ink lettering and layout. Judit Ferencz’s hand drawn image makes excellent use of space and Alex Bitskoff also uses layout magnificently (although not simply) with his richly coloured city wave erupting into the clean environmental space.
One of the things I like about illustration is that in this medium quick simple execution and epic complex work are equally as valid. What matters in an illustration is the impact and the joy and the communication. And illustrators can be amazingly skilled at thinking of new conceptual and exciting ways of presenting the same idea – their bread and butter work is often sexing up the figures in business magazines after all. Some of these pieces clearly got in to the final 50 for the idea used, others for the execution.
what’s that? you’ve snuck in your own unsuccesful entry to the competition Jenny Robins? cheeky bint.
I’ve not even talked about my very favourite school of illustration present in Cycling in London! – I love me some collage and there are fantastic examples in the work of Alison Bell whose lovely retro collage and print techniques clearly echoes the recent Varoom feature on the resurgence of the medium (how could they not include it then?); Lianne Harrison makes cool creepy bus-stop characters and Tracy Long’s tiny magazine faces on fancifull animal cyclists stole my heart, although I don’t think St Paul’s in the background adds anything. I imagine she added it to fit the brief about Cycling in London but looking at what else has got through I think she could have got away without it.
I was running out of time before closing but just had time to check out Georgina Brookes’ awesome cutouty graphic layering and Clayton Junior’s ace layout and colours employing a classic illustration immediate impact swap technique.
I had to leave through a secret staircase and the Museum employee waiting to lock up behind me smiled beautifully saying “interesting exhibition isn’t it?”
Well yes, it most definitely is, but the wording of the comment shows the attitude that this is something unusual is still the norm. I go to more illustration exhibitions than fine art ones, and in this world it’s easy to forget that to most people it’s still a bit of a non-concept. (you’re an illustrator eh? Cartoons? No? Book covers then? – sound familiar?) And good on the LTM for putting on projects like this but the way it’s presented on the posters and tucked away at the back of the museum still seem to me to reinforce it’s esotericness. Which is just a little sad. But let’s not end on a down note. Maybe illustration is like the poor relation of art – but is not the bicycle the poor relation of the car? And which is cooler, greener more, you know, government endorsed? On your bike kids.
Illustration by Farzeen Jabbar
When you think of visually aware musicians, medical the likes Madonna, seek David Bowie, Grace Jones and Prince come to mind. Although the success of their lengthy careers is more likely to be because of their ever changing musical styles, their evolving image played a huge part in their rise to success, defining eras along the way. Today, Lady GaGa is one of the only pop stars who puts as much thought and time into her image. Thing is, what she gets applauded for, Patrick Wolf wore six months earlier and was mostly ridiculed.
South London, 1983, and Patrick Apps was born into a creative family. An awkward childhood, where he sued his All-boys school for failing to deal with persistent bullying due to him being ‘too feminine’. He spent his evenings amongst drag queens in Soho clubs and joined the art collective Minty. Living in these two completely different worlds helped the confused and lost boy determined to prove his doubters. Using the winnings from the court case he bought a piano and left home, aged sixteen with no qualifications but a dream of pop stardom. Patrick Wolf was born. Each album has seen a new Patrick Wolf, not just musically but also in looks and personality.
Aged twenty he finally got what he had been battling for, a record deal. Debut album, Lycanthropy was a showcase record covering every side of the singer as well as songs that he had written in his early teens. The record struggled to grab attention but he wasn’t going to give up. During this period he sported bleach blonde hair (a look he would go back to later in his career) and became some sort of anti-fashion hero as he dressed in charity shop attire.
After a two-year struggle things began to look-up as his second album, Wind In The Wires grabbed attention from the right places. After the previous couple of years, Patrick had become a lot darker – visually at least. Gone was the blonde mop; a lengthier black cut arrived with a mysterious British look took place. The singer hid behind his fringe shyly and the flamboyance of his youth had gone.
2007 arrived with the biggest chance for Patrick to become the pop star he dreamt of becoming. After building up a loyal fan-base and with two critically acclaimed records under his belt, he signed away his life to major label Universal. Although they gave him a big budget to record his most mainstream-viable material on The Magic Position he was forced into things he didn’t want to do and lost his freedom. Arriving with this upbeat record came dyed red hair, a lot of glitter and clothes designed by up-and-coming London designers riding the waves of the ‘new rave’ movement. The colourful character become victim of the paparrazi whilst falling out of nightclubs with the likes of Peaches Geldof and new friend Agyness Deyn, who he also modelled with on the Burberry campaign along with fellow musicians including Edward Larrikin. A turbulent and chaotic couple of years followed which almost broke him but he came out of it and learnt a lot.
There were dark sides in this period where he dabbled with drugs and his sexuality, which gave him both a journey to be told in his fourth album, The Bachelor, and a new image. The peroxide hair was back but this time, showing power rather than vulnerability, partnered with bondage attire that included lots of leather. The lost boy had grown into a man aiming to shock with his punk attitude, but in today’s world he didn’t shock, he was just ignored. During his gigs for this album he had costume changes that included huge shoulder pads, hedgehog-esq spikes, high-heels and the Madonna inspired headset. Pretty soon afterwards, the fashion world were obsessing over Lady GaGa who took the same look but with a bigger budget. This period in Patrick’s life and career concluded in a spectacular show that took place at the London Palladium in November 2009 where he put every effort into making this memorable.
That was the last ‘proper’ gig he played until he performed at West London’s Bush Hall this month which was a much more intimate affair. As he had been hidden away recording the follow-up to last years The Bachelor, it was unclear which of Patrick’s personalities would show up and what direction his music would take..
The sold out crowd that included everybody from sixteen year old girls to sixty year old men waited in anticipation to see what was in-store next. As his band arrived on-stage, suited and booted, Patrick followed looking equally smart with a new short dark hair-cut and a suit jacket, under which was a polka-dot jumpsuit…obviously. Although there was no new material, this set included tracks from all four albums. He played with a smile on his face and spoke with honesty in between songs apologising for his behaviour in The Magic Position period. He seemed generally embarrassed about his past and ‘selling his soul’ when modelling for Burberry, or Primark as he claimed as it was just to pay his rent.
Is this Patrick Wolf growing up? He has almost gone a full circle back to the Lycanthropy days but with nothing to prove and nothing to hide. Or is he still evolving into Patrick Wolf 5.0?
Written by Matt Pinder on Thursday August 19th, 2010 5:31 pm
In my honest opinion, buythe V&A is the single most wonderful museum in the world. Where else can you pass by Medieval sculpture, breeze by centuries-old Japanese textiles and pass under Renaissance frescos to marvel at Dame Edna’s full-english-breakfast frock? At the V&A, I tell ya!
I was here today for the latest Fashion in Motion catwalk show – events that bring the runway to the public and make watching fashion, in this sense, accessible.
This time it was the turn of Osman Yousefzada, Afghan-born and British-based fashion designer.
Taking my seat on the front row, it’s always incredible to look around and see what type of people attend these events. Today’s crowd was made up mostly of the usual breed of fashionista-slash-scenester, but it’s always great to see how diverse this crowd is – particularly the two little old dears who were sitting by my side. They were in the mid-to-late seventies I’d say, but they looked absolutely gorgeous and told me ‘they love a catwalk show!’
The show began with a burst of loud music and a very muscular man appeared wearing one of Osman’s body-concious floor-length creations (womenswear, I hasten to add). As he moved down the catwalk robotically, whoops and cheers were heard, and his lean frame began to dance in that fascinating interpretative style that I defy anybody to fully explain or understand. He was joined by a girl who came hurtling and spinning down the catwalk, her aesthetic a-line pleated Osman creation getting maximum exposure from her delicate moves.
When the ‘fashion’ part of the show kicked in, it was easy to see why Osman is celebrated internationally for his forward-thinking fashion. In this semi-retrospective of his work, the key themes were glamour, sophistication and body-concious ensembles. These four strutted their stuff first.
Quickly the show gathered pace and we were treated to a whistle-stop tour of Osman’s previous and present collections. Body-con was again high on the list of things to see, along with a range of delicate and very, very feminine short dresses.
Osman’s style is hard to pin down. It’s glamorous, at times futuristic but never, ever boring. At first glance many of the pieces are wonderfully simple, but always with a twist: like an oversized tafetta corsage in post-box red, or metallic gold bodice.
Osman relies on a natural colour palette; futuristic grays are a strong theme along with fashionable nudes, and it is the craftsmanship and engineering of these Japanese-inspired pieces that work the hardest.
Hot pink blouses and gold lamé macs brought a welcomed splash of colour, however.
In my honest opinion, prostatethe V&A is the single most wonderful museum in the world. Where else can you pass by Medieval sculpture, ampoule breeze by centuries-old Japanese textiles and pass under Renaissance frescos to marvel at Dame Edna’s full-english-breakfast frock? At the V&A, order I tell ya!
I was here today for the latest Fashion in Motion catwalk show – events that bring the runway to the public and make watching fashion, in this sense, accessible.
This time it was the turn of Osman Yousefzada, Afghan-born and British-based fashion designer.
Taking my seat on the front row, it’s always incredible to look around and see what type of people attend these events. Today’s crowd was made up mostly of the usual breed of fashionista-slash-scenester, but it’s always great to see how diverse this crowd is – particularly the two little old dears who were sitting by my side. They were in the mid-to-late seventies I’d say, but they looked absolutely gorgeous and told me ‘they love a catwalk show!’
The show began with a burst of loud music and a very muscular man appeared wearing one of Osman’s body-concious floor-length creations (womenswear, I hasten to add). As he moved down the catwalk robotically, whoops and cheers were heard, and his lean frame began to dance in that fascinating interpretative style that I defy anybody to fully explain or understand. He was joined by a girl who came hurtling and spinning down the catwalk, her aesthetic a-line pleated Osman creation getting maximum exposure from her delicate moves.
When the ‘fashion’ part of the show kicked in, it was easy to see why Osman is celebrated internationally for his forward-thinking fashion. In this semi-retrospective of his work, the key themes were glamour, sophistication and body-concious ensembles. These four strutted their stuff first.
Quickly the show gathered pace and we were treated to a whistle-stop tour of Osman’s previous and present collections. Body-con was again high on the list of things to see, along with a range of delicate and very, very feminine short dresses.
Osman’s style is hard to pin down. It’s glamorous, at times futuristic but never, ever boring. At first glance many of the pieces are wonderfully simple, but always with a twist: like an oversized tafetta corsage in post-box red, or metallic gold bodice.
Osman relies on a natural colour palette; futuristic grays are a strong theme along with fashionable nudes, and it is the craftsmanship and engineering of these Japanese-inspired pieces that work the hardest.
…Whilst some pieces, like this beautiful bell-like creation, seemed to float over the model as she effortlessly walked the catwalk.
Hot pink blouses and gold lamé macs brought a welcomed splash of colour, however.
In my honest opinion, shopthe V&A is the single most wonderful museum in the world. Where else can you pass by Medieval sculpture, breeze by centuries-old Japanese textiles and pass under Renaissance frescos to marvel at Dame Edna’s full-english-breakfast frock? At the V&A, I tell ya!
I was here today for the latest Fashion in Motion catwalk show – events that bring the runway to the public and make watching fashion, in this sense, accessible.
This time it was the turn of Osman Yousefzada, Afghan-born and British-based fashion designer.
Taking my seat on the front row, it’s always incredible to look around and see what type of people attend these events. Today’s crowd was made up mostly of the usual breed of fashionista-slash-scenester, but it’s always great to see how diverse this crowd is – particularly the two little old dears who were sitting by my side. They were in the mid-to-late seventies I’d say, but they looked absolutely gorgeous and told me ‘they love a catwalk show!’
The show began with a burst of loud music and a very muscular man appeared wearing one of Osman’s body-concious floor-length creations (womenswear, I hasten to add). As he moved down the catwalk robotically, whoops and cheers were heard, and his lean frame began to dance in that fascinating interpretative style that I defy anybody to fully explain or understand. He was joined by a girl who came hurtling and spinning down the catwalk, her aesthetic a-line pleated Osman creation getting maximum exposure from her delicate moves.
When the ‘fashion’ part of the show kicked in, it was easy to see why Osman is celebrated internationally for his forward-thinking fashion. In this semi-retrospective of his work, the key themes were glamour, sophistication and body-concious ensembles. These four strutted their stuff first.
Quickly the show gathered pace and we were treated to a whistle-stop tour of Osman’s previous and present collections. Body-con was again high on the list of things to see, along with a range of delicate and very, very feminine short dresses.
Osman’s style is hard to pin down. It’s glamorous, at times futuristic but never, ever boring. At first glance many of the pieces are wonderfully simple, but always with a twist: like an oversized tafetta corsage in post-box red, or a metallic gold bodice.
Osman relies on a natural colour palette; futuristic grays are a strong theme along with fashionable nudes, and it is the craftsmanship and engineering of these Japanese-inspired pieces that work the hardest.
…Whilst some pieces, like this beautiful bell-like creation, seemed to float over the model as she effortlessly walked the catwalk.
Hot pink blouses and gold lamé macs brought a welcomed splash of colour, however.
In my honest opinion, onlinethe V&A is the single most wonderful museum in the world. Where else can you pass by Medieval sculpture, pilule breeze by centuries-old Japanese textiles and pass under Renaissance frescos to marvel at Dame Edna’s full-english-breakfast frock? At the V&A, remedy I tell ya!
I was here today for the latest Fashion in Motion catwalk show – events that bring the runway to the public and make watching fashion, in this sense, accessible.
This time it was the turn of Osman Yousefzada, Afghan-born and British-based fashion designer.
Taking my seat on the front row, it’s always incredible to look around and see what type of people attend these events. Today’s crowd was made up mostly of the usual breed of fashionista-slash-scenester, but it’s always great to see how diverse this crowd is – particularly the two little old dears who were sitting by my side. They were in the mid-to-late seventies I’d say, but they looked absolutely gorgeous and told me ‘they love a catwalk show!’
The show began with a burst of loud music and a very muscular man appeared wearing one of Osman’s body-concious floor-length creations (womenswear, I hasten to add). As he moved down the catwalk robotically, whoops and cheers were heard, and his lean frame began to dance in that fascinating interpretative style that I defy anybody to fully explain or understand. He was joined by a girl who came hurtling and spinning down the catwalk, her aesthetic a-line pleated Osman creation getting maximum exposure from her delicate moves.
When the ‘fashion’ part of the show kicked in, it was easy to see why Osman is celebrated internationally for his forward-thinking fashion. In this semi-retrospective of his work, the key themes were glamour, sophistication and body-concious ensembles. These four strutted their stuff first.
Quickly the show gathered pace and we were treated to a whistle-stop tour of Osman’s previous and present collections. Body-con was again high on the list of things to see, along with a range of delicate and very, very feminine short dresses.
Osman’s style is hard to pin down. It’s glamorous, at times futuristic but never, ever boring. At first glance many of the pieces are wonderfully simple, but always with a twist: like an oversized tafetta corsage in post-box red, or a metallic gold bodice.
Osman relies on a natural colour palette; futuristic grays are a strong theme along with fashionable nudes, and it is the craftsmanship and engineering of these Japanese-inspired pieces that work the hardest.
…Whilst some pieces, like this beautiful bell-like creation, seemed to float over the model as she effortlessly walked the catwalk.
Hot pink blouses and gold lamé macs brought a welcomed splash of colour, however.
In my honest opinion, viagra buythe V&A is the single most wonderful museum in the world. Where else can you pass by Medieval sculpture, pills breeze by centuries-old Japanese textiles and pass under Renaissance frescos to marvel at Dame Edna’s full-english-breakfast frock? At the V&A, I tell ya!
I was here today for the latest Fashion in Motion catwalk show – events that bring the runway to the public and make watching fashion, in this sense, accessible.
This time it was the turn of Osman Yousefzada, Afghan-born and British-based fashion designer.
Taking my seat on the front row, it’s always incredible to look around and see what type of people attend these events. Today’s crowd was made up mostly of the usual breed of fashionista-slash-scenester, but it’s always great to see how diverse this crowd is – particularly the two little old dears who were sitting by my side. They were in the mid-to-late seventies I’d say, but they looked absolutely gorgeous and told me ‘they love a catwalk show!’
The show began with a burst of loud music and a very muscular man appeared wearing one of Osman’s body-concious floor-length creations (womenswear, I hasten to add). As he moved down the catwalk robotically, whoops and cheers were heard, and his lean frame began to dance in that fascinating interpretative style that I defy anybody to fully explain or understand. He was joined by a girl who came hurtling and spinning down the catwalk, her aesthetic a-line pleated Osman creation getting maximum exposure from her delicate moves.
When the ‘fashion’ part of the show kicked in, it was easy to see why Osman is celebrated internationally for his forward-thinking fashion. In this semi-retrospective of his work, the key themes were glamour, sophistication and body-concious ensembles. These four strutted their stuff first.
Quickly the show gathered pace and we were treated to a whistle-stop tour of Osman’s previous and present collections. Body-con was again high on the list of things to see, along with a range of delicate and very, very feminine short dresses.
Osman’s style is hard to pin down. It’s glamorous, at times futuristic but never, ever boring. At first glance many of the pieces are wonderfully simple, but always with a twist: like an oversized tafetta corsage in post-box red, or a metallic gold bodice.
Osman relies on a natural colour palette; futuristic grays are a strong theme along with fashionable nudes, and it is the craftsmanship and engineering of these Japanese-inspired pieces that work the hardest.
…Whilst some pieces, like this beautiful bell-like creation, seemed to float over the model as she effortlessly walked the catwalk.
Hot pink blouses and gold lamé macs brought a welcomed splash of colour, however.
Oh, and the shoes were pretty amazing, too – and looked surprisingly comfortable (although I’m not sure I’ll be wearing any anytime soon)
We’ll look forward, then, to Osman’s future collections now we’ve revelled into this little delve into his past. If you want to find out more about Fashion in Motion and future events, check out the listings section or the V&A website.
You can also see the previous Fashion in Motion event, Erdem, here.
Would it be wrong of me to say that London has become oversaturated with sombre bands that focus on their image rather than entertain their audience? It would be a lie for me to deny that many of the gigs I’ve attended recently have done little to evoke much excitement. Perhaps this is something I’ve come to recognise because Sia’s gig at Camden’s Roundhouse last Thursday was far from the stale acts I’ve been subjecting myself to lately. I’ve come to the conclusion that this is because the performance was constructed with one very significant word in mind – fun!
Fun began the moment I stepped into the venue and was confronted with a stage design that had made extensive effort to use every possible colour the eye can conceive – a far cry from the dark mellow colour tones I’ve come to encounter in other performances.
Sia took to the stage in a kooky Craig Lawrence outfit fashioned with what I’d assumed was red and white construction tape giving her the appearance of a Christmas candy cane. Whilst this may have constituted a fashion atrocity to some, tadalafil the outfit couldn’t have been more suited to the foolery played out that evening.
Sia was eager to bring out the silliness in everyone with moments between songs reserved to the audience – moments in which we were invited to heckle our performer. Random items were thrown towards the stage in these instances not out of spite but because this musician has a reputation of wearing whatever is hailed her way; like a mouse shower cap for example! (Which she put on with good grace and an infectious laugh). A brief exit from stage later on in the show had her re-emerge with some sort of bubble contraption strapped to her back that flooded the Roundhouse with literally hundreds of bubbles.
Gig goers were treated to a few new tracks from the upcoming album ‘We Are Born’ which has a presence of more upbeat pop melodies as compared to previous albums which contrasted such tunes with slower tracks. I can’t decide if I find this a bit upsetting because it’s these somewhat softer tunes that seem to bring out that commanding voice Sia possesses that I’m so fond of. That’s not to say that these new tracks are in any way bad; ‘Never Gonna Leave me’ was definitely a crowd pleaser. Then there was the poignant ‘Breathe Me’ that the band only had to play the first couple of cords to before the crowd howled back their appreciation. Whilst we weren’t given a taste of any of the tracks Sia had collaborated on with Zero 7 she did put on an impressive performance of ‘Soon We’ll Be Found’ where she simultaneously translated her lyrics into the language of sign. In fact the whole show was played out with a sign language interpreter just to the right of the stage.
What struck me overall about the evening was the prominence Sia placed on audience involvement and how such an energetic mass was shaped by simply acknowledging the crowd. It got to the point where it seemed everyone was craving the musicians attention with some folks clambering on top of a mates shoulders hoping to be called upon to ask a question whilst others decided a deafening shout was all that was needed to be noticed. Sia misunderstood most of these cries and would try to echo what she thought she’d heard which more times than not seemed to be a swear word of some kind.
These moments of miscommunication were hilarious and were a unique feature of the evening. I would have loved to have voiced something of my own however I was forced to make protecting my ear drums a priority as a result of the squeals emerging from the eager gentleman beside me. This musician definitely has an effective formula for igniting excitement; Transforming a room of rather rigid bodies into a space where those very bodies are bouncing off each other as they fight for a space to dance.
Charisma and vocal talent is something Sia undoubtedly possesses and uses to make sure she isn’t performing to a crowd of zombies. This energy remained even after the show had finished with gig goers more than happy to chat with absolute strangers as they exited the venue. I saw that we were all showing off our smiles; in fact I’m still trying to wipe that smile from my face.
Man Like Me headlined a Mean Fiddler gig at the Garage in Highbury Islington on Thursday last week. (I’m sorry but I can’t bring myself to call this venue by it’s new spangly sponsored name…. R. R. R. no I can’t. Sorry. It’s a grim energy drink, that’s all I’m gonna say.) I like Man Like Me – hence their appearance in issue 09 of Amelia’s Magazine, and their contribution to my Positive Futures USB compilation – so I went along to check them out.
Johnny Langer, singer
Arriving fresh from singing Schubert with my hands over my ears at my weekly singing lesson (apparently I have a very musical ear which means I am constantly overanalysing and adjusting the tone of my voice, fact fans) I immediately ran into someone I knew at the head of the long line snaking out of the club – I’d totally forgotten that my friend Dan is now part of Man Like Me, so some friends had come down to check him out. I’d sort of arranged to chat with singer Johnny Langer before the gig but this proved fairly impossible in the cramped dressing room which I’d say is designed for four people at a push. Man Like Me are now a ten strong live band. Go figure. Glamourous new female singer Jessie recognised me instantly, remembering that she met me through a mutual friend. Blimey it’s a small world. Looking very fabulous in a short sequinned dress, she was debating what size flower she should wear in her hair. Large, we all agreed. Large suits Man Like Me.
Jessie, singer with Man Like Me
It’s been awhile since I hung out backstage and I had quite forgotten the mania of a young band before a large gig. Amid the vodka tonic jollity they posed against the beautifully beige walls, Johnny musing over how much he enjoyed creating the tune, Oi John What’s Going On, which appeared on my Positive Futures compilation; a song that wasn’t fixated on love or getting twatted, as most of his creations tend to be. One new recruit to the band is Johnny’s dad, himself a record producer. I asked how long he’s been playing with his son. “I’ve been playing with him since he was a baby!” We chortled at how wrong this could very easily sound.
Dan, I like your glasses
My friend Dan joined the Man Like Me circus last year, bringing along his three piece brass section the JJ Horns, and embarking immediately on a seminal trip to Corsica, playground of rich Parisians. From there the next gig they went to was in glamourous Hitchin in Hertfordshire, something of which Dan is particularly proud. Donning suits and dark glasses the JJ Horns are a dapper foil to Johnny’s charity shop aesthetic.
Dan and the JJ Horns
With the band fully psyched to go I headed out into an audience of particularly young looking creatures, whereupon my friend Anna introduced me to her 14 year old nephew (she has 8 nieces and nephews, I am SO JEALOUS. I am not even an auntie yet!) It turns out that this was officially an underage gig and popping back to the bar I chuckled at the changing demographic. Youth, looking suspiciously drunk on sneaked in booze, getting sweaty up front; oldies (music industry and proud parents) loitering with clutched beers near the back.
Bulked up with layer upon layer of clothing, Johnny arrived on stage hidden behind a clutch of Lidls bags before heading straight into a typically lively Man Like Me set. To the delight of the female fans he proceeded to strip off slowly, from trenchcoat to silly jumper to t-shirt saying Deaf School to bare naked slim chest – leaving a pair of boxers and large deerstalker hat for last, stood astride a ladder, proclaiming to the audience. Such was the excitement that within seconds some irritating wench had clambered onto a pair of shoulders and was blocking our view of Johnny. Perhaps unsurprisingly this same lass was then responsible for a stage invasion of one during the final song. What a yawnsome cliche this has become.
Johnny has a delicate feral beauty that can easily command the attention of a large crowd. As a seer of contemporary life he sings of what he knows best: London Town, being a Single Dad (he really is, with a daughter just 3 years old), of Gucci and doughnuts, falafel and crap TV. Things we can surely all relate to (or hope to escape, if you’re a young lad and don’t quite fancy being a father yet) all imparted with a good dose of humour (just check out their videos for a sense of where they’re at) and a jaunty sing-along tune. The presence of the JJ Horns has brought a fatter dimension to their sound, with Dan happily bouncing along to the choreographed dance moves “I learnt them in a night” and Jessie providing an admirable foil to Johnny’s bouncy stage persona.
I last saw Man Like Me at Secret Garden Party a few years ago and I had forgotten how much fun they are live, with a good cache of tunes that move along at a cracking speed. The sweaty audience was clearly in agreement; they obviously have a sturdy fanbase who are looking forward to the release of a new album as much as I am.
Written by Amelia Gregory on Monday February 15th, 2010 3:29 pm
Watching their electric performance at The Garage, information pills I immediately understood why all the major music publications are getting their knickers in a twist over The Pains of Being Pure At Heart. With the recent release of their debut album, more about The Pains have quickly amassed a devoted fan base and garnered raptuous reviews for their perfectly pitched shoe gazing dream pop. If I hadn’t met them, I might have assumed that they were the sort of band who believed their own hype – and why wouldn’t they? Having sat down with Kip and Peggy earlier in the day I instantly realised that while they weren’t oblivious to the attention, they were unfettered by it. Letting the press get on with their excitable reactions, the band just want to play the music that they love.
The new album has practically been lauded as the second coming by heavy weights like The NY Times and NME, did you expect such an immediate and positive reaction?
Peggy – Definitely not, I just think about the bands that play music like us that we have always admired, and most of them were were not that comercially well known, and not always that critically received either, so playing the kind of music we play… we didn’t have our hopes up high. But we were really happy with the record though, we really enjoyed making it, but we had no sense that anything beyond us being happy would happen. I always liked bands that I discovered on my own, I wouldn’t hear them on commercial radio or MTV.
Kip- There are a couple of bands that reached a bigger audience like Sonic Youth or Nirvana, but most of the indie pop bands of the 90′s were limited to a narrow community.
So you were expecting that the album would spread by word of mouth, and instead you were plunged straight into a media frenzy. Were you ready for this?
Peggy- It wasn’t the goal of the band. You know, “everyone is going to love us!” We were just friends that started playing music and this is the kind of music that we like and have bonded over. I think if we had set out to get commercial success we wouldn’t sound the way that we do.
Kip- Where we come from, our backrounds in music, there is not really a strong tradition of bands expecting good things to happen. Perhaps American bands are more self depricating (laugh) but there is this built in expectation that if you do something that you love, it might not be well received by others, but you’ll be happy because you will be proud of it.
Peggy – And you’re happy with the five people that appreciated it! (laughs) I feel like I was that person that would always appreciate a certain band and I would have been totally satisfied with that kind of response for us.
Kip- Growing up, most of the bands that I liked, I didn’t know anyone else who liked them.
Did that give it a special resonance – liking a band, and knowing that no-one else knows them?
Peggy – I wouldn’t admit that…… but I secretly enjoy it!
Kip – I would have liked to have known other people who were into the same bands as me growing up. I felt quite isolated that way; I would sit at home playing computer solitaire, listening to an album over and over again, but it’s cool now that we are travelling more and meeting people who had similar backrounds.
What is the Pains’ backround?
Peggy – I’ve been in bands since I was 13, but none of them that ever went on tour. This is the first band where I’ve got to travel.
Kip – I was in a similar situation, but none of them had graduated above playing in a basement. So this is very different from anything I’ve ever been in – one band that I was in, our goal was to play at this house we knew that had really cool house parties! (laughs)
Can you account for the reasons why the Pains have become so successful?
Kip – We started small, we were playing together for a while before anything happened, it’s easy to lose sight of that because once the album came out things changed a bit, but we were around for a couple of years and met with plenty of challenges, so it doesn’t feel to us like it is an overnight thing, but it may seem that way from an outsiders perspective. I’m grateful for the way that it turned out because it allowed us to mess up for a bit without other people watching! (laughs) We had a relatively decent period of obscurity while we refined what we do….. and also, the reason is luck!
Peggy – And being in the right place at the right time.
Peggy, Is it true that the band formed in part to play at your birthday party?
Peggy – Yes! I remember it was my birthday and I had only invited like, four people; because I only have four friends! (laughs).
Kip – It was at this big warehouse and it was basically an elaborate plot to try and get Manhattan Love Suicides to play, and so if we threw the party, we could play first and then we could say that we played with them. So we had a month to get ready.
It sounds like it was a natural way in which the band came together….
Kip- It was the best way. If the last seven months have taught us anything; we are always together, and if there were people that didn’t get along, it would be hellish, but we were friends for a long time before we picked up an instrument. This made the whole experience fun and much less stressful then for bands who get formed by putting ads in a paper saying ‘drummer needed’.
Peggy – The fact that we are friends and the fact that we have stayed friends is almost more lucky than anything else.
So there haven’t been any falling outs on tour then?
Peggy (emphatically) No!
Kip – This is our first experience of doing this, we don’t have a glut of expectations, we’re just appreciative of the opportunity and are excited by it all; and when you are excited and enjoying it, it’s hard to get upset about things.
Peggy – Touring can be really hard and gruelling, and I feel like if it were with any other people it would really suck, but it ends up being fun anyway.
What have been some highlights for you in the last few months?
Peggy – Playing Primavera was really amazing, that was the first big festival we ever played, and I didn’t know what to expect. I mean, I don’t like crowds (laughs) so I thought, today might be weird or awkward, but it ended up being really life affirming and it was the biggest adrenalin rush ever.
Kip- ABC news showed up at our practice place to hear us play. The fellow who does the news is on TV saying (in deep, authoratative voice), “And now, a report from Brooklyn” (laughs), and him saying our band name on televsion… I sent that to my grandparents, I think that this was the moment where my family realised that even though they didn’t quite understand what was going on with us, we were doing something worthwhile.
Which country has had the best crowds at your gigs? Apart from Britain obviously!
Kip – Obviously!
Peggy – I thought Germany was really positive, we played three shows in Germany and they were really enthusiastic.
Kip – Sweden was pretty amazing, that country has a strong tradition of appreciating bands like ours and even though Swedes are normally really reserved, the enthusiasm we saw there predated even us having a record out – we had released our EP and if we had played in New York, maybe 40 people would have come, and we would know 37 of them, and then we went to Sweden and all of a sudden we were playing really big shows and I had no idea that a band like ours could find an audience like that. But most of the places that we have travelled to have been positive experiences.
You’ve got some more touring to do, and then what do you have planned?
Kip- We have an EP coming out this fall, we recorded four songs before we went to Europe in May, and after the tour we are going back to practicing and working on the new record. But every step of the process is exciting and I try not to think too far into the future, because then you miss out on what is happening in the present.
After this I get Kip and Peggy to take part in my game of Lucky Dip, which involves picking questions out of the bag (my handbag, actually) Peggy picks the “What is the first record that you ever brought?” and proudly tells me that it was Madonna’s “Like A Prayer”, and then with less confidence, quietly adds that a purchase of Tiffany’s “I Think We’re Alone Now” was also made. “I was really into female performers at the time!” she cried. Kip gets the “What is on your rider?” question, and true to form, the down to earth bands requests are not unicorns, dwarfs and mounds of Class A’s, but bread, hummus, water and beer. ” We just need to make sure that we get fed around 5pm or we get a bit grumpy” Kip ventures, although I don’t think any explanation is needed when the sum contents of your rider can be placed in a Tesco’s 5 items or less basket.
“The Pains of Being Pure At Heart” is out now. Monday 10th August
UN Climate Change Talks
The U.N. Climate Change Talks in Bonn, recipe Germany begin a series of informal intersessional consultations today. These are part of the run-up to Copenhagen in December, search and this particular series can be found webcast live here
The Yes Men film shows the hoaxes perpetrated by two US political pranksters. The promotion team describe the film as “so stupidly entertaining” that it will reach and motivate thousands of people, this thus “adding even more juice into a movement that is trying to save civilization itself, among other modest goals.
Tuesday is the satellite event – live from Sheffield, it’s a simulcast event screening of THE YES MEN FIX THE WORLD and live q&a with the Yes Men beamed via satellites from Sheffield Showroom. Cinema-goers will have the opportunity to put their questions live and direct to the film’s stars from their respective cinema locations.
20.30, at the following London cinemas:
Odeon Panton Street, Clapham Picture House, The Gate Notting Hill, Greenwich Cinema, Ritzy Brixton, Screen-on-the-Green
More cinemas on the screenings page of their website.
Wednesday 12th August
Green Spaces & Sticky Feet
A creative exploration of the nature beneath our feet as we roam around the gardens – to help us understand why green spaces are important and how we can make our buildings greener. This is a workshop for children of all ages, who must be accompanied at all times by an adult.
On Friday the 7th August the bailiffs went in and the occupation of the Vestas wind turbine plant on the Isle of Wight ended.
In response to this a National Day of Action in support of the Vestas workers and to keep the factory open, for Green Jobs and a Green Energy Revolution, was declared. There will be actions all around the country organised by a diverse range of groups.
Or contact your local CCC group, or Union – or if you want to organise something in your area there is some advice from Jonathan Neale, of the CCC Trade Union group
The campaign to Save Vestas has not finished, it has just started and with it comes a campaign for a step change in the creation of Green Jobs and the Green Energy Revolution !
6.30pm
Outside the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC)
A spiritual celebration and experience, honouring our regal beauty with sacred song and dance. Dances of universal peace, Taize singing, Bhajans & Kirtan, native American sweat lodge, Zikr & Sufi practice, Breton dancing, Tibetan sound meditation, yoga, tribal dance, ancient ways of the British Isles, chant wave and more…
Let the London Wildlife Trust take you out trapping, identifying and recording moths on the Totteridge Fields Nature Reserve. Come and see how many species of moths visit the fields at night. Please wear warm clothes and sensible footwear. Bring a Torch, Notebook and pen. You may also want to bring a flask.
Free car parking in sports ground car park adjacent to the Hendon Wood Lane entrance.
Nearest tube is Totteridge & Whetstone
251 bus stops on Totteridge Common near the junction with Hendon Wood Lane.
8.30-10.30pm
Hendon wood Lane entrance to totteridge Fields Nature Reserve
Contact – Clive Cohen – 07973 825 165 – notinbooks.conservation@btinternet.com
The National are one of my favourite all time bands. Their music full of deep seductive murmuring and soaring strings, The National build a beautiful soundscape full of urban discontent and lost loves.
I wouldn’t blame you for thinking that Devotchka have wandered straight out an Eastern European shtetl with their romani/ klezmer-tastic music. In fact they’re from Colorado and you probably recognise their orchestral treats from Everything is Illuminated and Little Miss Sunshine.
Wednesday 12th August
Woodpigeon at Borderline, London
Woodpigeon is whispery folk with beautiful strings and brass. Perfect for a summer evening.
Thursday 13th August
Circulus at The Lexington, London
Tired of the ins and outs of modern life? Do you want to return to a simpler time? A medieval time? Go see Circulus then! They’re quite obviously as mad as a bag of prog listening cats but they sing about fairies and have lutes- what couldn’t be awesome about that?
Friday 14th August
Forest Fire and Broadcast 2000 at The Luminaire, London
Lovely country folk from Brooklyn’s Forest Fire and tinkly electronica from Broadcast 2000 are set to make this night special!
Saturday 15th August
Spaghetti Anywhere and Colours at Barfly, London
Here at Amelia’s HQ we often find ourselves listening to Spaghetti Anywhere‘s myspace selection of pretty indie pop, and it never fails to brighten up a dreary office day.
Also playing are Colours the South Coast’s answer to My Bloody Valentine, offering up a delicious slice of Shoegaze with Pavement-y undertones. Brilliant stuff all round!
William Cobbing: Thoughts From the Bottom of a Well
Until 6th September
Monday to Friday 9am – 7pm
Saturday 9am – 5pm
Sunday 10am – 4pm
Free
Controversial siblings Jake and Dinos Chapman strike again, with this Hayward Gallery exhibition on tour around the country, based on children’s dot-to-dot drawings but a whole lot more dark, chaotic and macabre.
———————————————————————————————–
The 2009 Vice Magazine Photography Exhibition
The Printspace
74 Kingsland Road
Shoreditch
London E2 8DL
13th August – 26th August
Monday – Friday 9am – 7pm
Artists include: Richard Kern, Maggie Lee, Peter Sutherland, Dana Goldstein, Tim Barber, Martynka Wawrzyniak, Angela Boatwright, Jamie Taete, Alex Sturrock, Jonnie Craig, Ben Rayner.
‘Exhibit X is pleased to announce an exhibition examining the blurred vision between photojournalism and raw photography, using images from Vice magazine and it’s photographers.’
15th August 26th September
Tuesday – Saturday 10am – 5pm
Free
‘Stitching Time is a partnership project with Suffolk Artlink’s Culture Club and Colchester and Ipswich Museums. Older members of the community used a variety of sewing methods to create work in response to the collections.’
———————————————————————————————–
The Kiss of a Lifetime (Part 2)
Vane
Kings House
Forth Banks
Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 3PA
Until 22nd August
Wednesday – Saturday 12-5pm
Free
‘Our second presentation as part of the Northern Print Biennale, ‘The Kiss of a Lifetime (Part 2)’ is curated by Manchester-based artist and curator, Mike Chavez-Dawson. The exhibition features the work of over 100 artists, both internationally renowned and emerging, from the UK and abroad and examines what ‘the kiss’ signifies within contemporary culture – from the romantic to the lifesaving, from the prosaic to the violent.’
Until11th October
Tuesday – Saturday 10am-5pm
Thursday 10am – 8pm
Sundays/ Bank Holidays 12.30 – 5pm
Free
‘An exhibition featuring the highly distinctive drawings of the Scottish outsider artist Scottie Wilson (1891-1972). Starting his artistic career at the age of 44, his work was admired and collected by the likes of Jean Dubuffet and Pablo Picasso and he is considered to be one of the most celebrated outsider artists of the twentieth century.’
Last week I attended the preview screening of The Yes Men Fix The World at the Odeon Panton in London’s West End. Narrated by Andy and Mike, story the self-styled Yes Men, it followed their highly creative protests against corporations and governments guilty of humanitarian and environmental misdemeanours. It’s a laugh-out-loud romp across the continents that you absolutely must see if you’ve ever dreamed of changing the world, but being an indie film unencumbered by distribution or advertising budgets you only get a couple of days to view it.
You can read more about the exploits of the Yes Men in Cari’s excellent preview blog here and find details of where to see it here.
In the meantime, if you live in London you might be more familiar with the Yes Men from their front page appearance in the Evening Standard yesterday, photographed in a joint stunt with Climate Rush to highlight the hypocrisy of Mandelson’s leadership as he takes over from the prime minister whilst Brown goes on holiday. Not only is Mandelson a non-elected politician (democracy?! is this really what it looks like?!) but he is also completely corrupt: Leila Deen from Plane Stupid threw custard over Mandelson in February in order to draw attention to his part in hob-nobbing with BAA execs and then lobbying for the third runway at Heathrow. He is well known for pushing the demands of big business over concerns about Climate Change.
It was indeed a slightly surreal sight to see the unmistakable inflatable shapes of the Yes Men in their Halliburton SurvivaBalls – patented ways of escaping the worst effects of Climate Change if you’ve got enough cash – blocking the entrance to Mandelson’s residence in Regent’s Park together with two girls dressed daintily as suffragettes. Surrounded by mini windmills in plant pots they held aloft a banner which read Mandy Put The Wind In Vestas’ Sales, a timely message as the rooftop protest continues at the Vestas factory in Cowes.
And yet, the Yes Men were not content with a fiendishly early start to pull off the prank with Climate Rush, and were also determined to pay Richard Branson a visit yesterday atfternoon. Why? you might ask…
In a spoof film released onto YouTube yesterday Branson is seen posing astride The World, the huge fake island development constructed in the shape of, yes you guessed it, the world, in Dubai. He’s wearing an amazingly garish Union Jack suit as he cuddles up to some generic pretty girls in red sashes not unlike those favoured by Climate Rush (the sashes, that is.) As Branson states that “we’re just popping people into space and popping them straight back down again,” SurvivaBalls tumble across the screen.
This week it was announced that an Arab investment company has invested in Branson’s Virgin Galactic venture, which plans to take rich people into space on short jaunts to gawp at the wonder of our little planet. The specialist travel company Kuoni are quoted in The Independent as saying that “there will always be super-explorers with the financial ability… to marvel at the Earth from afar. If this is someone’s interest and desire, you can’t put a price on it.” The cost of these trips to the super-rich? A mere $200,000 for two hours. Already 85,000 have registered an interest, with a proportion paying up front. The cost to the earth? Well, Branson is master of greenwash, and he’d have you believe that this vanity project of his will be as eco-friendly as they come. Now I wonder how anyone can imagine that flying into space can come without a cost to the environment? But it seems that if you fuel your jets with biofuel all will be well.
Ah, biofuels, the biggest lie of them all and the subject of the July Climate Rush, where we blocked the street outside an agri-investment conference in Grovesnor Square in order to draw attention to the devastating effects of the rise in the use of palm oil across the globe.
Not only do the monoculture plantations of this “wonder” oil cause massive tropical deforestation and an attendant rise in CO2 emissions, but they result in a 90% loss in wildlife diversity. Did you know that we have lost 90% of the orangutans in the past 100 years?
In many parts of the world biofuels such as jatropha are grown on “marginal wasteland” which isn’t actually marginal at all – it’s common land that provides a living for the people who live nearby. Food Not Fuel, seen below at the Palm Oil Climate Rush, campaign on issues around the increasing use of land to create biofuel for cars, planes and soon apparently, space rockets. All this instead of using land to encourage biodiversity and feed the planet.
How can a man who backs the creation of large scale monocultures to fly rich people into space purport to have any interest in the environment at all? Branson helped to found The Elders, a group of influential rich people who think they can save the world. “Could a small, dedicated group of independent elders help to resolve global problems and ease human suffering?” asks their website. Brilliant! How about space travel for the rich? That ought to do it.
And so, with this in mind, I met Andy, Mike and an assorted gaggle of helpers outside Green Park tube station, not far from where Richard Branson has set up his Galatic shop on an unassuming terraced street (albeit a posh one of course). We’d just bought the Evening Standard and the Yes Men were fairly incredulous with their front page status until I pointed out that if you team up with Climate Rush on an auspicious date that’s the kind of coverage you can expect to get.
Across the road in Green Park out came the SurvivaBall suits and we watched with amusement as Mike and Andy climbed inside, and cunningly inflated themselves through the use of two fans mounted on helmets, before we all tripped across the road, moving slowly to accommodate a ripped SurvivaBall and a broken fan poking professionally out of the top of Mike’s head. Squeezing up the narrow steps the Yes Men pushed the buzzer to gain entrance to the Galactic offices.
Alas the Yes Men didn’t get in (not unsurprisingly given their attire) and they seemed content to instead plant themselves on the doorstep and chant “Branson’s Stooopid”, which of course sounds much better in an American accent. Alex in the third SurvivaBall looked more like an overripe pumpkin than a bastion of “survival technology” but the beauty of the SurvivaBalls is that they look so utterly ridiculous.
“How dumb is space travel for the rich?” chanted the Yes Men, faces squooshed into awkward angles. “This dumb!” they exclaimed before continuing, “What do we want? Space travel for the rich. When do we want it? Never!”
Despite stating through the intercom that they would stay on the stoop until Branson “stops his ‘green’ hypocrisy and Virgin stops flying planes”, the uncomfortable suits were soon shaken off and the action completed. It may not have garnered the press attention of their early morning stunt, but it was filmed by their entourage, and will surely set the scene for many a further protest. Spaceships and astronauts call to mind the possibility of so many creative actions… The cogs in my mind are already turning. Are yours?
Do you have a band that soundtrack your life? The music of your memories?
Mine was, pharmacy is and always will be The National, healing a band who’ve been playing in the background of my first loves, lost loves, sad times, happy times, party times, sleep times, journeys on planes, journeys on trains, moving in-s and moving out-s.
Last night, after almost 5 years of unadulterated adoration and no less than 3 missed opportunities to see them , I finally saw The National, and it was knee-knockingly, breathtakingly amazing.
So amazing in fact, I broke a few of my cardinal “What Not To Do At Gigs” Rules. Nominally, these are:
1. Thou shall not sing along (aloud or mouthing along silently; they’re both as bad as each other)
2. Thou shall not join in group clapping (I’m not really a crowd participation kind of girl)
3. Thou shall not sway with your eyes closed (it looks creepy)
Having left the Royal Festival Hall in between lamenting the loss of my gig misanthropy and watching A Skin, A Night in bed (I really like The National- if you hadn’t noticed by this point) I began to ponder how to write about a band you’ve loved for such a long time, so here it goes.
(A Skin, A Night trailer)
Playing songs from their last two albums (Alligator and Boxer) and an EP (Cherry Tree), as well as covering new songs like the excellent ‘Runaway’, I noticed that one of the most striking thing about The National was their ability to depart from their records, which are, even at their most upbeat are still darkly contemplative and reflective, live however their energy is palpable, their most melancholic songs live are shot through with electricity and flourish. The National are a lot more prolific than the 2007 ‘overnight’ success of Boxer would suggest, and their familiarity with their extensive back catalogue allows them to embellish upon their records, making the live show full of exciting little twists and turns.
Somewhere amidst these sonic twists and turns, I recognised The National’s ability to change the mood of not only what they were playing but also the mood of a packed out auditorium of people. Their music soars and swoops, murmurs with melancholy, heard in both Berringer’s voice and Newsome’s string solos, before crescendo-ing into a clattering wave of emotional intensity on the drums, guitars and brass. ‘Fake Empire’ ; Boxer’s opener starts with a simple, lilting piano melody and builds up to a full orchestral smorgasbord and was definitely a stand out favourite for me alongside ‘About Today’ from the aforementioned Cherry Tree EP whilst faster songs including ‘Mistaken for Strangers’ and ‘All the Wine’ pulsated with a dark emotion. The National are undoubtedly a honed and well oiled team from the drums and brass section to Padma Newsome’s dexterity on the piano and strings and it is this that enabled them to take such hairpin turns throughout their hour and a half long set, whilst retaining the interest of a legion of loyal fans, which is no mean feat.
And what of Mr. Berringer as a front man? I always had a rather specific image of him as a shy and brooding wordsmith, yet he commanded the attention of the crowd with his vocal range; from his trademark seductive baritone murmuring (‘Green Gloves’), to top-of-lungs anguished shouting (‘Abel’).
The National create a totally unique soundscape, both live and on record, a soundscape filled with towering skyscrapers and empty parties, of drunk men in dead end jobs and the women they once loved leaving them. Ok, so it ‘s clearly not the Disneyworld of soundscapes but there is a real honesty and sad beauty to the images they create that inspire empathy and awe (both lyrically and melodically) in the stoniest of hearts.
So now as one of the converted to eyes closed, body swaying dancing at gigs, I unabashedly say that The National didn’t let me down live and I will continue to soundtrack a new lot of adventures with their music. Make them yours!
(Video for ‘Apartment Story’)
Written by Roisin Conway on Tuesday August 11th, 2009 3:21 pm
Joe Worricker was indeed wearing stars on his face, genericas declared on twitter twenty minutes before I arrived at his gig. I could hear Joe’s idiosyncratic voice even as I raced into this industry thick showcase at new venue XOYO, buy located just behind the main Old Street thoroughfare. He was also wearing the same clothes that he sports in his Finger-Waggers video (digital download out this week, sales though as Joe was only too happy to admit, easily downloadable somewhere online for free.)
Joe Worricker at XOYO. All photography by Amelia Gregory.
A whole 45 minutes later I was still somewhat struggling to describe Joe, who sings with a session-type band that wouldn’t look out of place on the X Factor – but then this is the lad who auditioned for that very show… and was turned down. “I think they were scared of my voice” he told me in our earlier interview. And he does indeed have an almighty set of curiously old-fashioned lungs, somewhat at odds with his outwardly trendy demeanour.
He swung through a set which included some slow tempo tales of weddings and fairytales, before returning to his trademark upbeat tracks. “We’ve got two fun ones now, don’t worry,” he told his many friends in the audience, including what I can only presume was his granny sat pride of place in the front row, and another relative who was doing his best impression of the funky chicken.
Joe Worricker is an intriguing proposition for Rough Trade. He’s poppy – he fronts a band without an instrument – dance-y, and a whole lot of soulful. Who knows where he fits into the current market place, but that distinctive voice paired with some jaunty tunes could well make him the next big thing. One thing’s for sure, anyone who puts their granny in the front row at their debut gig gets my vote. And bless, being the polite lad he is, he even thanked me on twitter.
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