Friday 28 November 2008

Cafes: The Use Of

there is something ingrained in mine, and a lot of other people's wellbeing, in that it requires at least (very least!) a few hours every week dedicated to cafe-time. so it was pretty much amazing when i found out about new venue DBSocial in newcastle which is a cheap cafe during the day and intimate bar at night, without obscene prices. the best electro and techno djs in newcastle, mainly student ones, dj there and grab all their pals and it is just generally mint.
other places: culture cafe; cheap and turkish with a relaxing sit on the floor area upstairs- as long as you avoid the daily prayers, organic locally sourced advocates in scrumpy willow and the singing kettle, brakes (so i'm told), belle and herbs (CHECK this manic fan) and some new wonderful italian cafes in sandyford. i'm settled.

E x

Monday 24 November 2008

Cult Disco Memory Mayhem...

on saturday night i went to see heartbreak and little boots at the other rooms in digital. it was sparesly populated and i have to say, i spent more time gawping at other people than concentrating on the music; there was just so many maniacs there!
two-piece heartbreak were on first, although the gig was shared equally between the two acts. as this was the first time i had heard them i was impressed with their 80s infused disco beats, spiked with the high-pitched scissor-sister sound of vocalist sebastian muravchix. the french/english keyboardist ali renault was slightly shouldered out the way by the argentian lead, who manouvered about the stage with little care of the reserved etiquette enlglish gig-goers are used to seeing from straight cut indie bands. jazz-hands and jagged legs were the presiding characteristics of sebastian's chosen stage routine, reflecting the electronic mayhem resonating from the synthesiser. the crowd at the other rooms were equally as chaotic: it was extraordinary to step away and look on, as the whole set resembled some sort of cult ritual, with the little crowd jumping about and waving their hands like they were grouping together to re-live primary school disco madness.
little boots came next in her sparkly black vintage number like the belle of the party, brandishing her clever toy the Stylophone (so underused in pop music) to create a set of dance glamour galour. a little too alphabeat for my liking, as i was always wanting a bit more bass kicking in or some more blippy electro to underlie it, but overall i couldn't complain as she knows what to make you want to dance your socks off to, and if her tracks are not some of the most remixed this month, then i'll be disheartened with those with the power to do so.
two acts making a disco of poppy beats and 80s dance are unlikely to stray too far from giving you a good night out, especially if these are little boots and heartbreak, who obviously have been enjoying playing together so much that they have covered an italo classic together 'dancing therapy'

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jigging memory in waltz with bashir


the tyneside is an independant cinema in newcastle which plays new films from across the globe. last week i was exposed for the first time to an israeli animation- waltz with bashir. it depicts the personal story of ari folman (the writer, director and producer) who is searching for part of his identity which was supressed in war. as a young soldier fighting in the 1982 lebanon war, that whole period was missing in his memory- including the disastrous massacre in beruit.

there is no doubt that i am a big fan of animation and what it stands for in films such as this. together with the powerful music and aesthetically wonderful images, the audience is pulled into a fantasy world of war- colourful, evocative and almost exciting. there is a distance between you and the reality of it, not unlike what was going on in the minds of the soldiers years after the event. a short recurring scene of soldiers walking naked from the sea, guns slung over their soldiers and faces lifeless, cut, the screaming faces of women and children swarming before you. folman is trying to place a reality around this fantasy, by talking to his friends and comrades. by the end we have very clear picture of what happened, and the animation only adds to the brutal intensity of the situation. overall, a brilliant film made by one extremely talented guy with a rare abilty to carry out a purpose.

Wednesday 19 November 2008

Hunger Shakes



to escape my feeling really ill today, i went to the cinema, because it usually makes me feel a lot better to be in a dark room and concentrating on something. for once, this was not the case...

hunger is the renowned war artist steve mcqueen's debut film, which chronicles the weeks leading up to infamous hunger strike led by IRA activist bobby sands, which was motivated by the desire for the status of 'political prisoner', rather than the term 'criminal' which was demanded by thatcher. when i left the theatre this afternoon, my hands were shaking, i was practically retching and my mind was in oblivion. never before have i been so moved by a motion-picture. i prefer to use this term because that, in effect, was what the majority of the film was. a 'motion picture'. apart from a twenty-minute section in the middle, in which bobby and his priest have a conversation which, although short, enlightens us to some of what is going on in his head, the rest of the film is pictures in motion. the sound is more often that of battons against shields or nervous breathing than actual speaking, and yet, to use a cliche, actions said everything louder than words.

in my opinion, it was difficult to criticise mcqueen of portraying a sympathetic view of the political prisoner, or equally, for attaching any amount pity for him. the film was so silent in that respect that it was left up to you to make up your mind on how you wanted to feel towards bobby sands and the rest of the prisoners, or the officers whose job it was to deter them from their protest by using force. it was honest. it showed nothing except what happened: the prisoners did use different forms of protest in their time in the prison, they did get beaten, bobby sands and nine more did die.

the symmetrical photography, synchronised beating and lack of words creates a film so brutal, and yet so mesmerising, that it is almost impossible to not see hunger as an artistic masterpiece. we are not invited to empathise with any character or any situation, which, in turn, instils a stronger impression of the landscape of the whole piece. just as in mcqueen's art, he cuts you off from the conventional feelings associated with war, and in no way comes between you and the art, that you are left begging for the answers which you yourself held the whole time.

in conclusion, this film is nothing except unmissible.

WATCH TRAILER

Monday 17 November 2008

Gosh!



my blog has officially exceeded one post, wow

these last couple of weeks have been culturally damp for me, compared to usual. no films, no exhibitions, and rubbish theatre: i saw the university theatre's production of 'the tempest' last night, and have remembered why i try to avoid amateur Shakespeare at all costs. man that sounds elitist; the reason, it may help me to say, is because i have seen so many shakespeare productions that if they don't do something a little original, i switch off.
i realise i have based my blog around theatre so far. this is mainly because i go through phases of complete indulgence and see at least a play a week, and since i have got back to uni, i have kept this up from pretty much week 1 (or week 11, as newcastle uni so confusingly likes to call it). from seeing such an abundance, i have, as i mentioned in my previous post, some clear ideas of what i enjoy when it comes to theatre. i believe the companies which sum up my tastes most appropiately are:
knee-high - a contemporary theatre company who create their own plays, often building from and adapting a traditional greek or shakespearean piece, using live music and physical theatre.
DV8 - physical theatre and contemporary dance company, and recently, the ETT (english touring theatre). i would have included RSC (royal shakespeare) on the list, but they have been prone to let me down.
(picture- DV8: to be straight with you, at the northern stage, 2007)


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the joys of re-invigoration

by this i mean that curiously old but brilliantly modern, wonderfully useful device that is a radio set. a hugely important part of my existence.

by being head of music of our student radio (NSR), i have had to go out of my way to expose myself to the local music scene, and i have to admit, it is a challenge. when i was growing up in the lovely yorkshire moors, any local band were heavily idolised and there was no way one could not know every members' mum and dad. we all followed them round every venue they played at, which, in turn, unknowingly turned us all into music gurus of the local music scene. there was barely a band within 30 miles of us that i hadn't seen or at least heard of. so it was perhaps a little unsettling coming to newcastle and, in effect, starting this whole process again without even having a scene to follow. i am in the middle of this challenge currently, getting completely lost in the realms and crevasses of the ever-expanding myspace.


the band to focus my attention the most is maybe myrtle tyrtle, who i saw twice last year and consequently acquired a copy of their debut album for radio play. their gypsy folk style and handlebar moustaches seem blaringly incongruous next to the modern indie of radio 1. they somehow manage to turn any gig venue into a kind of manic russian dancing arena, be that at the green festival or legends nightclub. a favourite live track is their cover of 'stand by me'- a song they miraculously turn into another folk classic.

we have also had squares in for a recording session the other week, who were great live. there is only two members but they do so well with one guitar and harmonious geordie voices.
anyway, i will update this on my increasing knowledge of local bands when more come my way.

in the meantime, i need some time with the czech republic.
E

Sunday 16 November 2008

Start Of Something

the idea of winter approaching/accumulating uni work always instills in me some kind of desire to stop the clocks and create a blog. an effort which is usually reversed a few months down the line when I have forgotten my password, but what the heck. here goes.

a vague idea

i would like to cover things that interest me. woah- how innovative! like the average university going liberal 19-year-old this topic encompasses music, film, radio, then art, current affairs... i would like to see this more as a thinktank. blogs are the most self-indulgent expression of one's feelings anyway, an area for uninteruppted talk, a hope for someone to stumble across and what, actually read?

generally, i collect anything that entices me in my tracks, be that passport photos of some unknown, unmemorable boy found outside the union, a cd, an essay from an art exhibiton, a theatre programme. the two main functions of this will be: to force myself to go out of my way more to gain experiences that i can actually talk about, and, on a more practical note, to practise writing. excellent.

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last night i went to see 'four men and a poker game' at the northern stage (possibly the most conviniently placed, impressively educational insitution i use in newcastle). i regret to say that i was utterly disappointed by the performance. after having had a 3 hour workshop with the director earlier in the week, i was geared for engaging work.
before i elaborate on my criticism, however, the play needs some explanation.


'four men and a poker game'
is a short play written by bertolt brecht, performed as a monolgue in 3rd person. it recounts a poker game in which 3 men lost all their possessions to the winner, who, even after schedueling a re-match, still wins. the defeated end up killing him by pushing him in the sea to drown, which is where the story ends.
there was no doubt, i believed this play to hold all the key elements to remedy a great brecht play. it is an engaging story which could be interpreted very politically (we were made aware of certain connections from articles set up around the area). it was set in an enclosed area (i would hasten to call it a stage), where audience seating had been propped together as if we were in a bar, immedietely removing the 'fourth wall' of the audience. as well as this, there was live music, in the form of a talented piano player who accompianied the speech. so interestingly enough, 4 out of 5 of all the elements needed to produce a brecht masterpiece were there. the one that was missing- entertainment. an aspect so crucial to any theatrical production, let alone a brecht piece, that it is not even worth considering without it. it was 40 minutes long but it dragged unbearably- the reason my description of the storyline is so vague is down to this reason precisely; i couldn't help but switch off every five minutes.
i realise that there are some fundamental aspects of a piece of theatre which, over the years, i have attuned to what i will find successful, and to give the play some credit, avoiding monolgues is one of them. after that, i think i will go out of my way to.
it's such a shame that a brecht play has never enlightened me, when that really is the sole aim of his playwriting. after seeing the appaling 'mother courage' at the york theatre royal a few years back with school, i was finally ready to give another director a chance, but no, i have been let down again! ah, if only i could speak german so i could see one in the berlin ensemble- that would be like seeing shakespeare at the globe, surely.

i did want to explore more today but got distracted for the last two hours in a debate on monarchy and royalism, so it will have to wait til the next time i have some important work to do.

E