An Exercise in Irrelevance

Not been to the Northern Stage, at least not for a show. I used to get food there sometimes, but it’s expensive and the portions have got smaller.

Went to see Static last night. Strange thing — it was a cross between a music commercial, a mystery story and a tragedy. It’s mostly about a woman coming to terms with the death of her husband. The side-plot is that he is deaf and the story of how he looses his hearing.

It was pretty good actually. I was dubious at the beginning; they used a lot of short sentances to the audience to set the scene which I found rather disjointed. But the story started to run after that. The "innovative staging" failed to detract from the story, the music was quite fun and the twist at the end worked pretty well. Worth going to see.

Originally published on my old blog site.

Never seen him live, so thought, why not. Basically, he was okay. He has a substantial back catalogue, and is a powerful songwriter. But ultimately, he’s not a great performer. He’s witty and engaging, but neither his singing or guitar-playing is particularly fantastic. I found myself waiting for one of the big hits, and then being slightly disappointed by it; Golden Brown is needs more than a strummed acoustic.

Originally published on my old blog site.

Black Gold is a documentary about the coffee trade. It’s conclusions are not perhaps the most astonishing in the world — the coffee industry makes lots of money while most of the producers, particularly in Ethiopia, are not doing nearly as well. Still, perhaps, these are points that need making again and again. The role of the WTO and the trade policies of the first world are, perhaps, less obvious.

The documentary seems to have a got a new lease of life, more or less entirely due to Michael Moore. Unlike his work, or Supersize Me, Black Gold lacks a comedy turn to keep the interest going although the main protagonist, Tadesse Meskela, is engaging and charismatic.

The music and cinematography are both wonderful, though, making this a clear and compelling film. Well worth a look.

Originally published on my old blog site.

Been a long time since I have written anything here. I have been out since October, but I guess I’ve just been busy.

Pan’s Labyrinth is a remarkable film, with the only negative point that I suspect the rest of the Christmas fayre will be downhill from here.

The story manages to mix a fairytale with the real world story of life under fascism. The two stories intertwine in a way which is a benefit to both. The imagery of the fantasy part are deft and visually stunning. The violence, pain and bravery of the real-world wonderfully acted and moving. Topped of with a beautiful score, the film couldn’t have been bettered.

Originally published on my old blog site.

Richard Thompson — excellent as always, sold out the Sage again.

I’ve realised now why I prefer his solo shows to his band shows. As he sells out, he always plays big venues like the Sage which are, basically, horrible. To enjoy a band gig, you need to stand up and dance; failing this jigging about from side to side would work. The best band gig I went to was in Edinburgh; half way through I went to the loo, then spent the rest of the gig standing up at the back and had a great time.

Throw out the chairs!

Originally published on my old blog site.

Last week I went to Dave Cowan’s leaving do. No idea who he was, but he decided to get Jess Klein to play. Kindly, he decided to open up the gig to the public which included me.

Jess was excellent again, better than the Cluny I would say. The gig was in the Black Swan centre which I’ve not been too, and the sound is far better than the Cluny with it’s odd shape.

Had a talk with Jess afterwards; I’d had a few pints by this time so I wittered inconsequentially. Ah, well, I guess that she is used to it.

Originally published on my old blog site.