Hello darlings! Happy new year to you all. It’s been a while
– as is tradition, let us not dwell on my neglect, but speed through a general
catch up! Let’s bullet point shall we?
Over October, November and December, other than the proper
updates below, I done the following:
Watched
TheSound of Music on a big screen sitting on the monument
in Newcastle, hurling abuse at men in a cherry-picker who decided to take
down the Paralympics flags in front of the screen during the balcony
scene.
Watched
my brother, his girlfriend and a variety of other friends do the Great
North Run. Psychos.
Saw
my pal Matt from work and his band, the brilliant Klak Tik (@KlakTik), perform at
Cargo in Shoreditch. (No official review because I think it’d be weird to
review someone I work with but basically – they are great. Listen to
them).
Oooohed
and aaaahed at the Brockwell Park fireworks. Some excellent music
co-ordination this year, not least the One Direction inspired finale – who
could ask for more.
Saw
Mamma Mia at the Novello Theatre as a birthday treat from my two pals. In
summary: good, but not as good as the film.
Mini-breaked
to Sheffield, where we ventured to Hardwick Hall and picnicked in the
freezing cold, bought cushion making material, created Jamie Oliver
risotto (nice, lemony), watched The 5 Year Engagement (shit) and The
Debt (Helen Mirren, Nazis, gore – amazing), and Sunday lunched in a delicious pub whose name I cannot remember, but which had excellent barmen and a pleasing selection of ales. Delightful.
Saw
Jumpy again with my flatmate, and found it as hilarious as the first time.
Tamsin Greig is a legend.
Did
my traditional trip to the Harrogate Christmas Craft Fair, which was
exactly the same as ever and saw me dragging an enormous sack of cheese
home on the train.
Headed
over to the Scandinavian Christmas market at the Norwegian and Finnish
churches in Canada Water – Moomin merchandise, husky photo opportunities
(the dogs, not just Swedes with sore throats), glogg and waffles. Festive.
Hit
the Southbank winter festival and had a go at lighting up the Christmas
tree by cycling like a loon on the energy bike things.
Hopped
over to Tallinn (in Estonia) for a festive mini-break with a pal, where I
wore more layers than ever before (-12° people), inhaled excessive amounts
of glogi then used the cold to cure my hangovers (every morning), had a
medieval banquet finished off with rose pudding and a mead, experienced an
Estonian Indian dinner (moose korma all the way), visited the Toompea
(best name ever), witnessed Estonian karaoke in an Irish bar, failed at
Estonian nightlife, and minced along the city walls terrified of falling
off. Epic.
Saw
Florence and the Machine again at the O2 who were epically beautiful as
usual. Was my friend’s first ever gig and I think she enjoyed it, apart
from the surprisingly large number of fights that broke out in the crowd
and afterwards… Lots of lady rage going on. Unexpected.
Now we’re back up the present day and what a RELIEF. Resolution – update more swiftly. It’ll never happen. Coming up!
[Prepare yourself: there's a lot of enthusiasm about to hit you square in the heart.]
Anyone who claims not to love the heavenly combination that is Minogue and Donovan is either a low-down dirty liar or they had their soul removed at birth and have been living as a robot. If you ever need a lift, a little cheering couple of minutes of love combined with a TUNE, you can’t do better than to hit up the original Especially for You video and just dive in. I used to watch it on repeat on an actual video tape, rewinding and everything, just because it’s impossible to get enough. I still think they look cool AS in this video even though it’s nearly as old as me. Oh, swoon.
Anyway, the promise of the first live performance of Especially for You with Kylie AND Jason in like 25 years was the main impetus for me to agree to volunteer with work at the ‘Hit Factory Live Pete Waterman love-in Festival of the Nineties’ (to give it it’s official title), safe in the knowledge that I’d get to watch the entire show and only have to shake a bucket in the intervals rather than stoop in a hot box-office for nine hours putting wristbands on the sweaty arms of ‘VIPs’ like what happened at the Olympics (still not over it). So I gleefully headed to the O2 for what turned out to be the most 90s evening of my life, even more than when I was actually living in the 90s.
The show was intended to celebrate Pete Waterman’s long reign of terror over the pop industry and was the one that had been originally intended for Hyde Park but cancelled due to apocalypse-levels of mud. All I can say is, it was worth the wait.
The first half consisted of ‘One-hit wonders’ (respectful), kicking off with the EPIC 2 Unlimited. If I ever needed to get the party started, these two would be the first vintage dance duo I’d call. They actually got to sing a few of their tracks, on account of them being amazing, and it was the best way to literally blast everyone firmly back into the past. They were followed by Hazel Dean (no idea), one of Brother Beyond (no idea), the lovely Sonia (SCREAM! Took me STRAIGHT back to Brownie pack holiday), Pepsi & Shirley (ladies of Wham! Ladies with attitude), Sinitta who was freaking terrifying as expected (men in pants undressing her… NO), and Princess (no idea). The backing dancers for all the acts, I have to say, were sublime and perfectly energetic and got the moves SO RIGHT. What was not so right, however, was Waterman making his first trip onto the stage to announce how happy he was to have everyone together again, apart from his good friend Donna Summer, followed by a few tears and then shoving his newest artist, a 16-year old youth, onstage to cover a couple of her tracks and basically bring everyone DOWN. Bad move Pete. He did get a lot o’ love from all the other acts though, each of them praising him for making their dreams come true, which fair enough, whatever, but gush on your own time guys, I require a constant stream of funky moves to keep me awake after two days of office Christmas partying had begun to take its toll. The first half ended with Dead or Alive spinning us all right round, and one of whom I bumped into backstage (ha, check me out right, so glam) looking absolutely terrifying due to extreme tallness and face paint, plus menacing attitude.
The second half was a total winner, and featured the more successful PWL acts. Rick Astley had the audience in the palm of his hand and charmed the pants off all the ladies in the crowd (“I need to see some JIGGLE, ladies!”), schmoozing his way through several hits with his velvety tones, and finishing on the one and only Never gonna give you up (during which I found myself doing the Peter Kay school disco dance moves, not a good sign). Bananarama followed, who I was most excited about seeing (after K&J, obv), and they didn’t let me down. Only two of the original three members still perform, and they are absolute legends. Witty, sarcastic, totally chilled out about life in general, they were flawless vocally and dance-wise, and looked fabulous, despite self-disparaging remarks such as “the moves to this are a KILLER” and “we’re getting too old for this”. They were just hilarious, and best of all they sounded just like Bananarama. Which I know is such a stupid thing to say but it really hit me that I was actually seeing Bananarama, legends of the girl group genre. They did me proud by singing all the best ones (although they forgot about Robert de Niro’s waiting, a personal fave) – Love in the first degree, I want you back, I heard a rumour, Venus… (all the crowd doing the firey dance moves… amazing). SO GOOD.
Then came Jason Donovan, who seems to be the sweetest man in the world and does a good tune, I grant you. I never really followed his solo career (I was loyal to Kylie, man) but I can get down to Too many broken hearts with the best of them. STEPS were next – I admit, I wasn’t expecting good things after seeing various TV performances from them since their reunion, but they were actually extremely slick and impressive, and got a massive response from the crowd – especially Claire, who got big cheers every time she sang. Seeing thousands of people simultaneously doing the moves to Tragedy and One for Sorrow cannot fail to make you laugh and there was a lot of general good feeling, and they were a proper blast from the past.
And then finally, finally… it was time. Pete Waterman came out and did the introduction, my heart started beating a billion times a second, and the famous ‘Oooohs’ from the start of the song floated over the crowd, and were instantly drowned out by the SCREAMS which burst out after presumably having been building up for twenty-five years. Kylie and Jason appeared from either side of the stage and totally represented. My life came full circle and it was a beautiful moment. He even picked her up and swung her round in the middle of the song, as of old. I have rarely known such utter contentment with the state of things. Basically it was great. Then they all came back on and sang Merry Christmas, I hit our dressing room (oh yes, we were opposite Pete Waterman), and as I emerged spotted H from Steps and basically shouted “IT’S H FROM STEPS” in his face, in more of a factual than enthusiastic manner (let’s face it, he’s a knob), and then I went home and slept for 13 hours.
Why: My mum wanted to go (and I secretly love them)
Oh, the Overtones. Five friendly chaps just bashing out some
delightful ditties. The harmonies! The slick finger-clickin’ dance moves! The
deep-voiced one! Unashamed cheese-mongers and mum-pleasers, you can’t fault
them for playing right up to their audience of what was basically 3000 larky
ladies seeking a good old dance in the aisles at the Hammersmith Apollo.
If you’re not familiar with the Overtones, imagine One
Direction’s older brothers and you’re pretty much there. It’s something to do
with the way that they just make you smile and you can’t help but enjoy them
even though you feel a bit shifty about it. Simon Cowell would probably say
they had star quality, but I think it’s basically about five quite
nice-looking, high energy dudes, usually in a waistcoat, bopping about to some
lovely melodies, which is all a lot of people want from a musical experience
(still talking about both 1D and the Overtones here – focus now, focus). Anyway
they’re a very nice, enjoyable group and their albums are brilliant to listen
to at work, by way of jazzing you up a bit when you’re wrestling with a
spreadsheet. Plus I’m a sucker for either a squeakily high-pitched voice
(Darren Hayes, the BeeGees, the…high-pitched one from the Overtones) and a
rumbly deep voice (Lachie from the Overtones…) so it’s a win-win for me.
Highlights of this particular evening included my mum
somehow getting into a fight with the woman in front, who ended up moving and
telling my mum to “fall down the stairs and die” (what a bitch), and an
incongruous charity intervention which involved Gethin Jones from Daybreak
collecting a trolley full of canned food in the middle of the second half (yes.
There was an interval).
I knew nothing about this musical before I saw it, other
than the fact that it’s performed going backwards in time, and various bits of
tunes thanks to hearing them from my dear friend Nikki (she was in a version at
the Edinburgh festival). Apparently it was a bit of a flop when it first came
out, and you can kind of get why – it doesn’t have the best tunes ever, could
be a bit bleak, and would be rubbish if not done with pace and precision. But
it was obviously redeemable, and this version, directed by actress Maria
Friedman, was great and was led by a brilliant cast. The show is both
sentimental and satirical, gutsy and full of complex, real relationships and
friendships, and shows the harsh fallout of showbiz and the pursuit of dreams.
As mentioned, it runs from the present day back in time, to reveal the paths
that the characters’ lives had already taken, giving it a sort of fatalistic
air (and also a brilliant excuse for loads of great costumes, as it spans
several decades). You can see it working quite well as a normal play, it’s got
that kind of plot – but the music does sort of sneakily infiltrate your head.
It’s the kind of music that grows on you and suddenly gets to you and draws out
a sneaky tear – particularly songs like the emotional and rousing Our Time.
The whole cast was really excellent and completely draw you
in to what turned out to be a catchy, very slick show. The three main
characters played by Mark Umbers (what a beautiful man), Damian Humbley and
Jenna Russell were outstanding and their chemistry as a close-knit trio of
friends was so believable and right, and their second-half performance of the
pacey Opening Doors was so polished and just genius. I loved Russell as
the loyal, desperate, vicious and thwarted Mary, and her attitude totally won
the audience over. Humbley as the rejected creative partner Charley was
masterful and his version of Franklin Shepard, Inc. was super-speedy,
rage-filled and despairing and just brilliant. Umbers (swoon) as Franklin
forces you to be intrigued despite being basically aloof and lost to his
friends, and wins you round with his charm. Josefina Gabrielle as Gussie was
also a winner; brassy and vulnerable and bitchy all in one. The chorus were all
very polished and superbly executed. I also totally knew I recognised Meg, who
turned out to be played by Zizi Strallen, from having an air of Bonnie Langford
about her. They’re a theatre dynasty.
I had my ticket by gate-crashing a friend’s university
musical society reunion to see Merrily in the place of someone who’d
dropped out, and at the end of this performance the whole row of them were
simultaneously weeping and whooping, which I think can only be a good sign. You
can catch Merrily… until 9th March and I totally recommend it
if you want an evening of quality musical theatre.
Not even the poster from this gig, I just liked it
When: Monday 12th November Where: Hammersmith Apollo
Why: I don’t really know… it was just one of those
things
The main thing you should know about this gig is that I went
on my own and I didn’t drink. There was also some kind of drunken,
aggressively-swaying Portuguese love-square going on next to me so I was
anxiously tapping notes into my phone to stay out of it. So if this seems like
a more detailed review than my usual, then that is why.
Gotye was a revelation. He is COOL. I had no idea what to
expect as I only knew his 2011 album (yes, the one with Somebody that I used
to know on it), but he was awesome. It was like a proper jam session, with
him very much as part of the band rather than a super frontman, and his
drumming is phenomenal. Who actually knew? He was so dynamic, starting out
quite spooky-peaceful, then billowing out into an 80s synthy retro psychedelic
vibe. Good beats. I also love how he just slips into Phil Collins style poppy-ness
every now and then (Learnalilgivinanlovin, In your Light etc). He also sang the obligatory Somebody that I used to know and got the audience to sing the Kimbra part, which was surprisingly effective (the entire Aussie population of London bellowing it back to him must have been quite a pleasing sensation).
Each song was accompanied by a self-contained short film,
all of which were completely different but amazing. Hard to describe in detail
because there were so many but if you youtube him you’ll see the breadth of
stuff going on. A great example from the gig is State of the Art(a
song which I hadn’t liked before but teamed with the video is just entirely new
and cracking).
Also, because it’s such a sweet video, here’s the official
version of Bronte which I love.
If I described Marina as fierce, she’s not even on the same
scale as the dynamo that is Robyn (although they’re both supporting Coldplay so
they’re obviously both winning at life – I’m not even a Coldplay fan but they
seem to be like a big deal). I have NEVER seen a more energetic performance
(not even from Florence – different style) and despite being a bit of a shit
fan and only knowing her singles, as well as Show Me Love obviously
(nineties-style) I loved it all. Girl got moves. The visuals were amazing,
colourful and mad like Robyn herself. She’s just got so much attitude and her
move from popster in the 90s to complete punky siren mentalist now could not
have been more successful. She also sang a little bit of Dancing Queen
(Sweden, baby) which thrilled my heart. If you ever get a chance to see her
live, just DO IT.
Support was from Summer Camp, whose backing
visuals featured dance scenes from old movies (genius), and a random woman
dressed a mermaid (cracking voice but no idea who she was).
Why: Birthday prez for a friend (and also because we
love them)
Basically the Corsica Studios is a bit too cool for me. It’s
connected to a club venue under the rail bridge at Elephant and Castle, and is
suitably grungy and intimidating. However I was saved by the fact that it was
the lovely Mt. Wolf’s EP launch (if you haven’t downloaded it yet – well why
not? It’s on iTunes and everything. GO) and so lots of their family were there.
Basically the front row was us and the grannies. Which was brilliant.
Photo by paulbence
The support acts weren’t totally my bag – proper electronica (and I won’t name names but one had a band member who my
mate pointed out looked exactly like a finger-puppet, which caused me to bellow
with laughter while standing far too close to the stage). And although the Mt.
Wolf’s performance was a bit different to expected (because obviously when I saw them previously
they were all acoustic and that) they were actually even more brilliant and
energised. I was also thrilled that they re-created their cover of
Usher’s ‘Climax’ which is just better than the original. My friend
described Kate (the lead singer @katemtwolf) as singing “with her whole body”
which is so true, and her voice is so angelic-interesting. All the band
members are musically tremendous and creative, and they’re a joy to watch.
I think you can still get tickets to their headline gig at
XOYO in February – go fer it.
Why: Chance to see ol’ Maz in action in a proper gig
setting, rather than on an altar
I love Marina. She’d kick
any playas in the guts whilst dressed like a fairy. She’s tiny but with massive
boobs (legend). She’s half Greek and half Welsh, for cryin out loud. What a
combo. Her surname is Diamandis. She’s literally a diamond. So you could say
I’m a fan. After seeing
her in church in February and standing literally a foot away, I didn’t
think I could see a better performance, but this was a totally different
experience. The church was intimate and slower-paced, much more simple. This
gig was neon-lit funky lounge style BIG. By having her band on all sides on the
stage, there was still an intimate, supportive feel but was much more about
putting on a show. We were also treated to a guest appearance from Marilyn the
poodle (one of those yappy toy pups that somersault around) which left me in
hysterics. She’s got such a unique voice – bold, sweet, vulnerable and grungy
in turn, and so different to anything else out there.
Here’s a treat of a video
for you. My flatmate and I favour the one who paints her nails. You’ll see what
I mean.
How to be a heartbreaker:
Support was by the excellent
Foxes, who are a bit Kate Bush/Bangles/La
Roux style. Have a listen to Warrior, my favourite of
their tracks (so far).
