Sleeping Like A Blog
Aug. 24th, 2010
07:50 am - Meant to post this yesterday
Spent last week in Vilamoura, Portugal, having a much needed holiday which I booked super-last minute. Having completed a major 2 month project at werk, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to spend some time in the sunshine doing absolutely nothing. So that's what I did. And I've come back refreshed, tanned and ready to face the rest of 2010. Cor, it's almost September, this year has flown by.
Anyhoo, I spent the week sitting in the sun by the swimming pool, reading ('Love All The People' - John Lahr's collection of Bill Hicks' letters, lyrics and stand-up routines - and Frankie Boyle's autobiography, 'My S**t Life So Far'). In the evenings, I went to the local English pub and watched football, or stayed in my hotel room watching films. In order of preference, I watched 'Precious', 'Hot Tub Time Machine', 'The Men Who Stare At Goats' and 'The Invention of Lying'. All in all, it was a very sensible idea for me to get away from it all.
When I got back, I surveyed a scene of utter devastation on my balcony. Unleashing my inner Sherlock Holmes, I have been able to deduce from the clues that two or more pigeons must have been fighting over some berries, resulting in my plants being knocked over, feathers stuck to every available surface, and what looked like blood, but turned out to be berry juice staining the balcony. Further, I have placed the incident as having occurred on Tuesday evening, as this is the only explanation I can come up with as to why neither 'Shooting Stars' nor 'Mitchell & Webb' recorded properly on my Sky+. Think that'll have to be an iPlayer catch-up job.
My, but it's been a long time since I updated here. So much to tell you folks. I've not written about Latitude yet. Nor the excellent TV that I've watched over the past couple of months. Not even the start of the new football season, for both the mighty Wycombe and my own Sunday League side. But that will all have to wait for later in the week.
In the meantime, upcoming plans include an intimate Klaxons gig at Heaven on Wednesday, a barge trip along the Regents Canal through Camden and Little Venice on Bank Holiday Monday, and my sister's wedding, which is now less than 7 weeks away.
Argh, I've just discovered that werk IT have blocked LiveJournal. Damn them. It's been fine for the past 3 years, why block it now?
Jun. 29th, 2010
11:42 am - Specsavers - Montevideo branch, sale now on
Ahoy there.
I got the iPhone 4G and despite everyone asking me (out of jealousy, I presume) whether I've been having any reception problems, I can report that it works absolutely perfectly, much better reception than my previous phone. And my, as telephones go, this one is a thing of beauty.
Brilliant bit of radio I wanted to share with you... on Five Live last Wednesday morning, before the England-Slovenia game, I heard the following exchange:
Nicky Campbell - I'm here with some excited fans. So tell me, where are you from?
Excited fan - From Slovenia
NC - And how did you get to South Africa?
EF - By plane
My local cab company have embraced technology, and I'm very impressed. Over the weekend, I phoned up to book a cab, and an automated message told me that if I wanted a cab immediately, picking up from my home address, all I had to do was press '1'. About 10 minutes later, no cab had arrived so I phoned back, and another automated message told me that a blue Ford Galaxy was on its way. The automated system even told me the number plate of the car. Very clever system. Consider me impressed.
Went to a couple of gigs recently. Went to see Robyn at Heaven with ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.1){kind=small}
martinv and his lady. Robyn was rather splendid, as both Martin's review and the Financial Times review can confirm.
I also went to see The Gaslight Anthem at Brixton Academy on Saturday night with darkpigeon and gruffexterior, and despite the sweltering heat inside the venue, it was an excellent show, featuring much of previous album 'The 59 Sound' as well as some of the choicest cuts from the new one, 'American Slang'. And a superb cover of 'Baba O Riley' never goes amiss.
I've been on a CD-buying splurge recently, and have purchased new albums by Crystal Castles, Pendulum, The Gaslight Anthem, We Are Scientists and Kelefromblocparty. I'm enjoying each of them in their own ways, and they're all worth a listen. I also "obtained" a copy of the new one from Eminem, which is a massive return to form. He's cut out the childish jokes from recent efforts, and focused on the music and on the lyrics. And it works a treat.
Whilst on the subject of music, I had one of those "clever iPod" moments the other day when 'Hole In The Head' by Sugababes was followed on a random playlist by 'Hole In My Head' from Feeder.
TV-wise, all of my favourite shows finished, and since then, there's been very little on. I loved this series of Doctor Who, although I did feel that the finale on Saturday was something of an anti-climax. I've also been watching the Ricky Gervais show, which finished last Friday, and certainly had its moments. I like Lee Nelson's Well Good Show, which has just started on BBC3, and of course, Friday saw the start of the new series of the IT Crowd, which was very exciting, and bodes well for another brilliant series. Finally, this weekend I watched lots of Glasto coverage, and actually didn't feel like I missed out on too much (aside from Stevie Wonder, who was in sensational form).
An excellent article you should read, reprinted from the Times from Thursday a week ago, the former Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Maria Aznar speaks out in defence of Israel after the recent flotilla incident. This is a must-read if you are interested in Middle East politics.
Let's not talk about the football, eh?
Jun. 9th, 2010
03:46 pm - Football blogging activities
For the footballists amongst you:
I am the official World Cup Fantasy League blogger for the fantastic 101 Great Goals website. I've explained how it works here and my blogs have already been published providing helpful advice and tips regarding the best goalkeepers, defenders and midfielders for your Fantasy League team. 101GG will be publishing the last part of my preview (the strikers) tomorrow.
You have to register and enter your team before the tournament starts on Friday afternoon. So sign up, and enter our league. League code is 134044-31709.
Jun. 7th, 2010
01:49 pm - There's always going to be another mountain, I'm always going to want to make it move
For allowing me the opportunity to see the world's greatest living guitarist, Tom Morello performing in the flesh, the Facebook campaign to get 'Killing In The Name' to Xmas #1 was totally worth it. The things Morello can make a guitar do, well, it just has to be seen to be believed.
I spent my Sunday evening in Finsbury Park at the Rage Against The Machine "victory gig", and it lived up to every expectation. Bang on 9pm, a cartoon Simon Cowell appeared on the big screen to announce "tonight it is my distinct displeasure to introduce a band whose stardom I had nothing to do with." Cue air raid sirens, lots of screaming from the assembled 40,000, and the opening chords of 'Testify'.
What followed was a masterclass in performing a greatest hits show, as Rage reeled off classic after classic - 'Bombtrack', 'People Of The Sun', 'Know Your Enemy', 'Bulls On Parade'. There was a pause after 'Bullet In The Head' as Rage introduced the creators of the Facebook campaign, and presented them with one of those oversized plastic cheques, with a big donation to homeless charity Shelter. Morello then paid tribute to Britain's punk legacy before the band covered The Clash's 'White Riot', causing a minor earthquake in the moshpit. Then it was 'Guerrilla Radio', a truly spectacular 'Sleep Now In The Fire' and 'Freedom' before the band disappeared.
The encore was predictable enough - but preceeding it by playing out Joe McElderry's 'The Climb' whilst a bevy of over-confident quotes from Cowell appeared on screen was less so. Nevertheless, 40,000 euphoric voices yelling "f**k you, I won't do what you tell me" was a moment that will live long in the memory.
Earlier in the day, Roots Manuva got the party started with a hit-laden set, including a particularly dub-heavy version of 'Witness'. And Gogol Bordello kept the party atmosphere going, as glorious sunshine warmed the crowd.
This gig was a tribute to collective action. Nothing more, nothing less. But for the chance to see one of the most legendary bands of all time, and for free, and for the large charitable donation that their #1 single generated, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I just feel sorry for those that didn't come along.
May. 27th, 2010
04:43 pm - So what was the point of Eloise Farraday then? And where was Mr Eko?
I went to the gym at lunchtime (and rowed 1km, cycled 6 miles and then ran 1.5kms). Normally, this would not be significant, but since I've done precisely zero exercise since spraining ankle ligaments at the end of March, I am delighted to report that it was a succesful gym trip. Will have to start going more often and lose some of the weight I've gained in this period of inactivity. I can barely fit into some of my clothes right now. I don't have scales, but I reckon I've probably gained 2 stone, and it's time to start shedding pounds and getting back in shape so that I'm ready for the new footy season in August.
I went to see 'Four Lions' last night, which I thoroughly enjoyed, although I wish the trailer hadn't included ALL of the funny bits. The rest of the film is plenty good enough to stand alone, but it's dark material, and the jokes should be a form of release. But since everyone in the cinema clearly knew what was coming, the tension never really dissipated.
The previous night was Flight of the Conchords at Wembley Arena, and they were very very funny, oh yes. They did all my favourite songs from the shows - 'Too Many D**ks On The Dancefloor', 'Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymnoceros', 'Business Time', 'Bowie' and 'Hurt Feelings' amongst many others. They interspersed the songs with amusing conversations about the rock and roll lifestyle, and a grand time was had by all.
'Lost' has finished. But then you knew that already. I quite enjoyed the last episode, although I don't think it was worth my waking up at 5.30am on a Monday morning. Sadly, '24' will also be shortly coming to an end, and NBC's decision to cancel 'Heroes' has angered me a lot less than their simultaneous decision to cancel 'FlashForward' after just one series (which was rubbish at first, but has become enthralling). All of which means that I'll have a lot of free time coming up. Oh, wait, it's the World Cup isn't it?
Next on the gig agenda for me is Rage Against The Machine's victory show in Finsbury Park. I cannot wait.
Oh, and everyone must go out and get themselves a copy of the second Crystal Castles album. It's terrific, all of it. Especially 'Doe Deer' (which, incidentally, sounds like nothing else on the album, nor anything I've ever heard in my life), and which might have just become my favourite song ever. And when I say "favourite song", I mean "favourite 90 seconds of screaming over a massively-distorted-but-still-banging drum'n'bass beat".
Wow. An entire LJ post where I didn't try and sell you any tickets. Be grateful, people.
May. 18th, 2010
11:39 am
You know I only love you when I'm trying to flog you gig tickets, right?
So, this coming Monday 24th May, the truly awesome Metric at Shepherds Bush Empire, a bargain (in these days of extortionate TicketMaster booking fees and delivery charges) at just £12. Have several spare tickets so why don't you come along? And bring a friend! Hurrah!
May. 10th, 2010
11:05 am - ** TICKET ALERT **
I've got 2 spare tickets to see Matt Berry (a.k.a Douglas Reynholm from the IT Crowd, Dr Lucien Sanchez from Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, Dixon Bainbridge from the Mighty Boosh).
He's doing a gig on Thursday (13th May) at Heaven Under The Arches, by Charing Cross station. Tickets are £20 each. Would anyone like them?
Apr. 30th, 2010
11:10 am - "On and on, give me something I can dance to"
Six long weeks between posts on good ol' LJ. Unacceptable. The reason for my absence has been a mountain of werk and frequent trips to Birmingham (roughly 3 days a week for the past month). Anyway, things have quietened down now (thank god) so I have an opportunity to update you on what I've been up to, and what's coming up.
Gigs
The only one I've been to since my last update was The Joy Formidable at the Electric Ballroom way back in March, which was superb, and they're definitely a band to watch out for in future. So all quiet on the gig front, but that's about to change, in a big way. On Sunday, I'm going to the Camden Crawl. This marks something of an achievement for me, as it's the third year I've bought tickets, but will be the first time I'll actually be able to attend. As a bonus, I've got guaranteed entry to the We Are Scientists headline show at the Roundhouse on Sunday night. It's 2 years to the week since I last saw W.A.S live, and boy, I've missed them. Looking forward to hearing some new material - the first single from the new album, 'Rules Don't Stop' has slowly been winning its way into my affections over the past month. Then Tuesday is Ash at the Electric Ballroom, playing tracks off their A-Z Singles Collection. And most exciting of all, Thursday is Biffy Clyro in Hammersmith - the first time I'll have seen them headline their own show, and I can't wait. Further ahead, I've got tickets for Matt Berry at Heaven (13th May), Metric at the Shepherds Bush Empire (24th May), Flight of the Conchords at Wembley Arena (25th May), Rage Against The Machine's free Victory gig in Finsbury Park (6th June), The Gaslight Anthem at Brixton Academy (26th June), Latitude Festival (16th-18th August), and Ricky Gervais at the Hammersmith Apollo (7th September).
Somehow, I feel that's not a busy enough diary, so I've just bought 4 tickets for Robyn at Heaven on 17th June - let me know if you'd like me to save you a ticket.
Music
My 5 favourite songs right now are:
Alphabeat - DJ (I Could Be Dancing) - did you see them performing this on Jonathan Ross the other week? Amazing!
3oh!3 - Don't Trust It
Crystal Castles - Doe Deer - sooooooooo good to have them back
Marina & The Diamonds - I Am Not A Robot - I know it's been around for ages, and I've loved it for a long time, but delighted that she's re-released it
Kele - Tenderoni - debut solo single from Bloc Party frontman is electronic mayhem
There's also a great piece from the Graniaud last week with Mini Viva teaching Paul Morley how to do their dance routines.
TV & Film
Don't go and see The Infidel - it's utter tripe. Do start watching Treme when it begins to air on UK TV. It's the new show from David Simon, creator of The Wire, and two episodes in, I'm already loving it. For a music fan like myself, a long-running series set around the jazz and blues bars of the historic French Quarter is a delightful prospect. And Elvis Costello has a cameo in an early episode, alongside an excellent permanent cast featuring John Goodman as a sweary political activist, plus Wire favourites Clarke Peters and Wendell Pierce. Aside from that, 24 and Lost are both drawing to a close, whilst FlashForward has been vastly improved since its mid-season break.
Football
Let's not go there.... it'll only upset me. Suffice to say I'm still recovering from an ankle ligament injury sustained over a month ago, so my season is over. And if Wycombe don't win tomorrow, League 2 awaits.
Two final things:
- Vote Ghana in the Pop World Cup Round of 16. I know I'm up against katstevens which means divided loyalties for many of you, but that doesn't mean I can't beg for your votes, right?
- I wrote a little blog piece for my friend's new website about the joys of collecting football stickers.
Enjoy le Bank Holiday.
Mar. 18th, 2010
12:10 pm - Culture Club
Oh hi there. Whassup? I've been busy, mainly travlling backwards and forwards between London and Birmingham. But I have found some time to partake of some culture (albeit mostly low-brow). As follows:
* Legally Blonde: The Musical was, frankly, bloody awful. I can appreciate that it was wonderfully produced, with well-choreographed dancing, vivid costumes, impressive set design and good singing. But, the fact is that I hate musicals (Les Miserables excepted) and I see absolutely no good reason why every film of the past 30 years needs to be turned into a staged musical. To me, it shows a distinct lack of creativity on the part of the West End theatres. It probably makes sense from a business standpoint, but I fear a time will come when no new plays ever appear on London's stages.
* I went to see Delphic at Heaven Under The Arches on Monday. I'd never been to the venue before, but it was bloody brilliant - the acoustics in that place are mindblowing. Delphic were superb, bosh-tastic in fact, as they worked their way through debut album 'Acolyte' with an impressive fervour. They opened with my favourite track off the album, 'Clarion Call' and followed that with 'Doubt' and it just got better and better as the gig wore on - extended versions of tracks, lots of live mixing, barely a pause for breath, hot and sweaty. I read a random comment on Twitter after the gig which I agree with wholeheartedly - this is the band you will be waving glowsticks to at festivals 10 years from now.
* I've been reading too (the long train journeys to Birmingham have given me plenty of time for reading). I read Superfreakonomics which I really enjoyed - especially the sections on the economics of prostitution and the chapter titled 'Why Suicide Bombers Should Take Out Life Insurance'. And now I'm racing through One Day by David Nicholls (the author of 'Starter For Ten'), which I have been wanting to read for months. I've managed about 300 pages in 2 days and will probably finish it before the weekend. Fabulous book. Nicholls is currently adapting it for a film version, and I'm sure it will be a huge hit.
* Film-wise, I've seen The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which I rather enjoyed - sort of a Forrest Gump in reverse, minus the slapstick - in contrast to the negative comments I'd heard from friends about it. And I watched Shifty last weekend, a Brit-gangster flick starring Daniel Mays, Jason Flemyng, and Riz Ahmed, aka Riz MC, who was at university with me, and who I've seen performing before at Truck Festival. And he's brilliant in this, playing the role of the title character, Shifty - the too-cool-for-school Muslim drug dealer whose life suddenly starts crashing down around him. It's not a 10/10 film, but it's probably at least a 7/10 and worth checking out. I've currently got Atonement and Control at home from Lovefilm, so will be watching them in the next few days. Am probably going to see Alice In Wonderland in 3D this Sunday.
* Finally, a TV round-up of sorts. Skins finishes tonight, and there will be a big hole in my TV-viewing life once the series is over. I think this has been my favourite series yet, and I was genuinely gobsmacked by the way last week's penultimate episode finished. I also watched the whole series of Bellamy's People (the TV adaptation of Radio 4's comedy show, 'Down The Line') which started slowly, but got funnier and funnier as the series wore on. And of course, I'm still up to date with Lost (which is starting to make sense) and 24 (as OTT as ever). 30 Rock has started up again in the US, which is wonderful news, and finally, David Mitchell's new vehicle, The Bubble has been hit-and-miss, but mostly 'hit'.
Go vote for Ghana in the Pop World Cup.
Oooh, I've just noticed Melissa Auf Der Maur is playing Cargo on April 17th. Anyone care to join me?
Mar. 10th, 2010
11:33 am - Did you ever see that film, Ted, where your man has his head transplanted onto a fly?
My Mum just told me that one of the passports "allegedly" used by Mossad in their 'hit' in Dubai was that of my Australian cousin, Josh. It seems it was all over the Australian press at the time.
I've booked my first festival ticket of 2010. Hurrah for Latitude. And phew! It keeps up my record of attending at least one festival every single year since 1997. I'm going with darkpigeon and the initial lineup announcement, which was made at the same time that tickets went on sale last night, was as follows:
Headliners: Florence & Her Machine, Belle & Sebastian (squeeeeee!) Vampire Weekend
Other bands: (Friday) Empire Of The Sun, The National (Saturday) The Maccabees, Grizzly Bear, The xx (Sunday) Rodrigo y Gabriela, Charlotte Gainsbourg, The Horrors.
Non-musical entertainment: Ardal O'Hanlon, Rich Hall, Richard Herring, Rich Fulcher, Robin Ince, Brett Easton Ellis, Adam Buxton, Riz MC, Marcus Brigstocke
It's that time of the year when keeping up with all the gig and festival announcements is quite tricky. I'd love to see We Are Scientists at the Roundhouse on May 2nd, and tickets are only £6.50, but you can only buy one if you have already bought a day ticket to the Camden Crawl. I'm still tempted by either Crystal Castles or The Pipettes on April 20th, and Rolo Tomassi on April 23rd looks interesting, although I'm told they'll be the support for the Biffy Clyro gig I'm going to in May. And despite buying for Latitude, I'm still considering buying a ticket for one of The Great Escape, Dot To Dot, or possibly a foreign festival. Expensive few months ahead.
ION: I'm being dragged, kicking and screaming, to Legally Blonde: The Musical tonight. Anyone have any valium?
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