The Heart of Robin Hood @ RSC Stratford upon Avon

Panto is always different in the hands of the RSC and this production keeps up their tradition of offering us something different, last years Matilda now a hit in the West End, and the equally stunning Beauty and the Beast a few years back bear testimony to the fact. We bought some restricted view tickets late and whilst I had a narrow metal cruciform post in front of me it only detracted a fraction from the stage only a few metres away.
9 / 10

Below is Paul Taylor's review from the Independent who gave it 4/5 and I won't argue with that.

The greensward is a massive 40-foot high slope in The Heart of Robin Hood, the RSC's captivating new Christmas show.

The characters enter by sliding down the near-vertical back wall of Borkur Jonsson's set with an elating whoosh. Their other main route into the proceedings is by insertion upside down on ropes lowered from a lofty canopy of oak branches. Since the Company started performing on high-altitude thrust-stages, niftiness at dangling in a harness must have become virtually an audition requirement for actors at the RSC. And there's no one better at choreographing this form of suspense than Gisli Orn Gardarrson of Iceland's celebrated Vesturport outfit. Ending with a lyrical aerial twirl by the now-entwined hero and heroine, his is a Christmas production that, in the best possible sense, keeps things above the heads of young and old alike.

If the dominating slope approaches a 1:1 gradient, Robin Hood is on an equivalently stiff learning curve in David Farr's wittily revisionist new version. Looking a bit like a Joe Orton fantasy with his bare chest and laced-up leather trousers, James McArdle's blunt, Yorkshire Robin starts off as an emotionally arrested boy who heads a gang of ullulating thugs dedicated to self-interest. Then along comes Iris Roberts's winningly spirited, blonde-bobbed Marion who (shades of Rosalind in As You Like It) is forced to lead a double life. In the castle, she feigns betrothal to Martin Hutson's pervily psychotic Prince John. In the forest, she masquerades as Martin of Sherwood, spearhead of a rival, more caring-and-sharing bunch of thieves.
 
A bit too politically correct? Actually no, because there's lashings of irreverence (Little John is played a drily philosophical dwarf); some good gruesome gags (such as playing for time by playing puppets with the corpse of Guy of Gisborne) and a lovely fool in the burly shape of Olafur Darri Olafson's Pierre, a self-involved French fop (“”Green is not my colour”) who later quite gets off on faking “butch”. And there's a frizzy-haired dog who parps on a clarinet and wild boar who saws on a cello before it is removed as his innards during a ritual disembowelling.
 
There are also disturbing elements in the central story of the traumatising dangers facing the two children of a man who was hanged as a subversive for refusing to pay Prince John's fraudulent Holy Contribution Tax. For this reason, I think it would be safer to take children a little older than the 7 upwards suggested by the RSC. Otherwise, warmly recommended.

Great Tracks No 5, Facelift by Soft Machine

Recorded in 1970, this the opening track on their album titled 'Third' is made up from two live recordings, primarily from Fairfield Hall, Croydon but some from the Mothers Club in Birmingham a week later
"Facelift" is the most radical track of the four on the double LP being some 19 minutes long. A majority of the finished product is essentially a live recording, involving tape collage, speeding up, slowing down, looping and backwards playing of tapes, the ending being the most memorable part, where two different treatments of the same basic riff (one from the live concert, the other, at double speed, from their Spaced project) are heard simultaneously, backwards. Facelift is bassist Hugh Hopper's composition and is an extended rock-jazz improvisation of the basic rift. Use of tapes in an live situation was ahead of its time, now a band would have a couple of laptops and an array of Boss loop pedals. Hopper did in fact employ a fuzz pedal. Saw them twice, once at the UCL student union in a large room with a very low ceiling, then when they made history by becoming the first 'rock band' invited to play at London's Proms in August 1970, a show which was broadcast live and subsequently released as a cd.
Very influential, and could have easily chosen any of the three other tracks, so a brief note for 'Slightly All The Time' and Robert Wyatt's 'Moon in June'
.

Great Tracks No 4, Sweetest Decline by Beth Orton

One of current favourite tracks at the moment, a very simple gentle ballad in fact that just oozes laid back calmness. The string background just lulls you into a great sense of well being and then over the top a simple repeating melody on piano (Dr John The Night Tripper???) and Beth's glorious vocals over the top.
Wonderful chill out music, you could loop it forever.

Great tracks No3: Astral Weeks by Van Morrison

Released in 1968, such a great opener on such a great album. Beautifully scored with the minimum of instrumentation, acoustic (rytham) guitar, upright bass, flute, maracas, and a slewing string section. Lyrically said to be going head to head with Dylan at the time but criticallt reviewed as 'impressionistic' and even 'stream of conciousness' this 43 years later sounds as contemporary as the come. Within a five to six years and after the release of St Dominic's Preview it was all downhill for Van the Man.
A must for anybodies album collection.

First open fire of the year

A taste of winter to come maybe, but this afternoon lit the first open fire of the year.
Listening to Nick Cave's 'Dig, Lazarus Dig' to be followed by John Martyn's 'Solid Air' a classic indeed.

Great Tracks No2, Tip Your Way by The Felice Brothers

On the evening when I have just learnt The Felice Brothers gig tomorrow night has just been postponed until March and I was going. Ian Felice hospitalised with shingles in Berlin, I offer this concluding track of their second and eponymously called The Felice Brothers.

It’s a list and but a simple and mesmerising one, the rhythm like the Unthanks before is driven along by someone tapping their feet. The song slowly builds, thirteen verses in all, an example....

Tip the corner bum everyday
Tip the New York whore in the sleigh
Tip the carousel girl, tip the monkey in curls
Tip your way into heaven's gate.

And then picking up pace to a rousing finish...

Tip your own true love in the rain
Leave her there where the saxophone's play
Boy you're young as can be, you got country to see
Your a long ways from heaven's gate.

Probably not the most well known, and the three times I have had the pleasure of seeing them live, not performed live, but like most of the songs on the cd, a tune you can hum/whistle/sing along too.

This should be a must have album, don’t pass it by because you have never heard them. 

Again wonderful

Great Tracks No1: Felton Lonnin by Rachael Unthank and The Winterset

Felton Lonnin is the opening track of Bairns and a remarkable starter it is too, both contemporary and timeless, it is a traditional Northumberland song arranged by Johnny Handle but given the sister's unmistakable slant. the centre section containing an atmospheric interlude entirely of strings and as described on the attributes, feet. The foot tapping provides the rhythm whilst the string section has a minimalistic but Chinese sweep to it, I have not heard the likes of it before.
Opening verse goes.................

 The kye's come hyem, but Aa see not me hinny;
 the kye's come hyem, but Aa see not me bairn;
 Aa'd rather loss aall the kye than loss me bairn.
 Fair faced is me hinny, his blue eyes are bonny,
 his hair in curled ringlets hung sweet to the sight;
 O mount the old pony, seek after me hinny,
 and bring to his mammy her only delight.

Wonderful 

Some photos from the National Geographic Photo Contest 2011

Follow this link for the rest

Gesso in Jericho

Discovered a very small private gallery in Jericho, a small enclave just north of Oxford city's centre a couple of weeks ago and the highlight of their new exhibition is this work above by Oxfordshire artist Pamela Franklin. If I had the cash to spare I would have bought it, but what it did do was to fire up my rather asleep need to paint. Franklin's work is built up on worked layers of gesso (boiled rabbit skin and chalk in her case) with colour and in this case (middle bottom) silver leaf, worked into the surface. The surface is also etched revealing the white gesso below.
So now armed with a largish sheet of MDF and a tub of gesso, I have started my first painting in 40 years, the result, hopefully will be revealed here in the future!

My Week With Marilyn

Good old BBC, its rewearding to see that our licence money has not gone to waste, when dear ol' Auntie, you can produce films as good as this, and long may it continue.
Compelling portrait of Monroe by Michelle Williams and a convincing Colin Clarke from Eddie Redmayne but it is Kenneth Branagh as Olivier that took the spot light for me.
With the exception of Dame Judy and surprisingly, Emma Watson of this parish and onetime guest of the FMIO house, all the other British luvvies became a distraction.
However one to see and an Oscar becones for someone.

8.75 / 10

Okkervil River @ Koko, Mornington Crescent

Set List
Wake and Be Fine
For Real
Rider
The Latest Toughs
Piratess
Song of Our So-Called Friend
We Need a Myth
White Shadow Waltz
The Valley
No Key, No Plan
(Acoustic)
So Come Back, I Am Waiting
It Ends With a Fall
Your Past Life as a Blast
Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe
Lost Coastlines
Unless It's Kicks

Encore:
It Is So Nice To Get Stoned
John Allyn Smith Sails
Westfall

Saw Okkervil River at this years EOTR Festival where we even had a quick chat to lead singer Will Sheff as the band walked through the secret garden. So for the first thirty minutes of the gig I did not recognise the band at all. Far too heavy a sound with an overpowering drumming dominance. Then something happened, around So Come Back, I Am Waiting, the set mood changed, slightly more emphasis on a pop sound, audience participation, but the change was noticable. Two women standing in front of me appeared to be politly bored, exactly how I was feeling too, and then it changed, they started to bop, started to get involved, and the gig came alive.
Full marks to Will Sheff, he gave it his all, a great lead man, looking when bespeckled like Jarvis Cocker, and this was the band that I saw at EOTR.

Revanche

2008 film about the ill-fated love story between a Viennese ex-con and a Ukrainian prostitute who get involved in a bank robbery and a policeman and his wife in rural Austria. Nominated in the 2008 Oscars for best forign language film losing out to the Japanese film, Departures. Convincing and natural film, without any musical soundtrack at all (very refreshing)and neatly tied up finish.
8.5 / 10

Vintage Trouble @ The Plug, Sheffield.

 

 Top notch gig from start to finish. Had the advantage of being able to sit/stand stage left as they played to a packed and sold out 350+ audience. Soul singing mixed with driving rock music is not a sound we see or hear these days, but believe me, Vintage Trouble really really make it work.Brilliant evening, do not miss if you have the chance.

 

The Help

Decent enough movie with excellant performances all round from the mainly female cast, quite touching and funny. Reminded me of friend's helper in Cape Town who would bus in from the outlining townships to keep house during the week. She was however well looked after and respected.
8/10

Wilco @ Camden's Roundhouse

Nels Cline on twin neck in the usual 'lets lean back' pose

Nick Lowe joins Wilco for 2nd encore number of 'Cruel to be Kind'

First visit to The Roundhouse since May 1970 when tried to see The Doors Play The Camden Rock Festival. That was sold out so got tickets for the next night which was headlinned by Family. Since then the venue has been somewhat refurbished which has been well done but the old balcony which was on the line of the inner columns has now disappeared and pushed back much further. It was on this new balcony that we disappointingly found us. Fortunatly smuggled in a decent lens hence the shots above. Annoyingly Tweedy addressed his mike with his back to our side.
An Ok set, but just Ok, not enough rapour with the audience, for when he did he came over as amusing reflecting on his 17 years of touring. The more diverse the music, soft moments followed by 'noise' the better it came across, but there was just too many soft rock numbers which fell flat.
Nick Lowe came on for a magical rendition of Cruel to be Kind, proving I suppose once again what a good song writer he is.

Highlights
Black Bull Nova (how catchy can you get but with aggresive rock noise layered over the top)
Via Chicago (amaxing juxstapostion of pure noise and Tweedy's singing)
I'll Fight (again how catchy can you get)

Setlist

1. One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley's Boyfriend)
2. Poor Places
3. Art Of Almost
4. I Might
5. At Least That's What You Said
6. Bull Black Nova
7. Via Chicago
8. Born Alone
9. Box Full Of Letters
10. War On War
11. Hummingbird
12. Whole Love
13. Impossible Germany
14. Open Mind
15. I'll Fight
16. Pot Kettle Black
17. Dawned On Me
18. A Shot in the Arm

Encore:

1. The Late Greats
2. Cruel To Be Kind
3. Heavy Metal Drummer

Eilen Jewel @ Camden's Cecil Sharp House.

Jerry Miller, fabulous guitar player in the old mould. Great sound out of his Gretsch.

Along to the home of England's Folk and Dance HQ in Camden, The Cecil Taylor House. Not what I expected or wanted as it was primarily a seated affair. All four sides of the purpose built hall, complete with I think Douglas Fir panelling was three rows of stacked bench seating. Ok for a big barn dance, but not for the EJ Band. In someways after all that I spotted a seat available in the front row slightly left of centre. Perfect for a couple of snap shots but lighting was poor so new it would be difficult to get a decent shot without having to resort to Photoshop. Shooting in RAW format at least gives me a good chance.
Yet again Eilen Jewel and her band do not fail to impress, songs ranging from the self penned, to covers and two Loretta Lynn numbers, all undertaken in old style short 45rpm time.
EJ clearly was annoyed that nobody would get up and dance and so a dialogue with the audience ensued, including myself and all was good fun. Cannot recall any other performer that has such a good rapport with their audience. Many requests were shouted from the audience but with such a good back catalogue not all could be accommodated. Unusually a majority of the songs were up tempo except for my requested Codeine Arms which she played in the second half. Last number up was an extended Shakin' All Over with guitarist Jerry Miller playing an excellent and long solo on guitar. The set ended and to a man and woman, EJ got a standing ovation from the 350 crowd.
It just makes you wonder why the masses love crap like X Factor, oh well, it keeps the cream for me to like and follow, and hopefully you too.
Before the band started Jerry Miller was tuning up his guitar on stage, it looked different to the one I had seen him play on three previous occassions which was bright red. I mentioned this to the professional photagrapher sitting next to me who low and behold asked him at the end of the first set. it turns out to be the same guitar, he had not changed it. Looking back to the Tingewick gig a year ago, it is bright red but exactly the same, JM did say the natural timber finish changes with the lighting, and I am guessing that the lighting at the earlier gigs were heavily in the red spectrum.

We Need to Talk About Kevin

Somewhat entertaining film which relies on Tilda Swinton's manipulations of her facial muscles to great effect. On reflection afterwards holes in the (film) story appear which although not read, probably don't surface in the book.Ezra Miller convincing as Kevin as does Jasper Newell as the younger Kevin.
One big hole in the plot detracts from the overall good impression given by the film.

7.8/10

Po' Girls

End Of The Road Festival 2011 @Larmer Tree Gardens, DorsetS

Back again for the 2011 festival managing to make the first act on stage, Secret Sisters, and see the finishing Act, Johannah Newsome (tedious) out on the Sunday night. Warm and sunny on the friday, mixed the other two days with a squally shower for the duration of the impressive Midlake. Layout different from last year as the Woods Stage had been added for the headline act which ensured a lot of tooing and froing between it and the far nicer Garden Stage. But with slopes down to both stages, a good view was always available. There was a degree of sound spillage between one stage and another and also felt that the bass was a bit prevalent so marring the sound.

Secret Sisters
Opening act of the weekend on the Garden Stage, liked their self penned songs and shows promise but their covers were just covers.

 Caitlin Rose

tUnE-yArDs

arebh Turek

Clap Your Hands And Say Yeah!

Magic Garden

Joan as Police Woman

The Walkman

Lykie Li

 

Beriut

The Fall

 

The Diagrams

Gruf Rhys

Mogwai

Okeril River

Lanterns on the Lake

Tinariwen

Laura Marling

Midlake

Joanna Newsom

Tedious