St Paul and the Broken Bones @ KOKO Mornington Crescent, London

Nearly two years after I first saw them at EOTR Festival, so when the chance to see them again at my favourite venue KOKO in London's Mornington Crescent, the tickets were soon purchased. A mixed audience of young and old were all in a relaxed mood started to fill the venue, many gathered on the outside terrace overlooking the southern start of Camden High Street, and for us a quick drink outside the Lyttleton Arms opposite overlooking the whole scene.
The magic wand search outside failed to flag up I was carrying two cameras which was a blessed relief and inside, with the surprisingly good Yola Carter sounding like Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes warming up the not sold out crowd.

 Made our way down to the stage level and secured a good location near the front. It began to fill up and looking back up at the three levels of stepped balconies, so did the auditorium. To a musical fanfare the Broken Bones came onto stage, plugged in and started up with Paul Janeway walking onstage after a minute or two to a tumultuous applause.
And what a show they gave. So good to hear a horn section in a band, just adds to the depth and gives so much more of a funkier sound.
Janeway strides around the front of the stage like the preacher he could so easily have become, clambering up on the wings rather precariously and singing (or is that hollering) his lungs out. A sort of white man's James Brown.
Three encores, including John Lennon's I want you, and it was all over. Everybody was beaming at the end knowing that they had just witnessed one great live act.
Two videos made, including two of the encores, Early Number and Encore

Florence Foster Jenkins

An amusing film, which both Streep and Grant are convincing in their roles (even though you know who they really are) but so to was Simon Helberg (Howard from Big Bang Theory),
The real punch laugh out loud moment was well held back, a couple of women sitting near us just could not stop laughing from that point onwards and they carried on even after the film had ended.
Amazed to read that Liverpool was the prime film location doubling up as NYC.

Good.

The Painkiller

90 minutes of non stop laughter. British Farce at its best. Brydon, was Brydon, but Branagh was just hilarious. To see a Shakespearean actor ham it up, po faced to the extent he did was just a joy to watch. Catch it if you can.

Eddie the Eagle

Look, ignore the fact that the Jackman character was a composite of the numerous trainers that Edwards had. Ignore the awful background music between some relatively well chosen albeit, British pop music of the era. Ignore the face of Jim Broadbent as the possibly David Coleman commentator who dominates the Calgary final section of the film, why they had to concentrate on his face rather than just use his voice as a voice over I have no idea.
And ignore the fact that the real back story is even more amazing than the précised film version.

Then this is a decent little feel good film reminding you what a feat Edwards actually achieved. The stunts of the falling ski jumpers are some of the most realistic I have seen and the flying camera work are something to behold. And mountains covered in snow are always beautiful.

Go and see it and come out at the end with a smile on your face.

Good.

Natalie Merchant @ The Royal Albert Hall, London

A much waited for gig, never thought she would come over to the UK again so when the gig was announced, snapped up two tickets immediately although was rather disappointed with our location.
The ability to get even a half decent video clip disappeared fast, not only because of the ushers who were on the look out, but the sheer distance to the stage. My big Nikon was more than match for that but having a large screen showing would have curtailed that opportunity. Was in fact stopped videoing using the small GoPro I also came armed with, and still amazed that I was stopped because I thought I had disguised it in my hand rather well. Did shot off two songs but the result as I was aiming by instinct was not what I hoped for. Here is that evidence.

But the gig, a very pleasant two and a bit hours including three numbers sung in a continuous encore. She started the first number five times forgeting the lines to her own song. A first for me, was she nervous? That all disappeared once she got going. One number near the end she ended up crying with the emotion she had put into the song. Then at the end another sight I cant recall seeing before as she went down and hugged a large number of the audience.
The band consisted of keyboards, acoustic bass, drums and guitar and a string quartet. Several shouts for various songs was dismissed by reminding the audience that with a string quartet on stage, those sort of songs just would not get performed.
Midway through she gave a very tempered rant against Donald Trump, hoping that he would just implode.
So an evening of introspection, reflection and lament. and THE VOICE, which soared un-restrained through the vast domed cavern that is the RAH.
Final thought, she was rather respectful of the setting, her set totally fitting the venue.

wonder.land @ The National Theatre, London

At times, visually spectacular, musically a great disappointment. The lyricist should be shot imposing old style musical songs into an inner city urban environment. Albarn should also be shot for pandering to such crap, |What happened to Gorillaz, what happened to Blur.
This had the feel of under development, the basic concept is so good but has not been taken through to its logical, and theatrical conclusion, which is a shame on the NT.
If you get to see it, make sure you are in the centre with a viewpoint about head level with the actors. Olivier's stage is just to wide for the production.
And there is one jaw dropping moment that nearly was just worth the entrance fee alone.

Hail Caesar

 Mildly amusing which keeps a grin on your face throughout. One for the film buffs. The on-set sequences are the most interesting and captures the era so well.
Josh Brolin convincing as Mannix, the Hollywood fixer at the time, and on reflection, fixes his own part again in the Hollywood story.
It did however from very early on remind me of Punchdrunk's brilliant production of The Drowned Man (a Hollywood Fable) which we saw in the summer of 2013. I just wonder if the Coens saw that production as it appears that late in 2013 they took an old idea of the shelf and reinvented it.

Good