Sunday 22 February 2015

Wasp

Wasp is a somewhat pared down job, just two actresses, two scenes and 90 minutes long with no interval. But it packs a lot in. Including a death,

Its actually quite a sinister play. A reunion of two "school friends" in their thirties slowly reveals a story of teenage bullying and revenge. It would make quite a good short horror film. It perhaps doesn't show a very attractive view of man (or more particularly woman) kind, but at no point was it anything less than engrossing theatre. And it was anything but predictable, with more than one twist that don't see coming at all.




Saturday 21 February 2015

Interpol at the Forum

Sadly, I gave up on trying to find someone else that I thought would appreciate Interpol (and even I have to admit they are not the best of live bands) and just went on my own. Which was actually a nice enough experience, although my dinner did just consist of a cereal bar, a packet of crisps and a pint of cider.

First up were a band (or duo) called Slaves.

This was just punk on steroids. Now I know there has been precedent for a guitar and drums duo (White Stripes, Royal Blood) but for me this is just far too crude. Blokes shouting over a thumping a drum kit just doesn't have the textured sound I am looking for.






Slaves were clearly not the reason I had come. Interpol were. I have to say that this was the best performance I have seen from them. I just really like their music. A great, slightly depressing guitar band. Will definitely go again when next they come over from the States. One of America's better (and certainly cooler) bands.

My one whinge was they fooled me at the end. Like very band, they "finished" and then returned for an encore. But then shortly after I had relinquished my spot at the front, they came back again for a final song. I suppose my own fault. In gig terms, its not over til the fat lady sings, but not over until the lights go up.






































Susan Calman

This was the first time I had seen Susan Calman doing stand-up although I was very familiar with her Glaswegian patter on Radio 4. Actually seeing her was rather a by-product of my evening. The main purpose was to successfully meet up with a couple of my younger colleagues at work, with whom I had numerous failures to meet up with after work. So I thought the one way of them not getting caught up in the office was to organize something for a Sunday night.

So my plans were for a few drinks and dinner, and then I thought an hour of comedy might be a nice addition. As it turned put, we didn't manage much more than the comedy due to time pressures at their end, and Susan was a bit less of a hit than I had hoped.

She came over as very nice, and I quite liked her self-deprecating stories (and indeed the fact that she greeted us all personally as we filed in). The problem was that she just didn't have that much real material to work off. It could have been funnier. Bit of a sweeping condemnation I know, and its not really meant to be. It wasn't bad, but just not good enough. Maybe I am spoilt now by the amount of stand up I see.

But I would probably have enjoyed more tome n the pub with my mates.


Closer

Closer is a very clever play. And I did enjoy it, despite sitting next to someone who didn't, and the person next to him who left at the interval in disgust. It can at times be a bit unsettling and the sexual swearing is, well, prominent.

The play centres around the relationships of four individuals, or I could say two couples, but the make-up of couples shifts as the play wears on, with multiple infidelities. No one can quite settle on the same partner. Theatrically its a very fine, clever piece. At times all four are on stage at the same time, but are not all present in the same scene. At one point we see the end of a restaurant liaison, and then the beginning of the liaison follows it, to show how we got to that point. There is a great scene where the two men are communicating via computer, their electronic chat appearing on a screen above, leaving us just to see the facial expressions of the actors reacting to their dialogue.

I can't say I found it an entirely believable play, but nor so unlikely that one found it wholly unconvincing either. Perhaps the most thought provoking bits were those which focused on tipping points in a relationship. Those points where one could have resisted temptation, and not been unfaithful. But this lot could never resist temptation.

Lots of good witty lines in it too, but also a fair bit of gratuitous and rather jarring sexual conversation. Not for the easily offended.





Saturday 14 February 2015

Elbow at the Hammersmith Apollo

I am struggling with doing reviews of seeing Elbow. I can only wax lyrical every time I see them which can get boring to write.

First up I went with a mate who had only just got back from a 9 month spell in Aberdeen. Genuinely lovely chap who anyone would like, so just having the chance to catch up with him was a pleasure in itself.

We saw much of the support act Black Rivers. Now we both said that we loved the music they played, but rather disliked the vocals. The songs almost had to be stopped to let in the rather insipid singing. I commented to James that I was rather surprised in a way that a band that was obviously not in the first flush of youth was still trying to make a go of it supporting Elbow.

Later research on my part revealed why. Not really a new band at all, but half of Doves (who I liked), minus front man Jimi Goodwin, leaving the Williams brothers to form Black Rivers. So that explains a lot. Really mature music well played, but uninspiring vocals.



Enough of them. Onto the main act. I am not surprised that every time I see Elbow I think they are wonderful. What I am surprised by is that I think I enjoy them more every time I see them. They are getting better.

This was a neat mix for the fans here, several songs from their latest album, The Take off and Landing of Everything, but also a lot of their much less well known songs from early albums. Even their real signature tune, One Day Like This, neatly fitted slightly anonymously into the middle of the set rather than was used as an ending. Its nice not to be defined by one anthem.

I always end up saying what a wonderful frontman Guy Garvey is, because its true. Every time you see him you think just what a great guy he is. Just the sort of bloke you would like as a friend down a pub. He has a rapport with the audience that has genuine warmth. When he gets the crowd involved, well they really get involved (and an Elbow crowd can really sing harmonies. We are good.)

He tells us that he will tell us the best story we will ever hear. but later, And eventually, he does tell us, And if maybe not the best ever, it really was very good. (Too long for this blog, but it involved French maids and poo. Great ingredients.)

As a singer he has an exceptional voice, strong, sweet and rough all at the same time. And the unglamorous beardy band behind him, with a large string and brass section, are all perfect too. The sound is just amazing. Always.

They truly do have a brilliant back catalogue of songs to call upon, but perhaps here I might take the chance to highlight what a terrific lyricist Guy is. Some of his lesser known songs exemplify this. A couple that they played that don't normally get an airing but did tonight, and which I adore are, Any Day Now which opens their first album Asleep in the Back and Fugitive Motel from their second, Cast of Thousands.

Song lyrics can't really be extracted from the music - that's what adds to the poetry, so repeating them her will not do them justice. But And day Now has a superb little insistent rhythm over which there is that call to escape crap towns that can be a theme amongst the young (see the Enemy for example)

"Any day now how's about getting out of this place? Any ways. Got lots of spare time, some of my youth and all of my senses on overdrive."

Or the haunting romantic wistful Fugitive Motel

"I blow you a kiss
It should reach you tomorrow
As it flies from the other side of the world
From my room in my fugitive motel
Somewhere in the dust bowl
It flies from the other side of the world"


Or from Switching Off - "You, the only sense the world has ever made"

Their latest album has a rather melancholic feel and lacks perhaps some of the stand out stuff from their earlier work, but with the notable exception (for me)  of My Sad Captains, with which they closed the show, following a raucous rendition of Grounds for Divorce .

"And if its so we only pass this way but once, what a perfect waste of time." Perfect here not being sarcastic, but just perfect, in the way that one can enjoy a waste of time. And of course one hasn't improved the world by going to see Elbow. A waste of time in a way, but a perfect one. I loved it. Look forward to doing it again. And again.



How is that for an arty photograph of Guy Garvey?