It's been a while since I posted and a lot has happened - all good I'm pleased to say. I'm gonna try and keep this as brief as possible though because I do have a tendancy to waffle and it's always bad when I start to bore myself!
( Rocking the Casbah once again )Long story short. I ended up on the guestlist to Guillemots' Koko gig in Camden, London.
( Read more... )On to Latitude Music & Film Festival 2008.
( Read more... )So... I think I'm staring to waffle now so I'll try and summarise the weekend.
FridayCaught the end of Beth Orton
( Photos )Good but not my kind of music. Not currently, in any case.
British Sea Power
( Photos )Awesome set. Really enjoyed these. Conclusion: Must buy albums. Must listen to Arwel more often...
Caught the beginning of Martha Wainwright
( Photos )Again, not realy my type of music so Laura and I stayed long enough to watch Fyfe Dangerfield make his guest appearance then headed to the Music & Film Tent. Here we watched various short films including the rather good animation "Peter and the Wolf" before the main event...
Guillemots' rescoring of Eraserhead.
( Read more... )Easily the highlight of my weekend. Guillemot's improvised the entire score and it was a truly awe-inspiring experience. I hadn’t previously seen the movie so I cannot compare with the original but the score they provided certainly seemed to convey the themes well. I was sat on the floor at the back (with Laura) watching on one of the smaller screens (too many people in front to watch the main screen). The improvised score was immersive and I found myself totally absorbed by the movie and it’s almost stream-of-consciousness dream-reality. They played without a break for the entire length of the movie. Here are some clips which truly do not do the experience justice
( In Heaven, Everything Is Fine )Then we stickered more loos, danced outside the cheesey disco tent and finally collapsed back at the tent!
SaturdayMooched in the morning. In the afternoon, we mainly watched comedians:
Dan Atkinson - don't really remember...
Carey Marx - gets away with close-to-the-knuckle jokes by holding up a cute teddy bear. Strangely works.
Tim Minchin
( Photos ) - Easily the funniest comedian I saw all weekend. Like Bill Bailey but funnier. Dark yet somehow fluffy sing-along humour. Brilliant.
Scott Capurro - wasn't so fond myself
Jon Richardson - funny - much better than in his podcast with Russell Howard. The podcast seems to be aimed at a more laddish audience than myself but JR's stand-up had a wider audience appeal
Bill Bailey
( Photos ) - Funny but a little disappointing after having seen Tim Minchin. Similar comedy but I found TM's topics closer to my heart.
Then we stickered some more loos...
Then we caught the end of the Coral's acoustic set before pushing our way towards the front of the crowd for House of Love
( Photos )Not that we were that bothered by HOL (although I recognised and sang along to one song and they were entertaining enough) but next up were...
Guillemots
( Photos )Another awesome show. During the first song "Get Over It", leadman Fyfe Dangerfield's guitar strap broke about three-quarters of the way through playing it. He played on... awkwardly. A roadie tried to fix it. Failed. Fyfe played on. Hence, in the second photo of this batch, he is balancing his guitar on his leg.
Next up, were The Mars Volta. I'd never heard of them but would have stayed to check them out had we not needed to return the remaining stickers to Ed the Manager (I don't know his second name). So, we waited outside for Ed to appear and when he did, he brought half the band with him.
( So, I got to meet Fyfe and Arista of Guillemots! )What could top that? Well, nothing did really but I the rest of the festival was still fun and far from over...
We didn't venture back into the Uncut Arena for The Mars Volta (must check them out on You Tube as they sounded good from the side of the tent) but wandered over to The main Obelisk stage for Sigur Ros
( Photos )We took a few snaps then I attempted to sit and chill but there were too many people. Eventually we wandered back to the tent. I should listen to Sigur Ros again. They'll never be one of my favourite bands but their mellow music may be good to study and revise to.
SundayMore comedians:
Russell Kane
( Photos ) - Funny. Another to watch out for.
Phill Jupitus & Friends Improv.
( Photos ) - Basically, "Whose Line is it Anyway?" Brilliant stuff. Loved it.
Steve Weiner - seem to remember him being funny but obviously not hilarious...
Andrew Lawrence
( Photos ) - Laura really likes this guy. I thought he was OK.
Frankie Boyle - rather aggressive I thought. Not my cup of tea.
Then some music...
The Shortwave Set
( Photos )Good set. Enjoyed. Played my fave from their first album (the only one I have). Enjoyed the others so must purchase second album as well.
Spotted Alan Davies being interviewd in crowd... (see first Latitude photo dump).
The Breeders
( Photos )To be honest, a little disappointing. Laura described them as "unprofessional" and it's a fair point. It probably works for a smaller stage but they were on the main one. Chatty and engaging enough but their music didn't really impress. Except crowd-pleaser Cannonball which I too had been waiting for. That was top.
Blondie
( Photos )Wasn't expecting much but Blondie turned out to be another high point of the weekend. Debbie Harry can still rock! The crowd was simply one of the best I've ever been in... all ages... everyone singing along and dancing. We were far away from the stage but the atmosphere was still amazing. Atomic! You had to be there...
Laura and I decided nothing could top this end to a fab weekend so we ventured back to our tent via the bar were we purchaed only one drink only but still ended up giddy due to a lack of proper nourishment and sleep during the weekend.
MondayAlarm goes off at 6am. Yet again, I've had about 1hrs proper sleep due to the closeness of arena playng the disco until 4am, then people chatting in tents without the realistaion that tent walls are not as private as brick ones... Still, up we get, pack up the tent and throw ourselves and luggage onto the first coach to start our long journeys home. We're knackered. But it was so worth it! A truly amazing, fun weekend :D
I spent Monday evening with my beloved long-suffering fella, Paul. He's great &hearts
Back to reality. I really have to study this weekend else my degree is heading down the pan. Overdramatic. But my grade on this module will suffer if I don't pull myself together. Hey ho. I just cannot bring myself to worry too much about this. I'm having a fantastic year. I'm happier than I've ever been. Not just because of the last two weekends but just because I feel at one with myself and have done for much of the year. Something has clicked and life just seems good. I know many of my friends are having a shitty year and I truly do sypmathise. For myself though, I'm living and being thankful I'm here.