Movie Haiku - Notes On A Scandal

www.foxsearchlight.com/NOAS

Dir: Richard Eyre

Cast: Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, Bill Nighy, Andrew Simpson


Affair with schoolboy
Dame Judi gets possessive
but Cate's not a dyke

soulmining rating: ***

Reform Five

Tim Booth contemplates getting the band back together

What is it about bands reuniting this week?

The first rumblings were heard on Tuesday when James announced they were getting back together for a UK tour. The reunion seems to have surprised even singer Tim Booth himself, who always seemed very content with his new life in Hove concentrating on his solo work and his acting career. Fair play though, their Greatest Hits sold shed loads and tickets for these new shows got snapped up immediately. Next up were Crowded House, with Neil Finn and Nick Seymour confirming that they were working on a new album together and are auditioning for a new drummer (since the suicide of Paul Hester in 2005). Whatever you might think of their music, in their prime they were a fantastic live act - I remember being really surprised at their spontaneity and how well they developed a rapport with their audience at a Brighton Centre gig.

I joked to Bennett these things come in threes... well, we didn't have long to wait. The line up for this year's Coachella festival in California was then announced, with The Jesus And Mary Chain on the bill and Rage Against The Machine headlining one of the three days, both bands reforming for the festival. The pre-sale password for tickets was "Roxanne" which prompted speculation that The Police were going to play together for the first time in 20 years as well. Whilst that is yet to be confirmed, the band's reunion does seem be on, with rehearsals for a world tour due to take place shortly in Vancouver, according to several reports.

As if that's not enough, since I started posting this article news has reached me that Smashing Pumpkins have announced two festival shows in Germany (did they ever officially split up?) and that David Lee Roth has rejoined Van Halen for a 40-date tour of the US.

Next week - Pink Floyd, The Stone Roses and The Smiths patch up their differences?

Movie Haiku - Bobby

www.bobby-the-movie.com

Dir: Emilio Estevez

Cast: Anthony Hopkins, William H. Macy, Freddy Rodriguez, Sharon Stone


He was nation's hope
life in one day at hotel
Bobby comes to die

soulmining rating: ***

The Devil Wears Prada - DVD Review

Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada

Your eyes do not deceive you, I really am reviewing The Devil Wears Prada today. It may have the word 'devil' in its title but this is no distant cousin to The Devil's Rejects, The Devil Rides Out or The Devil's Backbone, it is indeed the recent fashion industry movie adapted from the best selling novel by Lauren Weisberger.

The film follows the career of Andrea (Anne Hathaway) after she somehow manages to blag a job as 2nd assistant to Miranda Priestley (Meryl Streep), the editor-in-chief of Runway magazine - despite having no fashion sense of her own. Keeping to a tried-and-tested formula, the first half of the film focuses on Andrea learning the ropes and the relationships with her new colleagues, and in particular the snooty 1st assistant Emily (Emily Blunt). As Andrea smartens up her act and becomes more successful her personal life duly suffers, and the second half of the film shifts to the choice she has to make between her boyfriend Nate (Zach Grenier - now famous as the star of Entourage) and the new charmer on the block, Christian (Simon Baker - last seen battling zombies in Land Of The Dead), alongside a power struggle within Runway magazine itself.

Let's be honest, the story is fairly predictable, but it's well told with a respectful if amusing look at the fashion industry - in fact the screenwriter has balanced the tone just right; it's pitched closer to the po-faced satire Pret A Porter than the slapstick of Zoolander. The main reason to watch the film though is for the performances, and for Meryl Streep in particular. Her take on 'dragon lady' Miranda is all cool and calm, business-like and efficient, yet oddly seducing and hides a vulnerable side - it's a performance which has already earned the star a Golden Globe award and an Oscar nomination, and is richly deserved. Anne Hathaway is very likeable too, and whilst she might wear thrift shop clothes to begin with she's certainly no Ugly Betty! Emily Blunt plays the bitchy English girl perfectly and has surely been studying Jennifer Saunders' role in Absolutely Fabulous, as she's got her scornful delivery down to a fine art.

Another thing I liked about the film is the soundtrack; right from the use of KT Tunstall's Suddenly I See over the opening credits, the choice of upbeat songs throughout is spot on. The pacing and direction from David Frankel is fine too, making some good use of montage scenes to convey the progress of Andrea's character in the job. Overall The Devil Wears Prada doesn't break any new ground but it is more than just another 'chick flick' and proves to be an entertaining watch which blokes can enjoy too!

The Devil Wears Prada is released on DVD in the UK on 5th February.


The DVD includes the following special features:

• Commentary by Director David Frankel plus the film's Producer, Costume Designer, Screenwriter, Editor and Director of Photography
• 5 Featurettes - The Trip to The Big Screen, NYC and Fashion, Fashion Visionary Patricia Field, Getting Valentino, Boss from Hell
• 16 Deleted Scenes with optional commentary from Director David Frankel and Editor Mark Livolsi
• Gag Reel
• Theatrical Trailer

You can read my original movie haiku for the film here.

The Return Review

Peter O'Brien and Sarah Michelle Gellar in The Return

"A film more likely to bore you to death than scare you to death..."

"Totally fails to deliver on the supernatural chills suggested in the trailer..."

"A wholly pointless exercise..."

You can read my full review at Eat My Brains website here.

Movie Haiku - Rocky Balboa

www.mgm.com/rocky_balboa

Dir: Sylvester Stallone

Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Burt Young, Antonio Tarver, Geraldine Hughes


Stallone is Rocky
he returns for one last fight
leaves with dignity

soulmining rating: ***

Movie Haiku - The Return

www.thereturnmovie.net

Dir: Asif Kapadia

Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Peter O'Brien, Adam Scott, Sam Shepard


Hear audience yawn
bored to death not scared to death
it's bland of the dead

soulmining rating: *

EMB Top Ten Films of 2006

Doug Jones and Ivana Baquero in Pan's Labyrinth

Just a quick pointer to Eat My Brains where you can now view our Top Ten Films of 2006, as chosen by Mike, Jim, Russ, David and myself. I've provided capsule reviews for Severance and The Host. No prizes for guessing which genre flick came out on top...

2007 Oscar Nominations

Today saw the announcement of the shortlist for the 79th Academy Awards, to be held on 25th February in Los Angeles. Here are the nominations for the major awards, with my own tips to win highlighted in red:

Best Picture

• Babel
• The Departed
• Letters From Iwo Jima
• Little Miss Sunshine
• The Queen
  

Best Director

• Clint Eastwood, Letters From Iwo Jima
• Stephen Frears, The Queen
• Paul Greengrass, United 93
• Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu, Babel
• Martin Scorsese, The Departed

Best Actor

• Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond
• Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
• Peter O'Toole, Venus
• Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness
• Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland

Best Actress

• Penelope Cruz, Volver
• Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
• Helen Mirren, The Queen
• Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
• Kate Winslet, Little Children

Best Supporting Actor

• Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
• Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
• Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond
• Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
• Mark Wahlberg, The Departed

Best Supporting Actress

• Adriana Barraza, Babel
• Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
• Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
• Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
• Rinko Kikucki, Babel

Best Foreign Language Film

• Efter Brylluppet (aka After the Wedding), Denmark
• Indigenes (aka Days of Glory), Algeria
• El Laberinto del Fauno (aka Pan's Labyrinth), Mexico
• Das Leben der Anderen (aka The Lives of Others), Germany
• Water, Canada

Best Adapted Screenplay

• Borat
• Children of Men
• The Departed
• Little Children
• Notes on a Scandal

Best Original Screenplay

• Babel
• Letters from Iwo Jima
• Little Miss Sunshine
• The Queen
• Pan's Labyrinth

I so hope Pan's Labyrinth wins the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, it would be such a thrill to see Guillermo Del Toro bound onto the stage to collect his award. In fact I'm delighted to see the film secure six nominations - in addition to the two already mentioned above it has also been shortlisted for Best Music (Score), Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction and Best Make Up. I'm also pleased to see Children Of Men get three nominations - for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing.

Non-interview with Garth Marenghi

I got given the perfect belated Christmas present yesterday from my good friends Troy & Rom (superb taste) in the shape of Garth Marenghi's Darkplace on DVD. I've been championing this wonderful eighties horror series for ages, and it reminded me that I was supposed to have been conducting an interview with the man himself for Eat My Brains to tie in with the DVD release. I did my research, submitted my questions... and nothing happened; we drew a complete blank from the PR company and they didn't even bother to send out a copy of the DVD for us to review. Instead Garth ended up doing articles for all the 'quality' press like Empire magazine.

So, since I'm sitting here with nothing better to do, I thought I'd share my intended questions to Garth Marenghi with you all. Maybe one day when he's sat at his typewriter suffering with writer's block he'll go online, Google his name and end up here where he can finally supply some answers. (Unlikely, I admit, but then again I did bump into his publicist Dean Learner in a London bar just before Christmas, so you never know...) Here's my 'lost' interview with the master dream-weaver then:

Hi Garth, you've been a writer of horror stories for over three decades now. What keeps you interested in the genre?

You tend to use present day settings and faceless urban locations such as Luton and Leytonstone in your books. Do you feel this helps your readers to identify more with the terrors that you describe?

Horror fiction is often perceived as a rather worthless literary genre, yet many of your tales have an underlying subtext dealing with major global issues, for example, water pollution (The Ooze), the AIDS epidemic (Juggers) or the impact of the internet (Mindgrid). Do these issues represent your own real-life fears?

Can you tell us a little about your latest novel, Retch?

Your publisher Dean Learner comes from a background of high-class erotica. Is it true that the two of you are thinking of collaborating on a series of erotic-horror novels?

Let's talk about your television series Darkplace which you wrote, directed and starred in during the early eighties. It's attracted quite a cult following, despite its rare broadcast. Are you aware of the influence that the show has had on other contemporary programmes? I'm thinking of Lars Von Trier's Kingdom series and Stephen King's adaptation Kingdom Hospital in particular, but also several episodes of Holby City.

Your friend Dean [who also co-stars as hospital boss Thornton Reed in Darkplace] was quoted as saying, "Not since Orson Welles had one man so many fingers in so many pies, and been the chef as well. And then looked like he went and ate them all. The guy was out of control." Looking back now at the making of the series now, was it a tough shoot for you?

Madeleine Wool who played Dr. Liz Asher in the show famously vanished after the production and is still missing, presumed dead. What do you think really happened to her?

Your other main co-star was of course cult horror actor Todd Rivers who played Dr. Lucien Sanchez. What was he able to bring to the project?

You've described the show as "subversive" and I believe you've had a number of battles with censorship, notably being forced to pixilate an erection in the episode Skipper The Eyechild. Does it annoy you that so-called 'art' films like Nine Songs or Baise-Moi can get away with showing graphic sexual images, yet you can't show a giant mutated eyeball sporting a hard-on?

Now that Darkplace has finally secured a DVD release, what surprises and extras can fans look forward to seeing?

You filmed around fifty episodes of Darkplace yet only six have been screened. Are there any plans to restore further episodes from your vaults?

After the disastrous attempt to film your classic novel Black Fang (rats learn to drive), has this dissuaded you from further big screen adaptations of your work? I've heard rumours of you perhaps making a film about giant mutated wasps in the near future?

Finally, Dean's new chat show Man To Man With Dean Learner begins this month on Channel 4. Can we expect to see you as a guest on the programme?

(Interview prepared October 2006 © soulmining)

You can discover more about the genuis of Garth Marenghi at his official website here.

As a footnote to this post, actor Matt Berry who plays Todd Rivers (Sanchez in Darkplace) will be performing at the Komedia in Brighton on Wednesday 28th February. I'm there!

Bring me Sunshine

I've been closely following the production of Danny Boyle's Sunshine for nearly eighteen months now and it's one of my most anticipated films of 2007 - hopefully making good on its promise of a modern sci fi movie that is both exciting AND intelligent.

Now, finally, I have a trailer for the film... so here it is:

Embed This Video | Visit Fox Searchlight

That's the international version of the trailer - there's also a slightly different UK trailer which is now up on Yahoo here.

Sunshine is due to open in UK cinemas on 6th April 2007.

Movie Haiku - Ghosts

www.ghoststhemovie.co.uk

Dir: Nick Broomfield

Cast: Ai Qin Lin, Zhan Yu, Zhe Wei, Man Qin Wei


Smuggled to UK
they work shit jobs for low pay
tide comes in too quick

soulmining rating: ***

Movie Haiku - Smokin' Aces

www.smokinacesmovie.net

Dir: Joe Carnahan

Cast: Alicia Keys, Ray Liotta, Jeremy Piven, Ryan Reynolds


Kill mob informant
stunt casting for cartoon roles
it's smokin' faeces

soulmining rating: **

Ch-Ch-Changes

As you may have noticed, feed the pony finally got upgraded to the new version of Blogger this week, so after two years of the 'dark dots' layout I thought this would be an ideal time for a change. So you're now looking at the new improved site, I hope you like it!

Inevitably there are a few teething issues - I've lost my list of blogging friends, my Eat My Brains banner, my subscription option, my hit counter and my weather pixie - but hopefully I can retrieve some, if not all, of these missing elements very soon. Anyway, please bear with me while I adjust to my new layout. Thanks - and enjoy!

They're back...

Prison Break - screening Monday nights on Five

I love the Winter months for one reason - all the best television shows return! Here's five of the best that I'm watching at the moment:

ER - I've rarely missed an episode of ER since it began thirteen years ago, even though I hate watching medical stuff and won't go anywhere near the likes of Casualty. That said, the new series is shaping up to be the weakest yet with nearly all of the decent characters having now departed (last season was only worth watching for John Leguizamo's unhinged performance) leaving it in desperate need of a transfusion of new blood. And what's happened to the opening titles? 9pm Thursday E4

Masters Of Horror - A fantastic idea: cherry pick the best talent in horror cinema and get them to make a series of self-contained one hour dramas. The reality: small budgets, one star name per episode, patchy writing and some of the poorest acting on telly. Season 1 was decidedly hit and miss but there were some good episodes, and advance word on Season 2 is generally positive (look out for the John Landis and Dario Argento episodes I'm told) - last night's tale The Damned Thing, helmed by Tobe Hooper was very average, but at least it was an improvement on his last effort which I had to switch off! 11pm Monday Bravo

Prison Break - One of the discoveries of last year, having ploughed my way through the DVD box set of Season 1 in the Summer. Now the 8 inmates are loose and FBI honcho William Fichtner (Armageddon, Go) is on their tail. With one major cast member getting offed in the first episode, and Peter Stormare still hamming it up for all he's worth, I'm hoping this one will run and run... 10pm Monday Five

Shameless - Can this really be series four of Channel 4's flasgship comedy/drama already? I felt it lost its way a little last year after the departure of Fiona & Steve, and I only hope the loss of neighbours Kev & Veronica doesn't dilute things further this year... still, the writing is as sharp as ever and there are enough interesting supporting characters to keep me watching. Just as well as they're intending to film twice as many episodes from 2008. 10pm Tuesday Channel 4

Waking The Dead - My favourite crime/thriller drama returns, but again seems to be treading water if the first two stories of the new series are anything to go by. Still, Trevor Eve is as marvellous as ever, Felicite Du Jeu is as gorgeous as ever and Tara Fitzgerald is a promising addition to the team. 9pm Sunday/Monday BBC One

And here's five more of my favourite shows that are returning very soon:

24 - The daddy of them all! Hit a low point on Day 3 with the continued antics of Kim Bauer, but learnt from its mistakes, and really raised its game with Day 5 last year. Starting with Jack Bauer a wanted man, the trailers for the forthcoming season have already got me drooling and my friend Paul (who's seen the first four episodes) has described the action so far as "amazing" and "astonishing" which bodes well! 9pm Sunday Sky One

America's Next Top Model - File under guilty pleasure. It only seems like yesterday that Danielle was crowned the winner of series six, but the glamorous reality juggernaut returns in less than two weeks time to begin its seventh series! Expect more bitching, more drama, and lots more Tyra... it's a good job Living TV repeat this show constantly as I have to catch it when my flatmate is out. And just for the record, Ann from series three is my all-time favourite! 9pm Monday Living TV

Doctor Who - Fresh from The Runaway Bride Christmas special, the newly revamped Doctor Who returns for a third series in the Spring (eta: March) and if the teaser is anything to go by, should be as exciting and entertaining as the last two series. Admittedly David Tennant isn't anywhere near as good as Christopher Eccleston, and with Freema Agyeman replacing Billie Piper as the Doctor's companion, well, this could be a make-or-break year for the show. Still, with the rumoured return of Captain Jack Harkness (as hinted at the end of Torchwood) and at least one surviving Dalek left to terrify everyone, the omens are positive. 7pm Saturday BBC One

Life On Mars - Named after a classic Bowie song, how could it possibly fail? Without exception, the best new television drama of 2006. I watched the first episode last Winter and wondered how anyone could sustain a series about a modern day cop mysteriously transported back to the seventies... and then watched in awe, week after week, as they proved me hopelessly wrong. It just got better and better - full of great characters and great writing. And soon it will be back on our screens for a second - and final - series. No neverending unanswered questions here, everything will be wrapped up in eight short episodes, so enjoy it while you can! Date/Time tbc BBC One

Lost - Speaking of neverending unanswered questions... but hey, you gotta love Lost. At times infuriating, this is still the most mind-bending television drama since Twin Peaks graced our screens. Despite a few boring back stories (hopefully not so many now that Mr Eko has passed away) this remains essential viewing for me. Currently enjoying a mid-season break, the show should resume with episode seven sometime in February. Date/Time tbc Sky One

Toffee Balboa

(photo from www.evertonfc.com, headline nicked from BBC Sport)

Yes, it's fact... Rocky is an Evertonian! In one of the more bizarre moments as a lifelong toffees fan, I switched on Sky Sports yesterday to see Sylvester Stallone turn up to watch the match against Reading as a guest of the club's chairman, Robert Earl, a long-time friend. "I'm definitely going back," he later told The Independent, "And yes, I'm an Everton fan now." On the game itself, which finished 1-1, Sly sagely remarked, "The Reading goal was so questionable, being offside, or whatever." A future career in football punditry surely awaits the great man, once he's finished shooting Rambo IV of course.

Rumours that Everton have signed the former Escape To Victory goalie as back up for Tim Howard are unconfirmed at this time.

Play It Cool in January

Damn, I missed the Record Fair at Brighton Centre last weekend, so new music has been pretty scarce these past few weeks, especially as I only got one CD over Christmas. Never mind though, here's what I have been listening to this month:

• Girls Aloud - The Sound Of Girls Aloud - The Greatest Hits (Polydor)
• Lily Allen - Alright, Still (Regal)
• Various Artists - Radio 1's Live Lounge (Sony)
• The Sleepy Jackson - Personality: One Was A Spider, One Was A Bird (Virgin)
• Brakes - Hold Me In The River (Rough Trade) single

Ooh, and it seems that I have finally been upgraded to the new version of Blogger!

Movie Haiku - Employee Of The Month

www.employeeofthemonthfilm.com

Dir: Greg Coolidge

Cast: Dane Cook, Jessica Simpson, Dax Shepard, Efren Ramirez


Both want new cashier
dirty tricks to win top prize
cleavage of the month

soulmining rating: ***

Movie Haiku - The Last King Of Scotland

www.foxsearchlight.com

Dir: Kevin Macdonald

Cast: Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy, Kerry Washington, David McBurney


Amin has trapped wind
doc is closest advisor
no kilts or bagpipes

soulmining rating: ****

FrightFest does Glasgow

Kristen Stewart in The Messengers

Yes, the FrightFest boys are back with their first all-dayer event of 2007! On Saturday 17th February they're showing five films at the Glasgow Filmhouse as part of the annual Glasgow Film Festival. The line up has been confirmed as follows:

• The Tripper (Dir: David Arquette) - a crazed madman obsessed with Ronald Reagan goes on a killing spree at a hippy festival.
• S&Man (Dir: JT Petty) - a documentary about voyeurs and filmmakers in the underground world of horror cinema.
• The Messengers (Dir: Pang Brothers) - strained relationships as a family relocate from the big city to a run-down sunflower farm, from the Asian masters of style over content.
• Turistas (Dir: John Stockwell) - backpacking holiday nightmare from the director of Into The Blue and Blue Crush - so expect plenty of bikinis and speedos!
• Motel Hell (Dir: Kevin Connor) - retro screening of this 80's classic about a bloke who kills travellers and turns them into fritters.

Tickets go on sale this coming Sunday priced at £20 for the day - full details can be found on the Glasgow Film Festival website.

Movie Haiku - Apocalypto

www.apocalypto.co.uk

Dir: Mel Gibson

Cast: Rudy Youngblood, Gerardo Taracnea, Raoul Trujillo, Dalia Hernandez

Village is captured
paint them blue and chop their heads
jaguar attacks

soulmining rating: **

Movie Haiku - White Noise: The Light

www.goldcirclefilms.com

Dir: Patrick Lussier

Cast: Nathan Fillion, Katee Sackhoff, Craig Fairbrass, Adrian Holmes


He sees dead people
uses white light to save them
goes bad on third day

soulmining rating: **

It's time to get slaughtered!

Hey, who's this handsome fella talking on my television?

Yes, Severance gets its long-awaited DVD release here in the UK on Monday, but thanks to the dozy staff at Fopp who put it on the shelves a week early, I can bring you an exclusive look at what to expect.

Aside from the film (see my four star review here) presented in widescreen format with a 5.1 soundtrack, there's a ton of special features as follows:

• Audio Commentary by Christopher Smith (director), James Moran (writer), John Frankish (production designer), Danny Dyer, Tim McInnerny, Babou Ceesay and Andy Nyman - see if James actually manages to get a word in edgeways!
  
• Making of Severance (34 mins) - looks at how the cast came on board, lots of larking about on set, plus the hazards of filming with animals.
  
• Being Danny Dyer (5 mins) - Danny swears a lot and wears a prosthetic cock.
  
• The Genesis of Severance (5 mins) - James gets his moment in the spotlight to tell us that he really wanted to kill some yuppies... but he wrote Severance instead. It's catharsis, see?
  
• The Coach (8 mins) - the crew buy a dodgy old coach and a mad Hungarian stuntman crashes it in spectacular fashion. Two words - health and safety?
  
• Deleted Scenes with optional commentary (8 mins) - eight short scenes including the Talking Deer, voiced by Leslie Phillips.
  
• Not So Special Effects (5 mins) - the perils of asking for a prop rock and guns 'n' ammo in Hungary.
  
• Outtakes (2 mins) - not that funny, apart from things falling off the luggage rack in the coach.
  
• Palisade Corporate Video (2 mins) - the full version of the video screened on the coach during the opening credits.
  
• Danny Fight Scene (2 mins) - fight club rehearsal.
  
• Alternate Ending Storyboard (1 min) - now where's their boat headed?
  
• UK Theatrical Trailer (2 mins) - featuring the wonderful Oh Yeah by The Subways.
  
• Intro Sequence Animatics (3 mins) - The bearpit scene in animatic form.
  
• Easter Egg - Lodge Incident (6 mins) - a rather pointless 'fact finding interview' with Nadia & Olga.

So, round up those Gift Tokens you got given for Christmas and make it your mission to go and buy this DVD next week!


Find out more at www.severancethemovie.co.uk

Movie Haiku - Night At The Museum

www.nightatthemuseum.com

Dir: Shawn Levy

Cast: Ben Stiller, Carla Gugino, Dick Van Dyke, Robin Williams


New job as night guard
all exhibits come to life
history is fun

soulmining rating: ***

Movie Haiku - Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer

www.perfumemovie.com

Dir: Tom Tykwer

Cast: Ben Whishaw, Alan Rickman, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Dustin Hoffman


He has finest nose
wants to preserve female scent
kill Grenouille kill

soulmining rating: ****

Big Beach Boutique III

Right Here, Right Now...

Kemptown is packed with folk. There's a steady stream of people passing by my windows. And Norman is busy spinning his tunes on the beach... it's quite loud; put it this way, I can make out every word of the songs he's playing as I'm sat here typing at my Mac!

Here's a pic I took earlier this morning before the fencing went up on Marine Parade as they were setting up.

January Live

Happy New Year everyone!

So, it's January, the start of 2007. What's happening around the city this month? Well, not a lot... it's always a quiet month, which comes as something of a relief after the hectic run up to Christmas. Not much for me to recommend then, but here's a few dates for your diary:

01/01 - Currently setting up across the road from my flat, this afternoon sees Fatboy Slim finally back on Madeira Drive (next to the Concorde) for his Big Beach Boutique III event. After the estimated quarter of a million people who turned up for his last beach party in Brighton (well, it was free and it was a hot Summer's day) this one should be a bit quieter, especially as it's supposed to be limited to BN residents. Heard the PA blasting out some tunes earlier this morning - it's going to be loud!

12/01 - The Zero Degrees Of Separation Tour comes to the Corn Exchange featuring Adem, Vashti Bunyan, Vetiver and Juana Molina.

31/01 - One of my tips for 2007, Brighton's Blood Red Shoes play at the Engine Rooms, before their NME Awards show in February. I saw them support Metric a couple of months ago and they sound very promising...