Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Roisin Murphy at the Dome

Roisin Murphy - Brighton Dome

Another night at the Dome and I thought I'd stick around to catch Roisin Murphy as Dave's a fan and was in watching. A good move as it transpired; she put on perhaps the best show I've seen in our venue all year. Now I'm not familiar with her solo work apart from the recent singles and Overpowered was the sole track I recognised - it mattered little. The performance was so professional (good sound, excellent backing band) and full of gusto, it just got better and better with every song. Roisin's penchant for costume changes is her gimmick, but it works - especially with a set of songs ranging from jazz to electro. It was the dance numbers that worked best for me, with Roisin reminding me very much of Goldfrapp's performance here a couple of year's back. At nearly two hours long and with no sign of Moloko's trademark Sing It Back or The Time Is Now this was a very bold and pleasant surprise!

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Queens Of The Stone Age at the Dome

Queens Of The Stone Age - Brighton Dome

Queens Of The Stone Age = good, solid, melodic heavy rock 'n' roll. Exactly the sort of thing we should be having at the Dome. I was working, but managed to get in to see the second half of the show and I don't think I've ever seen the standing area quite so heaving - no-one wanted to sit down for this one! I heard Go With The Flow from outside the hall, but was inside by the time they played Little Sister and their fab new single Make It Wit Chu - and of course No One Knows which kicked off a rousing encore. "Is it me or is this really loud?" the question was raised? A unanimous YES was the verdict. A quality 85 mins leaving the audience shouting for more...

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Inside (À l'intérieur) Review

Alysson Paradis and Béatrice Dalle in Inside

"Like it or loathe it, Inside can't fail to provoke a strong reaction from those who dare see it..."

"She is simply terrifying as the unstoppable angel of death, creating what must surely be one of the most evil female characters ever to grace the silver screen..."

"Actively pushes the boundaries of what is acceptable to show on screen..."

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

The Duke Spirit at 229

The Duke Spirit - 229, London

So I missed the England game last night (perhaps for the best as it turned out) and instead braved the London rain and headed to the city's latest live venue, 229 at 229 Great Portland Street to see The Duke Spirit. Decent place actually - smallish with a high stage which you could see from wherever you stood. I bumped into Louise and John at the bar so chatted to them during the support, then headed right down to the front for TDS. Great view, and no rowdy pushing, even that close - perfect! I loved the band when I saw them last Christmas at the ICA and once again they were fantastic, really powerful. Best of all the new songs spearheaded by recent single Lassoo were every bit as good as their old stuff which bodes well for next year's Neptune album. A brisk hour set with two encores and then it was back into the rain and off to the Phoenix to catch up with Sheena, Paul and Johanna. Much better than staying in watching that England game I expect...

Friday, November 16, 2007

Movie Haiku - Beowulf

www.beowulfthemovie.co.uk

Dir: Robert Zemeckis

Cast: Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Angelina Jolie


Will kill your monster
tempted by golden Jolie
watch it in 3D

soulmining rating: ***

Play It Cool in November

Well, I've dropped the monthly live listings but for the time being my playlist remains, so this is what I've been listening to over the past few weeks:
  • Adele - Hometown Glory (Pacemaker) single
  • The Duke Spirit - Ex-Voto EP (Vital) single
  • Soulwax - Most Of The Remixes (Parlophone)
  • Calvin Harris - I Created Disco (Sony BMG)
  • The Kissaway Trail - The Kissaway Trail (Bella Union)

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Movie Haiku - Planet Terror

www.eatmybrains.com/planetterror

Dir: Robert Rodriguez

Cast: Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Josh Brolin, Marley Shelton


Virus makes zombies
they must flee from infected
machine gun for leg

soulmining rating: ****

Movie Haiku - Good Luck Chuck

www.goodluckchuckthemovie.co.uk

Dir: Mark Helfrich

Cast: Dane Cook, Jessica Alba, Dan Fogler, Lonny Ross


He's cursed by goth girl
sleep with him marry next bloke
she's hot but clumsy

soulmining rating: ***

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

New Young Pony Club at the Concorde

New Young Pony Club - Brighton Concorde 2

A feeling of deja-vu yesterday with New Young Pony Club returning to the Concorde a mere five months since they last played there. Of course this show was originally due to take place at the Corn Exchange, but then it got moved and rescheduled due to illness - for which Tahita apologised, kudos to her. The band played an hour long set pretty much as expected - all the tracks from Fantastic Playroom plus a B side and two covers - Pump Up The Jam and Take Me I'm Yours. It all sounded great and Tahita did her best to get everyone dancing as if it were a Friday night, but it didn't quite match the atmosphere of the previous gig - mainly because I wasn't right down the front leaping about this time!

Movie Haiku - American Gangster

www.americangangstermovie.co.uk

Dir: Ridley Scott

Cast: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Josh Brolin


Sells drugs from Thailand
catch him and nab corrupt cops
there's Cozy Corner!

soulmining rating: ****

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Movie Haiku - The Darjeeling Limited

www.foxsearchlight.com

Dir: Wes Anderson

Cast: Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, Anjelica Houston


Three distant brothers
take train ride through India
don't use pepper spray

soulmining rating: ****

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Return To House On Haunted Hill DVD Review

Amanda Righetti in Return To House On Haunted Hill

"Enter at your own risk..."

"Originality was never going to be this film's strong point..."

"Ups the ante a little more towards the Saw generation..."

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

Movie Haiku - Lions For Lambs

www.lionsforlambsmovie.com

Dir: Robert Redford

Cast: Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise, Michael Pena


Senator talks war
teacher advises student
soldiers get stranded

soulmining rating: **

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

The Kissaway Trail at Resident Records

The Kissaway Trail - Resident Records, Brighton

Good old Resident - officially the best record shop in Brighton, in my opinion - had another of their regular instore gigs yesterday evening with The Kissaway Trail turning up for a quick four song acoustic set before their headline show at Audio. I really like their self-titled album which evokes The Flaming Lips and Arcade Fire, and the shared vocals give their songs an extra edge. Their short set featured a couple of songs from the album, including first single Smother + Evil = Hurt, and then they stuck around to chat and sign stuff. Nice!

And yes, my stalker was also there again.

Monday, November 05, 2007

FrightFest all-nighter at the ICA

George A. Romero with Paul McEvoy

Halloween is always a good time to get together to watch scary movies with a bunch of friends, so this weekend saw the second annual FrightFest all-nighter at the ICA in London. I missed last year's inaugaral event so was hyped about getting to this one, especially with such a stellar line up - even though I'd seen three of the films at TIFF in September. Thurein, Chrissy and I made good time getting up to London after work, so had enough time to grab a drink at the Phoenix beforehand where we met up with Steve, Tabitha, Rachael, Sheridan, Mike and a few other regulars. There were chaotic scenes at the ICA with people queuing for returns and special guest George A. Romero doing a signing session in the bar area. Rachael and I were collared by Scott Weinberg and Johanna who were busy interviewing people for a documentary on horror fans, so we answered a few questions for them. With seating so tight Ian C, Laura and myself were nervous as to whether we'd get in to Diary Of The Dead, but in the end Ian got us seats okay and we were treated to a great Q&A with George after the screening where he said that he doesn't have an idea for a sequel, despite the posters that have been circulating at the AFM this week!

There were more guests for Planet Terror so we sat that one out and had a relaxing drink in the bar instead with Ian, Paul and Mike. No problems with seating thereafter, so I was back in for the retro screening which was Savage Streets, a vigilante exploitation flick from 1984 starring Linda Blair. I'd earmarked this as a good time to sleep, but it was such a glorious celebration of wrongness (cheers David) that it kept us laughing from start to finish - all eighties fashion disasters, synth-rock soundtrack, gratuitous shower scenes, twenty-something actors pretending to be high school teens... and totally un-PC. Great stuff!

With Ian headed for home, Paul asked whether I'd like to introduce the UK premiere of Frontiere(s) so despite my fear of public speaking I gave it my best shot describing it as gory and f*cked up... I think it was a bit too relentless for some people, especially at 4am when we were all tired, but I still enjoyed watching it again. Last film of the night - and the perfect closer - was the other French shocker A l'interieur (Inside) which left many people reeling. Tired and numb we emerged blinking into daylight and said our goodbyes... I sloped off for breakfast with James and Jodie and then caught the train back to Brighton. Another hugely entertaining FrightFest event and I'm proud that I didn't fall asleep once during the night!

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Movie Haiku - Savage Streets

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Friday, November 02, 2007

Portslade Massif

Portslade Massif

Ex-KLF man Jimmy Cauty currently has an exhibition of his recent art project entitled Portslade Massif on display at Ink'd on North Road, Brighton. The exhibition finishes tomorrow, so get down there quick if you still want to catch it!

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Movie Haiku - 30 Days Of Night

www.30daysofnightthemovie.co.uk

Dir: David Slade

Cast: Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, Danny Huston, Ben Foster


It's dark for a month
vampires come to feast on town
balls nasty 15

soulmining rating: ****

Movie Haiku - Saw IV

www.saw4.com

Dir: Darren Lynn Bousman

Cast: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Scott Patterson, Betsy Russell


Jigsaw is now dead
but there's still more games afoot
see why he turned bad


soulmining rating: **

Max Miller Vandalised (Again)

Max Miller, yesterday...

Once again, our statue of Max Miller in the Pavilion Gardens has been vandalised in another 'hilarious' prank.

But who could have committed such a heinous crime...?

Mr Cotton, earlier...

Coincidence??