Review: The Lion King at the Mayflower Theatre (04/09/14)

Following 15 years at London’s Lyceum Theatre The Lion King is currently doing its first ever tour of the UK, with the first stop being Southampton’s very own Mayflower Theatre. Disney’s award winning musical, brought to life for the stage by Julie Taymor, has now been seen by over 70 million people worldwide and cannot only be seen here in the UK, but in five other countries around the globe.

The Mayflower Theatre set the perfect backdrop for the show, so it is no surprise that with it came record-breaking ticket sales. The fairly small venue allowed for an heir of intimacy as the sun rose on the stage and the audience was transported from Southampton to the Serengeti Plain where Simba’s epic journey takes place.

Many will remember the spectacular opening of Disney’s animated film featuring every animal of the Savannah joining together to witness the presentation of Simba accompanied by Elton John’sCircle of Life. This spectacle was not by any means hindered by the limitations of stage production, audience members gasped as all animals (represented by both costumes and clever puppetry) took to the stage to welcome the new cub. Unlike with other musical productions, The Lion Kingrequired short adjustment to adapt to the puppetry of animals without the easy representation of an animated film. It was orchestrated beautifully, making it easy for the imagination to take over.

The first act of the show takes us through Simba’s journey towards adulthood, including the moving death of his father Mufasa. With much of the dialogue and songs being lifted directly from Disney’s film, this somehow did not detract from the enjoyment. It proves to be quite possible to find great enjoyment despite knowing the exact outcome which demonstrates the splendour of the costumes, dance and performance as a whole. The stampede chase leading up to Mufasa’s death was executed brilliantly, combining row upon row of wildebeest as backdrop as well as dancers to create the tension of the chase. Mufasa’s death was nothing short of heart-breaking, which gives great credit to the actors of father (Cleveland Cathnott) and son.

What truly made the show a success was the masterful use of puppetry, costumes and particularly the masks; many of which were designed by the show’s director, Julie Taymor. Not only were masks used on the characters throughout, but also in representation of the dead Mufasa. With the song He Lives in You, cast members formed a giant lion head from separate pieces that filled the backdrop of the stage. The show seamlessly combined puppetry and live action with some scenes, the most obvious being the fight scene between hyenas and lions, flitting between the two as a showcase of both the actors’ talent and the artists’.

The finale of the show, following the dramatic death of the show’s spineless villain, Scar (Christopher Colquhoun), brought the audience full circle with the Circle of Life, echoing the beginning of the production. Performed with the same precision as the opening, the finale was a great end to the show that cannot be described as anything but spectacular, bringing all of the animals of the Savannah together once more.

Something The Lion King stage production has that the film does not is the inclusion of traditional traits of the film’s African setting. It is Rafiki, the wise baboon (Thulisile Thusi), who truly sets the scene of the Serengeti from the opening of the production with her use of language which is continued throughout with dance and costume. This is definitely something that is missing from Disney’s animated film, and was a great addition to the show.

The only criticism that could be passed was that some of the humour bordered on pantomime comedy which proved a little awkward at times. However, some of the jokes fondly remembered from the 1994 film were topically updated which made the show more relevant to its audience; and example being the swapping of Zazu’s rendition of Merv Griffin’s I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts with The Proclaimers’ I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) much to some peoples’ dismay! That aside, the use of comedy throughout the production to break the tension of more serious matters made the show absolutely perfect for all ages.

Although The Lion King’s time at the Mayflower Theatre has now sadly come to an end, it is of course continuing its run at London’s Lyceum Theatre, as well as continuing its UK tour in Sunderland, Cardiff and Manchester.

9/10-The Lion King is nothing short of a spectacular transformation of Disney’s childhood favourite, with stunning music lead by Jonathan Gill, and amazing artistry of costumes and puppetry throughout. A perfect musical to be enjoyed by all generations and a credit to the Mayflower Theatre!

Review: Arcade Fire at Earls Court (06/06/2014)

In their first show in London for three years, tickets were sold out for Arcade Fire’s return at Earls Court on both the 6th and 7th June. The two dates serve as a build up to the climax of the ‘Reflektor’ tour at Hyde Park’s British Summer Time on 3rd July- which is also set to be their last London performance of 2014. Friday 6th June saw the band joined by a DJ set from Pulp’s Steve Mackey, and an amazing performance from Owen Pallett who later joined the band on stage for the main event of the evening. They were even joined at one point by Echo and the Bunnymen’s frontman Ian McCulloch for a cover of ‘The Cutter‘ that was originally released in 1983. Those attending the gig on Saturday will be treated to live performances from both Lorde and 2 Many Djs.

The request made by Arcade Fire on their Twitter on Friday, asking fans to wear either fancy dress or formal attire, was taken very seriously by some. Earls Court was brimming with glitz and glamour, and all costumes from robots to princesses, to the lion from the Wizard of Oz. Having the dressing-up element present at the gig made the event truly unique and created nothing short of a great atmosphere- that was raised higher once fans stepped inside of the main venue. Earls Court was decked out in disco balls and strings of fairy lights, and even included someone dressed entirely in a suit made from reflective material appearing on the second stage at certain points of the night. Arcade Fire truly went all-out with the ‘Reflektor’ theme!

As a seven piece band, I can imagine that the stage presence of Arcade Fire is always huge, but Friday and Saturday saw the band as a staggering eleven-strong band. Not only were they joined on stage by Owen Pallett, who had supported them earlier in the night, but previous core member Sarah Neufield and two additional percussionists. Despite the vast number on stage, it was frontwoman (wife of frontman Win Butler) Régine Chassagne that stole the show with a stunning performance. During Afterlife, Régine made her way to the second stage in the venue, that was in the centre of the crowd. Surrounded by dancers dressed as skeletons, the whole crowd turned to watch her and seemed to be totally transfixed by her performance- making her the stand-out member of the night.

Arcade Fire’s two hour set was kickstarted by the title track of their fourth album, ‘Reflektor,’ which was perfect for setting the mood of the evening. All of the band’s visuals corresponded to the theme of ‘Reflektor,’ with the band surrounded on stage by mirrors and a hall full of disco balls. The highlights of the night included ‘Neighbourhood (Tunnels)‘ and ‘Wake Up’ from the band’s first album, Funeral, the title track of ‘The Suburbs,’ and ‘Joan of Arc.’ A personal favourite for me was ‘No Cars Go‘ from Neon Bible. Having said this, every song was performed with the same precision and the experience was amazing.

The band covered a huge range throughout their set from all four of their albums, which can’t have been anything but a treat for the whole crowd. We have definitely been left wanting more, so it’s probably a good thing that tickets are still on sale for their performance at Hyde Park where they will be joined by Jake Bugg, Wild Beasts, Band of Skulls and Future Islands.

Review: Kindness - Otherness

Alan Bainbridge, the luscious-locked man behind Kindness, has released his second studio album.Otherness, released on 13th October, succeeds his debut album World, You Need a Change of Mind that was released in March 2012. With Otherness, Bainbridge brings us a meticulously constructed hybrid of experimental soul, in an album that tells a narrative of unrequited love.

Otherness marks a slight shift in genre from Bainbridge’s first album. Although both are experimental, World, You Need a Change of Mind covers a wider range of musical platforms and focuses strongly on electronic and synth compositions. With his second album, Bainbridge is more concerned with the soul genre, which brings a bluesy level to his electronic undertones.

The album opens with ‘World Restart’, featuring vocals from Ade and Kelele. Bainbridge introduces us to the album with a track that falls nicely into two halves. With the first half of the track inviting listeners to focus entirely on instruments and vocals, and the shift after a pause at the midway point to a more upbeat and almost dance feel, Bainbridge lays down the two elements working strongly together throughout the rest of Otherness.

Bainbridge’s use of lyrics and quite blatant track titles allow Otherness to tell a story. With ‘Why Don’t You Love Me’ seeming to provide an answer to the third track of the album, ‘Who Do You Love?’ a relatable journey of tensions in a relationship and its demise is created. We are, however, left with the reassuring note that ‘It’ll Be Ok’ with the concluding track of the album.

Otherness is interesting to look at in terms of its collaborations, with the most well-known of these being Swedish recording artist Robyn whose vocals feature on ‘Who Do You Love?’. The collaborations on the album allow for a diversion from Bainbridge’s vocals and lift Otherness to a more diverse platform.

Award winning Ghanian rapper M.anifest may seem like an unusual addition to ‘8th Wonder’, with the track covering a strange range from Bainbridge’s own vocals, to M.anifest’s section of the track, to an entirely instrumental ending. On the surface, it would seem that the track is too jarring and in fact the three sections don’t work together at all- but if you give it a chance, what Bainbridge achieves is to unify separate layers of music in a track that exemplifies the diversity of the album.

Others involved with Otherness include Tawaih and Devonté Hynes (formally known as Blood Orange), who features on the soundtrack of Gia Coppola’s film Palo Alto.

It’s great to find a second album that strives to be just as experimental as the debut. Bainbridge’s diversity is made apparent in the way that he continues to link seemingly incongruent elements together to create an album that, although precise in its composition, cannot placed in a rigid genre.

Otherness is a great feat of experiment and diversity, but at the hands of this it can also be a little too jarring at times.

Review: SBTRKT - Wonder Where We Land

Wonder Where We Land is the second studio album from London-based Aaron Jerome, formally known as SBTRKT. The album maintains the distinctive experimental style recognisable in SBTRKT’s self-titled album released in 2011, and even takes the experiments a step further- with 21 songs packed into an hour long double album.

Before releasing the full studio album, SBTRKT released 3 EPs as part of his ‘Transitions’ series. The EPs, which can be found on his Soundcloud, mark a transition between the self-titled first album and Wonder Where We Land, preparing listeners for the innovative style to come.

We are eased into Wonder Where We Land with ‘Day 1’, 30 seconds of rising electronics, before being greeted with the title track of the album. The title track is a little tamer in style than others, but with a multi-layered construction of vocals and electronics – featuring SBTRKT’s frequent collaborator, Sampha – it does not falsely lull you into a sense of security. The start of the album presents an almost calculated theme of alternating between songs with vocals and those that lay bare the electronic talents of Jerome, but as it progresses this scheme falls away and listeners are introduced to the huge range of collaborators on Wonder Where We Land.

Sampha, who featured on SBTRKT’s self-titled album back in 2011, is not the only one to collaborate once more with the solo-artist. Jessie Ware, who featured previously on ‘Sanctuary’ and ‘Right Thing To Do’, works again with SBTRKT for the track ‘Problem (Solved)’. Her vocals work wonderfully against the backdrop of SBTRKT’s music on what is one of the lighter tracks of the album, and it is perfectly clear to see why the choice was made. Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig is also among those to collaborate on the album with the cleverly lyricized ‘NEW DORP. NEW YORK.’

Others to feature include Warpaint, Raury, Caroline Polachek, Koreless and A$AP Ferg. It would be all too easy to focus almost entirely on the collaborations that feature so strongly on the album, but that would dismiss the talent of SBTRKT that is the undercurrent for all of the tracks on Wonder Where We Land.

The separation of the two disks of the double LP seems to mark a slight shift in tone from the first to the second, with the latter end of the album (particularly ‘War Drums’ which features vocals from Warpaint) marking a more haunting tone to the former. The album as a whole is then brought full circle by ending on a purely electronic final track in the form of the beautifully constructed ‘Decemberist’, which presents the style we truly associate with SBTRKT.

Wonder Where We Land is, essentially, an excellent follow up to SBTRKT’s self-titled album. At the hands of a more ambitious range of collaborations and styles comes an album that is a little disjointed at times, but it is possible to get past this. You could not knock the sheer talent of Aaron Jerome and his ability to unify such a level of experimentation on one album- so let’s hope there isn’t another three-year wait before his next instalment.

Review: Manchester Orchestra - Hope

The latest instalment from Atlanta based Manchester Orchestra succeeds the band’s release ofCope, their fourth studio album, in April this year. The release, titled Hope, is a reimagining ofCope, which lays bare the intricate details (or, as frontman Andy Hull put it- “the beautiful, slow stuff”) behind the album that is perhaps a little brutal in comparison. In this reimagining we receive a beautiful new album, exposing elements that were hidden by the heavier nature of Cope.

The alternative rock band are currently on a UK tour which was kick-started at Portsmouth Pyramids, which left fans eagerly awaiting the digital release of Hope after announcing it on their Facebook page on 16th September. Checking every day after this announcement to find out when UK fans could get hold of the full album, it wasn’t until the 26th September that the band finally announced that it would be available for digital download…but not until the 29th! Along with Hopecame news of a “stripped down” tour that, much to our dismay, will sadly only be performed in the United States.

It is quite rare that a band will release a new album that is essentially an extension of a previous release (alt-J’s ‘Bloodflood Part II’ on This Is All Yours has the same principle behind it but not quite on this scale), but Manchester Orchestra pull it off beautifully and with great reason. The redevelopment of Cope takes the album full circle, and listeners get a true feeling of the bare frameworks of the band’s talent.

To really appreciate the difference between Cope and Hope, it works quite well to listen to the tracks in pairs, going between the two albums. This isn’t to say that each album cannot be appreciated without the other, it simply allows for a more interesting look at the composition of both of them. The first instalment of Hope, along with ‘Girl Harbor,’ was ‘Top Notch,’ tantalisingly published on the group’s Soundcloud before the album’s digital release. From this track alone the beautiful rawness of Hope is made apparent.

The release of a stripped down album could seem to some a discredit to the first. If what makesHope so wonderful is that it is Cope without the loudness, then what is the point of Cope’s loudness in the first place? What Manchester Orchestra have achieved, however, is to present what is underlying in Cope, whilst giving credit to the sheer talent that has gone into it.

With standout tracks such as ‘Girl Harbor’ and ‘Choose You,’ Hope achieves the same greatness at Cope without quite so much punchiness. Despite its obvious tie to the band’s previous release, I think that Hope can stand alone as an album in its own right, which is a great credit to Manchester Orchestra.

My Most Memorable Concert: Foo Fighters at Milton Keynes Bowl, 2011

My most memorable concert happily coincides with my first ‘proper’ concert (that is, unless you count an 8 year old me bopping along to S Club 7). In July 2011, I was lucky enough to see Foo Fighters perform on one of two dates at Milton Keynes Bowl, at the height of their Wasting Lighttour.

The value I attribute to this concert probably has quite a lot to do with having hailed Foo Fighters as one of my favourite bands of all time- thanks to the introduction by my mum. That said, I’m not sure I had a lot of choice what with One by One being blared out in the car at any given opportunity!

I can still clearly remember my excitement when Foo Fighters took to the stage, opening with ‘Rope’. ‘Rope’, which also marked the opening of Wasting Light, was a perfect opening. I don’t think anyone there – which, at the hands of the bowl-shaped venue, had an absolutely amazing sound – could have escaped the contagious excitement. Before Foo Fighters’ slot, Tame Impala, Death Cab for Cutie and Biffy Clyro had all performed throughout the evening. Having seen Tame Impala and Biffy Clyro since, I think I definitely should have appreciated them more at the time- but I think I was just a little bit too geared up for the main event.

Highlights of Foo Fighters’ set were hard to pin down at the time, as they still are now. But, as an all-time favourite track, singing to ‘Best of You’ at the top of my lungs whilst crushed in a crowd of people twice my height was definitely up there.

It wasn’t until the Wasting Light tour that I had really been old enough to go to a concert and properly enjoy it, so I think that’s part of why this particular concert stands out so much. I’m glad to have seen Foo Fighters at the age I was, because all too often now I see bands as part of festivals which always end up a little bit hazy.

It’s probably mostly the nostalgic attachments I have to this concert that have prompted me to choose it as my most memorable one, but it truly was an amazing night of music and I hope that I get the chance to see them again soon.

WARNING

Am about to post an influx of various reviews and what not that I have (fairly) recently written for an entertainment publication at my university, The Edge. Apologies in advance anyone who may be watching this space (that I admit has been inactive for some months now) but I thought I would make some use of it.

April Goals

I was reading another blog earlier and saw that every month, the writer set herself goals for things to achieve in the forthcoming month. I thought it was a lovely idea, hence this post being here! It will be nice to carry this on throughout the year so that I can actually see that I'm doing something, and it'll be an easy way to blog more. So, here are April's goals...

1. go running

There was a stage after Christmas where I was running pretty much every other day, and I started to really enjoy it. I think I stopped when I restarted Tae Kwon Do because that was a more sociable form of exercise, but now that I'm home for Easter I'm not able to train- so I definitely need to do something! As of tomorrow I will start running every other day again, and I will hopefully carry it on once back in Southampton too...because I don't really fancy turning into a huge blob over the Easter break!

2. be motivated

I noticed that towards the end of last term (probably for the last 3 or so weeks) I've had little or no motivation for anything to do with university work, despite the fact that I was still really enjoying my modules and do want to do well. So, I'm going to get back on track this month. I've already started planning for my Stage and Screen module portfolio (which isn't due until 22nd May...gasp) and have planned out an essay that isn't due until 5th May- hopefully I will knuckle down this holiday and get some proper work done so that when I go back to Southampton I can feel a little less stressed and crazy!

3. read more books

I realised that I haven't actually read a book that I want to read, that is, outside of my university course, since reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (a review of which can be found here). In fairness, I haven't actually been reading all that much for university either, so I don't have any excuse not to be reading! I still have a stack of books left from my last book splurge, so I think I will get myself back into the swing of reading with either William Burrough's Junky, or Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being as I have both of those at home with me!

4. worry less

Another thing I found towards the end of last term was that I was worrying about everything. Even things that don't need worrying about. So, I think I need to concentrate on worrying about things that I can actually do something about...and instead of sitting about in an anxious mess, actually doing something productive about the things that I'm worrying about. It's definitely easier said than done, but if I manage to get my motivation back on track hopefully I'll find myself with less on my mind!

Update on...pretty much everything!

Seeing as I've just come to the end of my second term at Southampton (gasp, time please slow down) it seems fitting to do a little round up of recent happenings, especially as this term has been a pretty hectic one! I've also realised that I haven't blogged in a very long time...I spend a lot of time being busy doing nothing when I'm at university, but I'm hoping to get back on track with this blog from now on!

The last time I actually did any sort of life update was way way back in November, so five months down the line you'd think I'd have a lot to talk about- and I probably do, but I can't really remember everything I've been doing. It's probably easiest to do little sub-headings of important parts so that I can get everything down (which is probably better than plodding through month by month!).

I'll start with University:

Work-wise, everything seems to be going pretty much okay. I managed to bag myself a couple of firsts on some of the assignments that I was completing over the Christmas holidays, and a first in my Old English exam, so that stuff was good. A new semester meant new modules, and I think almost everyone taking the Old English module last semester was extremely happy to say goodbye to it! My modules this semester have been far better than the ones I was formerly taking- but I have to say that I really miss doing a proper Film module. My favourite at the moment is Stage and Screen, which as the name would suggest is about as close to a Film module as English can get. We've been looking specifically at the Classic Hollywood period, along with looking at theatre too- and it was this module that bagged us all a free ticket to see Caryl Churchill's A Number at the Nuffield Theatre (my little write up can be found here). Surprisingly, I've really enjoyed Critical Theory too- even though after most of the lectures I exit questioning almost everything about my life and literature! The last part of this year, when I go back to Southampton after Easter, is probably going to be the most important part of the year. I haven't got any exams (high five to English degrees) but I do have two 'take away' essays (that unfortunately do not include take aways, though I'm sure my flatmate Becca and I will reaching for the late night Dominos when writing them), and two portfolios...so I think things will be pretty hectic once I'm back. My only worry is the horrible lack of motivation I've had for the last few weeks or so, I found myself submitting work that I knew could probably be better whilst saying that I didn't care- which for anyone who knows me, is really, really unlike me. I'm hoping that a little time off and a break will help get me back on track and that once I'm back in Southampton I will get my bum back into gear and finish this year well!

Whilst writing that, I've kind of realised that I'm going to bore anyone who reads this to death if I carry on rambling, so for the rest I'll just do a little summation of good stuff that has happened! Nick coming to stay in February was ace, as you will know if you've read my blogpost about it! It was really cool being touristy in a place I've lived in for about 7 months now, and was great fun showing Nick around. The lovely Georgia also came to stay at the end of term, and it's fair to say we remember very little of it...but I think two great nights out were what we needed! In March, I went to see Joanna,  a friend from a module last semester, in a play called The God of Carnage (which I didn't review and I feel a little bad about) and it was hands down the funniest play I have ever seen, and it was only composed of one scene with four cast members. I need to carry on doing nice little things like going to the theatre, and I think after I've finished my assignments for this semester I may have to treat myself to another trip. In March I was also lucky enough to go to the Student Tae Kwon Do Nationals (yep, after six years I have started Tae Kwon Do again) with Southampton's club which was an amazing experience- not only because we won overall, but being part of such a great team was incredible. A more recent cool thing was seeing Wild Beasts in Cambridge on Monday, which was absolutely amazing (...and another thing I haven't reviewed but should have done). They were supported by a really cool guy called East India Youth, who is very temptingly playing at Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth soon- so I might have to go to that. Looking at all of the good things that have happened over the term show how great it's been, and I have lots more to look forward to! On 2nd May I have the Athletics Union Ball with Tae Kwon Do, on 6th I'm finally seeing Arcade Fire with Georgia and Bradley, and I've also put the deposit down on my Reading ticket for this year- so things are looking good!

Georgia in Southampton feat. most of my flatmates!

SUTKD!

Sorry for such a heavy text based post, I will hopefully have some more interesting stuff to come soon! (watch out for a denim jacket post feat. Ladybird Likes, more book reviews when I get myself back into reading, and probably a post about the AU Ball!)

Gallivanting...in Portsmouth with Fhionna and Owen

After hearing about Pie and Vinyl in Portsmouth a little while ago, I've been itching to take a trip- and today we finally got around to it! Despite having lived in Southampton for near enough six months now, we haven't done a whole lot of exploring, so today was an ace opportunity for me and two of my flatmates (Owen and Fhionna) to be a little bit touristy and venture further afield than Southampton town centre. Apologies again for the slightly rubbishy photos- I made use of my film camera rather than using a digital one, so will of course have to wait to get them developed! The best way to go about this post is probably a simple picture-and-caption affair, so here we go...

Thanks to Fhionna's (ahem, Fhionna's phone's) navigation, we made it safely and swiftly to Southsea's Pie & Vinyl after a nice little train journey from Southampton. I didn't realise how nice it would be to escape Southampton for a bit, it was ace to be in a new place and be able to look around and new things- and Portsmouth is so damn pretty! 

I absolutely loved the little dividers between the records that were used, and that the vinyl was all kept in old suitcases. The vinyl room was a little smaller than we expected but it was so full up that it made up for it in content! I don't have any pictures of the room as a whole, but it was so, so cool and I'd quite like to set up camp there and live there for forever. I somehow managed not to buy any vinyl (well done me and my self-control) but instead treated myself to a baseball-style top with the shop's logo on, which I am very happy with!

After spending quite a while browsing the vinyl, we decided to sit down for some pie- and it was possibly the best decision we've ever made! As you can see from the pictures, the whole place is really ace and the atmosphere was so lovely. We had a chat with one of the staff members and he made us feel very welcome, and we have promised to return at some point.

I had a chicken/bacon/garlic/all things wonderful pie. It was the best pie I have ever eaten.

Owen and Fhi looking lovely post-pie

After leaving Pie & Vinyl we headed towards the sea and walked along the wall. It was lovely to be by the sea but at the same time it made us a little bit jealous- I really wish we had a beach in Southampton!

Lots of stone-skimming happened. Owen was crowned King of Stone-Skimming.

Wall-walking shenanigans

We had a great day, even though we managed to miss the stop at Southampton and ended up in Romsey for half an hour. We found out in that half an hour that there isn't a lot to do in Romsey. I think we will definitely be visiting Portsmouth again, it'll be lovely in the Summer!

Gallivanting...in Southampton with Nick

Earlier this week Nick took a little trip to Southampton to see me, and we had an ace few days. Despite having been here for near enough 6 months now, I haven't really done much of the touristy stuff like trawling around the docks and walking around exploring, so it was really nice to have an excuse to do that. Highlight of the days was definitely Ed's Diner though- although Mettricks Coffee (a little coffee house in Old Southampton that I started visiting a few weeks ago) still reigns on as my favourite place in Southampton so far! Sorry for the pretty rubbishy phone photos, took the opportunity to take the film camera out so a lot of nicer ones are on there! 

1 & 2. Evidence that Ed's Diner is a place of wonderful food and milkshakes. Nick had a peanut butter milkshake and it was b-e-a-utiful!

3. We paid a visit to the docks...and um, the docks are quite boring...we saw some boats...and that was about it

4. I thought it was cool that nice old houses like this are about when I'm so used to the boring old city ones around town!

5. I just liked the old lamppost and old pub so took a picture of them together.

6. We stumbled across a pretty cool-looking restaurant that serves Greek, Italian and something else...will hopefully be paying them a visit!

7 & 8. Mettricks is the loveliest little coffee house I've been to in ages, it was the last stop on mine and Nick's Southampton adventure before he hopped on the train home! Nick treated me to a pot of 'Char Winter Fairytale' and it was the nicest tea I have ever had- will definitely need to stock up on it at some point! 

Overall Nick and I had an ace few days, and I'm really excited for him to come and stay again! 

Foals at Alexandra Palace (15.02.14)

On Saturday Chloe and I ventured to the lovely Alexandra Palace to see Foals- which after trying countless times to get tickets, was absolutely amazing. The first ace thing about the night was the venue- I've never been there before and it was absolutely beautiful, I'm a bit of a sucker for stain glass windows and nice buildings! As always, I was a little too short to be taking photographs in a big crowd, so this post is going to be a little lacking in pictures but I will see what I can pinch from the ones that Chlo took.

Doors opened at 6:30 which was a little earlier than I find most places do, but it meant we had time to have a nice little wander around all of the yummy food and drink stalls inside (as well as spend about twenty minutes umm-ing and arr-ing over which t-shirts to buy!). I treated myself to a Chicken Katsu Curry and a really cool baseball style Foals shirt, which I have pretty much been wearing since the gig and you will have seen if you follow me on Instagram or Tumblr. They also had a little live band in the middle of the hall and it set a lovely atmosphere.

The first of the two bands before Foals (I feel really awful for not knowing their name!) was a little, um, different- they was no singing but a lot of pretty awesome guitar solos. It was nice to have something out of the ordinary to kick start the night but I think it just made everyone all the more anxious for Cage the Elephant and Foals to come on stage! Cage the Elephant aren't a band I know very well, other than the obvious 'Shake Me Down' that I really love, but their energy on stage was amazing, and the songs I did know were ace to sing along to which helped to get us into the 'spirit' of the night. Then it was time for Foals, who of course everyone was waiting for. Their set was a little disappointingly short, I think they were only on for a total of about ninety minutes, but it may have been a blessing in disguise because the crowd was a little bit nuts on Saturday!

Photo Credit to: vicstaa.tumblr.com

They entered the stage in darkness and began playing the Prelude from their latest album, Holy Fire and then kicked off the gig with 'Total Life Forever' which has always been a song I've liked so it was a nice way to start. They played all the greats, focusing a lot on their newer stuff like 'Inhaler' (which was absolutely insane, even more so than when they played at Reading '13) and 'My Number' which really suited the crowd and everyone was singing along and being all crazy. A highlight for me was 'Spanish Sahara' and I think that could be said for literally any time I see them, because it is, and probably always will be, my favourite song of theirs. As they did at Reading, they made everyone get down onto the floor (which was ace for me, because it meant I could actually see the stage!) and then rise up at the chorus- everyone was belting it out and there was a really great atmosphere. One of the only disappointments of the night was them not playing 'Cassius' which was the first Foals song I ever heard, but hey ho.

All in all it was an amazing night and would very much like to go back and relive it! Next up, Wild Beasts on 31st March at Cambridge Corn Exchange.

Theatre Review: A Number (2002)

As part of one of my English modules this semester, we were required to go to see Caryl Churchill's A Number at the Nuffield Theatre, Southampton. I'm already annoyed at myself for never having been to the theatre here before- it's literally a 15 minute bus ride away so I have no excuse! A Number was definitely the most interesting and well-put-together piece of theatre I've ever seen (admittedly my theatre viewing isn't overly eclectic but the sentiment is still there!) and I got so excited about it that I decided to write a little review on here in preparation for the piece I will be writing on it for my course next week.

I always love the feeling of apprehension before the beginning of a show, and this was especially present before the performance today as in exchange for our tickets we were all given a number on a sticker- clever, eh?- then told to wait in the bar area until we were called. The numbers either began with a 1, 2, 3 or 4, and these corresponded to the groups that we would be sitting in in the auditorium. Having not been inside the Nuffield before, I couldn't really appreciate the change in staging that had taken place- but I'm imagining a fairly 'normal' theatre space was in existence before the A Number staging came in. Each of the audiences were placed on a side of a sort of cube in the middle of the auditorium- this is what I imagine was the case, at least, because you couldn't actually see anyone else! Just before the lights went up and you could see the two actors, a screen came away from the window in front of the audience to reveal our reflection- that's one way to make an audience feel uncomfortable and apprehensive! It seemed like everyone was trying their utmost not to look at their own reflection but glance sheepishly around the room and everyone else's.

Once the play itself began, I found myself completely captivated by what was happening. I'd read most of the play pretty much just before going in to see it, having bought it a few hours before, and I think this really helped with my understanding of the narrative because a few others seemed a little confused. I do sort of wish I'd gone in without any prior knowledge though, I feel as though I might have ruined it for myself a little bit by already knowing that there were only two actors for the whole play, and that one of them served as more than one 'version' of the same person! (To give you a little bit of background, A Number is a play centred around the act of cloning- a father gives up a troublesome 4 year old son following the death of his mother, and instead of starting anew, chooses to pay for a clone of his previously 'perfect' son to be created. The issue, however, came when the 'mad scientist' who developed the clone didn't just stop at one- instead, a number of copies of the little boy were created and allowed to grow up.)

I had so many points in my head that I wanted to think/speak about but I think that's enough to sum up my reaction without actually revealing the entirety of the plot and experience! I would definitely advise anyone who can to go and see A Number! Or, if you can't, then give it a read- although I found it completely transformed from my quick reading of the play in my head to its performance. But one thing I can definitely take from today is that I need to get myself to the Nuffield Theatre (as well as any other places I can get myself to) more often!

List VI: Things to look forward to in 2014

I thought I'd do a follow up of sorts to my previous 'things to look forward to' post, which can be found here. I guess it kind of links to my brief list of things I want to do this year, as I haven't really got anything much planned yet!

• Having a house!

As I will be going into my second year at university in September, my flatmates and myself will be moving out of halls! It's going to be so nice to have a proper house, and actually live by ourselves as opposed to being somewhat still looked after by security and what not here! It will also be great to be able to have a shower without setting the damn fire alarm off. The best part is that I get the attic room and I'm so looking forward to making it all homely and nice!

• Music

I already have plans to see Foals with Chlo in February, Wild Beasts in March, and hopefully Reading Festival (round 3!) with Dan at the end of the Summer. I'm really enjoying being able to see lots of live music with lovely people, like LC! just before Christmas and Frightened Rabbit just before, and I definitely want to see as much as I can this year. I'm also really excited for a few upcoming albums, such as new stuff from Foo Fighters (squeal), Wild Beasts- Wanderlust, and various others!

• Nick coming to stay

My brother hasn't visited me at university yet so I am so so excited for him to come and stay! We are going to go to cool places like Mettricks (an ace coffee house in Old Southampton), Beatnik Emporium and Ed's Diner which will be ace.

• Easter 

I'm looking forward to the Easter holidays because my birthday is slap bang in the middle and I get to be at home for a WHOLE MONTH which will be ever so lovely. And that's pretty much it really.

• Summer

I don't really have any plans as yet for Summer, but I'm just really looking forward to having a long period of time where I can regularly see my family, Dan and the girls- and actually appreciate it! It will be made even better if me and the girls manage to pull off some sort of holiday, visiting somewhere like Amsterdam or Berlin with them would be ace. As we will have moved into the house by July I'm also hoping that my flatmates and myself will have a little holiday here, which would be pretty cool! Pipe dreams like Isle of Wight and Reading Festivals are also looking very appealing- and the are the reason why I've promised myself that I am going to save money from work for once.

• Second Year

Although it seems like quite a way off right now- especially as I haven't even started Semester 2 yet! -but I'm so excited for the amount of choice I will have next year. Although I've enjoyed the work so far at university, it's all core stuff really and so hasn't necessarily all been what I would like to study- but the amount of modules on offer for next year is amazing!

I guess that's about all that I can think of right now, but it seems like this is going to be a pretty cool year.

Book Review: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close off the back of The Remains of the Day was pretty odd, because I changed from the voice of an old man to that of a nine year old boy (amongst letters of various others), but after I'd got into the swing of this novel I absolutely loved it. What I liked most about it was possibly that it wasn't just prose, Foer had various other ways of telling the story such as photographs and letters- my favourite were the excerpts detailing what was written by the man in the novel who couldn't speak, to show how he communicated with other people. I think I probably enjoyed this so much because it reminded be of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events in which he did similar things.

I don't really have much of note to say about this read, it was hard to concentrate on specific details of it because I read so much whilst on the train from here to home and visa versa, and I always seem to get distracted easily when reading on trains. Despite this, I did find it ridiculously compelling, and wanted to read it all of the time which is always nice! I also found it strange, but nice, that I was able to identify with a nine year old boy, his grandmother, and a non-speaking 'renter' simultaneously- making the novel even more enjoyable. I'm still not quite sure where (or who from) I found out about Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, but I'm so glad I did- and I'm really looking forward to reading another of his novels: Everything is Illuminated. But next on the menu is Stoner by John Williams.

(apologies, this seems to be turning into a bit of a book review blog as opposed to anything else- but I've been doing very little other than reading recently! But I am planning a few trips such as one to Pie and Vinyl in Portsmouth so I will be writing about them as soon as they happen.)

Book Review: The Remains of the Day

I have literally finished Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day not two minutes ago, but I thought I'd turn out a review of sorts before I forget my initial feelings towards it. I was first drawn towards this novel on the basis of having enjoyed Never Let Me Go so much, and I wasn't disappointed at all. A totally different novel, albeit spent mostly reminiscing over the past as does Kathy in Never Let Me Go, I loved the tone of retrospective-ness intertwined with the journey of Mr Stevens throughout.

Admittedly, I've finished this novel very quickly and spent less time over it than I usually would have- but at the moment I'm between semesters and trying to get as much 'pleasure reading' in as humanely possible (my next book is already sitting on my bed ready to be started!). But that aside, I don't feel like the haste of my reading has impeded on my enjoyment of the book at all. It seems that Ishiguro has a way of just forming amazing characters that one can relate to on different levels, despite the fact that I was reading about an (I assume) sixty-or-so year old man. My favourite part of the novel was the way it wove seamlessly in and out of the present and past, in such a way that is reflective of one's own reflections throughout the day. I also quite liked that the protagonist said "that is to say" quite a lot. Despite the short time spine of six days in which the novel is set, it covers a broadness of times that doesn't allow that to limit the impact of the novel- and I now see why people have recommended it to me in the past!

Next up is Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, something else that I am also very excited to read.

Book Haul!

I recently received some book vouchers from my old school and promised my head of year that I wouldn't spend them on books for my course, so I thought it fitting to go on a bit of a book shop earlier today! Aside from this great lot, there were a couple of others I didn't manage to get- namely Everything is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer but I will be sure to keep a look out for them later on. It was really lovely going to a bookshop and being able to look for new things, and picking up books just because the cover caught my eye, instead of having to pop into the university bookshop with a specific list of books for my course!

There's always one book that you seem to see everywhere, and before Christmas I kept seeing John Williams' Stoner on display in pretty much every bookshop. I quite like that it's a classic that has recently been brought to everyone's attention, so I'm really looking forward to reading it (and the copy I got is beautiful!). 

This is the book out of the five that I know the least about, but the cover caught my eye and I'm pretty sure I've heard/read something about it somewhere! It's a rarity that I will buy something knowing nothing about it, but it's probably good to do that once in a while.

I've wanted to read this since reading Never Let Me Go a couple of years ago and absolutely loving it. I don't know what it's about, I only know from others that it is great. I'm just about to start reading it and I'm embarrassingly excited about it.

This is another novel I've wanted to read for a while- I think it was since my Mum read it for a book club she was part of when I was younger and she told me I was too young to read it, but as luck would have it by the time I was 'old enough' to read it, we no longer had a copy. So I'm happy now to have my own copy that I am able to read! 

I remember quite a while ago someone recommended this to me in conjunction with my reading of 1984 and Brave New World, and as the latter was possibly the best novel I read last year I thought it best to give it a read too!

Book Review: The Book Thief

A new book review has been a long time coming for this blog, but having a book-a-week to read for my course has made reading for pleasure a little difficult. I've wanted to read The Book Thief for quite a while now after a few people have recommended it, so I was very happy to get myself a copy and actually have time to read it! I spent the beginnings of my Christmas holidays completely glued to this novel, but when I got a bit bogged down with assignments and revision I found myself reading about a chapter a week. But yesterday I finished exams and assignments so have been reading almost constantly since then, which is why I've managed to get through the second half of the book so quickly!

The Book Thief is a novel narrated by death that follows the life of Liesel Meminger (or, the book thief) following her little brother's death at the beginning of WWII in Germany. For a novel narrated by death, it is surprisingly heart-warming and the characters are beautifully formed- my particular favourites were Hans Hubermann (Liesel's caring foster father) and Max (the jew hiding in their basement who writes picture books). The character of the book thief herself is lovely too, making the conclusion to the novel pretty heartbreaking- but obviously I don't want to give anything away. My favourite part of the novel was the little inserts such as 'Here is a small fact: You are going to die' and 'A strange word: Kommunist' that break up the main body of text through and bring Death and reader close together. I also loved that all of the chapters were named- there's something about named chapters that always makes me happy. All I can say is that I definitely recommend The Book Thief and I'm very glad I found the time to read it! Apologies for the shoddy review, though, it's been a while. Next up is Kasuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day (which I bought today and am very excited about!).