Amelia’s Magazine | Music Listings: 5th – 11th October

work_hiorns_seizure

Turner Prize

Enrico David, information pills Roger Hiorns, Lucy Skaer and Richard Wright are the lucky shortlisted ones on the Turner Prize’s notepad this year and it’s been noted that the Prize has gone for less shock and awe than usual, resulting in a more thoughtful set of works on show. You will probably have at least heard of Roger Hiorns via his incredible work coating an entire flat in blue crystals.But it’s not about the fame of course. From Tuesday, you can go along to the Tate Britain and see for yourself.

wolf-hall

Booker Prize
Announced Tuesday

The 2009 Booker prize shortlist is full of big-hitters, in the form of Sarah Waters (The Little Stranger), JM Coetzee (Summertime) and A.S. Byatt (The Children’s Book), as well as historical fiction from Hilary Mantel (Wolf Hall) and lesser known authors Adam Foulds (The Quickening Maze) and Simon Mawer (The Glass Room). If you’re not sure what to read next the Booker shortlist is always a good place to get ideas outside of lists of the 100 Greatest Books of All Time. If you’re quick enough to have read them all already, look out for the winner announcement on Tuesday to see if you, in your wisdom, agree with the judges’ decision.

Grayson~Perry~

Grayson Perry’s Walthamstow tapestry

Grayson Perry is trying his hand at something other than ceramics with his “Walthamstow Tapestry”, an amazing, detailed piece of work a bit like a Bayeaux Tapestry for 2009. They cared about war, we care about shopping, it seems. Perry examines our consumerism but has also made something that is anti-consumerist: a one-off object that is the opposite of fast fashion or instant gratification.

Cloud-Gate-Theatre-Lin-Hw-001

Dance Umbrella

In recent years we’ve all rediscovered how amazing it is to watch and do dancing that is more involved than shuffling from one foot to the other while hoping that person over there will notice you. A big part of this change, other than Strictly of course, is Dance Umbrella. The influential dance festival-makers annual season kicks off this week, with the theme “African Crossroads”. They are staging performances and “days out” where you can get a little taster of lots of the shows going on around London over the next few weeks.

origin london craft fair

Origin London Craft Fair

There’s something special about an item that’s been made with love by another human being and not just generated by a machine or made under duress in a sweatshop. All the 300-odd artisans at this craft fair at Somerset House make beautiful pieces that are worth treasuring or just getting inspiration for your own Autum projects from.
fuck-buttons

Monday 5th October, web Fuck Buttons, Rough Trade East

The excellent, abrasive yet sublimely melodic electronic duo, Fuck Buttons, who we reviewed last week, play cuts from their much-anticipated Andy ‘great name’ Weatherall produced second album ‘Tarot Sport.’

fanfarlo1

Tuesday 6th October, Fanfarlo, Bush Hall

If your bones are composed of Beirut and Teitur then you’ll enjoy the musical flesh of epic London orchestral folk-popsters, Fanfarlo.

pixies

Wednesday 7th October, Pixies, Brixton Academy

With what seems like an influential band anniversary reunion a week, this week it’s the turn of Frank Black to reSurface-r Rosa with his oddball bandmates, to play 20 yr old Doolittle in its entirety.

Wild+Beasts

Thursday 8th October, Wild Beasts, The Garage

We’re great fans of Wild Beasts’ elegant indie-tronica here at Amelia’s Magazine and singer Hayden Thorpe’s falsetto vocals in partilcular. Tonight, they celebrate the release of their stonking new album ‘Two Dancers’.

green kite midnight

Friday 9th October, Dance Yourself Happy, Round Chapel

Raising money for the Great Climate Swoop on 17 – 18 October, Amelia’s very own Ceilidh band, Green Kite Midnight, provide a stomping musical soundtrack to a really good night out.

johnpeel

Saturday 10th October, World John Peel Day, Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes

Twenty acts and fourteen DJs over two floors equates to a mini-festival celebrating the late great DJ John Peel. You get the feeling with many a Peel dedication that he would actually back a small percentage of the line-up, but we’re sure there’s something amongst this eclectic mix – that’d feature on his posthumous playlist. If not, bowling if fun I hear.

Nick_Cave

Sunday 11th October, Nick Cave reads from ‘The Death Of Bunny Munroe,’ Palace Theatre

Close your week in an unconventional manner, with gangly goth punk stalwart Cave as he reads excerpts from his new book and performs with the Bad Seeds, Warren Ellis and Martyn Casey.

Categories ,beirut, ,ceilidh, ,electro, ,fanfarlo, ,folk, ,fuck buttons, ,gig, ,goth, ,Green Kite Midnight, ,Indie, ,john peel, ,listings, ,live, ,Nick Cave, ,Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, ,pixies, ,pop, ,teitur, ,Wild Beasts

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Amelia’s Magazine | Festival Preview: Truck

‘Glass Gun 2′ by Julie Hill

A couple of days ago my housemate returned home bursting with a tale that he’d been carrying around with him all day. What he had witnessed on his well-trodden route to work that morning had seemed to pervade the conditioned air of his office in the hours that followed, mind reruns of the scene played out in windowpane reflections and on the inside of mid-blink eyelids. He had been inspired.

‘Breath Should Be Held’ by Julie Hill

The action that had my friend so roused wasn’t overtly political. Nor was it spectacularly en-masse. It was a man. Alone. Dancing at 8am in the centre of one of Bristol city centre’s busiest junctions, stuff multiple lanes of traffic whirring around unrestrained flying limbs like mechanical rings of chorus girls, capsule their metallic bodywork sparkling.

The root of this act, and the results of it, we can only guess at. Was his rush hour spinning a signal that the rest of us should slow down? A statement on the vulnerability of the pedestrian or the mindlessness of the daily grind? Maybe he just fancied a dance.

CRASH at Artsadmin: experimenting with sustainable alternatives to financial and ecological crises CRASH at Artsadmin: experimenting with sustainable alternatives to financial and ecological crises

As my friend’s impassioned regaling of the scene evidenced, whatever its grounds, form or situation, art is an enormously affecting class of action. And it’s being increasingly embraced as a method of political expression beyond homemade banners or gallery walls, because we can all be arts activists. The only thing that’s required is a little imagination.

Image courtesy of Artsadmin: ‘Quantitative Teasing- A benchmark in post-capitalism’

Two artist activists are on hand later this month to help spark that imagination via Interference, a free five-day workshop to encourage people to develop new ways of working collectively to make a difference to the causes they care about. Beth Whelan (who last year played a large part in the Mainshull Solidarity Camp) and Julie Hill will be working with participants to develop art-related strategies for both acting towards and reacting against change, using such tools as story-telling and myth making, climbing and reclaiming public space, urban foraging, self-publishing and night biking. Interference runs from 21st to 25th June at Artsadmin’s Toynbee Studios in London, but is limited to just 20 places, so if you want one of them Artsadmin asks that you write a short paragraph explaining why you want to get involved, and send it to heather@artsadmin.co.uk.

Beth Whelan at CRASH

Open to people from all backgrounds and experiences, Interference is an invitation to those who want to go beyond just thinking about change; to act via art to be part of, or begin, an empowering, engaging and positive political movement. You never know, it might even be one that stops traffic.

Turning our attention to the smaller independent festivals, page we are thrilled to be featuring Truck, help an event with an impeccable reputation and massive good will behind it. There are so many things that we like about Truck, we could practically list its attributes alphabetically. But for those who are scratching their heads in befuddlement, and wondering who and what this curiously monikered event is, the most important fact to learn about Truck is that it has the ethos and sensibility of a village fete and combines this with a cutting edge musical policy to create a unique and highly personalised festival that is head and shoulders above many of its contemporaries.

Truck has a much deserved reputation of having an eagle eye for upcoming talent. In recent years, bands such as Foals, Young Knives, Fuck Buttons, Get CapeWild Beasts and Fanfarlo have all graced the stages (which are used as cowsheds for the rest of the year – it’s on the site of a working farm), at a time when they were still fresh faced to the music scene. Headlining this year are bands that can easily be described, as NME did, as “awesome”. The roster includes Teenage Fanclub, Mew, Mercury Rev Clearlight Ensemble, Los Campesinos!, Chapel Club, Good Shoes and Summer Camp (a full, and yet to be completed line-up is featured on Trucks website).

Situated deep in the Oxfordshire countryside, Truck is proud to be one of the UK’s longest standing independent small festivals. The more you discover about Truck, the more you realise that it is fiercely independent in all aspects. From the get go (it was formed in 1998), Truck has rejected corporate sponsorship; instead allowing its food and ale stalls – all locally produced of course – to be run by locals rather than brands (and in the case if the ice cream stall, run by the local vicar). Truck lives by a strong charitable ethos; rather than sitting on their profits, they funnel money made at the festival back into local and national causes. Last year for example, £50,000 was raised for charity. The people behind Truck are quite possibly the busiest of bees in Oxford; as well as community projects in the city, they also run Wood, described as “Trucks folkier/younger, cleaner, greener and mysteriously beardier brother”. While Truck may be less hirsute, it certainly has the travellers bug, and recently came to New York State in the shape of Truck America, held in the mountainous Catskills region. Those who would like to attend a closer to home Truck can do so buy booking tickets through their ticket providers, Gigantic and Brown Paper Tickets, one of the first fair trade ticketing agencies in the UK which operates in a not-just-for-profit fashion. For the first time this year, there will be Friday night festivities (the music starts on Saturday at 12pm and finishes Sunday at 10pm), so campers are now welcome to pitch up from Friday, 4pm onwards. This perfectly sized, magic brew of a festival has all the key ingredients for a glorious weekend, and time is running out to get your tickets before it sells out, so hurry up and book yourself a spot!

Festival Details:
Truck Festival July 23 -25th
Ticket Prices
Adult (18+) Weekend –  £80?Friday – £15 adv/£20 on the day
Teen (13-17) Weekend – £60?Friday – £15 adv/£20 on the day
Minor (0-12) Weekend – Free?Friday – Free
Age Restrictions
Children age 14 and under must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Weekend tickets include access to the festival from 9am Saturday, and include 2 nights camping (saturday & sunday).

Categories ,Chapel Club, ,festival, ,fuck buttons, ,Good Shoes, ,Indie, ,Los Campesinos, ,Mercury Rev, ,mew, ,Oxford, ,Stornoway, ,summer camp, ,Teenage Fanclub, ,Wood Festival

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Amelia’s Magazine | Fuck Buttons: Stereo, Glasgow: Live Review

DSC_1454

For me, page the majority of fashion week involved being squished like a sardine in regimented rows watching models strut up and down a well lit runway. While this is all well and good, rx sometimes it’s fun to break from the norm…

nasirmazhar2

nasirmazhar

DSC_1458

DSC_1462

from what I can gauge, prescription Nasir Mazhar is a headwear designer, with very theatrical taste.

DSC_1444

DSC_1450

To view his presentation at London Fashion Week s/s10 we descended into the vaults of Somerset House, entering a strobe lit room, where at the end of the corridor a stunning and SEXY model posed around a pole in an almost fetichistic nude mask that covered her mouth and eyes……

DSC_1438

This was the opening taste of the world of Nasir Mazhar that is visceral, amusing, unique and downright hot. As I am predominately a photographer, I feel the images illustrate the experience better than anything I could write!

DSC_1448

nasirmazhar4

All photographs by Elizabeth Johnson
DSC_1454

For me, troche the majority of fashion week involved being squished like a sardine in regimented rows watching models strut up and down a well lit runway. While this is all well and good, website sometimes it’s fun to break from the norm…

nasirmazhar2

nasirmazhar

nm3

DSC_1462

from what I can gauge, sick Nasir Mazhar is a headwear designer, with very theatrical taste.

nm2

To view his presentation at London Fashion Week s/s10 we descended into the vaults of Somerset House, entering a strobe lit room, where at the end of the corridor a stunning and SEXY model posed around a pole in an almost fetichistic nude mask that covered her mouth and eyes……

DSC_1438

This was the opening taste of the world of Nasir Mazhar that is visceral, amusing, unique and downright hot. As I am predominately a photographer, I feel the images illustrate the experience better than anything I could write!

DSC_1448

nasirmazhar4

All photographs by Elizabeth Johnson
DSC_1454

For me, thumb the majority of fashion week involved being squished like a sardine in regimented rows watching models strut up and down a well lit runway. While this is all well and good, viagra dosage sometimes it’s fun to break from the norm…

nasirmazhar2

nasirmazhar

nm3

DSC_1462

from what I can gauge, information pills Nasir Mazhar is a headwear designer, with very theatrical taste.

nm2

To view his presentation at London Fashion Week s/s10 we descended into the vaults of Somerset House, entering a strobe lit room, where at the end of the corridor a stunning and SEXY model posed around a pole in an almost fetichistic nude mask that covered her mouth and eyes……

DSC_1438

This was the opening taste of the world of Nasir Mazhar that is visceral, amusing, unique and downright hot. As I am predominately a photographer, I feel the images illustrate the experience better than anything I could write!

DSC_1448

nasirmazhar4

All photographs by Elizabeth Johnson
DSC_1454

For me, sildenafil the majority of fashion week involved being squished like a sardine in regimented rows watching models strut up and down a well lit runway. While this is all well and good, sometimes it’s fun to break from the norm…

nasirmazhar2

nasirmazhar

nm3

DSC_1462

from what I can gauge, Nasir Mazhar is a headwear designer, with very theatrical taste.

nm2

To view his presentation at London Fashion Week s/s10 we descended into the vaults of Somerset House, entering a strobe lit room, where at the end of the corridor a stunning and SEXY model posed around a pole in an almost fetichistic nude mask that covered her mouth and eyes……

DSC_1438

This was the opening taste of the world of Nasir Mazhar that is visceral, amusing, unique and downright hot. As I am predominately a photographer, I feel the images illustrate the experience better than anything I could write!

DSC_1448

nasirmazhar4

All photographs by Elizabeth Johnson
DSC_1454

For me, nurse the majority of fashion week involved being squished like a sardine in regimented rows watching models strut up and down a well lit runway. While this is all well and good, health sometimes it’s fun to break from the norm…

nasirmazhar2

nasirmazhar

nm3

DSC_1462

from what I can gauge, Nasir Mazhar is a headwear designer, with very theatrical taste.

nm2

To view his presentation at London Fashion Week s/s10 we descended into the vaults of Somerset House, entering a strobe lit room, where at the end of the corridor a stunning and SEXY model posed around a pole in an almost fetichistic nude mask that covered her mouth and eyes……

DSC_1438

This was the opening taste of the world of Nasir Mazhar that is visceral, amusing, unique and downright hot. As I am predominately a photographer, I feel the images illustrate the experience better than anything I could write!

DSC_1448

nasirmazhar4

All photographs by Elizabeth Johnson
A few months back, price Amelia’s Magazine was asked to produce a piece of artwork as part of a collaboration with the housing and homeless charity Shelter for their House of Cards campaign. The aim was to highlight the issue of Britain’s housing problem; this year alone, salve 65, order 000 people will lose their homes, joining the hundreds of thousands on the streets already. It became somewhat of an in-house event. Amelia’s cousin Simon French, an animator at Framestore, created the hard hitting images of houses and buildings, flimsy as a pack of cards, fluttering away in the breeze. Created in association with the Leo Burnett Agency, all involved, including the directors Dom and Nic; Radiohead, who provided the soundtrack and Samantha Morton as the narrator, provided their services for free to support the cause.

Shelter_Card_Quilt_web-1

Our submission was entitled Two of Hearts. We asked that it would be made up by contributions from illustrators and received a deluge of submissions. The artwork was put together like a patchwork quilt of cards in many different styles and designs, all depicting the two of hearts. It was big too, A0 size, and perfectly displayed the different styles of our illustrators.

Last Thursday we were finally able to see the fruits of our labour – and of the hardworking illustrators who answered our brief. Held at the Central London art gallery The Haunch Of Venison, the event also served as an auction, with all the artworks available to bid for. All proceeds were to go the Shelter Charity. Given the high caliber of work, and the high profile artists who were involved, its a given that the bidding would have achieved a fever pitch. Lending their names to the exhibition were artists such as Marc Quinn, David Bailey, Damien Hirst, Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Rob Ryan, Giles Deacon and Nick Park, who had all designed a card in either the Hearts, Clubs, Spades or Diamonds suits. All involved were given free reign in creating a new design, and as our pictures show, imaginations ran riot.

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0012

                                                 Ace of Hearts by Damien Hirst

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0025

                                                   Queen of Spades by Vivienne Westwood

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0024

                                       King of Diamonds by Rankin


Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0045

                                               Eight of Spades by Ben Flynn

The event was filled to the rafters, and it was wonderful to see so many of the illustrators for Amelia’s brief attend. The Two of Hearts submission had a continuous crowd gathered around; a mixture of spectators and proud illustrators. We managed to get plenty of pictures with our illustrators, as you can see.

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0000

                                       Emmi Ojala, Thereza Rowe, Sarah Kirk, Rosalie Harris – other illustrator, please get in                                                    touch and remind us of your name!

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0002                                       Illustrators include Nozomi Inoue and Chris Cox. Other illustrators, please get in touch                                                and remind us of  your names!

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0008

                                       Sina Becker, Jenn Pitchers, Leona Clark                                      
Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0016                                        Amy Rhian, Louise McLennan, Roberta Boyce

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0003

                                        Amelia Gregory strikes a pose

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0010                                       I’m fascinated by Polly Morgan‘s Ten Of Diamonds

The auction was held a few days ago, with every piece of art work receiving a bid. Our  Two of Hearts submission, which had been estimated to go for between £1,000-£2,000, ended up selling for £2,200 to a mystery bidder. We are so pleased with the results, especially as that goes towards the £100,000 that was raised for Shelters campaign through the auction.

While the exhibition was only on for a short time, it is still possible to purchase a limited edition A5 replica pack of the final exhibited pack of cards. Only 1,000 packs will be produced, so it is likely that they will sell out soon. Again, all profits will go to the Shelter campaign. The cards cost £70 and will be on sale at the Haunch of Venison gallery, and online, through Shelterhouseofcards.org.uk
A few months back, there Amelia’s Magazine was asked to produce a piece of artwork as part of a collaboration with the housing and homeless charity Shelter for their House of Cards campaign. The aim was to highlight the issue of Britain’s housing problem; this year alone, this web 65,000 people will lose their homes, joining the hundreds of thousands on the streets already. It became somewhat of an in-house event. Amelia’s cousin Simon French, an animator at Framestore, created the hard hitting images of houses and buildings, flimsy as a pack of cards, fluttering away in the breeze. Created in association with the Leo Burnett Agency, all involved, including the directors Dom and Nic; Radiohead, who provided the soundtrack and Samantha Morton as the narrator, provided their services for free to support the cause.

Shelter_Card_Quilt_web-1

Our submission was entitled Two of Hearts. We asked that it would be made up by contributions from illustrators and received a deluge of submissions. The artwork was put together like a patchwork quilt of cards in many different styles and designs, all depicting the two of hearts. It was big too, A0 size, and perfectly displayed the different styles of our illustrators.

Last Thursday we were finally able to see the fruits of our labour – and of the hardworking illustrators who answered our brief. Held at the Central London art gallery The Haunch Of Venison, the event also served as an auction, with all the artworks available to bid for. All proceeds were to go the Shelter Charity. Given the high caliber of work, and the high profile artists who were involved, its a given that the bidding would have achieved a fever pitch. Lending their names to the exhibition were artists such as Marc Quinn, David Bailey, Damien Hirst, Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Rob Ryan, Giles Deacon and Nick Park, who had all designed a card in either the Hearts, Clubs, Spades or Diamonds suits. All involved were given free reign in creating a new design, and as our pictures show, imaginations ran riot.

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0012

                                                 Ace of Hearts by Damien Hirst

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0025

                                                   Queen of Spades by Vivienne Westwood

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0024

                                       King of Diamonds by Rankin


Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0045

                                               Eight of Spades by Ben Flynn

The event was filled to the rafters, and it was wonderful to see so many of the illustrators for Amelia’s brief attend. The Two of Hearts submission had a continuous crowd gathered around; a mixture of spectators and proud illustrators. We managed to get plenty of pictures with our illustrators, as you can see.

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0000

                                       Emmi Ojala, Thereza Rowe, Sarah Kirk, Rosalie Harris – other illustrator, please get in                                                    touch and remind us of your name!

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0002                                       Illustrators include Nozomi Inoue and Chris Cox. Other illustrators, please get in touch                                                and remind us of  your names!

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0008

                                       Sina Becker, Jenn Pitchers, Leona Clark                                      
Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0016                                        Amy Rhian, Louise McLennan, Roberta Boyce

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0003

                                        Amelia Gregory strikes a pose

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0010                                       I’m fascinated by Polly Morgan‘s Ten Of Diamonds

The auction was held a few days ago, with every piece of art work receiving a bid. Our  Two of Hearts submission, which had been estimated to go for between £1,000-£2,000, ended up selling for £2,200 to a mystery bidder. We are so pleased with the results, especially as that goes towards the £100,000 that was raised for Shelters campaign through the auction.

While the exhibition was only on for a short time, it is still possible to purchase a limited edition A5 replica pack of the final exhibited pack of cards. Only 1,000 packs will be produced, so it is likely that they will sell out soon. Again, all profits will go to the Shelter campaign. The cards cost £70 and will be on sale at the Haunch of Venison gallery, and online, through Shelterhouseofcards.org.uk

Thumbnail Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0049
Fuck Buttons 050

Ah, page I still get misty eyed when I think back to something I’ve tagged as ‘Errors Fuck Buttons and Mogwai Tuesday’ last year. Sorry 2009, healing but no Tuesday night has come close since. Throbbing electro, adiposity screaming death metal vocals and epic, beautiful, kidney shaking post-rock all on one bill, as they played Edinburgh’s Corn Exchange last October. For a mid-week gig, it was pretty sublime, and the first time I’d seen Fuck Buttons live.

Fuck Buttons 042

Last year’s album, Street Horrrsing was one of my 2008 favourites, and still regularly pops up as a loud, exhilarating, droney soundtrack for my walk to work. On a morning when you can’t quite wake up, it has sort of the same effect as sniffing a Vicks menthol inhaler on a really cold, frosty day.

Fuck Buttons 036

After my very first listen to Tarot Sport, the upcoming album from the Bristol boys – Andrew Hung and Benjamin John Power – it wasn’t quite hitting the same highs as their debut. That’s not to say it’s bad though. It just means Street Horrrsing will take some beating. A swelling fifty-minute roar of pretty bleeps, twinkling bells, shrieking monkey howls and battering tribal drums – sublime!

Fuck Buttons 020

The more I play Tarot Sport though, the more hooked I’m getting. It’s the noise of euphoric, urgent electronica clashing slowly with rolling, distorted squall, that’s got me. And just when I thought the single and album opener, Surf Solar, couldn’t really be improved upon, I saw their video for it – penguins doing frantic laps of an ice-blue, aquarium rave.

Fuck Buttons 039

Fuck Button’s set at Glasgow’s Stereo last Thursday blazed through the first and second albums, in one glowing, unbroken hour. Apart from a quick thank you at the end, the pair of them kept their heads down, standing opposite each other at a table piled high with fluorescent cables, and a suitcase full of pedals, keyboards and gadgets, including their well-played Fisher Price cassette player. Gripping the yellow mic in his teeth, while using his hands to play keyboard and, well, fuck with some buttons, Benjamin screamed vocals through it, while Andrew fiddled with a laptop and lunged and pogoed back and forth at the table. A lot of people find this kind of deep-in-concentration, on-stage behaviour annoying, as it’s not bringing much spectacle to the noise, but personally I think a couple of cheesy Glasgow-aimed gags would kill the mood of their primal, industrial mix dead, and I’m quite happy for them to let the crowd get carried away without interruption.

Fuck Buttons 031

Playing with their love of a slow climax, where they take techno beats and hypnotic, doom-laden rhythms then bring them to a screaming, brutal crescendo. A bit more confrontational than Animal Collective, maybe if they’d hung out with Earth during the heroin years, and listened to a lot of Neu! and (the not yet invented) Andrew Weatherall together. (Weatherall produced Tarot Sport funnily enough.) Colourful, pulverising, beautiful and brutal. Maybe next year I’ll get misty eyed about Fuck Buttons Thursday.

Tarot Sport is released on ATP Recordings on 12th October.

Categories ,animal colectove, ,edinburgh, ,errors, ,fuck buttons, ,gig, ,glasgow, ,mogwai, ,neu!

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Amelia’s Magazine | Fuck Buttons: Stereo, Glasgow: Live Review

DSC_1454

For me, page the majority of fashion week involved being squished like a sardine in regimented rows watching models strut up and down a well lit runway. While this is all well and good, rx sometimes it’s fun to break from the norm…

nasirmazhar2

nasirmazhar

DSC_1458

DSC_1462

from what I can gauge, prescription Nasir Mazhar is a headwear designer, with very theatrical taste.

DSC_1444

DSC_1450

To view his presentation at London Fashion Week s/s10 we descended into the vaults of Somerset House, entering a strobe lit room, where at the end of the corridor a stunning and SEXY model posed around a pole in an almost fetichistic nude mask that covered her mouth and eyes……

DSC_1438

This was the opening taste of the world of Nasir Mazhar that is visceral, amusing, unique and downright hot. As I am predominately a photographer, I feel the images illustrate the experience better than anything I could write!

DSC_1448

nasirmazhar4

All photographs by Elizabeth Johnson
DSC_1454

For me, troche the majority of fashion week involved being squished like a sardine in regimented rows watching models strut up and down a well lit runway. While this is all well and good, website sometimes it’s fun to break from the norm…

nasirmazhar2

nasirmazhar

nm3

DSC_1462

from what I can gauge, sick Nasir Mazhar is a headwear designer, with very theatrical taste.

nm2

To view his presentation at London Fashion Week s/s10 we descended into the vaults of Somerset House, entering a strobe lit room, where at the end of the corridor a stunning and SEXY model posed around a pole in an almost fetichistic nude mask that covered her mouth and eyes……

DSC_1438

This was the opening taste of the world of Nasir Mazhar that is visceral, amusing, unique and downright hot. As I am predominately a photographer, I feel the images illustrate the experience better than anything I could write!

DSC_1448

nasirmazhar4

All photographs by Elizabeth Johnson
DSC_1454

For me, thumb the majority of fashion week involved being squished like a sardine in regimented rows watching models strut up and down a well lit runway. While this is all well and good, viagra dosage sometimes it’s fun to break from the norm…

nasirmazhar2

nasirmazhar

nm3

DSC_1462

from what I can gauge, information pills Nasir Mazhar is a headwear designer, with very theatrical taste.

nm2

To view his presentation at London Fashion Week s/s10 we descended into the vaults of Somerset House, entering a strobe lit room, where at the end of the corridor a stunning and SEXY model posed around a pole in an almost fetichistic nude mask that covered her mouth and eyes……

DSC_1438

This was the opening taste of the world of Nasir Mazhar that is visceral, amusing, unique and downright hot. As I am predominately a photographer, I feel the images illustrate the experience better than anything I could write!

DSC_1448

nasirmazhar4

All photographs by Elizabeth Johnson
DSC_1454

For me, sildenafil the majority of fashion week involved being squished like a sardine in regimented rows watching models strut up and down a well lit runway. While this is all well and good, sometimes it’s fun to break from the norm…

nasirmazhar2

nasirmazhar

nm3

DSC_1462

from what I can gauge, Nasir Mazhar is a headwear designer, with very theatrical taste.

nm2

To view his presentation at London Fashion Week s/s10 we descended into the vaults of Somerset House, entering a strobe lit room, where at the end of the corridor a stunning and SEXY model posed around a pole in an almost fetichistic nude mask that covered her mouth and eyes……

DSC_1438

This was the opening taste of the world of Nasir Mazhar that is visceral, amusing, unique and downright hot. As I am predominately a photographer, I feel the images illustrate the experience better than anything I could write!

DSC_1448

nasirmazhar4

All photographs by Elizabeth Johnson
DSC_1454

For me, nurse the majority of fashion week involved being squished like a sardine in regimented rows watching models strut up and down a well lit runway. While this is all well and good, health sometimes it’s fun to break from the norm…

nasirmazhar2

nasirmazhar

nm3

DSC_1462

from what I can gauge, Nasir Mazhar is a headwear designer, with very theatrical taste.

nm2

To view his presentation at London Fashion Week s/s10 we descended into the vaults of Somerset House, entering a strobe lit room, where at the end of the corridor a stunning and SEXY model posed around a pole in an almost fetichistic nude mask that covered her mouth and eyes……

DSC_1438

This was the opening taste of the world of Nasir Mazhar that is visceral, amusing, unique and downright hot. As I am predominately a photographer, I feel the images illustrate the experience better than anything I could write!

DSC_1448

nasirmazhar4

All photographs by Elizabeth Johnson
A few months back, price Amelia’s Magazine was asked to produce a piece of artwork as part of a collaboration with the housing and homeless charity Shelter for their House of Cards campaign. The aim was to highlight the issue of Britain’s housing problem; this year alone, salve 65, order 000 people will lose their homes, joining the hundreds of thousands on the streets already. It became somewhat of an in-house event. Amelia’s cousin Simon French, an animator at Framestore, created the hard hitting images of houses and buildings, flimsy as a pack of cards, fluttering away in the breeze. Created in association with the Leo Burnett Agency, all involved, including the directors Dom and Nic; Radiohead, who provided the soundtrack and Samantha Morton as the narrator, provided their services for free to support the cause.

Shelter_Card_Quilt_web-1

Our submission was entitled Two of Hearts. We asked that it would be made up by contributions from illustrators and received a deluge of submissions. The artwork was put together like a patchwork quilt of cards in many different styles and designs, all depicting the two of hearts. It was big too, A0 size, and perfectly displayed the different styles of our illustrators.

Last Thursday we were finally able to see the fruits of our labour – and of the hardworking illustrators who answered our brief. Held at the Central London art gallery The Haunch Of Venison, the event also served as an auction, with all the artworks available to bid for. All proceeds were to go the Shelter Charity. Given the high caliber of work, and the high profile artists who were involved, its a given that the bidding would have achieved a fever pitch. Lending their names to the exhibition were artists such as Marc Quinn, David Bailey, Damien Hirst, Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Rob Ryan, Giles Deacon and Nick Park, who had all designed a card in either the Hearts, Clubs, Spades or Diamonds suits. All involved were given free reign in creating a new design, and as our pictures show, imaginations ran riot.

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0012

                                                 Ace of Hearts by Damien Hirst

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0025

                                                   Queen of Spades by Vivienne Westwood

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0024

                                       King of Diamonds by Rankin


Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0045

                                               Eight of Spades by Ben Flynn

The event was filled to the rafters, and it was wonderful to see so many of the illustrators for Amelia’s brief attend. The Two of Hearts submission had a continuous crowd gathered around; a mixture of spectators and proud illustrators. We managed to get plenty of pictures with our illustrators, as you can see.

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0000

                                       Emmi Ojala, Thereza Rowe, Sarah Kirk, Rosalie Harris – other illustrator, please get in                                                    touch and remind us of your name!

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0002                                       Illustrators include Nozomi Inoue and Chris Cox. Other illustrators, please get in touch                                                and remind us of  your names!

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0008

                                       Sina Becker, Jenn Pitchers, Leona Clark                                      
Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0016                                        Amy Rhian, Louise McLennan, Roberta Boyce

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0003

                                        Amelia Gregory strikes a pose

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0010                                       I’m fascinated by Polly Morgan‘s Ten Of Diamonds

The auction was held a few days ago, with every piece of art work receiving a bid. Our  Two of Hearts submission, which had been estimated to go for between £1,000-£2,000, ended up selling for £2,200 to a mystery bidder. We are so pleased with the results, especially as that goes towards the £100,000 that was raised for Shelters campaign through the auction.

While the exhibition was only on for a short time, it is still possible to purchase a limited edition A5 replica pack of the final exhibited pack of cards. Only 1,000 packs will be produced, so it is likely that they will sell out soon. Again, all profits will go to the Shelter campaign. The cards cost £70 and will be on sale at the Haunch of Venison gallery, and online, through Shelterhouseofcards.org.uk
A few months back, there Amelia’s Magazine was asked to produce a piece of artwork as part of a collaboration with the housing and homeless charity Shelter for their House of Cards campaign. The aim was to highlight the issue of Britain’s housing problem; this year alone, this web 65,000 people will lose their homes, joining the hundreds of thousands on the streets already. It became somewhat of an in-house event. Amelia’s cousin Simon French, an animator at Framestore, created the hard hitting images of houses and buildings, flimsy as a pack of cards, fluttering away in the breeze. Created in association with the Leo Burnett Agency, all involved, including the directors Dom and Nic; Radiohead, who provided the soundtrack and Samantha Morton as the narrator, provided their services for free to support the cause.

Shelter_Card_Quilt_web-1

Our submission was entitled Two of Hearts. We asked that it would be made up by contributions from illustrators and received a deluge of submissions. The artwork was put together like a patchwork quilt of cards in many different styles and designs, all depicting the two of hearts. It was big too, A0 size, and perfectly displayed the different styles of our illustrators.

Last Thursday we were finally able to see the fruits of our labour – and of the hardworking illustrators who answered our brief. Held at the Central London art gallery The Haunch Of Venison, the event also served as an auction, with all the artworks available to bid for. All proceeds were to go the Shelter Charity. Given the high caliber of work, and the high profile artists who were involved, its a given that the bidding would have achieved a fever pitch. Lending their names to the exhibition were artists such as Marc Quinn, David Bailey, Damien Hirst, Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Rob Ryan, Giles Deacon and Nick Park, who had all designed a card in either the Hearts, Clubs, Spades or Diamonds suits. All involved were given free reign in creating a new design, and as our pictures show, imaginations ran riot.

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0012

                                                 Ace of Hearts by Damien Hirst

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0025

                                                   Queen of Spades by Vivienne Westwood

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0024

                                       King of Diamonds by Rankin


Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0045

                                               Eight of Spades by Ben Flynn

The event was filled to the rafters, and it was wonderful to see so many of the illustrators for Amelia’s brief attend. The Two of Hearts submission had a continuous crowd gathered around; a mixture of spectators and proud illustrators. We managed to get plenty of pictures with our illustrators, as you can see.

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0000

                                       Emmi Ojala, Thereza Rowe, Sarah Kirk, Rosalie Harris – other illustrator, please get in                                                    touch and remind us of your name!

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0002                                       Illustrators include Nozomi Inoue and Chris Cox. Other illustrators, please get in touch                                                and remind us of  your names!

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0008

                                       Sina Becker, Jenn Pitchers, Leona Clark                                      
Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0016                                        Amy Rhian, Louise McLennan, Roberta Boyce

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0003

                                        Amelia Gregory strikes a pose

Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0010                                       I’m fascinated by Polly Morgan‘s Ten Of Diamonds

The auction was held a few days ago, with every piece of art work receiving a bid. Our  Two of Hearts submission, which had been estimated to go for between £1,000-£2,000, ended up selling for £2,200 to a mystery bidder. We are so pleased with the results, especially as that goes towards the £100,000 that was raised for Shelters campaign through the auction.

While the exhibition was only on for a short time, it is still possible to purchase a limited edition A5 replica pack of the final exhibited pack of cards. Only 1,000 packs will be produced, so it is likely that they will sell out soon. Again, all profits will go to the Shelter campaign. The cards cost £70 and will be on sale at the Haunch of Venison gallery, and online, through Shelterhouseofcards.org.uk

Thumbnail Shelter-Auction-Party-2009-0049
Fuck Buttons 050

Ah, page I still get misty eyed when I think back to something I’ve tagged as ‘Errors Fuck Buttons and Mogwai Tuesday’ last year. Sorry 2009, healing but no Tuesday night has come close since. Throbbing electro, adiposity screaming death metal vocals and epic, beautiful, kidney shaking post-rock all on one bill, as they played Edinburgh’s Corn Exchange last October. For a mid-week gig, it was pretty sublime, and the first time I’d seen Fuck Buttons live.

Fuck Buttons 042

Last year’s album, Street Horrrsing was one of my 2008 favourites, and still regularly pops up as a loud, exhilarating, droney soundtrack for my walk to work. On a morning when you can’t quite wake up, it has sort of the same effect as sniffing a Vicks menthol inhaler on a really cold, frosty day.

Fuck Buttons 036

After my very first listen to Tarot Sport, the upcoming album from the Bristol boys – Andrew Hung and Benjamin John Power – it wasn’t quite hitting the same highs as their debut. That’s not to say it’s bad though. It just means Street Horrrsing will take some beating. A swelling fifty-minute roar of pretty bleeps, twinkling bells, shrieking monkey howls and battering tribal drums – sublime!

Fuck Buttons 020

The more I play Tarot Sport though, the more hooked I’m getting. It’s the noise of euphoric, urgent electronica clashing slowly with rolling, distorted squall, that’s got me. And just when I thought the single and album opener, Surf Solar, couldn’t really be improved upon, I saw their video for it – penguins doing frantic laps of an ice-blue, aquarium rave.

Fuck Buttons 039

Fuck Button’s set at Glasgow’s Stereo last Thursday blazed through the first and second albums, in one glowing, unbroken hour. Apart from a quick thank you at the end, the pair of them kept their heads down, standing opposite each other at a table piled high with fluorescent cables, and a suitcase full of pedals, keyboards and gadgets, including their well-played Fisher Price cassette player. Gripping the yellow mic in his teeth, while using his hands to play keyboard and, well, fuck with some buttons, Benjamin screamed vocals through it, while Andrew fiddled with a laptop and lunged and pogoed back and forth at the table. A lot of people find this kind of deep-in-concentration, on-stage behaviour annoying, as it’s not bringing much spectacle to the noise, but personally I think a couple of cheesy Glasgow-aimed gags would kill the mood of their primal, industrial mix dead, and I’m quite happy for them to let the crowd get carried away without interruption.

Fuck Buttons 031

Playing with their love of a slow climax, where they take techno beats and hypnotic, doom-laden rhythms then bring them to a screaming, brutal crescendo. A bit more confrontational than Animal Collective, maybe if they’d hung out with Earth during the heroin years, and listened to a lot of Neu! and (the not yet invented) Andrew Weatherall together. (Weatherall produced Tarot Sport funnily enough.) Colourful, pulverising, beautiful and brutal. Maybe next year I’ll get misty eyed about Fuck Buttons Thursday.

Tarot Sport is released on ATP Recordings on 12th October.

Categories ,animal colectove, ,edinburgh, ,errors, ,fuck buttons, ,gig, ,glasgow, ,mogwai, ,neu!

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Amelia’s Magazine | Festival Review: Green Man


Naomi Campbell wears Vivienne Westwood (1993), viagra approved illustrated by Krister Selin

It isn’t very often that a specific fashion designer is singularly celebrated for their contributions to fashion; when the V&A presented the Vivienne Westwood retrospective in 2004, fashion fans were delirious at the opportunity to revel amongst the creations of our most fashionable Dame. This month, the team at Selfridges reopen the Westwood archives and present a glorious exhibition devoted entirely to Vivienne Westwood’s revolutionary footwear.

What began as a calm stroll into central London on a bank holiday Monday soon descended into chaos – it was absolutely heaving (and to those of you shouting OF COURSE IT WAS YOU BLOODY IDIOT at the screen – yeah, I know). A text to remind me I was going to a party at Shoreditch House as early as 6pm didn’t help either, so me and the other half legged it down Oxford Street to catch the exhibition, and thank heavens we did.

Located in the chic Ultralounge on the lower ground floor of Selfridges (where previous exhibitions and pop-ups have occurred, including the brilliant 100 years of Selfridges display), the room features long rows of glass cabinets holding a huge selection of Westwood footwear from over the years. The black walls are sparse, with a few large images from advertising campaigns and of Our Viv herself dotted here and there, and a show reel of some of Westwood’s awe-inspiring catwalk shows at the back of the room, featuring a soundtrack of sexed-up national anthems and punk hits. It is, however, row after row of shoes displayed like the crown jewels that capture the imagination the most.

Ordered chronologically, the exhibition charts the literal rise and rise of Dame Viv’s footwear, from surviving examples from SEX and Seditionaries, (including leopard mules worn by SEX shop assistant Jordan) right through to Propoganda pirate boots (worn mostly by the gays and people from Leeds) and pairs seen at the most recent fashion weeks. The most interesting comparison drawn when you’ve seen every pair is that there isn’t much of a comparison at all – similar shapes and themes are echoed through the ages, and these shoes have been consistently daring and innovative.

There must be over 100 pairs on display, all of which are a delight to view, but here are some of my favourites:

The exhibition is supported by Melissa, the wonderful Brazilian-born ethical label that champions Melflex®, the recycled plastic phenomenon that uses sustainable and environmentally friendly production processes. Beginning with plastic versions of iconic Vivienne Westwood shoes, the collaboration has grown to include many of the archive styles on display at the exhibition (re-imagined in plastic, of course).

Exhibitions of this calibre, celebrating our fashion designers and presented so brilliantly, don’t come around very often. So if you’re in London and anywhere near Selfridges, do check it out – you won’t be disappointed.

Until 22 September, admission free.

Get all the important details here.

Photography by Amelia Wells.

So it turns out, cheap the grass is greener where you water it, and Green Man certainly was abundant with green green grass and wet, wet rain. Many were the wishes written on the wish tree which went along the lines of ‘an anorak. Please!’ Among them, mine. Who, heading out to a festival in August, remembers to take a rain coat? I had my sun cream, poi and a bag full of Bourbon biscuits, but no wet weather gear. Should have remembered that Wales, actually, is pretty notorious for being ridiculously rainy, and the Brecon Beacons even more so.

Our priority on Friday morning then, was to seek shelter. We passed a couple stood under a tree, tearing the wrapping from a pair of plastic ponchos with their teeth, and begged to know the source. They pointed across the already inches deep in rainwater road to a thick hippy jacket stall which was certainly cashing in on the rain that weekend. Plastic ponchos: £2. And so equipped, we set off to enjoy the festival.

Only having the faintest clue who was even playing over the weekend, and being too cheap to purchase a £6 programme, we spent our days cadging information from unsuspecting audience members, foolish enough to have their programmes in plain sight, and bumbling from place to place, exploring the ins-and-outs of the beforested set-up. One of the first things we discovered was a giant transparent bubble, in which figures flashed torches up, down and around through dry ice while beeping noises implied a containment area, possibly one which might be inhabited by…aliens? We never found out though, and were told this was only a dress rehearsal and to come back later. When they might have found what they were looking for. We didn’t, since what we were looking for, was music. Which we found! Eventually.

The Green Man pub area seemed a decent sort of place to hang out in the rain for a moment or two, and we heard Hail the Planes go through their sound check, the guitarist asking for a ‘little more talent in his monitor’. Mellow folk is all very well in its place, but when that place is getting progressively damper, one soon wishes to move on.

Einstein’s Garden was tucked away neatly behind a magic door in the high stone wall and contained many wonders! On the solar powered stage near Peaceful Progress (a chilled out organic café tent) we found the animal man, courtesy of Party Animals, was passing around frogs and lizards and snakes while chatting at double-speed about the difference between venomous and poisonous creatures amongst other interesting facts. Did you know it’s impossible for a snake to eat a human because of our shoulders? However, we will still suffocate inside the snake’s neck. The more you know! We poked our noses into the teeny Cinema Shed, this year showing TED talks, which was almost always full thanks to the rain (and the TED talks. Probably.), browsed the book stall, hooped with GIANT hoops, followed the molecule trail and watched other people try to recharge their mobiles through cycling. Also, for £10, you could make your own hook on a forge! Tools for Self Reliance had a child-pedalling-powered forge and an anvil whereupon you could smelt some iron and bash out a hand-tool. The organisation itself sends old and unwanted tools to rural areas in Africa for the use of locals and the reinvigoration of the local economy. Around the tent they had a piece of string with the journey of the crates hung upon it; every instance of transport tax and *cough*bribes*cough* detailed so that you know just how difficult and expensive it is to transport these crates. They’re based in mid-Wales, so if you fancy having a hammer away at something solid for a good cause, check them out!

After a brief nap, we dove back into the festival atmosphere (drizzly. Grey.) and were welcomed with a nice bit of Caitlin Rose. Since the Mountain Man had been held up, the lovely Nashville lass had been bumped to the Main Stage from the Green Man pub stage, and lucky for us! Her mellifluous voice was hypnotising as she recounted her past heartbreaks to the rapidly increasing and soggy crowd. Feeling the need to explore a little further, we found the Chai Wallah tent and The Boxettes! The Boxettes! We love them. Five girls, no instruments, all voice. Oh, and the female beatbox world champion, Bellatrix. Not only were they ridiculously talented, but chatted warmly with the audience, and each other, between songs, bringing a real friendly vibe to the tent. We wanted to, and did, dance to the beats, but it seemed like they were on too early in the day to really get the crowd moving.

The Chai Wallah tent was home to some awesome sounds over the weekend, and overhearing someone at the end saying ‘There need to be longer gaps between the main stage bands so we can spend more time at Chai Wallah!’ just confirmed that a lot of bands performing there, my favourite (of the entire festival!) being The Boexettes, deserved a MUCH larger audience. I would have thought them suited to the FarOut tent which became the dance tent at night.

Speaking of which! Solely based on the fact that their name is Fuck Buttons, I dragged my friend to the FarOut tent and listened to the electronic glitch perfection that is the Bristol-based two piece fucking with some buttons. Does that ever get old? I think no. Definitely glad we made the trek up the increasingly muddy and slippery hill for that one. The evening saw us back at the Main Stage for Beirut, who sounded pretty much exactly like they do on their albums. Slightly removed from enjoying myself as some chap was trying to chat me up by telling me that I was more attractive than my friend, and offering to buy me a drink if I called his mates “girly fairies” for getting down with some country dancing. Just a tip: trying to chat up a girl and yet implying that being ‘girly’ is a negative trait? Just…no. So, we skipped Beirut and traipsed through the mire to FarOut to enjoy DJ Yoda and Hexstatic who played some dirty dubstep to the backdrop of funky video graphics. Plenty to do AND see! We danced ‘til about four in the ay em before dropping soundly off to sleep and waking pretty late the next day.

The highlight of Saturday was discovering that John Cooper Clarke was performing in the Comedy and Literature tent! Which says something about the performance itself? I had assumed that it would be mostly comprised of his poetry, which I enjoy, but he only recited three or four poems, ChickenTown as his encore, and mostly tried his hand at stand-up comedy. I’m not sure if stand-up comedy is a usual part of his act, but, uh, I did not find it so funny. Sorry, John Cooper Clarke! At least you have that thing where you don’t seem to ever age to console you. Robin Ince also showed his face up there, touting his routine about the GIANT KILLER CRAB books and also taking some time to educate young women on how to get a man. There are books about it, dontchaknow? Books with titles such as ‘How To Get The Man of Your Choice’ – “because you can choose now ladies! Lucky!” Apparently cleanliness is very important in trapping…uh…gaining a man, so we were pretty fucked for that being ankle deep in mud. Oh well! At least we still had the option of going to work in a boat yard (as a secretary, presumably, rather than, say, an engineer?) in order to meet a man who owns a boat! Hearing Robin Ince read Danielle Steele’s ‘romantic’ poetry is an education worthy of Einstein’s Garden, let me tell you. (It doesn’t help that he read a poem called Jam and all I could think of was the teevee show of the same name, which is epically crude.) So. Jam! It’s…sexy? A man-trap? To be taken at breakfast after the sex you’ve had, which is NEVER MENTIONED? Hmm.

The Flaming Lips headlined Saturday and all day we were wondering if they had already played, but realised that we were just hearing teaser songs from the festival radio which was pumped out across some areas of the campsite. The radio, actually, was adorable, with the tone of someone who isn’t quite sure anybody is listening so they can pretty much say what they like, right? Except, what if someone is listening?! But then, probably nobody is…Well, slightly nervous man, we were listening. We clambered over the entrance stairs and descended into a confetti covered crowd, all reaching up to bounce giant balloon balls back towards the stage while a curly haired gent shouted “C’mon motherfuckers!’ between songs. I confess to not having heard much of the Flaming Lips but being approving of the bits I have listened to. However, being coerced into having a good time by having a stranger call me a ‘motherfucker’ wasn’t really what I’d expected from Green Man, so it put me off enjoying the show a little. BUT! He had a gong with shiny lights all around it, which made it okay in the end.

The next morning we accidentally saw Darwin Deez, another curly headed singing and guitaring man, who managed to put on a better show than The Flaming Lips by having dance routines between each song. ‘Why can’t every band do that!’ my friend cried. Well, then it wouldn’t be quite so awesome. Waking up to revenge songs always put a good tone on the day, also.
Back at the Solar Stage we watched a break-dancing workshop which some little kids were taking very seriously and, despite not taking part, resolved to become beat-boxing breakdancers by the end of the year. Or next year. At some point, anyway. What those guys can do with their bodies is ridiculous! A couple of mums were getting in on the act as well, but one of the dads gave up when it became apparent that he would have to put his hands on the floor.

The evening was dominated by ‘one-girl-and-her-instrument’ sets with Laura Marling getting the crowd to whistle along with her in the middle of Night Terror and Joanna Newsom telling the story about her drummer’s naked swimming escapades! Since we were only interested in seeing these lasses that day, we spent most of it in search of food. Being vegan it’s often slightly awkward to get fed while out and about, but hey, this is Green Man! Just outside the entrance was a vegan food cart, which did the meatiest, most filling burger I’ve tasted for a little while. Many of the stalls inside also had veg*n options in portions which were large enough to be shared and still sufficient for allaying hunger pangs. We noshed on tempurah veg, chickpea and spinach dahl, gingered rice with tofu and noodles and snacked on cardboard cups full of sundried tomatoes, olives and things, from, uh, Olives & Things.

After filling our stomachs, we naturally needed to empty them, and so, we come to the part of the festival I was most excited about; the compost loos! The last time I used these was at Boom festival, in Portugal, where they also had tubs of sawdust for the girls to be peeing in! I tell you, I got pretty close to the girls I travelled there with. The compost loos are compartmentalised, however, and basically consist of a hole over a wheelie-bin. From there, your excrement is wheeled to a place where it will be used as compost! I don’t know what happens to the poo that you poo into portaloos, but I’m pretty sure it gets covered in chemicals, rather than straw, and then treated in a chemical plant rather than having the goodness put back into the ground so that we may grow our food from it. Until next year, Green Man, eat shit!

Categories ,Brecon Beacons, ,Caitlin Rose, ,camping, ,Chai Wallah, ,Darwin Deez, ,DJ Yoda, ,Einstein’s Garden, ,fuck buttons, ,green man festival, ,Hail the Planes, ,Hexstatic, ,Joanna Newsome, ,John Cooper Clarke, ,Laura Marling, ,Peaceful Progress, ,Robin Ince, ,TED talks, ,The Boxettes, ,the flaming lips

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