I’ve been meaning to take in Port Eliot festival for several years but it has always been just that little bit too far away. This summer we were able to attend, thanks to a holiday in Cornwall with family.
Once more we were blessed with a weekend of near perfect sunshine, ideal for wild and muddy swimming in the adjacent river, and the grassy banks were packed when we arrived on Friday afternoon. It’s a relatively small festival, which meant that we could pop up our tent quite close to the action. Beyond the main tented areas we traversed overgrown rhododendron paths, frolicked in a full sized maze and emerged with a spectacular view of the impressive aqueduct beneath which a couple of stand up paddle boarders were dwarfed.
Port Eliot is not your average festival; here the usual music takes a back seat to other offerings: literary, foodie, comedic, crafty and fashionable. Thanks to some well placed connections it has built a bit of a reputation as the fashionistas’ festival, and despite the distance from London the big names return year after year. It was telling that (in comparison to my adventures at Green Earth Awakening) all the people I ran into on the site were friends I know from working in fashion.
I liked the mix of activities, but it took awhile to get used to the workings of this festival, where queueing is a prerequisite for popular talks and workshops (I am very bad at queues, and never more so now that I have a toddler in tow). My partner tried to hear Martin Parr speak on several occasions (about his new film, which was also showing) before we finally tracked him down on the Sunday at the Dovegrey Reader tent, where the audience could sit out on the grass (and knitting is de rigeur). Lucky then that Martin Parr was speaking so many times! And obviously taking the opportunity to snap away at this most middle class of festivals. The favourite thing I took from his talk was his admission that he takes huge amount of photos, because most of them are crap. I have always believed it’s all in the edit so it was good to hear that Martin thinks so too.
I didn’t have so much luck joining an Anthropologie workshop, having arrived at the allocated time to book a class, only to find they were already full. Instead I learnt how to crochet (at last!) with Ros Badger at The Badger Sett.
Plenty of authors were on hand to talk about and then sign books but I only caught small parts of many talks due to toddler demands. Viv Albertine talked very engagingly about her new book Clothes Clothes Clothes Music Music Music Boys Boys Boys which I am desperate to read (Luella Bartley spotted in the audience), and I enjoyed listening to Richard Benson talk about rural life and his new book The Valley, but not so much Gruff Rhys on his US adventures (he didn’t engage). Susie Bubble was front row for a chat with fashion designer Simone Rocha and I bought a signed copy of Babette Cole’s new children’s book, inspired by her lodger, pictured above in dreadlocks and bunny ears.
In the beautiful Walled Garden the fashion set held arty sewing workshops and a catwalk show for tweenies. I admired a clever bunting made from colourful hair weaves and the dexterity of The Flower Appreciation Society, ensuring that many ladies at the festival sported beautiful real floral headdresses.
Every time we tried to get to the kids’ Hullabaloo area I got lost in the winding labyrinth of paths. Once there we discovered plentiful crafty workshops, theatre productions, a bouncy castle, puppet shows and comedy. Speaking of which, I managed to contain Snarfle for long enough to hear most of Robin Ince’s genius set.
The main house was home to displays of crocheted tea cosies, cakes, flower arrangements and scarecrows. We didn’t visit the foodie tent but admired the stage set up from afar. Instead we frequented the Hix pop up in the Orangery, with food supplied by Fortnum & Mason. It was a pricey meal but we enjoyed the incongruous silver service. Elsewhere we dined on Cornish seafood, wood fired pizza and local ice cream. Food was a definite highlight!
In the early evenings Snarfle and I headed to the smallest music tent, where he jumped around to the ramshackle and rather brilliant The Odd Folk one night and electro powered drum n bass anthems from sister act Love Nor Money on the next. He is now obsessed with ‘rock guitar’ as well as banjo. Thank goodness his Sheepie doubles as a guitar/banjo/ukelele stand in.
Written by Amelia Gregory on Friday August 8th, 2014 4:00 pm
No two festivals are the same. Which is lucky since we would be stringing our genitals up by the linings of our straw hats if they were. Truck Festival, however, seems to hold a beautiful sense of naivety about it, pretty impressive considering its 11 year jog since its first outing in 1998. What seems to set it apart is its strong sense of community spirit. Throughout the weekend many of the acts expressed their respect and admiration towards Truck organisers, Robin and Joe Bennett. And with ice cream supplied by the vicar and food from the snowy members of the local rotary club, you can’t help feeling you’re a part of it.
Following an early morning sprint from the more fresh faced end of the car queue, I managed to make it to the heavily odoured cowshed for Oxford’s pop darlings, Alphabet Backwards. Headed by the eccentric James Hitchman with his merry entourage, from appearances you may be excused for thinking you’re in for another melancholy strangling of your sanity with tales of first loves and heartbreaks. Thankfully not. Alphabet Backwards’s brand of energetic lo-fi poptro found the entire cowshed transfixed as we were taken into the rather alternative musings of Hitchman’s brain box. ‘Disco Classic’ was a particular favourite with its synth heavy, building intro. ’80’s Pop Video’ was one of the most involving tracks of the entire festival with the crowd taking over, to ad lib a bizarrely synchronised clapping solo, halfway through. Looking around found many a laughing face or tapping foot whilst the 5-piece bounced around the stage. In the words of Alphabet Backwards themselves, “pop’s not a dirty word”. Thank god for that.
After aimless wandering, I found myself back in the cowshed for the highly anticipated, Youthmovies. It’s hard to argue that they don’t know what they’re doing but amidst the thrashing guitars, flashing lights and smoke machines, it’s also hard to see much else beyond that. The proclamation that we were watching the best band in the world found me wondering whether the farm fumes had projected me to a mediocre parallel planet. If you’re into turned backs and guitar noise you’ll get on well with it but I couldn’t help feeling it was a bit like watching other people eating food when you’re hungry. Strong cheekboned lead singer, Andrew Mears, who was once involved with ‘math rock’ tyrants, Foals, is clearly a talented soul, confirmed after I later heard him deliver a rather intricate poetry reading possibly to an audience that didn’t understand. But there certainly wasn’t enough water around Youthmovies to go floating any boats. Or trucks for that matter.
These New Puritans, with skinny-framed Jack Barnett emerging in a shimmering gold roman-esque shirt, which seemed rather fitting considering the thumping drums which at times, sounded like a call to arms. As Barnett delivered his rap-esque vocals I couldn’t help think this is what Linkin Park would sound like if they were from the UK and just a bit more cool. Don’t let that put you off though. In fact don’t even use it as a comparison. ‘Numbers’ played on our human desire for repetition, perfectly wrapped up in a stupidly named parcel of electronic nu gaze. Whatever you call it though, I dare you not to be stirred at least a little.
Truck isn’t exactly spacious but preceding Noah and the Whale, it was chlaustrophobic madness. Crowd control had to make a forceful announcement that if people didn’t move, they were out. Fun fun fun indeed. After a 25 minute wait they finally arrived. Following the onslaught of skinny kids with 80’s haircuts, the cutesy summer strawberry pop was hideously refreshing. Exactly what you’d want to listen to before taking off all your clothes and dancing in long grass with a childhood friend. Naturally, ‘5 years time’ was a favourite, sending limbs all over the place although it’s a good idea to not write them off as some kind of one hit wonder hippy outfit. A lot more lies beyond the band than just a youth celebratory summer anthem. Frontman, Charlie Fink, holds faint similarities to the early Johnny Cash with his collected swagger, well groomed hair and waistcoat/tie combination. This mixed with the love heavy vibe and modern mish mash of jazz and folk rock made me wonder why I’d want to be anywhere else.
I was starkly unimpressed by all the bands named as headline acts. Lemonheads were uninspiring and I would of been equally entertained had someone just stuck a CD player containing their album, centrestage and pressed play. After seeing ‘It’s a Shame about Ray’, I had to go and flog a dead horse for a while. Camera Obscura delivered gentle sugary pop melodies to a laxidasically sprawled audience. Coming across as completely inoffensive in the good sense. But it was within the smaller acts that the most exciting, raw and breaking performances came.
Pivot delivered the most lip biting, mind blowing set of the weekend. Not an attack you’d usually experience at 4pm on a Sunday afternoon. Seemingly gentle chaps turned into thrashing electronic noise warriors, pulling at the very bottom of the hairs in my neck before tearing them out. Comparisons could be made to a heavier Metronomy or a more broken Soulwax but it would be a weak attempt at pigeonholing something than shouldn’t be. Richard Pike tribally howled his way through a few sections whilst brother and drummer Laurence pounded at the quaking drum kit with such force that I thought a heart attack was only a matter of time. Definite highlight. Their album ‘O Soundtrack My Heart’ comes out August 20th although it’s hard to portray the passion and power that they play at, through a disc or music file.
Young hearts, Orphan Boy, a 3-piece from Manchester were one of the most exciting and promising of the weekend, only stumbled upon whilst I tried to find the person who had my plastic cup of warm cider, which rapidly paled into insignificance. There were few bands at Truck you could claim had any relationship with progressive post punk, but Orphan Boy more than made up for the lack of it. Thrashing their guitars into their vigorous yet half polished anthemic delights, they had the controlled arrogance of musical greats, creating a sound similar to The Fall if you stuck them in a pan and mixed them with a pinch of Arctic Monkeys. I couldn’t help feeling they weren’t getting the reaction they deserved but the few that were there shared my appreciation.
It was then time to put away my dog eared notebook and effeminate pen and get involved in a good ol’ game of wallet fishing before jumping in a skip, picking up paralytic drum and bass kids and then passing out in someone elses shirt. Holy truck. Ouch.
Written by Jacob Denno on Wednesday July 23rd, 2008 12:19 pm
Chan Marshall is a confusing character, viagra sale you hope for her to be brilliant live but there’s always the niggling feeling that it might just go pear-shaped. She’s always been a little fragile; undoubtedly it’s part of her charm. However as soon a she skips onto stage you realise that tonight’s performance is going to be different.
Chan seems to have overcome, approved or at least learnt to deal with her performance issues. She arrives with a curtsey and a gigantic grin on her face, symptoms and it seems immediately obvious that this isn’t going to be one of her infamous ‘two songs and I’m off’ performances. The crowd sense that she’s on good form and welcome her with a roar of applause, perhaps out of relief as well as appreciation.
Keeping the chit-chat to an absolute minimum, the audience are treated to a brilliant mix of covers including I Can’t Get No (Satisfaction) and Gnarls Barkley’s ‘Crazy’ (giving us a taste of her upcoming release) as well as songs from her latest and much-celebrated album; The Greatest. A set of pure blues, however the replacement of the Memphis Rhythm Band with The Dirty Delta Blues seemed to leave the arrangement blues-light and admittedly I missed that extra layer of soulful vocals from her regular group of backup singers.
At times I longed for a break from the rather slow pace and the absence of any of her pre-Greatest material was a disappointment. However, there’s very little to criticise about the woman herself and the audience were quick to give encouraging yelps and cheers at every opportunity. At times she seemed overwhelmed and kind of surprised that we’d even turned up, ‘You guys are amazing, you’re going to make me cry’. Of course, her unmistakeable voice was as incredible as ever, she’s one of those rare performers who understands the power of restraint.
Chan isn’t out to prove her vocal abilities by show-off jazz grandstanding; there are no self-indulgent runs or vocal acrobatics. Perhaps a skill born out of self-preservation, Chan sings as if no one is watching. And it’s beautiful.
Well, and I have just spent the last three days intensively shooting the Sheffield band the Harrisons for their press shots – they are currently putting the finishing touches to their debut album in a remote studio called The Chapel in Lincolnshire with reknowned producer Hugh Jones, who has worked with such luminaries as Echo and the Bunnymen. The studio has seen many famous bands pass through it’s environs – the Arctic Monkeys being the most recent to record their block-busting album in what would once have been the alter of the chapel and is now a cosy wood panelled studio. It was really fun, if hard work – getting the boys out of bed early enough in the morning to get moving and actually get enough shots done before a) they had to return to carry on recording and b) the sun went in for good – jeez the days are short, especially in the north-east – was quite a lot of effort. They range in age evenly from 20 – 23 yrs old and it’s just not very rock ‘n’ roll to get up before lunchtime anyway.
Yes yes, we get it. We all know that Gorillaz is an ‘imaginary’ band made up of four Jamie Hewlett-created cartoon characters who ‘play’ the instruments and ‘give’ interviews (read: the label offers out pre written interview answers for journalists to do with them what they will, or occasionally, in some hideous PR-created postmodern nightmare scenario, well-known character actors pretend to be the band members and give phone interviews. Seriously). Oh, and they all live together on a big floating island made up of the planet’s rubbish. Very clever, boys, but can we drop it now please? Three albums in, this schtick is getting rather tiresome – the joke has been dragged out waaay too long. What are you hiding from, Damon Albarn? Come forward, don’t be shy and stop playing silly buggers with your hairy mate with the felt tips, because ‘Plastic Beach’ is yet another work of brilliance from the prolifically creative brain of Colchester’s prodigal son.
What is instantly clear, in comparison to previous Gorillaz output, is the lack of any chart-smashing singles a la “Clint Eastwood” or “DARE” on this, their third album. Contrary to Albarn’s recent claims, this is probably the least commercial output the ‘band’ has produced, yet in my opinion this works in the album’s favour. Instead of pop hooks and catchy beats, we get Indian bhangra, classical strings, grimey electro hip-hop, marching bands and Bobby Womack. BOBBY WOMACK, people! Awesome. It is a far from faultless, but this lack of commerciality makes it a more interesting, challenging and an ultimately more intelligent album.
Albarn seems to have been very busy making friends and influencing people of late. With a role call of collaborators so impressively credible you can only imagine the howls of jealousy emanating from Mark ‘bloody’ Ronson’s house, we have the improbable joy of hearing the likes of Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed, Mos Def and half of The Clash on the same album.
“White Flag”, featuring the unlikely collaboration of Bashy, Kano, and the Lebanese National Orchestra for Oriental and Arabic Music, opens with sub-continental bhangra beats and classical strings which then transform into a backing track from Super Mario Land with Kano and Bashy MC’ing away over the top. Next comes a flute solo (of course!), some more Indian strings and then it’s over. It’s weird but it works.
After the two distinctly average singles, “Stylo” (feat. Mos Def and Bobby Womack), and “Super Fast Jelly Fish”, comes the good stuff. ‘Empire Ants’ opens as a spacious and trippy ballad with Albarn’s familiarly languid vocals floating sleepily over a charmingly basic Casio beat track, but which then transforms into a huge dazzling disco epic with the help of Swedish electro darlings Little Dragon.
Next up is the snarling glamrock electronic stomp of “Glitter Freeze” and it is effing brilliant. Predominantly instrumental with the odd spoken word and demonic laugh emanating from the eternally downturned mouth of Mark E Smith, this is where you realise just how damn good Albarn is. He is adept at creating these huge musical soundscapes which build and build to almost orgasmic levels with seemingly effortless abandon. Kasabian, take note.
Delightful ditty and title track “Plastic Beach” is proof again that Albarn produces some of his best work when paired up with ex-Clash bassist and habitual Albarn collaborator, Paul Simonon – on this occasion being joined by old chum, fellow Clash guitarist Mick Jones. This track is an irresistibly bouncy pop record with enough quirk and edge to keep you tapping your feet and bobbing your head without getting irritated by its obviousness or its saccharine aftertaste.
Womack’s second appearance comes on “Cloud of Unknowing”, a simply extraordinary and stunning piece of vocal-led classical music. With the help of Sinfonia ViVA, Womack’s vocal is epic, touching and goose-bumps good. We mustn’t forget that Albarn is a bone fide opera composer and is as adept at classical composition as he is at pop, hip hop, disco, rock and pretty much any other genre you can think of.
Not all tracks hit the mark, however. Snoop’s track, “Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach”, is disappointingly average, and second single “Super Fast Jelly Fish”, featuring Gruff Rhys and De La Soul, is thin, soulless and intrinsically irritating. However, on listening to ‘Plastic Beach’, you are left with a resounding sense of satisfaction and joy that you have just witnessed Bobby Womack singing with a full orchestra; The Clash featuring on a track about Casio keyboards and stylophones; Mos Def singing over a marching band; Lou Reed’s vocals spread comfortably over an unapologetically jaunty pop record.
Albarn constantly nudges the boundaries of genre and somehow persuades legendary artists to step out of their comfort zones for just a moment in order to create something unexpected and wonderful. Due to this, I am prepared to forgive the tedious cartoon smoke screen for now, but I think next time do away with the false modesty and claim the glory for your creation, Mr Albarn, since you truly deserve it.
Written by Rachel Clare on Friday March 12th, 2010 4:36 am
Last week the high-rollers were flashing their cash at Frieze, about it but there’s also space in the art world for those of us who aren’t Russian oligarchs. If you love the idea of owning original art but don’t have the in depth knowledge necessary to spend thousands of pounds on something, rx the Affordable Art Fair is a brilliant place to go: new artists from 120 galleries will be displayed and prices start at just £50.
October 22-25
Battersea Park
Carlos Garaicoa – The Point, unhealthy the Line and the Plan
Brand new gallery East Central is holding a free-to-enter exhibition of Cuban artist Carlos Garaicoa’s manipulated photographs. Garaicoa hails from Havana and his work seeks to shed light on the now fading idealistic glory of the city’s buildings, sometimes by contrasting them with American icons like the Empire State Building, or implanting words into views of the city (one sinister message can be seen above). Politics doesn’t sit lightly on Garaicoa’s work, it is an integral part of its message: images of the Pentagon and Cuba’s intelligence buildings drive this home.
Matthew Brannon – Nevertheless
Sculptor Matthew Brannon’s large-scale “I know now no one won” work at the Approach Gallery takes the form of an exquisitely formulated stage set for a play to be performed aboard an ocean liner. A trained graphic designer, Brannon uses the language of shapes and objects against a crisp white background to make his sense known – some works also make use of this skill, with bits and pieces of text shedding light on the artist’s intent. Happily, he also created and crafted each of the objects himself, proving himself a man of many talents.
The Museum Of Everything
Witness the birth of a brand new museum that promises to be London’s first ever space for artists to work outside our modern community. ‘Exhibition #1’ features the whole spectrum of art with over two hundred drawings, paintings, sculptures and installations from these “untrained, unintentional and unseen creators”. Amongst others are Calvin and Ruby Black, a husband & wife team who will exhibit hundreds of figures made from recycled materials. Painter, potter and dancer Ann Stokes is inspired by ballet and presents creations including animals, tableware & trees of birds. There’s free admission and a free shuttle for all visitors to and from Frieze.
October 14th-December 23rd
Drawing The Line: Political Cartooning In An Inoffensive Age
This event will see speakers such as Dave Brown, Martin Rowson and Sarnath Banerjee among others, discussing the rights and wrongs of political cartoons past and present. In an age when anyone who so much as utters an un-PC comment is condemned, do we need cartoonists who are willing to take a chance on good taste in order to make sense of the world we live in? This and other questions will be answered in this Thursday evening.
October 22nd DACS, 33 Great Sutton St, London
Mr Almos’ Big Pen Ship – The Rag Factory
This Thursday will see the opening of an illustration exhibition that showcases the art of thirteen (magical) illustrators such as George Mellor, Ali Campbell, Chris Martin (not that one) and Matthew Hams. Set in the Rag Factory off Brick Lane, this is worth a look if you appreciate illustration that’s quite charming, a little bit fantastical and very curious. Expect an eclectic cross of styles.
Last week the high-rollers were flashing their cash at Frieze, approved but there’s also space in the art world for those of us who aren’t Russian oligarchs. If you love the idea of owning original art but don’t have the in depth knowledge necessary to spend thousands of pounds on something, advice the Affordable Art Fair is a brilliant place to go: new artists from 120 galleries will be displayed and prices start at just £50.
October 22-25
Battersea Park
Carlos Garaicoa – The Point, more about the Line and the Plan
Brand new gallery East Central is holding a free-to-enter exhibition of Cuban artist Carlos Garaicoa’s manipulated photographs. Garaicoa hails from Havana and his work seeks to shed light on the now fading idealistic glory of the city’s buildings, sometimes by contrasting them with American icons like the Empire State Building, or implanting words into views of the city (one sinister message can be seen above). Politics doesn’t sit lightly on Garaicoa’s work, it is an integral part of its message: images of the Pentagon and Cuba’s intelligence buildings drive this home.
Matthew Brannon – Nevertheless
Sculptor Matthew Brannon’s large-scale “I know now no one won” work at the Approach Gallery takes the form of an exquisitely formulated stage set for a play to be performed aboard an ocean liner. A trained graphic designer, Brannon uses the language of shapes and objects against a crisp white background to make his sense known – some works also make use of this skill, with bits and pieces of text shedding light on the artist’s intent. Happily, he also created and crafted each of the objects himself, proving himself a man of many talents.
The Museum Of Everything
Witness the birth of a brand new museum that promises to be London’s first ever space for artists to work outside our modern community. ‘Exhibition #1’ features the whole spectrum of art with over two hundred drawings, paintings, sculptures and installations from these “untrained, unintentional and unseen creators”. Amongst others are Calvin and Ruby Black, a husband & wife team who will exhibit hundreds of figures made from recycled materials. Painter, potter and dancer Ann Stokes is inspired by ballet and presents creations including animals, tableware & trees of birds. There’s free admission and a free shuttle for all visitors to and from Frieze.
October 14th-December 23rd
Drawing The Line: Political Cartooning In An Inoffensive Age
This event will see speakers such as Dave Brown, Martin Rowson and Sarnath Banerjee among others, discussing the rights and wrongs of political cartoons past and present. In an age when anyone who so much as utters an un-PC comment is condemned, do we need cartoonists who are willing to take a chance on good taste in order to make sense of the world we live in? This and other questions will be answered in this Thursday evening.
October 22nd DACS, 33 Great Sutton St, London
Mr Almos’ Big Pen Ship – The Rag Factory
This Thursday will see the opening of an illustration exhibition that showcases the art of thirteen (magical) illustrators such as George Mellor, Ali Campbell, Chris Martin (not that one) and Matthew Hams. Set in the Rag Factory off Brick Lane, this is worth a look if you appreciate illustration that’s quite charming, a little bit fantastical and very curious. Expect an eclectic cross of styles.
Last week the high-rollers were flashing their cash at Frieze, help but there’s also space in the art world for those of us who aren’t Russian oligarchs. If you love the idea of owning original art but don’t have the in depth knowledge necessary to spend thousands of pounds on something, the Affordable Art Fair is a brilliant place to go: new artists from 120 galleries will be displayed and prices start at just £50.
October 22-25
Battersea Park
Carlos Garaicoa – The Point, the Line and the Plan
Brand new gallery East Central is holding a free-to-enter exhibition of Cuban artist Carlos Garaicoa’s manipulated photographs. Garaicoa hails from Havana and his work seeks to shed light on the now fading idealistic glory of the city’s buildings, sometimes by contrasting them with American icons like the Empire State Building, or implanting words into views of the city (one sinister message can be seen above). Politics doesn’t sit lightly on Garaicoa’s work, it is an integral part of its message: images of the Pentagon and Cuba’s intelligence buildings drive this home.
Matthew Brannon – Nevertheless
Sculptor Matthew Brannon’s large-scale “I know now no one won” work at the Approach Gallery takes the form of an exquisitely formulated stage set for a play to be performed aboard an ocean liner. A trained graphic designer, Brannon uses the language of shapes and objects against a crisp white background to make his sense known – some works also make use of this skill, with bits and pieces of text shedding light on the artist’s intent. Happily, he also created and crafted each of the objects himself, proving himself a man of many talents.
The Museum Of Everything
Witness the birth of a brand new museum that promises to be London’s first ever space for artists to work outside our modern community. ‘Exhibition #1’ features the whole spectrum of art with over two hundred drawings, paintings, sculptures and installations from these “untrained, unintentional and unseen creators”. Amongst others are Calvin and Ruby Black, a husband & wife team who will exhibit hundreds of figures made from recycled materials. Painter, potter and dancer Ann Stokes is inspired by ballet and presents creations including animals, tableware & trees of birds. There’s free admission and a free shuttle for all visitors to and from Frieze.
October 14th-December 23rd
Drawing The Line: Political Cartooning In An Inoffensive Age
This event will see speakers such as Dave Brown, Martin Rowson and Sarnath Banerjee among others, discussing the rights and wrongs of political cartoons past and present. In an age when anyone who so much as utters an un-PC comment is condemned, do we need cartoonists who are willing to take a chance on good taste in order to make sense of the world we live in? This and other questions will be answered in this Thursday evening.
October 22nd DACS, 33 Great Sutton St, London
Mr Almos’ Big Pen Ship – The Rag Factory
This Thursday will see the opening of an illustration exhibition that showcases the art of thirteen (magical) illustrators such as George Mellor, Ali Campbell, Chris Martin (not that one) and Matthew Hams. Set in the Rag Factory off Brick Lane, this is worth a look if you appreciate illustration that’s quite charming, a little bit fantastical and very curious. Expect an eclectic cross of styles.
Last week the high-rollers were flashing their cash at Frieze, drug but there’s also space in the art world for those of us who aren’t Russian oligarchs. If you love the idea of owning original art but don’t have the in depth knowledge necessary to spend thousands of pounds on something, the Affordable Art Fair is a brilliant place to go: new artists from 120 galleries will be displayed and prices start at just £50.
October 22-25
Battersea Park
Carlos Garaicoa – The Point, the Line and the Plan
Brand new gallery East Central is holding a free-to-enter exhibition of Cuban artist Carlos Garaicoa’s manipulated photographs. Garaicoa hails from Havana and his work seeks to shed light on the now fading idealistic glory of the city’s buildings, sometimes by contrasting them with American icons like the Empire State Building, or implanting words into views of the city (one sinister message can be seen above). Politics doesn’t sit lightly on Garaicoa’s work, it is an integral part of its message: images of the Pentagon and Cuba’s intelligence buildings drive this home.
Matthew Brannon – Nevertheless
Sculptor Matthew Brannon’s large-scale “I know now no one won” work at the Approach Gallery takes the form of an exquisitely formulated stage set for a play to be performed aboard an ocean liner. A trained graphic designer, Brannon uses the language of shapes and objects against a crisp white background to make his sense known – some works also make use of this skill, with bits and pieces of text shedding light on the artist’s intent. Happily, he also created and crafted each of the objects himself, proving himself a man of many talents.
The Museum Of Everything
Witness the birth of a brand new museum that promises to be London’s first ever space for artists to work outside our modern community. ‘Exhibition #1’ features the whole spectrum of art with over two hundred drawings, paintings, sculptures and installations from these “untrained, unintentional and unseen creators”. Amongst others are Calvin and Ruby Black, a husband & wife team who will exhibit hundreds of figures made from recycled materials. Painter, potter and dancer Ann Stokes is inspired by ballet and presents creations including animals, tableware & trees of birds. There’s free admission and a free shuttle for all visitors to and from Frieze.
October 14th-December 23rd
Drawing The Line: Political Cartooning In An Inoffensive Age
This event will see speakers such as Dave Brown, Martin Rowson and Sarnath Banerjee among others, discussing the rights and wrongs of political cartoons past and present. In an age when anyone who so much as utters an un-PC comment is condemned, do we need cartoonists who are willing to take a chance on good taste in order to make sense of the world we live in? This and other questions will be answered in this Thursday evening.
October 22nd DACS, 33 Great Sutton St, London
Mr Almos’ Big Pen Ship – The Rag Factory
This Thursday will see the opening of an illustration exhibition that showcases the art of thirteen (magical) illustrators such as George Mellor, Ali Campbell, Chris Martin (not that one) and Matthew Hams. Set in the Rag Factory off Brick Lane, this is worth a look if you appreciate illustration that’s quite charming, a little bit fantastical and very curious. Expect an eclectic cross of styles.
Coal power is the biggest source of carbon emissions, with over 200,000 people dying each year from climate change alone, the government still isn’t taking it seriously. With only a one seventh of the amount bankers received in their bonus packages being put towards green stimulus projects shows we need to take action into our own hands to get the government to do more.
The Great Climate Swoop is happening this Saturday the 17th and 18th October; the plan is to take over Ratcliffe-on-soar coal-fired power station for at least 24 hours. There has already been a wave of international protests against coal power stations this year from Australia (an action we covered at Amelias magazine) to Denmark and we aim to make our action even bigger and better.
With the recent back out by E.ON on creating two new coal power stations at Kingsnorth, as well as the end to plans for a 3rd runway at Heathrow which were coincidentally both venues for past Climate Camp shows that we can really make change.
It is an exciting time to be involved in activism with the climate change issue really heating up it is time to get involved and be part of the movement.
With a group of volunteers spending months working hard for the swoop to be an success, the plan is in place and it is sure to be an engaging action that will spurn many new activists as well as pushing the debate on for no coal power. Maps are available to download and a text message service has been set up to keep everyone informed about what’s happening on the day.
Local neighborhoods meet up regularly and have organized a range of activist cut-price buses from around the country to descend to Nottingham at the end of the week. There really is no excuse not to be there.
The action has been split into four blocs, and each offers different objectives to suit every activist. FOOTSTEPS TO THE FUTURE will get to the main gate and create a vision of a better future, TAKE THE POWER BACK mission is to get to the control room and take back the power, FALSE SOLUTIONS will go to the coal pile and expose the false solutions and CAPITALISM IS CRISIS is the decentralized bloc which means affinity groups can take there own actions. The power station is going to be inundated with young and old, students, weathered activists and all in between to show we want to kick start massive transition to a low carbon future and we don’t see coal power as relevant in today’s world.
If you’ve left sorting out transport with your local group too late, don’t worry just get to Nottingham train station for 10am this Saturday and join the hundreds of protesters there ready to swoop. There will also be bike blogs setting off from Leeds on the 15th, and Sheffield on the 16th and Nottingham on the 17th all leaving from the train stations at 10am, the critical mass will even have boom pedal powered tunes to spur you on and bloc any of those high vis vehicles on the day.
We have been gathering, viagra order preparing, viagra joining with hundreds of others and almost ready to swoop for the most exciting mass action of the year.
Coal power is the biggest source of carbon emissions, see with over 200,000 people dying each year from climate change alone, the government still isn’t taking it seriously. With only a one seventh of the amount bankers received in their bonus packages being put towards green stimulus projects shows we need to take action into our own hands to get the government to do more.
The Great Climate Swoop is happening this Saturday the 17th and 18th October; the plan is to take over Ratcliffe-on-soar coal-fired power station for at least 24 hours. There has already been a wave of international protests against coal power stations this year from Australia (an action we covered at Amelias magazine) to Denmark and we aim to make our action even bigger and better.
With the recent back out by E.ON on creating two new coal power stations at Kingsnorth, as well as the end to plans for a 3rd runway at Heathrow which were coincidentally both venues for past Climate Camp shows that we can really make change.
It is an exciting time to be involved in activism with the climate change issue really heating up it is time to get involved and be part of the movement.
With a group of volunteers spending months working hard for the swoop to be an success, the plan is in place and it is sure to be an engaging action that will spurn many new activists as well as pushing the debate on for no coal power. Maps are available to download and a text message service has been set up to keep everyone informed about what’s happening on the day.
Local neighborhoods meet up regularly and have organized a range of activist cut-price buses from around the country to descend to Nottingham at the end of the week. There really is no excuse not to be there.
The action has been split into four blocs, and each offers different objectives to suit every activist. FOOTSTEPS TO THE FUTURE will get to the main gate and create a vision of a better future, TAKE THE POWER BACK mission is to get to the control room and take back the power, FALSE SOLUTIONS will go to the coal pile and expose the false solutions and CAPITALISM IS CRISIS is the decentralized bloc which means affinity groups can take there own actions. The power station is going to be inundated with young and old, students, weathered activists and all in between to show we want to kick start massive transition to a low carbon future and we don’t see coal power as relevant in today’s world.
If you’ve left sorting out transport with your local group too late, don’t worry just get to Nottingham train station for 10am this Saturday and join the hundreds of protesters there ready to swoop. There will also be bike blogs setting off from Leeds on the 15th, and Sheffield on the 16th and Nottingham on the 17th all leaving from the train stations at 10am, the critical mass will even have boom pedal powered tunes to spur you on and bloc any of those high vis vehicles on the day.
Read to the bottom to find out exclusive details about a really exciting competition!
Having recently been on tour with Richard Hawley, these bewitching girls settle back in London to headline their own show at The Borderline. Their sultry vocals and penchant for slide guitar will seriously turn you on.
We’ll be chatting to this New Mexico chap who’s friends with Zach “Beirut” Condon and A Hawk And A Hacksaw and now spends his time in Berlin making really great electro pop. An extra reason to attend is that proceeds from the gig go to Wateraid.
Seems a bizarre entrant into the Electric Proms schedule, but after Amelia’s Magazine saw his Glasto 09 performance we have no doubt that this talented MC can rise to the challenge. Micachu and Efterklang have done it recently so now Dizzee gets his chance to perform against an orchestral backing.
What would a gigging week be without a handsome dose of folk? Well, we won’t give you the option. Join the finest singers – including Super Furry Animals’ Gruff Rhys, the U2 of folk (in a good way), Martin Carthy and longtime collaborator and personal idol, Norma Waterson – from the field recordings on Will Hodgkinson’s acclaimed travelogue The Ballad Of Britain come together for a unique concert that shows just how rich, various and creative the British folk experience can be.
There’s not many Hollywood actors that have switched to music and enjoyed the longevity that Lewis has. We put it down to her leather clad style, and sweat drenched, shrieking to rival Karen O performance. That’s not a bad triumvirate of reasons to check this gig out.
Wile away the woes of the plunging temperature with actress, burlesque dancer and general East End scenester turned quirky retro diva, Faith, performing tracks from her soulful debut album alongside Amelia’s Magazine folk troupe faves, Mumford & Sons. Not to be missed.
The moment you’ve been waiting for, Amelia’s Magazine is proud to present an exclusive opportunity to see desert blue Mali collective, Tinariwen at this gig. Not only will you and a friend attend the gig, but you can also go down early to the Koko show to watch the band sound-check, meet the band post sound-check, have photos taken with them, and watch a couple of the set’s songs from the side of the stage. Follow us on twitter to find out how to enter the competition.
Written by Katie Weatherall on Monday October 19th, 2009 3:24 pm
The seemingly ever present rain was holding off as I made my way up Commercial Street, past the facade of of shiny new shops and crumbling Victorian architecture where the schizophrenic fringe of the East End blurs and the City and Shoreditch collide. I’d just been to an in-store gig by Allo Darlin’ at Rough Trade East and was en route to one of the newer venues on the block (well, in this part of town), Village Underground.
Inhabiting a disused railway arch and adjacent warehouse, and adorned with recycled former Tube carriages, it’s a curious setting. I’d been here once before, for some of last year’s Stag and Dagger festival, but the acoustics in the main hall had proved to be a bit of a let-down. Tonight, though, the main event was occurring in a smaller side arch, a much more intimate setting for the dark riches we were about to enjoy.
A former protégé of Super Furry Animals main man Gruff Rhys, I’d seen Cate Le Bon a couple of times in the past, most recently at last year’s Camden Crawl. I’d been smitten with her debut album, the psych-folk tinged Me Oh My, and she was back braving the elements to launch her follow-up, CYRK.
Bathed in red light, and with suitably weird images projected on to the wall behind her, Le Bon took to the stage with her band. Dressed in black and with guitar in hand, she kicked off the set with the off-kilter waltz of Julia, which then segued straight into Fold The Cloth. That bewitching, lilting voice juxtaposed with the way she attacked her guitar during solos kind of sums up the music on CYRK – the unexpected is always around the corner. The majority of the set was a run through of the new album, including the chugging Falcon Eyed (imagine if the Strokes’ Last Nite had been written in Cardiff), the introspective The Man I Wanted and the unsettling Greta (complete with eerie trumpet fade out).
A couple of older songs popped up as well, with Le Bon moving to keyboards for the woozy riff of Eyes So Bright, before the set closed with CYRK’s own finale, the gentle first part of Ploughing Out building to a full on freak out that raised the hairs on the back of the neck. The cheers of the crowd brought on the encore, before which an apparently ill Le Bon wryly remarked that she’d managed to get through the set without being sick. She then took up the keyboards for Camelo, backed only by a disconcerting animation on the wall behind her, before the rest of the band came out for a romp through Ole Spain, a cover of über-obscure (even by my standards!) early 80s New Wave band Hamsters.
With CYRK hitting the shops, and a short European tour supporting Perfume Genius in a couple of weeks, now’s the ideal time to get to know this beguiling talent.
Dancing like a loon to jungle music at 3am. Sitting next to a cornfield in the evening sunshine with a succulent burger in one hand and a cider in the other. No, for sale wait, getting some love from the Truck Monster…. no; feeling the love as the most perfect album in the entire history of recorded music was recreated live on stage…. I’m trying to sift through my favourite moments at Truck festival 2011, and I could sit here ad infinitum without coming any closer.
The weekend of July 22-24th is one of Summer’s prime time slots in the festival calender – if this was the telly, it would be the 7.30pm Eastenders or Corrie dilemma, so Truck has always run the risk of being overlooked by the bigger beasts of the festival scene, yet it has diligently carved itself a niche amongst good people who love great music. If I were to try to give Truck a unique selling point, I would say that it’s like attending the worlds hippest village fete (but with no pretentious ‘tude). Example? Next to the stage that Transgressive, Heavenly Records and Bella Union were curating the line-up, the local Rotary Club were serving up cups of tea and scones. At this rate, I wouldn’t have been surprised had I been served tea by a ray-bans wearing vicar.
This year, I brought a good friend who had previously only been to one festival (Glasto), so I was excited to see what she made of something a lot more intimate. Joining us for an all-too brief time was Amelia and her lovely boyfriend Tim, who I last saw at Wood Festival. Sharing the same ethos as Wood (which isn’t hard; they are run by the same family), Truck is a resolutely inclusive, family-friendly festival. Babies and tiny tots are held in high regard here, and are given plenty of fun activities and places to play, which must be a godsend for parents.
Illustration by Benbo
Amelia captures her crew in the early evening sunshine.
I noticed that Truck had expanded a fair bit, there were additions of a theatre space, a comedy and cabaret tent, (which I regretfully say that I didn’t give enough attention to – next year I promise!), as well as Wood Field, which was a little slice of Wood festival, curated by the Oxford Folk Festival and providing lots of environmentally friendly activities and workshops (and music of course)
Most of my time was spent by the Clash Stage. This was the place where Transgressive, Heavenly and Bella Union took turns in curating the days set list. I considered myself in safe hands with these three labels; the triumvirate of the independent music scene. I have nothing but respect and admiration for the people behind this. Not least because they nail it again and again and again. Transgressive had kicked proceedings off on Friday with acts like Gaggle, Peggy Sue, Johnny Flynn and Graham Coxon. Gaggle are a force to be reckoned with; I first saw the 20+ piece all-female performance art choir about a year ago at The Lexington and was completely transfixed. They exemplify everything great about being a woman; strong, loud, dynamic and passionate (with killer headgear), I found this photograph of Gaggle posing in the field above Truck to give you a sense of their presence.
Saturday was Heavenly Records turn to take care of us. When I was first really getting into proper music – after my Five Star faze – Heavenly were one of the first cases where I was intrigued by the label as much as the artists. Right from the get go, Heavenly had its finger on the pulse of the dreamy halcyon days of early 90′s indie-pop, underground and all matter of slightly letfield music. And they provided one of the biggest and unexpected highlights for me on Saturday night – Edwyn Collins. First of all, I had no idea how many songs of his I knew without actually realising who had sung them; of course his biggest hit was “A Girl Like You“, and his days with Orange Juice produced the glorious “Rip It Up And Start Again“, but apparently I’ve been singing along to many more of his hits over the last few years. Live, his set was faultless; it was energetic and fun and the audience were loving every minute. It was about halfway in that I suddenly remembered reading that Edwyn had suffered two strokes a few years ago and could not marry up the idea of suffering something so debilitating with the man on stage who was giving us such a wonderful show. After the weekend I learnt that after a stroke, a persons ability to sing can sometimes remain unabated. I left the set in absolute awe of this mans ability and talent.
photo by Andrew Kendall
Tearing ourself away from the Clash Stage for a hot second, we headed over to the Main Stage to catch Gruff Rhys who delivered a brilliant performance. I had never managed to see the Super Furry Animals live, so I was really happy to watch Gruff entertain us. Sensations in the Dark is one of those perfect songs where every second packs a punch – and it’s great to dance to. (Which we did of course).
Late Saturday night and the bars kicked into full swing, such as Kidstock (pictured above), home to several sambuca shots which fortified Anshu and myself for our next pit-stop – the Boxford dance tent. My lovely and kind friend Toby Kidd was DJing old skool jungle in a two hour set that led me to discovering that I can actually dance to jungle. (I’m well aware that photos exist that will disprove this belief, I’m just not going to show them to you).
Photo by Ian Taylor
Sunday was a blazing hot day and I spent the first part of the early afternoon watching bands from a horizontal position, whilst letting the good people at the Rotary Club feed me a late breakfast. (Not literally at the same time, that would be too sybaritic – even for me). Bella Union’s set was possibly my favourite over all, I loved Cashier No.9, who opened proceedings and have been playing a lot on 6Music recently. I hadn’t heard of Lantern’s On The Lake, but I really enjoyed their set – it was a mix of loud, jangly guitar and etherial shoe-gaze. In fact Lanterns took shoe-gaze to its most literal level – I didn’t get to see the lead singers eyes – she and her guitar were pointed resolutely at the floor, lost in the wall of sound that she was creating.
Alessi’s Ark is a favourite of Amelia’s Magazine and its contributors so I was eager to see her set as well. She has a sweet delicate sound that reminds me a little of Liz Fraser from Cocteau Twins, which is ironic seeing that the guitarists in the band founded Bella Union, the label that Alessi is signed to.
While my friend went to chill out in the afternoon sunshine with a reflexology session, I made my way over to the Wood stage, where Rachael Dadd was performing songs from her new album Bite The Mountain. I’m feeling like a little bit of a Rachael groupie of late, having gone to both nights of her album launches, as well as watching the beautiful evening that she helped put on a few months ago to raise money for the Japanese tsunami appeal. So although I know most of her songs off by heart now, they still feel fresh with every listen.
The most epic part of the weekend took place on Sunday night. Over at the Main Stage, The Dreaming Spires were holding court. The band consists of Robin and Joe Bennett, the brothers behind Truck. Knowing these guys, I knew what they had up their sleeve after their blinding set, which made me very excited. So at 11pm, everyone rushed back to the Clash Tent, where alongside The Magic Numbers, Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou, and Sarah Cracknell of St Etienne, the band performed the entire album of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours. From start to finish, every second was magical. The audience sang along for most of the songs, or danced furiously. Watching the album being performed live, it made me realise how sonically perfect Rumours is; the composition of each song is faultless. The songs were sometimes sung en masse, or the various bands would take it in turn to sing. Of course, it wouldn’t be Truck if the Truck Monster didn’t come on stage and dance behind the band, which added a suitably surreal touch to proceedings. It was one of those moments that can never be captured again, and I’m so glad that I got to experience such musical craftsmanship.
All of a sudden, the festival was over for me, as I had to rush home. My spies tell me that me that those who stayed danced late into the night (or early into the morning), drawing to a close a beloved festival that gets everything right.
Photograph by Ian Taylor
