The Event - Issue 140 - 21 September 2002

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Saturday, September 21, 2002

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UCI Cinemas 7 day student deal.

Discount tickets on all the films all the time.

All you have to do is be a student. Nothing else.

Sign up for exclusive online deals at www.uci-students.co.uk UCI Cinemas, Riverside, Norwi ch

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Editorial 03

Contents:

Event Editorial: Welcome to Norwich

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Inside: 03 The Event Editorial

atching Daniel Kitson at the Norwich Forum last night made me think about a few things. The newlycrowned Perrier Award Winner annihilated the pomp and price of the event he was performing at, suggesting the rawness of stand-up comedy needed to move away from the overpriced, ridged establishment. This works as a good analogy for the ethos behind student life. I am not saying we should all grow beards, and devote our entire lives to wanky, chin-stroking activities. But just to think a little different. Embrace mainstream culture if we like, but also keep our eyes open for other stuff; go underground if the flavour is right, but don't close our eyes to the world around us. With that in mind, The Event tries to cover all angles; from the raw porn groove of the underground, to champagne soaked giddiness of the mainstream peaks.

This fortnight, we focus on, amongst others, Jade Goody. Four months ago she was a semi-demented estatehead dental nurse from Bermondsey, known to her mates as 'Pamela Anderson ' because she had big tits (she also had a big gut, but apparently no one thought to call her Chris Moyles.) Now, in September 2002, she is still a semi-demented estatehead, the only difference being she is no longer a dental nurse, she is now a celebrity. No, The Face hasn't championed dental nursing as the new black this summer, thus thrusting this poor, unassuming child into the spotlight - Jade has simply joined the ranks of the 'famous for doing fuck all. ' Since her appearance on Channel 4's Big Brother 3, Jade has been hot tabloid property, required for endless interviews and photo shoots, posing as a media puppet and poor impersonator of her former self. She is currently being carted round the country to regurgitate the now tired-sounding malapropisms from the series, and last week came to Norwich as part of her Brannigans tour. The Event went along for the show. his issue also boasts an interview and photo shoot with rising garage rock stars the Libertines, throwing up the question: "where do you draw the line between hedonistic rock ' n' roll gods and arrogant twats who can't play for shit? " Then, between the rock 'n' roll trash and the, erm, trash sits the real life Alan Partridge, very real, very decent, Wally Webb. The Event caught up with him to find out what it's like to live with the moniker and just how many items of sports casual were in his wardrobe.

Gordon Smith talks about his love of publishing, the history of his company Weirdegg Productions, and the importance of the Independent publisher in the increasingly commercial world of the mainstream press. And there is a four page freshers guide, keeping you up to date with what's happening on campus this week.

Couple this with the usual amounts of previews, collumns, and reviews and there you have your first copy of The Event for the 2002/3 academic year. Enjoy.

Welcome to Norwich. Contents and Credits.

04 Jade Goody

Big Brother 3 favourite recently came Norwich as part of her Brannigans tour, to do what remains unseen . The Event asseses the life span of these type of celebrities

05 X:'~~~Xey~~~r8

life Alan Partridge· talks to The Event about being a local perosnality and life with Alan

06 A Printable Passion

Gordon Smith, head of small publishing firm, Weirdegg Productions writes about the Independent press.

Almost Famous-

TheAsleep

.07 Burn Out, Fade Away What ever happened to Captain Beefheart

..... Vu.?

08 De~a

With t e remake of Insomnia in cinemas this month The Event takes a look at the trend of recyling movie ideas

Excess Hollywood

09 Cinefile

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10 The Libertines

The Event caught up the arrogant rockers when they came to The Norwich Arts Centre

Reviews: 15 Albums

Bruce Springsteen; McAimont and Butler; Death in Vegas; The Boggs

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~~~~Jr~~akes;

Martin Grech ; Aston Lane;

Liberty X

17 Arts Cambridge Footlights; Will Self; Daniel Kitson; Fringe Preview

Luke Wright, Editor Pictures: (Above, in descending order) The Libertines; Jade Goody ; Wally Webb; Daniel Kit son

18 Film

Lost in La Mancha; Signs; K-pax(video) ; Gosford Park (DVD)

21 N /Radio/Web

Credits: Editor-In-Chief · Katle Hind • Editor · Luke Wright • Arts Editor · Kathryn Hinchliff • Film Editor · Jim Whalley • Music Editor · Mischa Pearlman • Assistant Music Editor · Claire Burwell • Picture Editor · Ed Webb-lngall • Text · Astrid Goldsmith · Liz Hutchlnson · Brltt Juste · Joe Mlnihane · Marc Peachey

The Event is published fortnightly by Concrete: Post: PO Box 410, Norwich, NR4 ?TB Tel: 01603 250558 · Fax: 01603 506822 · E-mail: su.concrete@uea.ac.uk Printed by: Archant Newspapers, St Andrew's Business Park, Norwich

www.thefaceparty.com ; Endless Summer with Nigella; BBC Radio 2 in Belfast; What Not to Wear

Listings: 22 Directory

Important Phone numbers for entertainments in Norwich

Saturday, September 21, 2002

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04

Left Feeling Jaded: Text: Katie Hind

A girl who makes Mrs Malaprop look like Moira Stewart, and she's blonde. Now that's a money spinning idea . Jade Goody, the girl who put Bermondsey on the map, famous for her kebab and that 'BJ with PJ,' arrives in East Angular. The chipstick is in the building .. . hadn 't heard t he voice for a good few months, but as soon as I approached the Riverside 's Brannigans nightclub, those summer memories came flooding back. lt was Jade Goody, aka the annoying , poorly-spoken , blonde bimbo from Big Brother 3. Oh yes, she finally made it to East Angular, as part of her nationwide tour of Brannigans. Despite not winning the show after losing out to fellow bleached slapper and arch-enemy , Kate Lawler, Jade has used her 'fame ' to make as much cash as she possibly can. The Event even approached her management to ask for an interview, but we were turned down immediately - unless of course, we were willing to hand over large sums of money .

Annoying as it may seem , who can blame her? She is not going to have long in the limelight. So down we dashed to the Riverside to find out exactly how Jade was going to earn her keep for the coming weeks.

"I luv it, it's wicked. Big it up for the East Angular."

After all , what could this talent less nonentity be doing to entertain the audience? I mean, she proved that she can't sing, she hardly has the fig ure to dance and we all know that she is certainly not funny (well, not intentionally anyway). But this, unfortunately seems to be a feature of British society. Aside from all of the Big Brother contestants over the last three years (apart from the lovely Brian) , there have been so many other fifteen minute wonders who have appeared in Okay magazine one minute and found themse lves back working in their local Tescos the next.

People are get famous for nothing, they don 't have a talent to sing , write or dance, so they don't last. This can be exemplified by an array of reality TV shows, Pop Idol, Survivor, Model Behaviour and even Popstars, whose winners went in straight at number one with their debut single. A year later, they were history.

So in an attempt to stay famous for as long as possible, Jade refused to break a habit of a lifetime and getting in peoples 's faces and say stupid things. On stage, she 'entertained' a fairly large, screaming audience with quick quips and witty repartee . When the compere, who must have had the patience of a saint , asked her if she likes East Angu lar, she replied charmingly, " I luv it, it's wicked. Big it up for the East Angular. " But she took things to extremes when the brave MC asked her how she arrived in Norwich, by plane or ferrj . Jade claimed that she was transported by a private jet. Come on love, as if. The short ride from her counci l flat in Bermondsey, Saahf London to our fine city would swallow up her life savings路 and more.

"So in an attempt to stay famous for as long as possible, Jade refused to break a habit of a lifetime and get in peoples's faces and say stupid things ."

That sai d, maybe she does actually have a sense of humour . When asked if she was an animal , which would she be, she replied saying it would be a pig. And talking of pigs, her fumblings with PJ were not allowed to rest. The com pere asked her what his manhood looks like, and guess what , she claimed she didn 't know. And this is the girl who "believes in sex on a first date. " Aft erwards, I was lucky enough to meet Jade, but it wasn 't easy. You see , Jade is a celebrity.

And celeb rities do not like to soc ialise with us normal folk. Instead, they stay in a secure area and lean over a rope or table while being guarded by big fat minders, to meet their adoring fans.

On top of th is, I had fig ht off screaming boys - and girls - t o even get near her. She was kind enough to pose for a picture with me, but in the process, tried to eat the side of my face and strangle me. till she was kind enough to share her secrets with us of how she shed the pounds. Oh yes, she traaains. " I go to the gym five times a week and run for fawty minutes. I use the weights too y'know." When my colleague shouted to her that she was going to be 路 featured in the University of East Angular student newspaper we were met with an ever so ladylike 'wot'. Yes, we had to explain again 路twice, before she understood. But she was delighted and shouted , in her Helen Adams-like way, "Oh my Gawwwd" . All I can say to the poor lass is, wait until you read the piece. Yes Jade, you are mingin'.

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Saturday, September 21, 2002

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To Kill a Mocking Alan: The Dyke Dwellers of the Acle strip, local people, and life with Alan. The man they dub the real life Partridge ... Knowing me, Luke Wright, Knowing you, Wally Webb ...

s I sit down with Wally Webb to conduct our interview, one of his BBC Radio Norfolk pals cries out, "Hey Alan, have a good one." Wally seems very muc~ at ease with this, yelling back a badly impersonated "Ah-ha," but he's not fooling anyone. Ever since Steve Coogan's greatest comic creation went back to his roots, presenting the graveyard shift on Radio Norwich in the 1997 series /'m A/an Partridge, Wally Webb has acquired infamy with the .moniker 'the real life alan .' · • When they began to trail it, and they showed him sitting there in the studio in front of a Radio Norwich sign, we were lying in bed, and my wife said to me, 'oh look he's taking you off, he's you! ' and since then on I've had to live with it. " However, BBC Norfolk's 'Live from Five' presenter is keen to point out that the comparisons don 't hold up under closer scrutiny. " People dub me as the real Alan Partridge simply because i'm on early morning radio, and it 's Radio Norfolk , but that's as far as it goes because his style is totally different to mine. You've got to remember that it 's a comedy character, so he's going to be doing things I've never dreamed of doing."

In the flesh, Webb appears to be more like a real-life Nigel Mansell than an Alan Partridge, and on air his listeners are treated to a more calming tone, closer to that of John Peel than the prattish warbling of the 'King of Chat.' However, he is forced to admit that he does have "one or two items" of sports casual in his wardrobe.

UBut whereas Webb is self-conscious, his alter-ego is simply self-absorbed."

For a radio presenter, a comparisOn to the 'chat show host from hell,' would be fairly difficult to live with but Webb takes it all in good humour. "I actually interviewed Steve Coogan. And when we first met, you know that feeling when someone's holding back on you, I think he thought I was going to thump him, but I really like the guy, and I all] a fan of the series. " Webb pauses.

"Although I did have to tell him that anyone with any sense would know that a radio presenter has to have the earphones on with they are talking on air, not around their neck ."

Listening to 'Live from Five' one can pick up on certain Alan-isms, ( " Yes, I suppose you could take my style and put a comic twist on it ") with the synchronized sip at quarter past five 'coming closest. "Wanna join me. Mine's tea, you can have whatever you want, as long as it 's liquid. We can syncronise that sip, together! Go on risk it'. Oh! Wow , that 's hot . Okay , I'm going to risk it .

Here's to a good weekend." But whereas Webb is self-conscious, his alter-ego is simply selfabsorbed. " it's just silly things like tt]at, something light because people have just woken up and they don't want me being too serious." · nowing his audience is something Webb prides himself on. He's been with radio Norfolk for 22 years, and before that he was doing hospital radio since his move to Norfolk in 1976, whilst he was in the RAF. "Never underestimate the intelligence of your audience, because they will see right through y~u . Ni:wer falsify any sincerity because you'll eventually be found out. " To his listeners, Webb is perhaps best know~ not as the 'real life Alan Partridge' but rather as the inventor the Dyke Dwellers. and Sid the Rabbit . "I wanted my listeners to use their imaginations and so I said that I had spotted something along the Acle straight on my way to work . I spent weeks on the build-up and eventually I said 'well I'm sure there are little people who live on the marshes who have come over from Holland.' There are loads of fantasy tales about little people, so I thought well why can 't Norfolk have its own indigenous kind of little person. The marshes are riddled with dykes so they became the Dyke Dwellers and Deryk was the character I developed, and I developed him with the audience."

Webb 's audience became so involved with his creations that they even started sending in little cloths and gardening implements for his Deryk and flis friends . "it's very flattering because they are entering into the spirit of it. You know that they know it's all fantasy , but they are going along with it, they are enjoying it. I think. that from a presenter's point of view , you can sit there all day long in a studio' and broadcast, thinking it's the greatest thing since sliced bread but to have that affirmation from your audience, that they are involved in it, is what it 's all about."

Another of Webb 's creations was Sid the Rabbit, who had a conservatory built on the back of his burrow. When it was reported that Sid, livi.ng near a new bypass on the Yarmouth stretch of the A47, had been gassed by the council , the 'Live at Five' regulars were up in arms and to this day

ul'm just Wally, I'm just a bloke. Not like Alan Partridge at all really... l never kid myself that you last forever, you can be here today and gone tomorrow." still ask Webb about his burrowing buddy .

For Wally Webb, a· close relationship with one's listeners iS something only local radio can offer.

"You and I can sit here, but you try and get an interview with Terry Wogan tomorrow. Local radio is local and we are local as presenters; we live locally, we go out socialising loca"y , everything is local, so you get to know your audience. People say you should never get too close to a person you are working for or with, but it 's knowing your audience that is the station's success, because they will tell you if they don't like something and you can do something about iU Whilst Alan Partridge is frustrated by being stuck in Norw ich and milks his 'celebrity ' status as much as he can, Webb is just happy being himself. "I'm just Wally , I'm just a bloke. Not like Alan Partridge at all really . ~ecause at the end of the day , if I was sacked and all of a sudden on Monday there was someone else doing my job, there might be a few people who would shout and jump up and down, but by the end of the week it'd be Wally who? And -you're gone, I never ·kid myself that you last forever, you can be here today and gone tomorrow . And that keeps your feet on the ground. I'm someone who 's got a job he's happy doing and a good, rock steady family life.

I've nothing to complain about. I mean, who's lucky?"

Who 's lucky indeed. Alan Partridge is a failed , homophobic , ambitious, idiot who provides excellent comic entertainment, and who, if he.were real , would provide the perfect material for a journalist to write cutting and witty character assassinations. On the other hand, Wally Webb is a relaxed and charming man with mild eccentric ities who provides the perfect material for an article on the warm qualities possessed by people who are very real indeed. Knowing him , knowing you?

If you want to synchronise your sip with Wally, catch him week day mornings from- Sam on BBC Radio Norfolk, 104.1FM · ·

K

Pictures: (top row) Wally poses as himself and 'the real life Alan ;' (directly above) Steve Coogan and Wally Webb at BBC Radio Norfolk, pictured provide by BBC Radio Norfolk's Website (www .bbc .co.uk/ norfolk)

Saturday, Septmber 2l, 2002

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AI m 0 s t Famous Lookin beyond the Top 40 ...

NO. 1

A Printable Gordon Smith, head of Weirdegg Co, talks about the importance of independent publishing, and his work ...

The Asleep are one of the most exciting and coolestlooking bands in Norwich.

The Event caught up with them to get the lowdown ....

tl1e zoo keeper

How long have you been together?

About 18 months now. There's me ( George · guitar). Paul the bass player. Todd the singer. We're originally from Yarmoutll, and then we moved to Norwic h where we met Steve (drums) and we've been together since that. really .

How would you describe your sound to people who don 't know you?

Could say loud. A lot of people do, but not really. We're very blues-influenced, and rock and roll as well. And lot s of 60's bands too. we·re very in w ith the thing that 's quite popular at the moment . but we're not doing that deliberately. we just play what we li ke. We were doing this thing two yea rs ago. but it helps that it's happening now .

What bands have influenced you?

The Rolling Stones . Led Zeppelin. The Doors. Any kind of rock guitar music that's energeti c . And a lot of blues artists . too . like John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters.

What is it like living and playing in Norwich? Is the scene good? · it's moderate . Obviously not as good as somewhere like London. but we heard today that places like Cambridge and Leeds are awful. so it's not bad 11ere. And we 've got a bit of a fo llowi ng now in Norwich t hat we·ve generated with flyers and advertising. We .had a g ig at the Ferryboat on Friday. and I don't t hink yo u co ul d have got anybody else in there.

We took the tables and chairs out. There were probably about 120 people there . lt was absolutely rammed. and that was pure ly out of us putting things in the subways and handing out f lyers in front of the Waterfront. And a lot of it is word of mouth too. it's all quite promising. We could play Norwich for the rest of our lives. but I think we need to get down to London, really.

So t hat' s the next stop, then?

Yeah. We want to try and get some showcase gigs down in London before the end of the year. We've met someone who's going to put us in c ontact with the producer of Phi I Collins. Jamiroquai and Spiritualised, so hopefully we' ll try and do some record ing and get some showqlses lined up.

Is there an album in the works?

I think EPs are easier at the moment . We 've almost got enough material for an album, but whether we want those songs to be the first album is the question. We want to get our live set perfect, and work on it and work on it unt il we can go to London . We want to be completely confident witll ou rselves before we go down there .

For more information about The Asleep, contac t th em on 07775 981629. They play the Norwich Arts Centre on Tuesday 29th October.

Mischa Pear/man

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event

guess I have always had a penchant for publishing. My first attempt was in 1986. I was seven, and the magazine wa s a hastily fo lded sheet of A4 entitled Gordon 's Hot Magazine. lt was a sharp , witty reflection of modern c ulture. So witty. in fact , that I made up most of the UK Charts Top Ten because I co uldn 't copy it down fast enough when I heard it on the radio . Copies: One. Sales: One. Next up, a few years later, and this time armed with a small Mac Classic and a printer, I made The Norwich City Football Club Fanzine. Nobody wrote me any lette rs so I made them up too, and the answers. And because I ran out of things to write about I photocopied the Worldwide Subbuteo mailing contact list and stuck it on the back. Just in case any of my readers lived in Singapore and wanted to enq ui re about rep lacement Gillingham left-wingers. Copies: Twenty. Sales: Twenty .

I'm not quite sure w hat drove me to produce those two, and numerous other, small magazines. The aesthetic satisfaction, the pleasure of seeing your own creation in the form of a neatly bound pamphlet, certainly played a part. Now. a decade on , I l1ave to admit that I sti ll get a shi ver of contentment when I see my latest effort ro ll off the press. But the origins of Wei rd Egg Productions. the company I established in 2000, and its publishing im print the Egg Box Press, stem from a much deeper ambition.

Brit ish publishing is in t roub le. Not because of the lack of talent -there's no problem there. with more creative writing classes than ever before and a generation of exce ll ent writers moving out from the wings- but because of the financially orientated mess the giant publ ishing companies have got themselves, and all of us. into. In the eyes of the big guns, books aren 't about literature any more, they are merely another expression of the pound. Publishers aren't looking at wllat 's good, but rather what sells, and anything that an editor isn't sure about. anything that isn 't already geared towa rds the c rowds, w on't make it past the slush pile.

When you turn art into a corporate commodity it is automatical ly censored. People no longer have the choi ce about what they · wo uld like to read, because t he myriad of new books on sale is an illusion , they have all been flushed through the same system.

Publishers won't print new, risk-taking writers because they know booksellers place lea st importance on the actual literary creation itself. and every emphasis on how many people it will appeal to. · But the corporate publishing culture is unde.r attack. Numerous small publishing companies, Weird Egg inc luded , are growing il'\

Saturday, Septe mber 21 , 2002

strength and reputation because they are not afraid to publish and promote writers who are wi ll ing to take that extra risk .

And. ironically. they are able to do this because of a technology that the corporate ideology has made ubiquitous. Computers are changing the way that publishing wo rks. and undermining the business hierarchy that has always existed. You no longer need to take out a second mortgage in order to set up a vast , cumbersome typesetting machine in your garage , like the kind Virginia Woolf had in her basement . With an Apple Mac and some desktop publishing software you have the means to design and produce a comp lete book from the comfort of your own bedroom . Add to that the convenience of web printing , where you can feed that book digitally into a computerised printing machine for short runs at a low cost, and you have yo urself a publishing company.

If you think it sounds too good to be true . you're right. When the potent ial to publish your own work is simplified in this way. when tl1e opportunities allow a comp lete freedom of publicat ion. other problems present themselves . As passionately as I advocate a total freedom of the press, and liberated self-expression.

I don't want to have to wade through shelf after shelf of titles such as The Complete Agat ha Christ ie in Russian Semaphore or My Short Period of Self-Discovery after Losing my Pet Hamster Ted or Die Piggy Die· Die Die: One Hu ndred Reasons Why I Hate My Ex -Wife before coming across something that might make a good read. orting the wheat from the chaff is the bare bones of publishing , and where a great deal of t ime and patience is expended in frustrating arguments about quality and content. I used to argue that there was no such thing as a trul y awful piece of writing , but after months of reading sheaves of submissions from all over the world. from all ages and abi lities. r·ve changed my mind.

Adamantly. Selecting writers whose work is deviant enough from the norm , but who c an maintain a good plot and who c an actually write is a tric ky job, and something that can't be handled by a sing le editor. But it was this rea lisation that turned the company from one man's wet dream into the operation it has now become. Weird Egg isn't about being a corporate enti ty. lt is le ss company than community, a forum where writers can work together to produce books that they all agree are important for other peopl e to read. it is this diversity of input that w ill . hopefull y, make its catalogue of planned publi c ations a worthy addition to book shelves ac ross the country.

Weird Egg 's mutation from corporate to collective has a great deal t o do with th e· c ity in whi c h it wa s founded. and the univer-

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Burn Out, Fade Away whatever happened to ...

Captain Beefheart?

Who? Though he was never particularly famous or successful, Captain Beefheart was (and still is), without doubt, one of the most influential, inspirational and innovative musical practitioners of recent times, as well as one of the most bizarre and enigmatic. Born Don Vliet in California in 1941, he changed his name to Don Van Vliet in the early, '60s, before assuming the Captain Beefheart moniker a few years later.

What?

"As passionately as I advocate a total freedom of the press ... l donlt want to have to wade through shelf after shelf of titles such as The Complete Agatha Christie in Russian Semaphore.~~ sity where many of its members are students. Norwich can't help but encourage even the most ruthless capitalist to take a sceptical deep breath and chill out. The city has a vibe, especially when it comes to all things creative, a natural aura that turns potential ~ompetition into mutual good will. Instead of vyiAg for the top spot, the numerous small publishing companies in the region- including Pen&inc, the university's very own highly successful in-house publishers- form a network of likeminded people, a creative. diversity and pool of knowledge that helps strengthen each individual strand.

Likewise, the continuous ebb and flow of minds that fluctuates between the University of East Anglia and the Weird Egg office is ever-changing and never-ending. Everybody is welcome to submit work, help with the reading and editing, or even just bum around and drink coffee. But from this jumbled mishmash of disparate minds comes the essence of what Weird Egg is, a protean community of writers and thinkers whose constant fluctuations hopefully helps create a magazine and a line of books that are never static, always alive.

Who knows if Weird Egg and the Egg Box Press will last. lt takes an inordinate amount of time and money to produce a relatively small collection of books, and in a market saturated with reading material it is difficult to think positively about the effect you're having. Yet there is no doubt that the company is at the beginning of its life, and whilst we may not yet be cultural guerrillas, creative terrorists, whilst we're still in the shadow of the big guns, there is no denying the sense of freshness and subversive vitality that Weird Egg has. With the newly

redesigned egg box magazine on the shelves soon, complete with artwork and music, and the first books ready to roll off the press, we allow ourselves the smallest optimism that we are slowly beginning to change the world.

Anybody Interested In joining the Weird Egg collective can visit the webslte, -.welrdegg.com, or ring the office on 01603 470 191. Any submissions are welcomed to maiiOwelrdegg.co.uk

His first album, Safe As Milk, appeared in 1967, though he is best known for 1969's seminal Trout Mask Replica. The latter is considered by many to be one of the most influential and important albums in music of the last thirty years, though an extremely difficult - if not downright impossible one to listen to. Produced by Frank Zappa, who Beefheart had met in his teens, the album's 27 seemingly disjointed, discordant and arhythmical songs were, in fact, meticulously composed to the very last note and rehearsed fastidiously for over a year until Beefheart had captured the exact sound he desired.

Why? Though it is extremely difficult to define his exact musical style- an experimental yet fastidiously composed combination of blues, free-form jazz, rock and roll, garage rock and classical music- the impact that his music has had is phenomenal. While it is unsurprising that nobody since has ever managed to sound quite like him (if his music was commercial suicide back in the '60s and '70s, it certainly would be now), his influence, and certainly the influence of Trout Mask .Replica, is still very much in evidence today. As the ultimate musicians' musician, it is probably safe to assume that rock and alternative music would be very different had Beefheart never existed.

So where 1s he now?

Good question. Beefheart continued to record and release records, if somewhat sporadically, until 1982, when his final album, Ice Cream for Crow, was released. After that, Beefheart retired from music permanently and moved to the desert to live in a trailer. He became a total recluse and turned his attentions to painting, assuming the name Van Vliet once again. His artwork, like his music, has received much critical acclaim, and, unlike his music, has been financially rewarding- some of his paintings have sold for thousands of dollars. So secretive is his life now that very little else is known about him, except that sometime in the 1990s he contracted multiple sclerosis and has rarely been seen in public since. Of course, as should be expected nowadays, the record companies have excavated Beefheart's musical vaults. Previously unreleased material from way back in the day has been added to his back catalogue, ensuring that, wherever he is and whatever he is doing, his legacy and influence will live on.

Mlscha Pearlman

Saturday, September 21,2002

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Excess Hollywood A quick look at the least uninteresting news ema nating from LA .

With the success of Spiderman, Warner Brothers are understandably eager to get their two big names in spandex-clad heroism. Batman and Superman, back into cinemas.

Unfortunately. there seems to be some confusion about how. exactly. to go about it. First Darren Aronofsky, of Pi and Requiem for a Dream fam e. was supposed to be adapting Frank Miller's comic Batman: Year One. That collapsed when Aronofsky decided. instead. to make sci-fi epic The Fountain with Brad Pitt (a project wh1ch itself has since been abandoned) . Next Warner moved onto Superman, enlisting the help of McG , the man behind Charlie's Angels , to give Clark Kent and his alter ego a fashionable new spin using the title Superman Lives.

A third option was explored when Wolfgang Peterson ( Das Boot. The Perfect Storm) declared his interest in a project known as Superman Vs. Batman that would see the two D.C. heroes kicking each others ' teeth in. This attempt got as far as casting, with Colin Farrell lined up for the Dark Knight and Josh Hartnett, of all people, stepping out as the Man of Steel. However, Alan Horn. president of W.B. thought such negativity wouldn't wash in the new caring. sharing postSeptember 11th market place. and canned the produ ction (though it was already looking shaky when Peterson ran off to make Troy- the film Pitt left The Fountain for).

Once again. Superman Lives is looking like the most likely option. now under the direction of Brett Ratner (Red Dragon). No stars have been officially confirmed. but the names being whispered the loudest are Keanu Reeves to don the cape, and Anthony Hopkins to play his father. How Ted Theodore Logan will fare saving Metropolis, parti c ularly with Hannibal Lecter as a paternal figure, remains to be seen.

Sticking with Spiderman. Sam Raimi's adaptation of the webslinger's antics has emerged victorious from the over-crowded blockbuster season. taking $404 million. Star Wars Episode 11 came a disappointingly distant second w ith only $303 million. The rest of the top ten was filled by, in descending order. Signs. Goldmember, Men in Black 1/, Scooby Doo, XXX. Lilo and Stitch. Minority Report and Mr. Deeds. Deeds is likely to loose its position to huge sleeper hit My Big. Fat Greek Wedding, a film that managed just $600,000 in its first weekend, but now . nearly five months later should end up with at least $150 million. This year there were surprisingly few really impressive flops. although The Adventures of Pluto Nash (cost $100 million . made $5million) and Bad Company (lost about $40 million) tned their very best.

Jim Whal/ey

th

event

'a

Been to the cinema recently and hod a sneeking suspic ion that you'd seen the film before? Chances ore it's a rema ke.

What has Hollywood got against trying something new?

Text: Jim Wholley t would be fair to say that Christopher Nolan路s latest film.

Insomnia. was critically well received. The British director has been praised for leaving behind the narrative tricks of his previous effort, Memento. to craft a mature, intelligent pic ture that successfully mixes thrills with thought. Certainly . with three academy award winners in the cast (AI Pacino, Robin Williams and Hi lary Swank) and currant hot property Nolan controll ing the action, Insomnia has undoubted pedigree. But what has gone curiously unquestioned, if not actually concealed, is that the movie is a largely faithful remake of an identically titled Norwegian film released just four years ago.

Nolan's version slavishly follows both plot points and visual style in retelling the origin al's story of an under pressure police detective sent to solve a murder in a place whe re the sun never sets.

Depressingly, what few changes have occurred simply sanitize the original 's more controversial elements. As played by Stellan Skarsgard (later of Good Will Hunting and Deep Blue Sea fame), when the detective coerces a young witness into supplying information, his technique borders on rape. When the situati on arises for Pacino, he achieves the same result by driving a bit recklessly.

Similarly , Insomnia' s plot calls for the detective to substitute a used bullet taken from a wound. Skarsgard does so by shooting a dog and then cutting it open. For Pacino. the dog is conveniently already dead. Worst of al l, t he one point where the two fi lms do significantly diverge is at the conc lusion. Without wanting to give too much away, the remake's ending is contrived and conveniently moral, part icularl y when compared with the resolution (or lack of) favored by Norwegian director, Erik Skjoldbjaerg.

However. easy though it is to lambast Nolan for failing to make his third film something new (especially considering how innovative Memento and his debut Following were). taken out of the context of a second, and inferior, attempt at a script, Insomnia mark 11 is a very good film. The three leads work well together. Nolan knows how to keep a story moving , and Wally Pfister's cinematog raphy is often stunning. For all the sense of pointlessness that hangs over the project, at least it doesn 't disgrace its predecessor, something of which the vast majority of Hollywood remakes are squarely guilty.

In their constant quest for releasable material. the major film studios have long seen remaking old and/ or foreign language movies as a rich and reliable seam to mine. The thmk ing runs that there is easy money to be made from people unable to watch many classic pictures because of their fear of black and wh ite photography and abhorrence of subtitles. The only problem is how rarely the revamped product is worth the celluloid it' s been exposed onto.

Take, for example . the 1993 fi lm known to U.K. audiences as The Assassin. In America it was released under th e t itle of Point of No Return but was received so badly its studiO , Warner Brothers. deemed a name change necessary . The Assassin or Point of No Return or whatever you want to call it ( 'crap' is the first word that springs to mind) was a carbon copy of Luc Besson's 1990 Fren c h thriller La Femme Nikita except, somewhere along the line, all the original's tension, style and social comment were expli c ably mislaid. Essentially , on this occasion. the remake was an extremely expensive alternative to dubbing Besson ' s film into English.

Unfortunately the resu lt was equal ly destructive.

Setting out with the intention of merely repeating what someone has done before has consistently proved to a guaranteed route to disaster, even when the original creative talent is involved. French director George Sluizer was hired to make an American version of his film The Vanishing, starring Jeff Bridges and Kiefer Sutherland that pails in comparison to his first attempt from the opening shots

to see a Vince Vaughn movie, for instance?

Quite what Hitchcock would have thought of it is unclear. c onsidering his own record with remakes. In 1955. at the height of his fame , The Master of Suspense elected to have a second crac k at his 1934 film The Man Who Knew Too Much. employing the greater expertise and resources now at his command . Unusually, there is no clear consensus as to which Man is the better film. For w it. and a fantastic chair fight. the early British attempt wins easily. whereas the American version boasts big-budget thrills and Doris

"Steven Soderbergh ' s Ocean's Eleven should be applauded."

Day singing Che Sera Sera. it's a question of taste.

Undoubted ly, though, Hitchcock understood that the vital motivation behind any worthwhile remake is the intension to improve on what has gone before. Say what you wi ll about Tim Burton 's recent 're-imagining路 of Planet of the Apes, it took the concept, if not the story. in new directions. Over the course of his career , Richard Gere has shown himself to be a serial offender for starring in dubious remakes of highly regarded movies. But despite t~e fact that Breathless, Sommersby and The Jackal failed to better A Bout De Souffle, The Return of Martin Guerre and The Day of the Jackal respectively, they did work hard to be different.

The mistake made by Burton and Gere. indeed, the mistake made by every filmmaker mentioned so far has been to remake films that have already used their ideas as productively as possible. Surely, the only real ground to try something again is if it wasn't done sufficiently well before. lt is with this in mind that John McTiernan's The Thomas Crown Affair and Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven should be applauded. Both movies are examples of concepts that. for whatever reason. didn 't c lic k first time out yet were nailed at the second go. Though neither may come to be known as a classic , c inema is richer for having them.

So, while it might be nice to imagine a Hollywood where every film maker strives to be inventive . real isti c al ly that isn 't going t o happen. At least it's comforting to know that. on occasion, a remake can be a force for good. After all , The Maltese Falcon (1941 ) was the third t ime that story had been filmed, and there isn't enough cinematic dross in the world to c ounterbalance the c harms of the Bogart / Huston masterpiec e.

"The only p roblem is how rarely the revamped product is worth the c elluloid it's been exposed onto." right though to the hideous, new happy ending_ Yet by far the most famous, and widely debated, exerc ise in imitation must be Gus Van Sant's shot-for-shot recreation of Alfred Hitchcock ' s Psycho. Using the same Hitchcock storyboards, Joseph Stephano screenplay and Bernard Hermann score as the 1960 classic but with different actors and added colour. Van Sant surprised no one when he produced a film that was nowhere near as good . In his defense, Van Sant cried ' art路. Nobody was really listening. Psycho ( 1999) turned out to be the beginning of career blips for all involved - when was the last time you rushed out

Saturday, Septembe r 21 , 2002

Pictures: clockwise from top: Insomnia (2002). Psycho (1960) , La Femme Nikita (1990) . Ocean ' s 11 ( 1960). Ocean 's 11 (2001).

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1955) . Psyc ho (1999)

09

Cinefile:

--------------------no. 17

Chungking Express

I don't want to wat ch a film abo~Jt trains - they scare me with t heir noise and tardy time-keeping.

Don't worry, Chungking Express takes its title from the settings of Its two stories - the first in the infamous Chungking Mansions district of Hong Kong, the second at the Midnight Ex press take-away.

Two st ories?

The film is split into two uneven parts. each following a dif路 ferent Hong Kong policeman as he tries to get over the end of a relationship. Cop number 223 is so distressed about being dumped by his girlfriend that he has to run for miles everyday to stop himself from crying. If he sweats enough, he reasons, there won't any water left in his body for tears.

There ap~ars to be hope when he falls in love with a woman in a blonde wig at a bar. What he doesn't know is that she is an international heroin smuggler on the run from her treacherous partners. Cop number 663 has equal trouble when his girlfriend, an airhostess, leaves him. He is so depressed that he doesn't notice the girl who serves him at the Mignight Express has a crush on him, even when she starts to break into his apartment and add more fish into his tank.

Do the two parts link together?

Not really. The director, Wong Kar-Wai, originally intended the film to have three sections, all Involving rejectio~ and chance encounters, but one of them ended up expanding to feature length and was released as Fallen Angels.

Wong Kar-Wal doesn't sound like

a very organized guy.

That's nothing. The shoot for his last film, released in Europe as In The Mood for Love, became legendary for taking well over a year, monopolizing the time of two of Hong Kong's biggest stars, Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung (who also plays Cop 663 in Chungking Express).

A btt like Eyes Wide Shut? .

Yes, except In The Mood for Love turned out to be a masterpiece.

Is Chungking Express a masterpiece? lt's certainly pretty damn good. Like all Wong's work it concentrates on the huge number of factors weighing against people falling in love, and then succeeding in staying in love.

Where is differs from his usual output, is in it's optimistic conclusion, which makes it the ideal starting point for those new to his films.

And there are definitely no t rains?

No.

Good.

Jlm Whalley

Saturday, September 21, 2002

the event

Alburns 15

10

Bruce Springsteen

Mi,s ad-v entures with • the Libertines •

The Rising Whatever your political stance, a year on from 9/11 it is difficult, if not impossible, to deny the huge impact that that day has had, both on a personal and a political scale. lt is somewhat surprising, then, given Bruce Springsteen·s famous. and often outspoken, left-wing stance, that The Rising practically ignores the political side of the issue, and deals almost exclusively with the personal. Released last month to enormous critical acclaim, Springsteen's first album with the E-Street Band since 1984's Born in the U.S.A., is certainly a departure. both lyrically and musically, from albums of Old. An equally far cry from his early poetlc·folk musings, _his s<iaring, mid-80s anthems, his quiet mid-90s acoustic murmurings and everything in between, The Rising sounds nothing like a Springsteen record. Gone are the narrative stories, the plethora of characters and names that have permeated his previous songs, the near Dylan-esque complexity of his early lyricism, and the very real and live sound that seemed to be characteristic of the EStreat Band. That said, however, listening to The Rising now, it is hard to imagine him making any other album. lt may not, on the whole, sound like a typical Springsteen record -whatever that is, exactly - but it does sound like Springsteen, and, given its context - both in terms of world events and in terms of his own back catalogue - it fits, it works, and, ultimately, it makes sense.

That is not to say that this album is brilliant or flawless. lt may possibly be the former, but it certainly isn't the latter, if only because of The Fuse, which is possibly one of the very worst songs he has ever record· ed. Everything about it is, sad to say, pretty awful :his voice (sounding flatter and duller than it ever has before); the chorus (the most boring part of a boring song); the synthetic beat in the background (just, no), and the lyrics (very average, rather trite). Luckily, this is pretty much the only dud track, and the rest of the album more than makes up for it. Further On (Up the Road) sees Springsteen rocking as much as he ever has, while the gorgeous, haunting Paradise- which could easily have been on 1995's The Ghost of Tom Joad ·- is as beautiful a song as he has ever written. "I search for the peace in your eyes, • he sings in a voice both ethereal and fragile, "but they're as empty as paradise."

This is Sprlngsteen's take on 9/11, then- no moralising, no rage, no blame; just a profound sense of loss, but one that is universal, extending far beyond the events and victims of that day to take on a much more universal form. And although religious Imagery is scattered throughout the album's fifteen songs, he doesn't preach or proselytise, and there are references to Buddha, to Allah, to God and to the Devil. If anything, in fact, the religion of the album is one of humanity, and the hope and faith that Springsteen has in that humanity. As he sings on Worlds Apart: "May the living let us in before the dead tear us apart. •

Text: Mischa Pearlman Pictures: Ed Webb-lngall

They have been hailed as one of the most rock and roll bands of the moment.

The Event spoke to the Libertines to find out just how true that claim is .... reconceptions can be dangerous and misleading. I knew this, of course, but I forgot, until I met the libertines. The libertines- the band whose first single, the fantastic What a Waster, contained liberal smatterings of not only the f-word (that'll be 'tuck', in case you were wondering), but also the c-word (the _ unprintable 'cunt', just to clarify); the band who have already split up around five times in the last half year or so; the band who frequently have punch-ups and ifliure each other; the band who were allegedly once so completely wasted on stage that the two singer-guitarists, Carlos and Pete, played twice as fast as the rest of the group. You get the idea. Pure, unadulterated rock and roll, the way it used to be, the way it .. should be. lt started promisingly. We arrived at Norwich Arts Centre to find the band in the middle of a photo-shoot, already drunk. They welcomed us, had some pictures taken then walked out of the Arts Centre, Carlos pushing Pete down St. Benedict's Street in a stolen office chair. An impromptu photo-shQot in a grocery store followed, before their tour manager took them away and

the event

fiJIItruteft>toatgbta'<larp, Pete, Carlos and John

" lt ' s not like the music is important. Everything else is just a jumble sale of ideas and paranoia." !most two hours later, the interview took place in the large upstairs dressing room of the venue. John the bassist and Gary the drummer barely said a word - most of the talkrng was left to Pete, the scary, tucked-up looking singer-guitarist with crazy eyes, sallow skin and bad teeth. This is when that promising start fell to pieces and those preconceptions were laid to rest.

Whether it was an act or not, the libertines in the dressing room were very different from the Libertines we'd met earlier, and certainly weren't the cool guys I'd thought they would be: Undoubtedly wasted (which is fair enough- I'd expected nothing less), they threw back every question asked, prevaricated, lied, and just talked utter bullshit, all the while acting like inquisiUve toddlers discovering the world around them for the first time.

So how did they meet? Acco·ding to Pete, they "met John, this tall fellow from Scarborough Nith immaculate hair. He lived down the road in Camden wilh his Mum and had all this cool equipment, so we had to get him in the band. So we were all at John's house in Camden, cause he went to Camden school for girls....• After this, the thread of the question was lost and the conversation drifted elsewhere, thoug1 quite where is difficult to say.

Asking about their infamous )n-stage fights and perpetual bustups didn't prove much more successful either. ·we have our ups and downs. · Right. Thanks, guys. Then scmething about the NME - "they can't help being ~hat they are. We're in an era now where everything they represent is almost like a pantomime. But Rough Trade own the NME and we're on Rough Trade." By this point I was just nodding and smiling, trying to go with it but failing misecably.

One more attempt. What do ~ou get out of being in the band? "I wouldn't know what you mean really ." Well, why did you start · the band? "That's the thing. You don't do it for any reason , you just live your life as naturally as you can and what comes your way comes your way and you don't have a plan. Nothing else is of any consequence. it's not like the music is important.

A

Saturday, September 21, 2002

Everything else is just a jumble sale of ideas and paranoia."

But you enjoy playing music? " Not necessarily. A lot of times you look at the people, you think what the fuck am I doing here, and not only what am I doing here but what are you doing here... • And so it went on until they left to get some food, then play their gig. They sucked. Raw and full of energy, but nowhere near as good live as they are on record. And they self-censored themselves on What A Waster - not very rock and roll. later that evening, drunk at the indie night at Lockstock, I had a conversation with Gary, the drummer. He was nice, friendly and possibly the only thing about the band that didn't disappoint.

This was, no doubt, partly due to my high expectations. I thought that they would be the ultimate rock and roll band, that they would ooze sex and drugs and attitude, that they'd be passionate about what they do, talk about their music wit h enthusiasm and possess an exciting live-for-moment-don't-give-tuck attitude towards life. I was very wrong. And yes, maybe they were taking the piss. Maybe they hate interviews and couldn't be bothered with it. Either way, it doesn't matter. ·I wanted rock and roll, and I didn't get it. What a waste.

8/10

McAimont & Butler

Death in Vegas

The Boggs

·Bring it Back

Sc orpio Rising

We Are The Boggs We Are

Partnerships can be tough, especially musical ones, LennonjMcCartney and Brown;Squire being examples of harmonious, productive and ingen·ious relationships turning sour and bitter and often never being resolved. Until about a year ago, it seemed that the same could be said of David McAimont and Bernard Butler, who split acrimoniously after just one album, 1995's The Sound of McAimont and Butler. Seven years on, however, and much has changed. Both have had patchy solo careers, but now they return with a diverse and inspiring album, showing exactly why they proved so popular first time around.

The album begins with Theme From, a funky string laden number on which McAimont apes lsaac Hayes wonderfully, even sounding like he's about to become Shaft himself. This sets the tone for a seventies-influenced trip through soul and funk inspired tunes. The Spectoresque sound of forthcoming single Falling gives it a real Motown vibe and clearly demonstrates the importance of the likes of Marvin Gaye and Otis Redding on how this album was made, especially on McAimont's voice. The record continues in this vein until Blue, an acoustic track which moves away from the soul influences and puts a whole new spin on the album. This is just part of the charm of McAimont and Butler, who are able to move effortlessly across different styles. This is seen again on Where R U Now?, a more contemporary take on soul and r'n'b, and also Sunny Boy, another ·acoustic-based track. Final track Beat is not so reliant on the strings and horns of earlier tracks but instead focuses on the gui~ar and voice, demonstrating their ability to make the transition across musical boundaries.

In all, this album is quite simply brilliant. What makes it so is not just Butler's guitar playing or McAimont's voice, but also the fact that it is so different from their previous output, either as solo artists, or, in Butler's case, as the guitar hero of indie fops Suede. A must buyl Joe Mlnlhane

Death in Vegas, duo Richard Fearless and Steve Hellier, became established on the eclectic side of the British dance scene through the release of debut album Dead Elvis in 1997.

Since then, Tim Holmes has replaced Hellier and the Contino Sessions were conceived in 1998.

The title of their most recent album, s~orpio Rising, which was released this week, is taken from a short film made by Kenneth Anger. Fearless describes this LP as a collection of " psychedelic love songs• and its spattering of guest vocalists Include Paul Weller on the cover of Gene Clark's Se You Say You Lost Your Baby. The track is a superb melange of Sixties upbeat rhythm, guitar riffs, humming bass and Hammo~d. with strings from Indian violinist Dr. l. Subramaniam giving it a distinctly · George Harrison feel. liam Gallagher sngs the title track, whose indie whining guitar and steady beats could plausibly pass for an Oasis number.

The innocent drawl of Hope Sandoval, 'ormerly of Mazzy Star, appears on Help Yourself and Killing Smile. In the latter, a mandolin assists Subramaniam' s strings, giving the song an oriental edge and there's also an additional hillbilly feel from a banjo. Though the composition of genres seems bizarre, it does work. The recognizable Hands Around My Throat is sung almost robotically by Nicola Kuperus from Adut and sounds digitally Eighties. This retro theme is also hint6i at in the opening track, Leather, comprised of assorted whirring noises, thrashing drums and 80s keyboards. This first song glides seamlessly into the second, primarily because it's exactly the same music, just with Susan Dillane's soothing vocals and a more prominent organ. Despite these additions, how~ver, one is still left feeling cheated. The instrumental Natja, founc later in the album, seems like a filler between good songs. However, despite this slight criticism, the album is admittedly well balanced and has an overall chilled out, alternative attitLde- a satisfying purchase.

Clalre Burwell

The Boggs are the kind of band that makes you suspicious.

Appearing out of nowhere, brandishing good haircuts and a cheeky but hip playground-cool album title, you would be forgiven for assuming t hat the Boggs are just another pretty, alt-rock guitar band. Then you listen to their music. Positioning themselves somewhere between Garth Brooks and the Rednecks, their debut lp is a bewildering mixture of hyperactive banjos, wailing harmonicas and dirgey, lo-fi vocals. Lead singer Jason Friedman might look like a Jam-era Paul Weller, but he sounds like a tired Mark E. Smith after a two week crash· course in singing with Tom Waits. In addition to their incongruous musical stylings, the six-piece also boast two amazingly beautiful female members, and a guitarist called Ezekiel. They really do seem too bizarre - and good -to be true. They 're the sort of band that might reveal, two years down the line, that they were just the Milli Vanilli front to two fat old Texan farmers with washboards and accordions.

At least, you would think that, if it wasn't for The Manifesto.

Their NME-friendly announcement that they are pioneering 'Archival No-Wave and the New Standards' is like manna from heaven for lazy music journalists and fad-hungry style magazines. According to the statement, the Boggs · understand art, culture, and music in a non-linear fashion; a way in which multiple folk idioms are folded in on each other. • This is a muso-batr ble excuse for making what is essentially pretty average folk music into the new soundtrack for Dazed kids.

The album starts on the hi-octane, unashamedly fun Whiskey and Rye but the ballads become more frequent the deeper into the album you get. lt ends on the almost funereal lament Pauline, Pauline (like the White Stripes' Jolene, but witll more death). Perhaps if t hey had a sense of humour, this could signify a true rebirth of American folk. They are the Boggs they are, and while this might sound like it was made in a barn, they certainly weren't wearing overalls.

Astrld Goldsmith

9/10

7/10

5/10

the event

Saturday, September 21, 2002

16 Singles

·Suede Positivity The writing and recording process wouldn't be complete for Suede without the departure, be it amicable or acrimonious, of at least one member.

Keyboardist Neil Codling joins Justine Frischman and Bemard Butler in absenting himself from the band, and former Strangelove guitarist A lex Lee has been recruited in his stead. Lee certainly looks the part; he certainlysounds the part, but the part itself is in danger of becoming typecast.

Positivity is the product of Suede Mk 5, and it is perhaps the infancy of this latest incarnation that has led them to err on the side of caution with this, t he precursor to their fifth studio album, A New Morning.

Exhibiting promise for the first few bars, before being sanitised withstrings seeming lifted straight from previous single She's In Fashion, Positivity meanders between breezy and beautiful before falling some way short of the uplifting sound it fumbles for throughout. As a comeback single it underachieves enormously, though it is likely sufficient to satisfy, if not inspire, the band's faithful followers. Brett Anderson's overworked cityscape lyrical motifs remain intact; 'sirens', 'skies', and 'car crashes' all appear, and his distinctive vocal almost manages to convince you that you haven't heard them countless times before, but it remains largely unrealised, and is easily upstage9 by the chiming choruses of b-side One Love, a far more potent reminder-of Suede's pop-tinged sensibilities.

Proof, if proof were needed in Suede's case, that·change can promote continuity.

Marc Peachey

Turin Brakes

Long Distance

Long Distance is Turin Brakes' first new material since their Mercury nominated LP, The Optimist was released to rapturous reviews in early 2001, and precedes an eagerly-awaited LP and UK tour later this year. Continuing in the same vein as their earlier material, Long Distance is a simple, heartfelt affair, reminding the listener why1 for a short time, the New Acoustic Movement was a relevant and vibrant scene. Whilst fellow NAM stal.w arts Starsailor have become more middle of the road than a traffic island, Turin Brakes continue to carry the torch for simple and humble songwriting, whilst maintaining a certain amount of integrity. Long Distance is not flawless, and is a little too reliant on funny electric. noises, but it's still a strong tune which varies from their previous output. let' s hope that the new album follows the same direction.

Joe Mlnlhane

Pictures (clockwise from. top): 1 . Suede; 2. Martin Grech; 3. Turin Brakes

Liberty X

Gotta Have.Your.Love

Flopstars, the band with the ugly boys, the open-pored whores - called them what you will, you cannot deny that liberty X can certainly please the crowds ...with their music, of course. Their last hit was easily the best song of the year, in my personal pop bubble (rants to the usual address please), so this latest offering from this funny-looking bunch is just a little bit crap in comparison. A cover is always a bad idea, and the vocals are once again over-dominated by Kellie. Come on, the boys may not have as many ...ahem...obvious assets as the girls, but lets not favour tits over talent. Seeing as liberty X have unfortunately joined the ever-increasing cover version gang, maybe we can next expect a future raunchy rendition of Hit me with your Ugly Stick, giving wonky-haired Michelle a chance to dig out her much favoured whip again... . Uz Hutchlnson

Martin Grech

Open Heart Zoo

Martin Grech is a 19 year-old hailing from Aylesbu_ry who reeks of leather and black nail varnish.

Released on September 30th, this track is the second single to be extracted from his debut album, also entitled Open Heart" Zoo. Though you may claim to have no familiarity of t h is artist, the song has been subliminally seeping into our minds by way of an Audi Lexus advert.

The track begins with the piano, which eerily waltzes steadily throughout the freak-show lament, accompanied by a moaning cello. At a stretch, the music could be mistaken for the title credits of 'Midsomer Murders', until the choirboy-like vocals saunter in. His confidently soaring falsetto draws inescapable comparisons to 'Thom Yorke, Jeff Buckley and Matt Bellamy. Grech's music is undeniably of the same sweetly depressing genre and fans of the above will be torn between loving and hating him.

Clalre Burwell

Aston lane Yesterday's Too Late With the continuing rise of bland guitar pop, numerous bands and artist have risen to t he challenge of maintaining integrity whilst selling millions of records to the unsuspecting public. Ashton lane are one of these such groups. As soon as you hear this song you know that it will sit around in the upper half of the top forty for weeks, infuriating you when you turn on the radio, perhaps even reducing you to tears. Yesterday's Too Late sounds sickeningly like Dido, the Queen of bl.and pop, with its catchy chorus but instantly forgettable verses, and smacks of the winning formula which has record company execs laughing all the way to the bank. Clearly very little thought has gone into this song, which makes it even more saddening that it'll probably sell by the bucket· load.

Joe Mlnlhane

Saturday, September 21, 2002

Barnsey HFL

Room Lee Haslam (T.i.dy T.r:ax) Jay Walker & Marcos Live On Stage (Xtrere) (Secticned,

Strange Dave &Dangl e (Surrlisse1t ial H2)

Jess C

Fete B (Xtrere) Peaky (Xtrere)

& Barnsey B2B (Xtrere)

Pete· B

Risin;l- High, aill.et Proof.

90 N::lrth)

Sco Large (Xtrere) Tom Wilkes · (Sm:lissa1tial Fast/Xtrare) Harder -Fast er Room

P.l:ei:art¥

@ Scp.Jares, Riverside ?pn-11 with Jess c & Peaky.

1\fta: Rl!:t¥ @ Lockstock, lbve St. 2am-Iate V!P A£terR;rrty at a N:>rfolk <:runtty l>mlsioo. 2am-9am Ver:v limi.te1~ of invitatirns a<.ai.1eb1e at tte na:in EMnt: a: Fun-Da-Men .

1,. ,_,_ :~~. ''"ial ~~@:>~trane-prarotians.co.uk

Friday 18th Octol:er 2002 9pm-2am University of East ·Anglia

- - -- ------

Arts 17

Theatre Review:

Today of Al l Days Maddermarket theatre

With past members including Peter Cook, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, David Frost, John Bird, Eric Idle, John Fortune, Clive Anderson , Douglas Adams, Griff Rhys-Jones, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Emma Thomson, Tony Slattery , David Baddiel and Nick Hancock, any new offering from the Cambridge Footlights theatrical group has to carry a formidable burden of ex pectat ion. Footlights writers and performers have had a hand in every major movement in British comedy for the last half-c entury . Peter Cook , as one quarter of Beyond the Fringe and a founder member of Private Eye was instrumental in starting the satire boom of the early 1960s. Chapman , Cleese and Idle account for 50% of the revolutionary Monty Python. Fry , Laurie, Slattery and eo. were at the forefront of the more personalitybased humour of the 1980s. Emma Thomson starred in Junior alongside Arnold Schwartenegger. Actually, forget that last one. lt therefore comes as a relief to announce that Today of All Days was very funny . The only question is whether, bearing in mind their illustrious predecessors, that should be considered enough. Because although the laugh-rate was kept admirably high throughout the show, there was a conspicuous lack of innovation. Using a premise and tone lifted directly from The League of Gentlemen, the evening progressed as a series of extended sketches all based around the patrons and staff of a slightly backward (the term 'local ' was never uttered) seaside pub. Each of the five players (who also wrote along with director Paul King) took on one major character as well as a number of supporting parts. Most prominent were Tom Bell as a liberal teacher trying to relate with his apathetic class and Ed Weeks as a gruff, hilariously intense barman. Weeks proved to be Today of All Days' star attraction, displaying a range of comic styles. He performed well under pressure during an improvised section when an audience member chose to behave like a hostile moron . Bell, while clearly a talented actor, needs to learn that there are other styles of comedy besides Steve Coogan's.

The influence of Alan Partridge loomed large over all the scenes he was involved in, at times to an embarrassing degree .

By embracing the currant fad for comedy based on inappropriate behavior and uncomfortab le sil ences, as practiced by Coogan and The League (an impression strengthened by a sketch involving a pretentious, suicidal student highly reminiscent of Coogan's contemporary Chr1s Morris). Footlights has resorted to following rather than instigating comic fashion.

Perhaps the next fifty years will be someone else 's turn.

Jlm Whalley

Book Review:

Comedy Review:

Event preview:

Will Self Doria n

Daniel Kitson The Comedy Store, The Forum

Fringe Festival Norwich

Will Self is a writer whose chosen subjects are weakness, excess, cruelty and destruction . His characters are infrequently repellently vain , or wretchedly pathetic. With high-con- 路 cept conceits he takes us into their debauched, dirty little worlds, then allows us to watch as they descend into physical and mental decay .

Done by any other novelist , the process might be utterly unbearable, but Self relays his tales with a detached , dry wit, keeping them just the right side of uncomfortable entertainment.

For his latest trip into the less savory aspects of human behavior, Self has chosen t o "shamelessly rework " Oscar Wilde's on ly novel , The Picture of Dorian Gray. The new Dorian begins his artificially youthful assault on fashionable society in the early 1980s, paralleling the rise of the AIDS epidemic and Diana's gradual metamorphosis into The People's Princess. Instead of a portrait, the ruinous effects of his lifestyle are captured by a video installation entitled Cathode Narcissus.

In these more liberal times, Self is able to develop the famously censored Wilde's ideas. Dorian is now openly gay, although he doesn 't think twice about bedding anything with a pulse, should the mood take him. Also, he is fully aware of the possibilities of being essentially immortal. lt isn 't long before he discovers the murderous thrills open to an immune carrier of the HIV virus.

Reading Dorian, the biggest surprise is that Self hasn 't tackled AIDS at this length in t he past. The virus, with its ravaging , irreversible consequences is ideal fodder for the author's disgust.

Symptoms such as one character's ocular herpes receive extended descriptions using Self's almost grotesque eloquence.

A less welcome revelation is that , for someone who so clearly likes to shock , Self is dangerously c lose to becoming predictable. Though still often ingenious, here he repeats many of the attitudes and narrative tricks he has relied on in the past .

"Is anyone else just slightly perturbed by this?" Daniel Kitson asks as he shuffles on stage laughing to himself. He takes a look around the Forum, giggling furiously as he pears up at the aire raft hanger style dome. "This is simply the shittest venue for comedy." From that moment on he had the audience exactly where he wanted them, all but in a literal sense .

The Comedy Store, London 's, and possibly Britain's, Premiere ~omedy Club, brought four of it 's best comics to Norwich on Wednesday night for the first in a series of a monthly stand-up showcases, the first of its kind in the region . But why they chose the Forum baffled not only the 2002 Perrier Award Winner but also most of the crowd. The need stand-up comedy has for an intimate atmosphere did not even come close to being served by the multi-million pound library complex's foyer. That said, the lineup was as high profile as one might hope for. Compere Richard Morton had the hardest job. The bleached blonde Geordie struggled to warm the crowd up in the echoey , cold venue. Graham Norton's chief writer, Jo Caulfield, hit the spot more with her sharp, thirty-something observational comedy . Junior Simpson was main support . His rough, sharp vocal tones made him sound like he was about to break into an impromptu version of James Brown's I Feel Good every time he opened his mouth , but the audience lapped it up.

However, it was Kitson's night all the way, the clever, rude material from his Perrier Award winning Edinburgh show as natural as his improvised assassination of the Forum . Kitson is, without a doubt, .the finest stand-up on the circuit at the moment, leaving us the question: 'Just how far will he go?' The Forum closed its doors to satisfied, entertained customers, suggesting this event will continue to sell-out , if only because the of the quality of the comedians.

Jlm Whsl/ey

Luke Wrlght

The Fringe festival returns for its fourth year with an eclectic range of events, designed to appeal across the whole spectrum of society. This year's concept is that of the DIY festival, with a punk style program complete with crossing-.outs and a cool , minimalist look . The organisers are keen that Norwich should be more than just the venue and instead will form part of the event. To achieve this, attractions will be occurring in the unlikeliest of places; reinterpreting traditional ideas of the rightful place for creative energy .

The organized and not so organized events vary from the mainstream to the extreme. The opening attraction is Jenny Eclair's (pictured above) live stand up show, Middle Aged Bimbo at the Norwich Playhouse. More out-there events include a BMX jam at the Norwich ramp park and a graffiti project to decorate St Stephen路s street subway, presumably with the city 's permission.

Neighborhood Watch is the catchall title for a host of events occurring in and around the city . People are opening up their houses to the general public in the name of art and culture , whilst local businesses are turn ing over their shop floors to performance artists, poets and musicians.

The Fringe is offering almost every form of art , sport and culture in order to liven up the city for two weeks and is inviti ng everyone to get involved. The theme is that anyone can do it ; all it needs is a good imagination. The acts are all either free or very cheap (except for the ticketed shows) and workshops have been set up in the theatres and schools to help people explore their own creativity .

Next year the Fringe is going to be replaced by something different , with a new name that recognizes its independent and original outlook on art and culture. The Festival runs from Kathryn Hinchllff September 27th to October 13th.

fiiLL

SELF

DORIAN

Saturday, September 21, 2002

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18 Film

Lost in La Mancha: Directed by Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe Starring: Terry Gilliam, Johnny Depp, Jean Rochefort

When visionary director Terry Gilliam set out to film Don Quixote, many said it couldn't be done. As this revealing new documentary shows, they were right.

In 1996, American doc umentary film makers Ke ith Ful ton and Loui s Pepe were granted ex tensive ac cess t o the mak ing of Terry Gil liam's time-travel movie, 12 Monkeys. The resu lt was The Hamster Factor, an entertaming and thorough account of the process behind one of Gilliam's most critica lly and commercial ly successful films. Los t in La Mane ha w as supposed to be a similar look at Th e Man Wh o Killed Don Quixot e, t he director's long-planned reworking of Cervantes ' classic novel. But after JUSt six days of fi lming, work on Quixote- thought to be, at $32 million, the most ex pensive movie ever attempted without the backing of a major studio- abrupt ly ceased. A series of disastrous events, incl uding floods and the long-t erm incapacitation of lead actor Jean Roc hefort, co nspired to make the project financial ly unviable, wi t h li ttl e hope of it recommencing in the foreseeable future. Suddenly, Fulton and Pepe's documentary, once destined to exist solely as a DVD ex tra feat ure, became the only public record of what we nt wrong. And it makes fascinating viewing.

Considering the complexity of modern high-budget filmmaking, it seems astounding that abandoned productions are such a rarity; a not ion Lost in La Mancha does muc h to re-en force. From the outset Gilliam, who al ways speaks w it h remarkable candor, discusses his film as a conscious attempt t o mount a Hol lywood-style production Without Hollyw ood. Unfortunately, such a noble enterprise immediately find s itself bereft of the security provided by a studio 's inex haustibl e bank accounts (a factor that preven ted Titanic fro m si nking, for example) and the earl iest scenes revea l nervous meeti ngs with t he mul i-national producers discussing the scarceness of money .

Also wide ly discussed is the wo rrying absence of Quixote's actors. Gilliam and fi rst assist ant direc t or Phil Patt erson (who has the unenviable task of planning the schedule and comes to be portrayed as something of a t ragic hero) despair at their inability to pin down stars Rochefort, Johnny Depp and Vanessa

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Paradis for vital c ost ume fit t ings. As the start of princi pal phot og raphy draws c loser, th e product ion is under-funded and under-rehearsed.

Yet regardless of all the te nsion, t he overwhelming sense amongst the crew is optimistic. Without exception everyone interviewed ex presses t hei r exc itement at working on the film, for a director who has genuine vision. We are shown Gi ll iam shooting test footage of possible giants with a child-like enthu siasm that must have been infectious. lt is the idea that Quixote had the potenti al t o be something great that makes the inevitable co llapse, when it happens, so unbearable. Fu lton and Pepe's came ras do not fl inch as, first . const antly c hanging weather conditions render footage unusable, and t hen, when the weather fina lly make s up its mind, a freak to rrentia l downpour washes equi pment away . By the t ime Gilliam learns Rochefort has inj ured h1s back and ca n no longer ride his horse , it is already clear the fil m w ill not conti nue.

The one area whe re t he otherwise excellent documentary could be a lit tle more fo rthc oming is in the establishment of blame .

Most of the crew are co ntent to attribute thei r sudden unemployment to 'an act of God' . coincidental ly the same reason the film ' s insurers gi ve for not paying compensation. No one is willing to dwell on how often th is sort of thing keeps happening to the director.

On two previous occ asi ons Gilliam has inordinately struggled to bring his vision t o the sc reen. For di fferent reasons Brazil and The Adventures of Baron M unc hausen went through long and torturous processes on t heir journeys from Gilliam's head into cinemas, so long and t ort urous in fac t that each has become the basis of a book . What is it about the ex-Pytho n that financiers and, apparent ly, God find so disagreeable? The most obvious, and least we lcome, conclusion is that his refusal to conform has left him outcast , a fate also suffered by Orson Wells, another di rector who tried and failed to film Quixote (cYn-

Saturday, September 21, 2002

ics might point t o both men's pathological hat red of compromise). Scat tered t hroughout Lost in La Manclla are tanta lizing glimpses of what Gill iam intended. If only to discover why Johnny Depp is swearing at a fish it is o be hoped that, eventually, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote will be made. Until then , this film of a film that never was is a worthy substitute .

Jim Whal/ey

9/10

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Film 19

Signs:

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan Starring: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin

Though still fun, M. Night Shyamalan's latest foray into the unknown lacks the originality of his previous efforts. Perhaps it's a sign he should try something new...

Signs is the third part in what appears to be a vague trilogy .

The characters in each are different but the basic premise is the same, man must combat evil in order to understand his role in the world . In Sixth Sense it was ghosts, in Unbreakable it was evil incarnate and in his latest film it's tall gangly men in green figure hugging body suits or, if you prefer, aliens.

One morning Graham (Mel Gibson) wakes up to find huge crop circles have suddenly appeared in his wheat. This freaks him, his family and his two dogs out, an understandable reaction when you realize that Americans don't have crop c ircles (proba-

bly because their farmers have product ive farms and don 't need to encourage American tourists to come over and gawp at their fields for ten quid). They soon discover, by turning on the television, that these signs have been appearing rapidly all over the world in the last seventy-two hours, and that strange lights have materi(llized in the sky . Any ambiguity left as to the reason behind these developments is quickly abol ished as an alien is found in a neighbour's pantry.

Both Sixth Sense and Unbreakable combined humour with horror to good effect . Signs emphasizes t he j okes more than the

frights , with jumpy scenes quickly being followed up with laughs. This makes the film entertaining throughout but it lacks the intensity of Sixth Sense. Also, although it is unfair to judge Shyamalan from the viewpoint of his back catalogue, the film has so many of his trademarks that it is impossible not to; Signs is not as clever as his other films. Everything comes too easily for the characters.

The parts are all well acted. The essential Hollywood, cute six year old girl is done to perfection as it always is, and Rory Culkin portrays the caring , clever older brother in a way that doesn't remind you of Home Alone and make you want to scream . Mel Gibson is a perfectly capable Bruce Willis substi· tute, and Joaquin Phoenix is brilliant as the child-friendly uncle.

Signs introduces issues aside from the standard good versus evil plot. The nation 's quickly escalating obsession with the idea of aliens, encouraged by blanket television coverage, emphasizes how media controls what we think in today 's soc i· ety. Graham is ultimately forced to put the television in the cupboard under the stairs because his children and his brother are watching it all day. Instead they all watch it in the cupboard.

Taken on its own, Signs is a brilliant horror film with all the right ingredients, but as the third part of Shyamalan's master plan it pales alongside his previous movies. Perhaps it 's time he moved on to another plot.

Graham is a Reverend , who has only recently left the church after his wife was killed in an accident. Her death , and the advent of aliens make him question his re la .ionship with God, and dismiss the possibility that there is son eone looking out for humank ind. The aliens are really only a gimmick employed by Shyamalan to get at the real questions plaguing our lives. Is there a god? Do th ings happen for a r!tdson? Where do we fit in? In true Hollywood style the film 's ending relays the answers: yes there is, yes they do and in the bosom of our families, respectively .

Kathryn Hlnchllff

I

7/10

Writers, photograph~rs, designers and proofreaders urgently required for an award-winning student newspaper. Anyone interested should _attend ~ meeting on Tuesday. September 24th at 11 am and 12pm in the LCR, OR corile· to our stall at Socmart on Wednesday S~pte·mber 25th between 12pm and 5pm.

t e event Saturday, September 2.1, 2002

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20 Video/DVD

K-Pax:

Directed by lain Softley Starring: Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges

Can consumate professionals Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges breathe new life into the tired , old, 'friendly alien' concept? Apparently not.

Following his recent pattern of good films (we'll assume Pay lt Forward was made by his evil twin} , you'd be forgiven for thinking that K-Pax could find Kevin Spacey once again in Oscar winning form . lt doesn 't. While by no means the worst video available to rent at the moment , it lack s the artistic depth of American Beauty or the suspense of The Usual Suspects.

Spacey plays Prot , a mental hospital patient who insists he is from the planet K-Pax. The trailer gives the impression that the film's main focus will be the question of whether Prot is an alien or insane, yet it is established early on that his knowledge of distant galaxies and ability to see ultra-violet light is not human . lt therefore seems a little strange that Prot 's psychiatrist (Jeff Bridges) spends the remainder of the film trying to trace Prot ' s real (human) identity and the trauma which made him mad. K-Pax 's lack of ambiguity is particularly galling because both lead actors have starred in pictures that have kept the audience guessing with much greater success.

Suspects and The Fisher King were text-book examples of subjective filmmaking ; why couldn't Spacey or Bridges have quietly shared their past experience with director lain Softley?

There is a point half way through when Prot's authenticity becomes doubtful and there is a glimpse of what this film could have been had its plot been true to its advertising campaign. Unfortunately, it 's much too little , far too late.

From the start the plot is flawed. The circumstances that lead to Prot being cGmmitted to , and kept in, the mental hospital at best questionable. If every New-Yorker who struck the police as being a bit screwy were immediately incarcerated, Hilary Clinton might find herself rather short of eligible voters.

The fi lm dri fts into predictable story lines, with subplots of the other patients on Prot 's ward (all of whom appear to have maintained a surprisingly good grip of reality, conside ring their presence in the hospital) realising , after being with Prot, that breathing unfiltered air/ leaving thei r room / talking isn't that bad really. There is also the com pulsory problem of Bridges not appreciating wife and children until the alien/ mental patient

comes into his life and makes him realise their importance , climaxing in the film ' s final aii-American scene of Bridges embracing his estranged son- all most moving.

Prot's conclusion, after weighing up the pros and cons of both humans and K-Paxians, that despite humans' inferior evolutionary state and lesser intel lect life on Earth is unique for its caring , sharing nature, is the sort of thing kind-hearted visiting aliens always seem to say.

Despite all these problems, the film does have some redeeming features. lt is well-paced and Spacey's dialoglle is sharp, often

Gosford Pa rk:

contain ing humorous views of the way humans choose to conduct their life. Also, Softley valiantly tries to lift K-Pax above the quality of its script with a number of visual tricks. Prot 's preferred method of inter-steller transport, harnessing the energy of beams of light, is reflected (ho ho) in the film's repeated tendency to overexpose images and the use refracted light.

Rhiannon Oavles

5/10

Directed by Robert Altman Starring: Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Stephen fry

The best of British talent come together to do Robert Altmans bidding in his version of the traditional murder mystery, where nothing is what it seems.

The Film When most people get into their 70s, they 're generally well into the process of slowing down , indeed some grind to a halt.

Veteran director Robert Altman (77) has never been one to follow co(lvention. Instead of tending an allotment or becoming addicted to Countdown , he decided to reinvent the murder-mystery , producing and directing this ensemble period drama that has proved to be one of the most suc cessful of his long and distinguished career.

Gosford Park differs from the average Agatha Christie style tale by making its primary concern what occurs prior to rather than following a murder. Using his patented roving style (as previously witnessed in Nashville and Short Cuts and recently. 'bor- . rowed ' by P. T. Anderson for Magnolia), Altman patiently introduces all the participants of a hunting weekend at the eponymous stately home , one 路of whom will not live to see Monday morning . There is certainly no shortage of animosity. From the lowest maid to the lord of the house himself, everyone looks more than willing to stab the eyes out of everyone else. The fi lm presents the world of the 1920s upper classes as petty, irrelevant, and totally dependent on their hordes of secretly loathing servants. When the murderer does finally strike, you almost wish they 'd use a machine gun and wipe them all out.

With considerable assists from screenwriter Justin Fellowes and his son, production designer Stephen Altman, Robert Altman makes Gosford Park a compelling and humorous unveiling of the institutionalized stupidity of the English c lass system.

Though whether he could have made a bad film using the quali ty of cast 路at his disposal is questionable . Enticed by the director's reputation, a stun ni ng number of Britain ' s finest actors (and Ryan Phillipe) leant their talents to the project . And while some had more showy parts than others (Maggie Smit h has all

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Saturday, September 21 2002 I

the best lines} , the effect of having someone of Richard E. Grant's ca liber just to stand in the background and sneer is immeasurable.

The Ext ras What the supplemental features on the Gosford Park DVD lack in objectivity, they more than make up in comprehensiveness.

Two commentaries , a generous selection of deleted scenes, two documentaries and a video-taped question and answer session with the cast and crew have been generously provided to enlighten the viewer on the c reative process behind the film.

All are in complete agreement that Gosford Park is superb, it was a pleasure to work on , and that Robert Altman is, to Quote Michael Gambon in hyperbolic mood, "the greatest director in the world" . .

The two commentaries com pliment each other nicely . The first , with Altman , is slightly stilted, but contains valuable insight into his thinking and method of working . The second , by Just in Fellowes, is much more entertaining. The writer (who was once an actor) is an excellent speaker, providing interesting back ground information and amusing product ion anecdotes. Yet by far the best comment on the film occurs in the short documentary, The Authenticity of Gosford Park , and comes from Violet Liddle, an elderly ex -c hambermaid employed as a technical advisor. " I've seen what they've done ", she says, having clearly given the matter much thought , "and I think it's fairly路alright ."

High praise indeed .

Jim Whal/ey

8/10

N /Radio/Web 21

Web Review: Faceparty .c om is a complet ely new ventu re, designed by cl ubbers, for c lubbers. Not only is it a website, but it is a meeting point for those who appreciate the same thinks in life - danc ing.

Set up earlier this year, it has attracted thousands and thousands of members, many of whom attended it s launch party back in July. Held at the same television studios as the first two Big Brother series were filmed , in Bromley-By-Bow , London, it was the event of the year as far as hardened clubbers were concerned.

Not only was there every form of dance music you could imagine - drum'n'bass, house and garage- each had their own purposely built and decorated room . The most impressive though, was the pretend rainforest which was erected by faceparty.com staff. Complete with real waterfalls, grass and palm trees, it was packed all night.

The party was an example of the fantastic reputation that faceparty .corn has. And an array of celebrities got in on the fun .

Boy George, Miss Dynamite and DJ Spoony were all on the list of performers. Not only that , but many music personalities must be members of the site as they were partying alongside clubbers at the party . Those spotted include Abs from Five and So Solid Crew .

But back to the website. lt is acts as a bible for anyone who loves dance music . lt provides information, interviews with the latest chart-toppers, and provides listings of gigs and concerts.

But its biggest asset has to be its colourful design. Set out in an easy way to navigate, it is one of the most attractive websites I have seen this year. So keep your eyes on it and make sure you don't miss the next faceparty on new year's eve. Trust us, it will be the best night out you will have in a long time.

Katle Hind

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Essential TV: Forever Summer with Nigella C4, Thurs September 26, 8.30pm If you are getting more than a little fed up with spaghett i and tomato ket chup, or t he prospect of yet another eveni ng with Marmite on toast seems to much to bear, you are not t oo late to catc h up on Nigella Lawson's lat est cookery programme.

I know yo u might t hink th at your ti ny student kitchen is not equipped to cook up elaborate guest dinners, or that the UFO doesn't keep the latest Thai herb s in stock, but fear not. The recipes are not that complicated and if nothing else, you can always watch the programme for inspiration.

In this week's episode London girl Nigella heads to the seaside for a weekend in Whitstable. Why she needs go to Whitstable to concoct recipes such as ricotta hotcakes with strawberries or golden coconut and turmeric-infused fish curry remains to be seen, but if the names are anyt hing to go by, the resu lts will be very nice indeed.

For dessert Nigella's guests are treated to Vietnamese rice paper rolls followed by white chocolate and passion fruit mousse, and should you feel like substituting your Bacardi Breezer or pint of Stella, she also mixes up one of her favourite cocktails, a white lady. Even if you can't concoct any of the recipes, a few of these will have your marmite on toast tasting just as good. So, sit back , relax and watch Ms Lawson , now how easy is that!

Brltt Juste

J orn the P 1rty •

Essential Radio: BBC Radio Two in BelFast 21-28 September, 2002 (times vary)

Miss This: What Not To Wear BBC2, Weds 25 September, 2002

If your weekly dose of TOTP just isn 't hitting t he spot anymore, tune in to Radio 2's annual live musi c festival.

Kicki ng off in Belfast t his week , the Beeb's wee klong party has music to cater for all t aste buds.

Performers range from Suede and Brian Kennedy to Jools Holl and and Humphrey Lyttelton , all performing from venues across Belfast.

On Saturday, the 'voice of R& B,' Beverly Knight, will be live in concert, performing an exclusive set from The Limelight, highlights can be heard from 8pm. Knight is wellknown for her dynamic live performance and so this could well be the perfect warm up for a night on the ti les.

If you have managed to get rid of your hangover, and you have some more energy to burn before c lasses on Monday morning, tune in at midnight on Sunday where pre-recorded sessions with Goldrush, Electric Soft Parade and camped up fringe boys Suede will hit the air waves. lt is a three-hour show, so stock up on coffee ... or just tape it.

If Jazz is more your thing then check out Monday night 's Best of Jazz. Humphrey Lyttelton and Elkie Brooks perform material from their new album Trouble in Mind and later in the evening Jools Holland is set to rip up the airwaves when he performs live with his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra.

With raunchy live performances, some of the countries top performers and genres aplenty , Radio 2 in Belfast certainly seems to be worth tuning in to. Found that dial yet?

Don't get me wrong, I am all for fash ion and looking one' s best. Ad mittedly , I have been know n t o watc h Style Challenge and the odd epi sode of Changing Rooms and Ground Force, but there is something about all these "i mprovem ent " programmes t hat makes me feel dist inctl y queasy. Maybe it is bec ause I don't like being told what t o do, or bec ause all t hese so-c alled ex perts painfully remind me of my own hedge, whic h is current ly t hreatening to take over the garden furniture (white by t he way, not a ·sunset over t he Sahara" red as Laurence Llewellyn Bowen might suggest I need). lt is tedious that the experts' opinions are "the correct opinions" and that we should all strive to have perfect uniform gardens, bedrooms and wardrobes.

On Septem ber 25, BBC Two sets out to rescue yet another wretched soul from fashion hell, when presenters of the programme What Not To Wear, Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine, sink their manicured claws into Meeta, a Social services manager and mother of three from Enfield. Meeta has been nominated by her friends for committing the mortal sins of wearing only black, brown and navy and refusing to let go of her tent-like gowns which she wore when she was four and a half stone heavier. Oh dear ...

What Not To Wear seems to be nothing more than another addition to the already endless number of "improvement" programmes, so why not give this one a miss. Unless of course, the next subject turns out to be Laurence Llewellyn Bowen. A serious haircut is definitely 1n order, and wtll someone please do something about those jackets ...

Bri tt Juste

Brltt Juste

Saturd a y, September 21, 2002

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22

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·~·· S'I'I~IH~INi.\ J»JUtSONNI~t (~ON'I'UJ.\f::'I'S.

SJ BMIIJS HOUSl OAK SIIHt NORWICH. 01603 229699. FAX 01603 229230.

SIIIIIW. PO BOX 342, GT MOUL11Jt, NORWICH, 01379 677097. FAX 01379 674483.

Stourdoy, September 21 , 2002

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Great offers to suit you ...

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and your pocket!

Co-op Stone Baked Garlic Chicken/Cheese & Tomato/Ham & Mushroom Pizza 350-400g

Campbell's Condensed Soups (Ch icken, Mushroom & Tomato) 295g Oak Village Pinotage/ Cabernet Sauvignon 75cl

Amstel Bier 4 X 330ml

(equ ivalent to £3.33 pe r bottle)

Where to find us

Opening ti.Ines M on - Sat 8.00am to I O.OOpm Sundays I O.OOam to 4.00pm

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CITY CENTRE

WATTON

UEA

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SSFOODSTORE Earlham Green Lane, Fiveways Ipswich & Norwich Co-operative Society Ltd.

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'EATON

Offers subject to availability and vali d from 23/9/02 until 13/ 10/02. 1t is an offence to sell alcohol to anyone under or appearing to be under the age of 18. Photographs are for Illustration oriy.

Plus earn Dividend against your purchases!

When you spend £I 0 . or ·more on grocer1es

When you spend £I 0 . or more on grocer1es

Valid at Co-op Foodstores, Earlham Green Lane

Valid at Co-op Foodstores, Earlham Green Lane

and St. Stephens Street, Norw1ch only.

and St. Stephens Street, Norw1ch only.

Th1s voucher cannot be used in conjunct1on w1th

This voucher cannot be used 1n conJunction with

any other offers. Excludes k1osk sales

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lnhouse voucher. One voucher per customer.

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TO WELCOME ALL SATURDAYS NEW ARRIVALS SAHAR c OlJl · A~ t) J HE MARQUEE IN THE SQUAn 8 'TILL LATE FREE ENTRY

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LCR 9.30·1 .30AM AS THERE IS NO LATE LICENSE ON SUNDAY PRIORITY WILL BE GIVEN TO SUNDAYS ARRIVALS FOR THE FOLLOWING SHOW:·

t.

HYPN GITAT0~-1 .8 PM

LCR 9·2AM £7.50 ADV

Featuring Hal Cruttenden, Men in Coats and Junior Slmpson.

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HOUR BAR PRI

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Mon Sept 23rd : Banana Splitz Comedy Nights

Tues Sept 24th : Skool Daze Disco

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Tues Nov 19th:

Living In Tues Oct 1st: MouUn Rouge

Thurs Nov 21st:

Thurs Oct 3rd:

fri Nov 22nd: ·

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AIIG

RellciMyUps Scooby Doo

Molisters Ball

Frf Oct 11th:

Tues Nov 26th:

Tile$ 0ct 15th:

Thurs Nov 28th:

llonloon . . . . . . .

Thurs Oct 17th: The Pank Room Friday Oct 18th: Blade 11 Mon Oct 21st :

Cry Freedom Tues 0ct 22nd: Gosford Park Thurs Oct 24th:

The Count of Monte

Crlsto Friday 0ct 25th: About a Boy Tues Oct 29th: Dog Soldiers

Behind the Sun ........, Report Fri Nov 29th: .

Unt.lthful Dec 3rd: tt.llan for beginners

Tues

Thurs DecSth:

Sw Wars Episode Two Fri Dec 6th: Sunshine State Tues Dec 10th: Mulholland Drive Wed Dec 11th 'lheGrinch Thurs Dec 12th

MIB

Thurs Oct 31 st:

40 Days and 40 Nights Fri Nov 1st: The Scorpion King Tues Nov 5th:

Crossroads Thurs Nov 7th:

Resident Evil Fri Nov 8th:

And your mother too Tues Nov 12th:

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A term film pass is only £12.50 and covers all the films showing this term.

That's less than 35p per film, making us the cheapest cinema in Norwich by far! All films start at 8.30pm and are in LT'1 unless otherwise stated.

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02

Fa n c y Th a t I Thought you'd seen the back of itchy blazers and that unbeatable white shirt and striped tie combination? Think again. University is a t ime of sartorial reg ression, when premature nostalgia for them good 'ole school days that many of you left behind a whole four months ago takes hold . Aside from the twice-termly Skool Daze disco, there's also tile monthly dressing up fest t hat is the Ret ro disco. So, just in case you didn't think to pack your entire school uniform. or you foolishly left your 197 4-era glitter platforms and matching jumpsuit at home, here is a mini guide to the fancy dress sllopping in Norwich.

School un i form

The trick with school uniform is the detail. Most of you wil l probably already ow n a w hite or grey shi rt and some fo rm of dark coloured skirt or trousers. But you r old pursebelt was casually tossed aside when packing this week, wasn 't it?

Never fear, St Stephen 's Street is near. lt might be the skank iest road in the town centre, but it does offer up averitable feast of delights by way of cheap uniform shopping.

Marks and Spencer, Woolworths, QD and BHS all have good v necks. ties. knee-hig h soc ks. sat c hels. boaters, blazers, pleated skirts etc. You' ll be surprised how large their sizing goes too.

Get Fresh: Text: Kathryn Hinc hliff

The new bar, seventies funk, school uniforms and biggest amount of cheese this side Chedder Gorge. Your Freshers Week laid bare . . . t's Saturday, 7 o'clock , your parents have ju st driven off in their now much lighter car. You've feign ed cheerfulness as your mother, weepily or happily (another one bites the dust), waves goodbye at the last corner. You dejectedly walk back up to your new residence where a gargantuan heap of lava lamps. books with intelligent sounding titles and blow up chairs are waiting for you on your bed. And a group of strangers are sitting in silence in your kitchen. You have two c hoices: forget the junk mountain in your room and join them in their awkward silence. or forget the junk mountain in your room and go out and get intoxicated.

Luckily. for those who choose the second option , UEA has very kindly catered for all your needs. Provided are a colossal two days of fresl1ers fu n before lectures begin, and an arr ay of exciting/ excruciating events throughout the rest of the week guaranteed to bring on freshers' flu and make you miss you r 9am lectures every morning.

I

Ice Breaker Sat/Sun, 8pm till late

Freshen up Sat 28th, 9pm-2am

The first in a week of bonding sessions is the return of the icebreaker. lt is an experience that every returning student will remember (apart from the ones who were passed out in a corner by 9pm). This essent ial torture binds housemates together for the next three years and quickly establishes the inevitable house cliques. it basically co nsi sts of groups of housemates standing around in circ les asking each other three questions; Where are you from? What are you studying? What A-Levels did you do? You wi ll find yourself asking them to every person you meet, even though you aren't the least bit interested in the answers and w ill im mediately dismiss t hem from your brain .

Aft er every member of the group has attained the replies from each person sil ence prevails until everyone has drunk enough to fo rget and the process starts again . Eventually. at about midnight, th e groups split and merge and t he questions go round once more. Luckily t here are two icebreakers this year, so Sunday's students w on't miss out.

Freshers' week cu lminates with Freshen up, an event that promises to be the biggest party ever. lt is unlikely it will li ve up to such claims. However, the lineup looks fairly entertaining with Dodgems, a bucking bronco. temporary tattooists, a bal loon bender and (apparently) 'much much more.· These are all attractions that w ill , no doubt be considerably enhanced by inebriation. Hopefully the union has good insurance.

WlgS Good wigs are few and far bet ween in Norfolk , whic h is surprising. considering the state of most people's hair in this region. The best place for quality w igs is SinSins, next to The Hog in Armou r pub on St Benedict 's Street.

Here you'll find everything from long. black. Cher-style wigs to cute pink bobs. Afro wigs and other fetching 'comedy' items li ke stick-on moustaches and sideburns can be fou nd in the fancy dress shop at the top of St Augustine's Street near Anglia Square (get a cab).

For cheaper alternatives, there's always Clare's Accessories in the mal l, and Woolworths on St Stephen's Street.

Retro If you're looki ng fo r any old bad shirt, cha ri ty shops are a chea p option. They are scattered all over town, so if you fancy spending a morning trawling. some real gems can be found. However, if you 're after something classier and more authentic, the best place is The Dustbin on Opie Street, just off London Street. The only really good vintage cloth ing store in Norwich. The Dustbin is a treasure trove full of original 60s dresses. 70s shirts, polyester slacks, zip-up track tops, leather jackets, trouser suits and more. Th ere are accessories galore, from belts to cute 60s handbags, from headscarves to ties ranging from skinny to kipper. The prices are remarkably cheap for the quality of the clothing , around £6-8 for a shirt .

Ast rid Goldsmith

the event

Retro 4th o---+-ob

School Daze Oi sea Tuesday .30an - 1.30pm Schooldaze is UEA ' s answer to the latest craze for school themed nightclubs. A school uniform is essential, as is the consumption of a sign ificant amount of alcohol prior to entry.

Whether eighteen year old freshers are far enough removed from sc hoo l life to find enjoyment in donni ng thei r old ties and blazers rema ins to be seen , but watching the Britney look -al ikes throwing themse lves around the dance-floor makes it all worthwhi le. Cheesy tunes , fluffy pink hair bobbles and outfits so revealing that no teacher would ever have al lowed them are guaranteed. Get yo ur tickets early as Mr. Brosnan, Grange Hill's deputy head, is making a special guest appearance.

LCR

Thursday, 9pm-1.30am Thursday's LCR is perhaps the week's most important event . lt is guaranteed that all of you will attend an LCR at some point in your university ca reer and a lot of you will attend them all. So why not start as you mean to go on. The LCR is the student equivalent of church. Love it or hate it (there is no middle ground) the LCR defines UEA 's nightlife. it will be packed, it will be noisy, the dance floor will be swimming in plastic glasses and cheap beer, and the throng at the bar will be impenetrable. But somehow it's fun.

Saturday, September 21, 2002

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Retro is another LCR offering. Not technically part of freshers' week it is, like the LCR, a reocc urring event. Dressing up, though not compulsory is encouraged with prizes offered for the best costume . Flairs. big Afros and platforms are the preferred clobber of the more outgoing (drama students) attendees. it offers much the same as the LCR, but with sixties. seventies. and eighties pop and glitter balls . Once is probably enough.

Best ot

t

e rest:

Monday night is student night at Time, and the UEA bar has very kindly extended its happy hour and put on a DJ to get everyone in the mood. A free bus will also be available to take everyone to Norw ic h's biggest (and most expe nsive) nightcl ub.

The long bus journey should provide a good chance to get to know yo ur housemates, make sure you sit with someone you think you like. You might be stuck with them forever.

For those who have had enough of drinking and fancy experiencing some culture , a free bus tour of Norwich's historical sights

--"!'!!'--~---~-'!"!!'!• should

be a nice way to round off the hectic week. lt leaves on ...,...~-···· • · · • Sunday at 1pm and 3pm. Or you could just stay in bed, there's always next year.

Pictures: (From the tp . anticlockwise) 1. Retro 2. Dodgems at Freshen Ups 3. Time Nightclub

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03

A Little Less Conversation:

Something Different

Text: Luke Wright

Silent comedians, Men in Coats, were the hit- of this year's Edinburgh Fringe, and Monday 23rd they come to The Banana Splitz Comedy Club for a little more action ince winning the Hackney Empire Best New Act Award in 2001, Men in Coats have become hot comedy property and they haven't even opened their mouths. This summer they took their hour long act of physical comedy and jacket-related acrobatics to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where they played at one of the prestigious Pleasance venues. Tickets for the show were in such high demand that they were eventually moved to Pleasance One arguably the best venue at the Fringe - and by the end of August they were back in London with plans for a forthcoming world tour and a list of glowing reviews as long as one of Tony Blair's dramatic pauses.

Men in Coats, or Mick Dowe and Maddy Sparham as they liked to be called when not all anoraked up, met two years ago.

Maddy was an actor and Mick had a long career in street performing behind him . .

However, Men in Coats is not simply a successful piece of street theatre braving new venues.

"The act was always intended for a standup crowd. • says Mick "What we do has the same kind of pace as a stand-up act and what we're trying to say is similar to that of a comic as well. What alternative comedy is all about is breaking with the old - no mother-in-law jokes - to create comedy that says something about the world we live.· A large part of the Men in Coats' show involves the use of a screen and shadows to create comic illusions, which has caused them to be likened to Chaplin and other silent movie comedians. However, Mick suggests that their influences come from elsewhere.

"When people see the show they need to make sense of it , establish it in some recognisable context, and so the silent movie thing is an obvious one. I don't want people to think we are harking back to golden age of silent movies, it 's not about that, it's about doing something new .· As well as referencing other comedians, Mick looks to the surreal, slapstick element of cartoons for inspiration. "With the screen we are able to make it appear that one of us is flying, or for example, at one stage it looks like I pull Maddy's arm off. it's the kind of thing people may have seen in cartoons. You have to take the audience with you, make them believe that what they see is real; a suspension of disbelief. • Monday's gig at The Banana Splitz Club is just one in a series of shows on the comedy circuit before the boys pack their coats up for world tour. Whereas most stand-ups find themselves confined to their country of origin due to cultural and language barriers, Mick and Maddy are able to reach a much wider audience.

"I live in London and I don't even speak the same language as most of the people on my street to be honest with you. I think there is a lot of interesting things to be said without language, and about the fact that there is a lot of communication going on where language doesn't come into it. People think we are looking back, but I think to be working on non-speaking comedy is actually looking forward. I think at the moment that it is probably the more exciting route to go, and the show seems to

Pictured Above: Junior Simpson

If you 're gagging at the thought of endless events centring around cheesy dance-pop, mindless alcohol consumption and people wearing bad shoes, then you've come to the wrong university. No, not really . Of course the Union caters for every taste, or at least tries to. Here's the lowdown on the slightly more hip and culturally fulfilling events going on in fresher's week.

Man September 23 A brand new regular comedy night kicks off at 7.30pm in the Hive with a line up fresh from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The first comedy night of its kind at UEA, the Banana Splitz bill boasts headliner Junior Simpson, with support from Hal Cruttenden and Men in Coats. Every ticket holder gets a free ticket for the bus to Time afterwards, although if you don't fancy another hardcore night of cheesy pop, then head to Lock Stock in Dove Street (by Tesco Metro) where Loaded - the Britpopjindie/alt/rock/ retro night - is held every Monday night.

Wed September 25 If your definition of dancing extends beyond a sticky shuffle on a beer soaked floor with one arm held limply in the air, you might be interested in the Caramba Latin Party in the LCR . Although the live_salsa band and world music djs don't get started until 9pm, there is a free mini salsa masterclass held in the Hive from 8pm. You ' ll be taught the three basic salsa steps so you won 't completely embarrass yourself. And if that wasn't enough, there 's cheap Bacardi all night.

Fr i September 27

"I don't want people to think we are harking back to golden age of silent movies, it's not about that, it's about doing something new." - Mick Dowe appeal to all sorts of people.· There is talk of TV work in the pipeline, although Men in Coats are keen to bide their time until the right offer comes along . In the meantime, they offer us a cryptic "expect what not to expect. " So ... expect the unexpected , yeah?

Men In Coats play The Banana Splltz Comedy Club on Monday 23rd September.

Tonight will be a good opportunity for the rock kids to stop gritting their teeth against the S Club and Britney fest that is the LCR , as The Kerrang Club Tour hits the LCR tonight with Elviss and DJs Ace and Ashley from 9.30pm. There are loads of Kerrang freebies and it goes on til 1.30 am. Even if you don't like the bands, this type of event is always a good way to meet different sorts of people and broaden your horizons.

Man September 30 The long-runnirg and highly successful monthly Chill 'Em Out Jau Cafe returns, fronted by the Glastonbury Festival Slam champion·Luke Wright . There is an open mic for any budding poets who want to perform in this relaxed space, plus hip hop poet Ainsley Burrows returns once again from New York to headline.

Astrld Goldsmith

Saturday, September 21, 2002

the event

04

A Crash Co rse in Poetry: Text: Astrid Goldsmith

Thoug poetry was all about Charge of the Light Brigade and Ode to Autumn?

You couldn't be more wrong. Ainsley Burrows and the Chill 'Em Out Jazz Cafe are. here to save the day ...

• ••

ive years ago , Ainsley Burrows was in the passenger seat of his friend Tehut's car, traveling back from a late n1ght poet ry g1g. Tehut fell asleep at the wheel, and, commg round a bend in the road, the car span out of control, heading towards the wooded area and fenc1ng at t he side of the road. When Ainsley opened h1s eyes, all he could see was blue sky. The car had landed vertically on top of the fencing, leaving A1nsley, Tehu t and their friend 1n t11e back seat all tota lly unharmed . A Russian man stopped by the side of the road. looked them over and announced, "You're lucky.'· Ainsley Burrows, a bus1ness student, took th1s as a sign. He abandoned h1s studies and took up performance poetry as a full t1me career. In a medium usually associated with Pam Ayres and middle aged women in floaty dresses ·expressing themselves,' th1s IS a very rock and roll fairy tale. But that's because. 1n a world where poetry IS almost a dirty word in performance art (music. dance. theatre and comedy), Burrows is a very different sort of poet . Blending hip hop rhy t hms with magical, startl1ng imagery, the New Yorker's spoken wo rd sets are full of his experiences of love. death and sex, not to mention witty observations of daily life. A prev1ous member of the Nuyorican Cafe's prestigious slam (a live poetry competition where the audience are encouraged to cheer or heckle as poets are scored by the JUdges) team. Burrows IS a master of persuading any audience that they're havmg a good time.

Using hip hop call and response techniques, a live backing band for parts of the show, and seem1ngly endless charm.

Burrows manages to daule and mvolve t11e audience at the same time. However. he is at ·hiS most stunning when he turns llis wordsm1thery to d1ssect aspects of the world that unsettle h1m. He cla1ms that he "got into poe t ry because I

THE OCTOBER 1st Mighty Mighty Bosstones £11 Ska Punk 3rd Ska Diva £8-1 0 Two tone 6th Raging Speedhorn + Ill Nino £11 Metal Mayhem 7th Capdown £7 Ska Punk 9th Vex Red £9 British Rock

was looking for a way to express my feelings, .. but t h1 s sounds like an unders atement w hen watchmg h1m perform 9/10. his furious reaction to the hysteria in America following 9/11 . t's been a busy year for Ainsley Burrows. Consta-n_tly touring un1ver s1t 1es and poetry venues across Europe and Amenca, the poet has managed o fit 1n completing his f1rst solo album, work on his second music projec w1th DJ Polo and a novel hat should be fin shed by spring 2003.

But for now we'll have to be sat1sfied w1th poetry, as the Chill 'Em Out Jazz Cafe favourite returns to Norwich on September 30. The cult live spoken word event attracts die-hard regulars and curious newcomers alike, with 1ts super-chilled atmosphere and something for-everyone mix of beats, jau, live poetry and, of course. the bar. The open m1c which kicks off the n1ght IS there for absolutely anyone who wants to L-----o~~:;.....-.._"----__!._...__ __ _ _ _ _~---.....L--....l:...----...~~-~ share their writ1ng with the crowd. and compere Luke Wright is there to entertain and ease you through the even1ng.

Fresh from his success at the Glastonbury and Edinburgh festivals thiS summer, Wright's own brand of low brow beat poetry IS guaranteed to keep you laughing. You don't need a flukey car crash t o enjoy poetry y'know ...

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"Burrows is a very different sort of poet.

Blending hip hop rhyth_ms with magical, startling imagery... "

1Oth Pitchshifter £10 Metal Rock

NOVEMBER

14th Bowling for Soup £6 Ska Pu nk

3rd The Electric Soft Parad e £8 .50 Rock n Roll

15th Soil £10 Heavy Metal 20th Chumbawamba £10 Hi jinx punk 24th Goldrush £6 Melodic Songwriting

6th Complete Stone Roses £6 Tri bute Band 7th Alabama 3 £10 Country dance influenced

27th Mostly Autumn £1 0 Classic Rock

1Oth Lindisfa rne £1 2 Contemporary Acoustic Rock

30th Golfing on the Moon £6 Ska Punk

14th Oxide and Neutrino £10

Garage 19th The Russian Percussion Tour £7 Live hip hop DJ 's, MC 's ...

5th King Prawn £7 Ska Pu nk

20th Spunge £8 Ska Punk

15th Or Feelgood £11 Rhythm and Blues

25th The Da mned £12 70's Punk 27th Teenage Fancl ub £10 28th The Vandal s £10 OiPu nk

139 Kl NGSTRE ET NORICI CH

TEL. 0160 3 6327 17

Saturday, September 21, 2002

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