The Event - Issue 145 - 27 November 2002

Wednesday, November 27, 2002

Features: Nasty Christmas Giving up the Day job?

Reviews: DiverSiFy .

Pulp New Order

Die Ano'ther Day

Interviews: Seamus Heaney Broadland's Rob and Chrissy Kaito

Merry '

Christmas .

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Editorial 03

Contents:

Event Editorial: Peace on earth and all that

Inside: I

I

03

The Event Editorial Merry Christmas.

o we reach the end of another year: the shops drape everything in tacky red tinsel, the credit card companies use moral blackmail to make parents spend more money on their children, and the TV companies regurgitate tired and boring formats with moozak versions of Jingle Bells rather unconvincingly included on the soundtrack. Ah, Christmas, a time for giving, sharing and making shit loads of cash. However, let us not get too cynical, it's not all bad, for every insidious marketing ~loy with a crap red hat there is something worth focusing on, or at least worth looking on and laughing at, and we've assembled a few of them for your reading pleasure in this fortnight's Event.

We start with a quick look at the big titles in the Christmas books list. Don't scoff too quickly at this information, we all know what it's like on Christmas Eve and we've got nothing to give our mothers. Books are easy Christmas presents, most people can read , and books, of course, tend to be on all variety of subjects, meaning that whatever your loved ones are into you've got one easy present idea. And if your friends and family really can't read, then don't worry, we are also taking a look at the Christmas TV schedule so you can impress them with your knowledge of... well, what's on telly.

Carrying on with the Christmas theme we also take a look at Hollywood's fascination with blowing up the turkey (and the nuclear family). and holding Santa hostage. That's right, nasty Christmases filled with uzi-wielding terrorists and furry koala things that go bad if they snack after midnight - fun and games for all the family.

Our centre spread focuses on singing actors and acting musicians in the light of Eminem's Eight Mile. The hip-hop star's acting debut has made over $100 million in the US, and opens here in January. We take a look at some musicians that haven't be so successful in making the same leap, as well as people like Keanu Reeves and David Hasselhoff who went the other way.

Conten~s

and Credits

04 ~9!:!fe ~?tRB~a~!?n~. ~~~rY~ loved ones can read. But which books are the best this year?

05 Christmas Crackers

You're slumped in an arm chair getting fat, you can't stomach another turkey sandwich, and you've broken all your presents, what is there left to do but turn on the telly. Here's what to expect.

06 Perfectly Tuned In

The Event talks to Broadland's breakfast presenters Rob and Chrissy, and holds its own 'battle of the sexes.'

07 Triple X-mas An investigation into Hollywood's obsession with nasty Christmasses. Think Gremlins, Die Hard and The Nightmare Before Christmas

08 Seamus Heaney

Ireland's most famous contemporary poet talks to The Event about professors, poetry and being a con trol freak

Excess Hollywood 09 Cinefile 10 Our Lady Peace

n the interview front this fortnight we've had our journalistic ear bent by Ireland's leading contemporary poet, Seamus Heaney . Heaney r.ecently received an honourary degree from this university, and entertained graduates and parents alike at last year's EAS graduation ceremony. And he was no less engaging when he spoke to us shortly before his talk at the UEA International Literature Festival.

We catch up with Canadian band Our Lady Peace, and ask local lo-fi superstars Kaito what it's like to come back from a US tour and have to go back to work in the sleepy Norwich suburbs. We also talk to Rob and Chrissy from Broadland's Breakfast show, giving them a taste of their own medicine as we challenge them to our own version of the 'battle of the sexes· quiz.

There is of course the usual amount of reviews and previews. Amongst those getting the treatment from our music team this issue are Pulp, New Order and Robbie Williams, with the drama festival DiverSiFy looked at in depth by our arts team . But if I can leave you with one Christmas message, it's this: be nice to each other, appreciate your loved ones, eat well, and what ever you do, go and see the new James Bond Film, it's amazing. Merry Christmas.

0

The Event catches up with the Canadian rockers before they get too famous over here

Burn Out, Fade Away 11

Kaito Local Lo-fi superstars talk about America, Music and the death of Partridge

Almost Famous 12

~!Ya~~ilin~l?mst~?cto~~X)E~!?.?s

an age olp phenomenon but who is creatively versa tile, and who shouldn't have bothered?

Reviews: 14 Albums

New Order; Pulp; Jools Holland; Luke Smith

Luke Wright, Editor

15

Pictures: (Above, in descending order) Seamus Heaney; Broadland FM 's Rob and Chrissy; Kaito; Pierce Brosnan and Hale Berry in Die Another Day

Avril Laugine; Milk lnc; Nu; Mew;

16 Film

Credits:

Die Another Day; The Quiet American; Death to Smoochy; Spiderman; Minority Report

19 Arts

Editor-In-Chief · Katle Hind • Editor · Luke Wrlght • Arts Editor · Kathryn Hlnchllff • Assistant Arts Editor · Nathan Dlxon • Film Editor · Jlm Whalley • Assistant Film Editors · Phll Colvln and Ryan J.Stephens • Music Editor · Mlscha Pearlman • TV & Radio Editors · Brltt Juste and Joe Mlnlhane • Picture Editor · Ed Webb-lngall • Listings complied

by Esma Aydan and Matt Sargeson • Text · Llz Adams · Emma Ap-Thomas · Polly Barker · Gavln Bates · Vannessa Beresford · Gary Budden · Clare Butler · Paul Case · Katharlne Clemow · Sarah Edwardes · Christian Floyd · Kate Herrlngton · VIctoria Holland · Llz Huthclnson · Jon Last · Charlotte Mann · Tom Nelsh · Mark Peachy · Katharlne Potts · Bethany Scott-Boatfleld · Toby Slelgh-Johnson · Tom Sutton · Joel Turner · Paul Wade · Claudla Webb · Alex Woodward • DTP Assistance · Alpa. Patel

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

~~~eQt~~s;

Caesars; The D4

The Twits re-viewed; Life of Pi reviewed; Romeo and Juliet reviewed; Ghosts reviewed; The Tempest reviewed; 0/iver preview

20 DiverSify Reviewed

Aisle16, Everybody Else's Girl; Thou Art a Fishmonger; Black Comedy; Music Society Showcase

21

TV/Radio

Essential Soaps; Jackass; A Beginner's Guide to Reggae; Part of Your Life

22 Listings Wednesday, November 27, 2002

the event

04

Many Happy Book Returns: With only four weeks left until Christmas, The Event is providing a handy guide to the books expected to be this years' festive bestsellers- the good, the bad and the ugly... s the annual turkey holocaust approaches familie s feel a strange compulsion to herd, despite the fact there is probably a good reason they don 't at any other time of the year.

Everybody 'makes an effort ' to be cheerful and festive. missing the fact that implicitly, for some reason , th is means that otherwise they don't or aren 't . Mum and/ or Dad are in the kitchen sweating over pou ltry and sprouts, Dad isn 't 'making an effort' but thi s isn 't hi s fault , as he didn't invite the old bat - isn't it somebody else's turn? We had them last year - and besides, neither of the in-laws ever really liked him much any-

way , especially the father who st ill w on 't look him straight in the eye. The younger sibling s are trying to open the presents already while Grandmother snoozes, party hat on head. dribbling on her mince pie. The cat , bored for t he time being by the sly war of attrition with mother over ownership of the turkey . has c rapped on the hall floor and the dog is try ing to eat it while grandfather has drunk rather too much port with the result that his language and views are becoming 'co lourfu l'; his false-teeth more precarious. You need an escape; yo u need time away from the familial pressure-cooker. Wh at better way than to buy yo urself one of these in advance and hide in your bedroom , loosing yo urself in a good book?

On the other hand, some more cynical publishers also see Christmas as an opportunity to throw any old tripe at the market in the hope that unfortunate c onsumers, their powers of judgement numbed by 'seasonal goodwil l' , might snap-up there limp offering in order t o make Mu m and Dad feel appreciated for more than just the depth of their pockets. Be warned. however; in demonstrating to your nearest and dearest that you acknowledge the existence of, perhaps even a lively, mental life on th eir part , yo u may be inadvertently insulting th ei r ta ste. Read on ... and Merry Christmas!

Richard and Judy: Autobiography

Nick Hornby: How To Be Good

Maeve Binchy: Quentins

Ri chard and Judy were the hosts of Britain ' s most beloved daytime television show, This Morning, for 13 years. They now share a programme on channe l 4. We are presented with an account of their lives working and living together; Judy's co untless health problems, Ric hard's amusing court ordeal and how they dealt with the highs and low s of being a ce lebrity couple.

Shared also with the reader are the inevitable 'c hildhoods' plus private lives, working in television and juggling work with the responsibility of parenting. Not the most interesting couple t o read about , but perhaps a good gift for strained couples - it offers them solace in the knowledge that at least every weightloss or weight-gain. hang-over and/ or minor marital spat isn't in front of mi llions of people . A bit dull for everybody else.

Christmas is co ming , the goose is getting fat. So too, rest assured, is Nic k Hornby . This is thanks largely to the proceeds from his most recent pathetic paperback.

Hornby, you see, has no imaginat ion; a major fa iling for an alleged novelist. He is inc apable of cre at ing a c haract er, let alone a world. of his own without resorting to the mainstream media , ex cessive name-dropping and a heavy dose of product placement. Unfortunately, How To Be Good has all of Hornby's hallmarks: it 's nauseatingly mawkish , it 's to ld in the usual 路aren't I controversial in c hallenging your middle-c lass ideals' mono-drone, and it 路s utterly , utterly , banal.

Maeve Binchy's th irteenth novel is the story of a posh Dublin restaurant that becomes the focus for a varied group of individuals, all on that most original of quests: finding happiness. lt follows the same pattern as many of Binchy 's books; the characters are ca refully drawn and mostly very likeable . inspiring the reader to care for what happens to them. But before long the plot becomes predi ctable: we know long before Ella Brady does who she'll end up with when her affair with her married lover ends in disaster. As a Chri stmas read it 's one for die hard Binchy fans rather than first timers.

Marc Peachey

Katharine Clemow

A/ex Woodward

Ben Elton: High Society Ben Elton is one of Britain 's most highly acclaimed co mic writers. playwrights and stand-up comedians. High Soc iety is his latest satirical nove l following Popcorn and Dead Famou s. The book co ncerns th e failing gl obal war on drugs; it explores the vast c riminal network in whi c h we all find ourselves co mplicit. from popstars and royalty to c rack-whore s and st reet kids. lt is a story of our world today: everyone is either breaking the law or knows someone who is. The reader is taken on a hilarious yet terrifying journey which the law created, but from which it offers no real protection.

AW

Nathan Dixon

Melanie B: Catch A Fire

Sue Townsend: Number 10

Mel B's mu sic career began and some might say ended with the Spice Girls, her autobiography is a 'frank and honest ' story of her past and how she made it to stardom . Born into a poor mixed-race family in Leed s Mel had very little but hyperactivity and a desire to perform on stage . Th is book is a detailed insight into her c hildhood, her time at drama school and the birth of the Spi ce Gi rls, with all attendant ups and downs. The book is a c hance for people to see that childhood dreams really can become reality with hard w ork and determination. But these days, lucki ly for Mel , no talent is necessary. But does anybody really care? And do we really believe she wrote the whole thing herself without help?

AW

Thi s the latest novel from the pen of that British institution Sue Townsend. Set in the Houses of Parl iament with supposedly fic tio nal ministers (they all seem very familiar) it follows the story of a Prime minister who deci des he needs to tour the UK incognito . In Townsend's world this mean s he has to be dressed as a woman. Although fun can be had from guessing exactly which member of the cab inet is being not so subtly parodied, Number 1 0 is a poor imitation of her earlier novel, Th e Queen and I. lt is a shame that the author of the Adrian Mole books that we all love so much has decided to go down the one book a year road . All the same, aunties and mothers are almost guaranteed to love it.

Donna Tartt: The Little Friend

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Was it worth the wait?

The Little friend sees 12-year-old Harriet Cleve Dusfrenes, "sturd ily built " and " like a small badger ", trying to solve the murde r of her big brother, Robin .

The novel originally seems concerned with entirely new te rritory, but after a second look a lot can be mapped onto their equivalents in Tartt ' s first literary out ing. The book is also a little unengaging emotionally and Tartt is so fond of her main characte r that it is clear to the reader that everything will be better in the end , whi c h removes tension. The book is, however. extremely well crafted and wonderfu lly written - but this should be ex pected after ten yea rs.

A good book. but it looses momentum. Not the 路master piece' or 'triumph' that the more sycophant ic critics would have us believe . but worth a look.

Nathan Dixon

the e enf Wednesd ay, November 27,2002

05

Christmas Crackers: Text: Emma Ap-Thomas

Santa is not the only person who's been checking his list. The lovely people responsible for TV scheduling have been hard at work too. Here's a peak at what you'll be getting ... anta is not the only person whose been checking his list. The lovely people responsible for television scheduling have been hard at work all year checking if we've been naughty or nice in order to decide what treats will be wrapped up for us in the Christmas Radio Times. Here's a little clue to what you're getting for Christmas .. .

Deck the halls; Christmas is on its merry way, a time of year to reflect, to forgive. Tis' the season. Falalala. There are very few moments in these busy times for families to gather together at home, in the same room, with no hope of escape. For the duration of the turkey roast at least, times are easy. During the afternoon and evening however it's inevitable that conversation is going to run a little dry, so what better than to switch on the tally and have some quiet time watching the Mitchells and the Slaters have a far less peaceful Christmas Day than you. Afterall, Christmas is a wonderful festival for scriptwriters to exploit.

The cynical amongst us no doubt think that Christmas Day instalments of soaps are explosive because loads of people have nothing better to do than watch TV. Those of us who've really considered it carefully {too much time on our hands) recognise the potential of Christmas as a perfect setting f_o r dramatic fireworks. Not only is Christmas a time for family to gather for the duration of a whole day, it's traditionally a time when one takes time to think about one's life. A dangerous exercise, but who can help but reflect when stuffed so full of turkey and Christmas cake that it's impossible to move or even speak?

"If any time of the year is perfect to put the past behind us, then it's Christmas" I talked to some of UEA's finest to find out what it is people look forward plonking themselves down to post turkey, vegetables and stuffing. Just about everyone I spoke to tuned into Eastenders. If they can't watch it, they tape it. And for good reason . lt isn't just the scriptwriters that pull out all the stops. Actors seem to relish the opportunity to get their teeth into some really decent storylines, and the actors whose ability is beyond help get sidelined in favour of their superiors. In the past years, Christmas in the square has been all about the mistletoe. Last December treated us to Phil and Sharon's clandestine snog, Mark's proposal to Lisa and the final culmination of Dot and Jim's lurve thang via the romantic vessel of a Christmas cracker.

So what is it about Christmas that makes it a time for loving? Of course there's the whole season of goodwill thing. People are more relaxed , more open to opportunity. Perhaps there's something in the atmosphere of all this seasonal joyfulness that makes things clearer bringing us to evaluate what is important to us.

Eastenders certainly likes to make the day special for us, and not always in a serious way. Which brings me to mention the obligatory comedy chaos in the square. Christmas 2000 saw Nasty Nick and Ashley Cotton "steal Christmas" from the Evans' home while Barry and Natalie {shudder) were indulging in a little cracker pulling of their own upstairs. And last year the Slater's turkey was surprisingly animate and provided us all with a jolly good hohoho.

man who has lost his job because he claims to have seen a unicorn: the moral of the tale?" Common sense is killing us."

Admittedly. at Christmas, this is a statement impossible to disagree with. See Miracle on 34th Street, The Santa Clause and Santa Clause the Movie, all of which will no doubt be on television very soon. Their message is simple: there's nothing wrong in believing in Santa. Santa of course being the emblem for a belief in the mystical and mythical, something that is against all reason and can only be seen or understood by those who trust in their belief. In season one of Ally McBeal Richard Fish comments that people should stop taking stock of their lives at Christmas; it only leads to misery. Whilst these infamous "Fishisms" are usually easily pulled apart with the ease of pulling a cracker, he might have hit on something here. If any time of the year is perfect to put the past behind us, then it's Christmas. The whole festival is in place because of a birth, therefore perhaps all this doom and gloom we subject ourselves to during 25/12 Eastenders is misplaced. Better to tape it and watch it on Boxing Day. Rather, and as many of the people I talked to told me, Christmas day is all about the Disney films, The Land Before Time, Mary Poppins and Wallace and Gromit. Stuff that makes you happy and satisfied and isn't hard to watch.

So as November draws to a close and we pull out our Bob the Builder advent calendars, we should pause to think. What is Christmas really about? The final conclusion, and indeed the only conclusion, is that it isn't about TV. Possibly the only time of year what can we expect from our East End buddies this Christmas? it's already been let slip that Jamie Mitchell is going to be getting more than a visit from Santa this Christmas. Poor old Sonia. Internet rumour has it that Portugese police will discover Lisa's body and Mark will return to the Square to confront Phil. ..with a gun.

Of course there will be the last minute twist in the tale. We 've come to expect the best from the scriptwriting team, who often film more than one ending to confuse the tabloids and gossip queens that plague this country's media. Remember the "Who shot Phi I?" saga? As if they 've had enough of that one. 2002 has seen Phil get more and more Grant-like in his menacing of the Albert Square public and the nasty piece of work seems to have pushed it too far this time. lt isn't just the Brits who treat Christmas TV like the birth of a saviour. After all the Americans have always been better at being cheesy than we have. The treatment of the holidays in American TV embodies the true spirit of Christmas and never fails to point out the obvious; Christmas is for kids of all ages; those of us who have lost the spirit of Christmas are empty and alone Ebenezer style. Ally McBeal is an excellent example of this. In the December episode of the second season, Cage & Fish defend a

S

that this is true.

"Actors seem to relish the opportunity to get their teeth into some really decent storylines"

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the event

06

Perfectly Tuned In:

Text: Britt Juste Photo: Luc y Johnston

Love then or loath them, t hey are East Ang lia's most successful morning c rew, b ut what gives Rob and Chrissie that edg e? hey sit opposite each other in deep concentration . They don 't talk. Liberty X is blasting out into the airwaves and looking into the soundproof studio I begin to wonder whether I have missed the show. Staring into a computer screen the man looks more like a producer than a lively radio host . The woman appears to be si nging along to t he music. but other th an that nothing is happening. Suddenly they reach for their earphones, straighten up in their seats to face the microphones and as the music fades they come alive. They take turns to ta lk being c areful not to interrupt each other. The conversation and interaction between the two DJs flow flawlessly and effortlessly as Norfolk and Suffolk slow ly wakes up. " Rob and Chrissie in the morning; this is Broadland 102. •

"These two are up long before the alarm clocks of mere mortals would even consider going off" Part of East Anglia n life for more than 18 years there seems to be no stopping Radio Broadland and with an estimated audience of 60,000 each morning " Rob and Chrissie The Morning Crew " are more popular than ever. As we sit down to have a chat Chrissie offers an ex planation to their success: " lt helps if you get on with the person you work with ."

Rob agrees: "I think you just bou nce of each ot her. You develop an understanding. · They certainly bounce off each other. The show is not scripted and all the topical chats, ranging from how do you eat your favourite c hoc olate to the fire-fighters ' strike , are not planned . They just happen . All the more reason then, to work with the perfect partner.

Rob: " I think it 's luck to be honest. We are similar people. We are both easy going and have the same sense of humour."

Chrissie continues: " I think it helped that we both worked here before. There are lots of teams that are put together and they don 't get on . Very few teams just click .· They click so well in fac·t . that some people think they are married or are having an affair. Chrissie bursts out laughing: "Well, we are married, but not to each other! The other day after we 'd had a wince at each other someone phoned up and said: 'You sound like an old married couple .'-"But we have never had a serious c ross word ", Rob cont inues. "we are not the kind of people to go off in a sulk. That never happens. Occ asionally we meet socially but most ly at five o'clock in the morning it 's just : 'Morning " 'Hello yeah ' don 't speak. I don't feel like saying much first thing ."

The gruelling morning routine does seem rather harsh . After all, these two are up long before t he alarm clocks of mere mortals would even consider going off. They both arrive at Colegate at 5.30am, and don 't leave the station until luncht ime. And as they are contracted to do six shows a week , they don 't have much of a weekend . " it 's a sacrifice doing what we are doing ." Rob is not even looking t ired, in fact they both seem more awake than I do .

"We can 't stay out in the evenings till later than 11pm, that is the limit really. You 'd th ink you get used to it, but you don 't.

When Chrissie was offered the job as Rob 's co-pi lot in April 99, she did have doubts. "I am ·not a morning person and I didn't know what I was going to be like. For the first few weeks I thought 'I have made a mistake , I can 't do this, I just don 't feel awake. But once I had settled into a routine , making sure I was in bed at a certain t ime , I'd feel awake in the morning. ·

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the event

Wednesday, November 27, 2002

ntil Chrissie joined, the_show was called The Rob Chandler Breakfast

U

Show and Rob had been alone at the microphone for sixteen years. He feels strongly about the team spirit though: "I have always felt that people want to hear a team . I used to encourage the news and the sports team to come in , and we'd have a laugh ."

Having two people on air makes it possible to have discussions with the audience .

The show is very interactive.

Along with dai ly competitions the listeners are invited to phone in or text their opinions about the daily topics. Chrissie

leans forward in her chair eager to explain : "We talk about th ings we have seen in the paper, or something that might have happened to us when we went to a shop. it 's about how we fee l about thi ngs, w hat we th ink . Subjects that other people will be talk ing about . We talk the way the audience do about things they talk about .· Rob agrees - "The main thing is that people know that we are one of them, we co uld be their friend , or their colleague. The heart warming thing is that when we do personal appearances people feel comfortable corn· ing up to say hello . We are not aloof; we don 't think we are stars." They may not think they are high-flying celebrities but to the people of Norfolk and Suffolk they are as essential to waking up as a strong cup of coffee. Both OJs are local and that appears to be a distinct advantage. " Because we know the area, we can mention local places, we c an really hook into that. it 's an advantage to be loc al, to be able to talk about local places and events" - Rob finishes Chrissie 's sentence, "You can relate to that , these are the advantages you c an push home against national rad io."

Competition is certainly getting fiercer . In Norfolk alone there are more than three local radio stations and more are set to come . Radio One, Radio Two and Vibe are Broadland 's nearest competitors. Although the target audience is females between the ages of 25 and 35, The Morning Crew enjoy listeners from all walks of life. because of the broad mix of topics. features and c ompetitions.

But Rob and Chrissie owe their success to more than just being local and a good team . Their lively , natural interaction both on and off air is a rarity , and their apparent love for their jobs clearly shines through the airwaves each morning as the rest of us snuggle up under the duvet trying to feel half as vibrant as they sound . As ·Rob said: "We open up the microphone and it tends to happen. ·

Battle of the Sexes: Not awake for the legendary "Battle of the Sexes" quiz every momlng at 8 .10? Don't worry, The Event put the pros to the test :

Brftt: Chrissie, the off-side rule in football?

Rob: Ha! You've got her now! Not a chance!

Chrlssle: I have absolutely no idea .. .something about ... when a ball. ..

Rob: Don't even embarrass yourself] Chrlssle: Something eh , is in front of something else .. .and the ball is in a certain place ...

Rob: There have got to be at least two opposition players between the attacker and the goal whe·n you receive the ball in the opposition's half. Isn't that right?

Brftt: Eh, sounds right to me ... so Rob, what is a " Brazilian" ?

Rob: I can't believe you've asked me that... I can't believe you 've asked me that, because I do know. Who's blushing more, you or me?

Brftt: I don't know, you haven't shaved, I can't tell ...

Rob: Well there you answered the question really. it 's a shave.

A complete shave .

Chrlssle: lt doesn't have to be a complete shave, yOLIIeave a little strip. A landing strip.

Rob: That marks the spot yes, ok ... so am I going to win th at one?

Chrlssle: I get half a point . I knew there was an off side rule in football. I should get half a point for that...solidarity.

Rob: Yes, two against one. I'll quit while I am ahead ..

07

Triple X-mas Text: Bethany Scott-Boaffield

Christmas: a happy time when familys get together and presents are given. Except in Hollywood, where misery, pain and death are as common as turkey. The Event investigates. he festive season is up_on us once more and with the usual dollop of peace on earth and goodwill to all mankind comes a healthy dose of chaos and mayhem. Look no further than those classic yuletide movies that are st:lown on TV every year. I'm not talking about the delightful, feel good fluff like Miracle on 34th Street (1994) and it's a Wonderful Life (1946) I 'm thinking more along the lines of a bruised and battered Bruce Willis squinting at the camera {!Uipping 'Yippee-ki-yay, motherfuckerl ' . Even in the most warm and fuzzy of festive flicks 'tis not quite the season to be jolly but to endanger Santa Claus and, worst of all , the presents.

Jingle All The Way (1996) explores the serious dangers and health risks of leaving present shopping until Christmas Eve. This heavyweight piece of filmmaking teaches us all a valuable lesson about the materialisation of Christmas- bollocks, who am I trying to kid?

Arnie please stick to Terminator. Possibly the most warped villain of all is the maniacal, green, overgrown poodle that steals all the presents in The Grinch (2000) . Why? Why would he do that? That 's just not funny . I really felt for the little chipmunk people in Whoville with their funny noses and crazy hairdos. Just what is it that makes movie moguls think we want to see Christmas blown apart? Some film t itles say it all: The Christmas That Almost Wasn't (1966) and Ernest Saves Christmas (1988) , but why is Christmas always in danger? Yes, they all turn out right in the end but that's not the point.

Even the bleak but ultimately heart-warming it's a Wonderful Life (1946) begins with James Stewart starring as a suicidal George Bailey, a man at the end of his tether, until an endearing but clueless angel who is bizarrely named Clarence shows him how he has touched so many other lives and helps .him to discover his selfworth .

Christmas is about fantasy and magic and the sense that nothing must spoil it . There are many fine action films that wreak havoc at Christmas including Die Hard (1988) , Lethal Weapon (1987). and Batman Returns (1992) . Maybe it's something about the snowy backdrop that makes blood look even more gory, or maybe it's the time for superheroes and trigger-happy cops to shine because all the villains are distracted with manic present buying or hanging decorations. Maybe we just feel we have to suffer to deserve something as special as Christmas. Santa Claus: The Movie (1985) is a family favourite despite the rebellious elf played by a mischievous Dudley Moore who almost ruins Christmas. The Muppet 's Christmas Carol (1992) reworks the classic Dickens' tale. You can 't get a more evil figure bent on ruining Christmas and crushing its jolly spirit than Ebeneezer Scrooge (Michael Caine) but it is hard to be scared of a film starring Kermit, Miss Piggy, and eo. and the best this movie has to offer is that memorable line 'Light the lamp not the rat'.

Tim Burton 's The Nightmare before Christmas (1993) is more like it,

with touches of Beetlejuice genius and quirky characters. Jack Skellington, the pumpkin King of Halloween Town, kidnaps Santa Claus. Even the sugarcoated Miracle on 34th Street (1994) tells the sad story of Kris Kringle (Richard Attenborough) who is Father Christmas, but those around him decide his tree 's short of a couple of baubles so they take him to court: a mockery of justice if ever I saw one. Even The Santa Clause (1994) has jolly old Saint Nick falling off a roof to his death, but children will not be emotionally scarred by Santa going splat because Tim Alien realises he's becoming Santa Claus when he starts going grey and getting a beer gut . lt seems every film wants to beat up the big guy with rosy cheeks. t wouldn 't be Christmas without Macaulay Culkin in the cute and cuddly Home Alone (1990) and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) confounding two of the stupidest burglars in the world with his Dennis the Menace-type antics. The more anarchic Gremlins (1984) is a great antidote if you are suffering from an overdose of all things sparkly and sentimental. Who knew that loveable little furball Gizmo could spurn such evil man-eating monsters. The punk rocker one w.as kinda spunky but the one with googly eyes just freaked me out. lt is not only the sacred tradit ion of Christmas that is continually under threat. Another holiday that regularly attracts its own pandemonium is the confusing American concept that is Thanksgiving .

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"Just what makes moviemoguls think we want to see Christmas blown apart?"

Traditionally, both are a t ime for families to gather and eat turkey and stuffing, and give thanks for what they have. But Easter isn't really about chocolate eggs and bunnies, and Thanksgiving and Christmas aren 't really about happy Indians and friendly pilgrims sitting down to dinner peacefully . A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1972) doesn't quite capture the blood and guts slaughter factor from American colonial days. I don 't know, Snoopy just doesn't scream 'murder' to me, Woodstock on the other hand ... does anyone else think his squeaky mumbl ing is just a ploy to cover up his bid to take over the world? A more typical thanksgiv ing movie can see Tom Hanks being shipwrecked as in Cast Away (2000) or dysfunctional families discovering Claire Danes is planning to lose her virginity as in Home for the Holidays (1995) .

I '11 leave you with a cheery Christmas thought from Any a, the thousand ·year old ex-demon in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, who can verify that Santa is real for all you non-believers out there: 'it' s a myth that it's a myth. There is a Santa Claus. Been around since like the 1500s but he wasn 't always called Santa. But, you know, Christmas night , flying reindeer, coming down the chimney all true. Well , he doesn't traditionally bring presents so much as, you know , disembowel children.· So rest easy in your beds, nothing in Tinseltown can ever truly harm Christmas and no invasion of gremlins or grinches can prevent happily ever after endings.

ft•N•B GARAGE. UK &Us HIP HOP FREE ROOM HIRE OFFERED 0 ALL STUDENTS, WHATEVE THE OCCASION, FROM BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS THROUGH TO SOCIETY OR SPORT CLUB SOCIALSII Pictures (Clockwise fr.,m top left): A dead terrorist in Die Hard; The Nightmare Before Christmas; The Grinch; Gremlins

Wednesday, November 27, 2002

the event_

08

Excess

Heaney Once

Hollywood

Text: Natha n Dixon

A Quick look at the least uninteresting news emanating from LA

In Norwich to give a talk at the University's lnternati nal Literary Festival, Seamus Hea·n ey takes time out to talk to The Event about Professors and poetry...

Photos: Lucy Johnston

haps, than it ever was; different cu ltural conditions and resistances are pertaining. Perh aps because the world has 'speeded up,' you know, they [young people] have much more self-confidence abou t themselves, but because th ere's so much going on. they have li tt le/less int erest in poetry."

"I didn't become a learned person ... the language is very different from the kind of 'illiteracy' required in poetry."

lt was announced this week that Leonardo DiCaprio, complete with his failed attempt at facial hair, will star in an epic history of the CIA cal led The Good Shepherd. The film will also mark Robert de Niro's second sti nt in the director's chai r after 1993's A Bronx Tale. DiCaprio will play James Wilson. an idealistic Yale graduate recruited to become one of the founding officers of the CIA. The film will chart the history of the organisation through the Cold War, focusing on Wil son' s 40-year ca reer. and the t oll it exacts on hi s life and fami ly. Fi lming is due to start in the autumn after nearly 10 yea rs in product ion. lt is based on a script by Forrest Gump and Ali screenwriter Eric Roth.

DiCa prio's next fi lm wi ll be the Howa rd Hughes biopic The Aviat or.

Sean Cannery has spoken out about the fi lming of his latest fi lm, and he isn't particularly pleased. The $100 million Twentiet h Century Fox adaptation of Al an Moore's c ult co mi c book The League of Extrao rdinary Gentlemen . wh ich is being fi lmed in Prague. has seen many problems since it started fi lming. The first was the floods that afflicted eastern Europe over the summer during which $7 million worth of sets were destroyed and forced Cannery to flee his hotel suite w ith onl y l1is go lf c lubs. Th is was on ly the start however. and soon Cannery was involved in shouting matches with director Stephen Norrington as they disagreed over most aspects of production. Cannery was ti red of waiting around on set while Norrington fussed over every aspect of lighting and props, and re peated t akes have irri tated Cannery even more. The shouting almost turned into fistycuffs in Malta in late August when Norrington shut down the set for a day. deciding that a prop elephant gun didn't look quite right.

Both parties are reported as being incredibly stubborn and as fi lming won·t end for another month. Cannery will have to get used to being called at midnight to shoot an action scene or perhaps Norrington can stop being quite so anal. Either way, if filming is ever completed, the movie will be released in July 2003.

Peter Hewitt is set to direct 20th Century Fox's big-screen live-actionj CGI adaptation of Garfield. His creator John Davis will produce the film through his c ompany Davis Entertainment. As yet , there is no start date for the project, but it wi ll be written by Toy Story scribes Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow. Reports state that the script focuses on the riva lry between Garfield and his dimwitted canine housemate Odie. Hewitt 's previous films include the terrible Thunderpants but also the ex cellent Bill and led's Bogus Journey. This follows hot on the heels of the financia l success of Scooby Doo which saw the cowardly canine rendered in full CGI glory.

Ryan J. Stephens

the event

recent trip to South Africa and his Ralph Waldo Emerson Poet in Residence post at Harvard University means Seamus Heaney has spent a lot of time travelling recently.

Al l of it having bui lt to what must now be the climax: an interview. with an extremely nervous student . in wintry grey Norwich.

Surrounded, in an uncomfortable chair. by shakily-lleld microphones and flash-photographers flitting in and out of view like annoying mechanical fireflies. Heaney comments softly on the state of his wind-swept white hair: " I er ... I didn 't bring a comb w ith me ." He is without pretension; a wise man sat on one side of a vast gulf of knowledge and experience, but squinting across warmly. So, as he currently holds a position at an America n uni vers ity , are there any discernible differences in the American approach to reading and writing poetry? He considers for a second before replying, "the difference depends mainly, of course, on the personality of the instructor.

But generally speaking, on this side [of the ocean, ] irony and strict ure are perl1aps a litt le more preva lent. There ·s also more consensus and encouragement perhaps in American culture , but that's just a hunch. In terms of lectures and seminars: I mean, I imagine the seminar is much the same wherever it's conducted, but the undergraduates come to British and Irish universit ies w ith a more prepared, in a historical sense, view of the literary tradition and canon. The literary and cu ltural possessions they have are more shared. they have more in common. In the United States there's a great variation in the undergraduates you meet; there·s a variation in what they know and what they've studied. There is very litt le shared literary ground."

"Poetry can make people feel a little shy and uneasy.// Wou ld he agree, generally speaking, that these days students aren 't taught how t o find the pulse of poetry properly and therefore they think it dead or 'not vital'? " I think that sort of problem is perennial . Poetry can make people feel a litt le shy and uneasy. First of all it makes poets feel uneasy: ask a poet 'what is a poem' and you'l l see them fumbl ing too! Poetry is a mode of expression and it has a cherished value for writers and for a certain audience who have committed themselves to it for a long time. When you jump from that set of 'initiates' I suppose you'd call them - even though they mightn ·t have much to te ll you! - and you go into a school, whether the schools of the nineteen fifties or the schools of the first part of the twentyfirst century. I feel sc hool teachers are doing their best to introduce certain 'set texts' to a bunch of guys and gals and there ' s a certain resistance; there 's a certain wobbliness about the whole business. it's not any more problematic now, per-

Wednesday. Novembe r 27. 2002

In the past Heaney has mentioned something that Ted Hughes said to him about the danger of sharing professors' company; words to the effect of: 'it's ok as long as it doesn't change your language'. Can he explain the possible problems Hughes was referring to. and has he found professors a problem at all?!

"I'm a kind of anomaly as I got into the university through having written poetry. and I came in at a certain moment in the sixties when things were, for four or five years. sort of 'wobbly'.

I got a degree from Queens University in ;1.961; five years later I had a book of poems published and became a young lecturer in the place as a result. So I got a sort of 'fools pardon'. I was anx ious. I did have a k ind of problem with saying 'I have n't got a PhD, you know?' , 'I haven't got an MA ', should I do one of these things? And Harvey [ Heaney·s Head of Department] said to me, 'well. .. most people do that kind of job to get your job, so I would advise you to do li terary essays and lectures and soon. So I did an d t he result w as th at I didn 't become a 'learne d' person. I didn't go through the 'discipline · of writing in the idiom of the 'scholar'. And nowadays I thi nk that in the specialised language of ' English Studies' or 'cultural studies' or, you know. ·gender studies· or 'New Historicism Theory ' , there's an analytical pitc h to the language w hi ch is very different from the kind of 'illiteracy ' requi red in poetry!" n to Heartey's more recent wo rk. First off- the hugely successfu l t ranslat ion of Beowulf. The Derry influences in t he voic e (the tra nsl ati on was begun wit h the term 'so· in the Irish idiom, as in "So, the SpearDanes held sway once ··. This was later changed to "So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by ..." ) are based upon elders whose speech Heaney wished to emulate. What were t he difficulties in deciding how to start? And in using a more modern language is there the rather tenuous suggestion that

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Held Sway:

Cinefile:

-------------------- no.22

A Christmas Story

Oh, it's that time of year again.

Yes, but before you go off to sul k in your dark corner muttering about 'crass commercia lisati on' you sh ould have a look at this beautiful piece of nost algia from the eighties and restore your faith in humanity.

Eighties, huh? Capitalists •..

Stop that. Eighties Hollywood cinema was not just focused on t he glorification of the almighty doll ar. And one of t he things it was most proficient at doing was t he distribut ion of nostalgia. Hence. A Christmas Story. An adaptation of comedian Jean Shepherd's memoirs about growing up in forti es Indiana.

A life crowded with Incident, I presume.

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"Electric Light ... is giVIng itself permission' to be ' opener.' I doub t that ' II continue, I'm such a ·c ontrol freak!" certain elements of Beowulf are still relevant to today? Some critics have certainly intimated that this is so. "Well first of all I didn't mean to say that Beowulf was relevant or 'had a message'. If you can believe it there was an article in an American managerial magazine- I don 't know if it was a spoof or not, you know - but it stated that 'people can learn leadership skills from reading Beowulf,' can you believe it?! The difficulties were, generally speaking, finding a modern idiom that has the large convincing force of this stuff. The way of explaining the problems of the English language I use quite often is that a line of the original is like three or four monkey wrenches welded together and all you have to imitate it nowadays are a line of little tinkling spanners. _There isn't any big, strong, concrete majesty any more; we 're all in bits. You need to translate it into German really! So what I wanted was something 'hefty' and 'forthright ', and that 's how I got to this kind of rural , simple, hefty idiom of these elders of mine. it was just a way of getting started. You cannot start on three thousand two hundred lines unless there is some kind of tuning fork ; something that can keep going after the ftrst few lines. I decided that if I made these no1 ses I could keep making them ... the poem could survive in them maybe.· What about Heaney 's other most recent work , its style, its aims and objectives? lt seems more sketch-like; more intimate. There appears to be a move back towards a more personal , subjective voice. He often produces his best utterance, however, when maintaining a vigilance in relation to events with simultaneous public and private; personal and political signific ance . Is this a new direction? " it 's certainly more open.

There 's a book that came out last year called Electric Light and I was very much aware of wanting it to be adrift (he pauses) in its own (pauses again) reverie . The word I used about it was ruminative, cud-<:hewing and so on. it 's brewing on origin. it 's,

as they say in America , 'giving itself permission' to be 'opener.'

I don't think that 's necessarily going to continue, I'm such a control freak! I like to 'batten it down' . The poems I've written recently have been tighter and more conclusive, more girded; · girdled!" With seventy-five percent of poetry books sold in this country issuing from Seamus Heaney's pen (depending upon whose statistics you read, and how) it seems important to ask where the room for everybody else is. There was a time when a successful poet might be gratified but unsurprised to find his latest volume had sold 100, 000 volumes. These days you have to be dead and famous, or dead famous having won the Nobel Prize to shift even a tenth of this number. Heaney points out, amiably, that this isn 't really his problem and that, besides, never before have there been so many poets. He admits success has always involved a great deal of luck, an element of being in the right place at the right time. lt is also to do with individual destinies. What he modestly leaves out is that individual 'put the wind up you' talent is also vital , along w ith the ability to involve a wider readership.

Heaney is a sincere, patient man who has successfully combined the visionary, personal and socially relevant elements of poetry within an engaging, unpretentious voice.

Heaney 's success is deserved. Long may he continue in the habit of winning prizes and enjoying large sales, and may his rivals and detractors avoid jealous sniping and get on instead with the important business of writing , promoting and/ or teaching poetry in a way that cultivates an awareness and understanding ; but without sacrifi ci ng the most important element: keeping it in a language that provides us with the most adequate veh ic le for an engagement with the profound. Easier said , mind you .

"A line of Beowulf is like three or four monkey wrenches welded together all you have these days is a line of little tinkling spa nne rs."

Wel l, not really . If you're fami liar with the seminal Wonder Years you'll be right at home. it's an account of li fe from taken from that tender age when true happiness was getting the toy you wanted for Christmas. In th is case t he toy is a Red Ryder BB Gun (that's an air rifle to you) which our hero, little Ralphie, is desperate to have so he can fight off school bullies and protect h1s mother and father (referred to as mother and 'the Old Man.') Of course, h1s parents don' t want to give it to h1m because the first thing he'll do is shoot his eye out. Leaving Ralphie gomg to desperate lengths to convince them otherwise. All of which takes place in a typically picturesque. snow swept litt le town.

But the forties weren 't anything like that!

Whether they were or not isn't the point. A Christmas Story, like all nostalgia flicks, isn't trying to portray real life m the forties, but the idealised memories of someone going through the endlessly happy and traumatic experience of growmg up. So, for example. the requisite Hollywood vis1t to Santa's grotto 1s as colourful and overwheiAling as only a child's distorted memory can imagine. But Santa himself is an overworked. underpaid processor of children, who literally hurls them onto a slide back to their parents when they're done recounting their Christmas lists. And if they don't want to go, they get a boot m the face for their troubles.

Oh, do I smell the familiar whiff of black comedy?

You'd better believe 1t. And 1n a 1983 nostalgia flick, too.

The film 1s laden w1th unconscious des1res and obsessions.

As Ralphie wants his BB Gun, so the Old Man desperately wants to win competitions. When he finally does. the prize turns out to be a garish lamp shaped in the form of a leg in a garter. Which ttle Old Man thinks is the most beautiful object ever created. And when Ralphie does f<nally get his hands on a BB Gun, the very first thing he does 1s to shoot h1mself in the eye And it's well thought of by our American cousins?

So 'llUCh so that last year the American televiSIOn network TNT played the movie twelve t1mes consecutively on Chnstmas Eve. And we have it to t'lank not orly for The Wonder Years but also for paving the way to such delights. as Cameron Crewe's Almost Famous and t.he sadly neglect ed but truly wonderful Mv So-Called Life.

Wow. a seasonal movie which is witty, Ironic and funny. lt's a miracle!

genuin~:Jiy

Merry Christmas.

Wednesday, November 27,2002

Phll Colvln

the event

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10

Burn Out, Fade Away whatever happened to ...

Our Lady Who? Text: Gavin Bates

0L.Aâ&#x20AC;˘ t l.]d Y ,'""eac e oru huge in the USA and their native Canada, yet

r1o-one here has heard of them. The Event asked them why. ..

Who? In 1977, Jake Burns (vocals and guitar), Garden Blair (bass), Henry Cluney (guitar), and Brian Falcon (drums) were in a cover band called Highway Star who played in their home town of Belfast. After seeing The Clash in con~ cert, they stirred the band toward punk covers. Later that year they met journalist Garden Ogilvie. who suggested that they write their own songs to portray what life is like grow~ ing up in Northern Ireland's capital. A few days later they had written two songs, Suspect Device and Wasted Life, which would go on to become some of their best~known. The band finally split up acrimoniously in 1983 as a result of troubles within the band which lead to fist fights . They briefly reformed the band in 1987.

What?

The charts don't measure everything, but if they're to be used as a guide stick of St iff Li ttle Fingers¡ career, they'd be an undoubted failure. They never had a great deal of luck in the single charts despite heJp from now~veteran DJ John Peel. The highest they charted at was No. 15 with At the Edge in 1980, but they were an astounding underground hit with Alternative Ulster becoming one of the greatest punk records ever. Their albums were much more successful than their singles. All four released between 1979 and 1982 entered the Top 20, but it was the ir first, Inflammable Material, which recreated best their angry political views th rough music. Now Then was the final album. released in 1982.

Why? St iff Little Fingers' lyrics meld the personal and political , and t heir mu sic co mbines t he energy of punk w ith a delivery t hat rings of honesty and commitment. Li ke many punk bands they were overtly political; the themes of their songs spread ac ross a range of connected political matters. They were staunc hly a nt i ~mi li t a ry, a n ti~r a c i st. and believed in equality for al l, and they channelled t hi s thro ug h t heir ow n experiences of growing up in still-troubled Northern Ireland.

At a time when the Sex Pistols were too busy showing off and c reat ing a pun k image for the mselves , Stiff Litt le Fingers we re a breath of fresh ai r with their honestly liberal take on the wo rld .

So where are they now?

Aft er the success of the reunion in 1987, the band reformed permanent ly in 1991, though missing some of the original members wh o had drift ed aw ay over t he yea rs. To make up for th is t hey were joined by Bruce Fox ton, one-ti me bassplayer for The Jam . Thei r debut single Beirut Moon was banned in Britain because it critic ised t he British government for not acting to free hostage John McCa rt hy in Lebanon. Since t hen they have re leased four more albums.

The most recent new material is on Hope Street ( 1999) which contains Last Train From The Wasteland their first ever optimistic song written about Belfast.

Ryan 1 Stephens

the event

ur Lady Peace may be Canadian but that, thankful ly , is where the similarity between themselves and Nickelback ends. Many have tried to compare the two and bracket the band into the nu-metal scene, but it is impossib le to attempt either because Our Lady Peace do not conform to anything else, as bass player Du ncan Coutts confirmed .

"We do our own thing, trends do not effect us." The reason for this is not because they are attempting some crazy outlandish innovative style of rock but because, unlike the cu rrent crop of c rap we have imported from 'across the pond', th is band actually care about music.

Most people in England will have never heard of Our Lady Peace. which is not surprising as even the band confess that they have not spent enoug h time in this country . You may have briefly noticed their offerings to the Armageddon soundtrack and the WWF album, which Duncan reluctantly informs me is called, Forceable Entry (this conjures a very interesting image for an entertainment which invo lves fully grown men clad in tight lycra manhandling one another).

Nevertheless, they are relatively small fish in Europe; whilst they may play to 15.000 fans in Toronto one week, they may wel l be playing to 250 in Sweden the next. But this does not phase the band because they believe in the importance of building success over a period of time by developing a relationship with the fans at a grass roots level (as they have done in Canada and America). They now aim to achieve this in England, and Duncan is excited by the prospect.

"The English crowd are awesome, totally incredible . lt is typi cal of European fans because they are really attentive to the music, they are ready to embrace music that they don't know

"We a re only scratching the surface of what we can achieve." as well. In North America they are more hesitant ." Unlike other bands, who simply put one awful commercial song on the radio, achieve worldwide fame and then fade into nothingness, Our Lady Peace are building a found ation that wi ll last because they are a band that does things the good old fashioned way, "old school" as Duncan keeps informing me.

The recently released single Somewhere Out There and album Gravity marked an im porta nt c hange fo r the band; bring ing in a new guitarist, Steve Mazur, and a new producer, Bob Rock, which, as Duncan explains, was vital for their future. "lt was time for a change . We had gone as far as we could go; we we ren' t in spiring eac h ot her anymo re. We got into music because we were fans of music not because of the business side. We want to be able to share the passion and the emotion with the audience ." The re can be no doubt that both changes had a large influence in th e c reati on of t he enorm ous st adium sound of the album; Rock especia lly, having worked with bands such as Metallica, was crucial in taking the band's sound one st ep further. " Bob never tried to intimidat e us. t here was a mutua l respect.

In the past, he has obsessed over spending a long time recording but for this album we both made a change, we went th rough a process together." Gravi ty was recorded in only ten weeks , t he quickest an Our Lady Peace albu m has eve r bee n recorded. and maybe the reason fo r this was that the energy seemed to flow naturally and there was a true desire to capture the raw, live essence of the band.

Located on the sunny beaches of Maui, not only did all the members live together for the first time, but they recorded in a studio which was located on a hill, standing over an ancient burial ground. Duncan explained the spiritual feeling t hat crept int o the band and the record. " There were definitely weird vibes going on in that studio."

Miles away from home, focussed. isolated from the record company and their management, they went back to their roots; t hey made the album "o ld school" and, as Duncan says, the

Wednesday, November 27, 2002

band has certain ly benefited for it.

"This is my favourite album to date but I still love all the records we've done. The album we've just finished is always my favo uri t e." Since Our Lady Peace re leased their debut, Naveed, in 1995, every album has acted as a stepping stone toward the perfect album. Each record has grown in size and power but always with the same distinctive sound and passion.

Yet as Dunc an kn ows onl y t oo wel l, th ere is a lot more to come from the band.

"We are only scratching the surface of what we can achieve with Bob." Duncan jokes that t hey will get back in the studio as soon as M eta lli ca let Roc k free for th e weekend, because they are already writing songs for their next album. This is a band that never stops and that is because they love music.

He informs me that. hopefully, they will be returning to England next spring to spend more time ove r here and let's hope so . He also jokes about the band headlining the Reading Festival next year but it is not such an absurd idea. Their sound is perfect for such a big stage and they are one of the few bands that can transfe r the ir energy and passion into a crowd. However, given the fact that they seem to be allowing any old trash to headline festivals these days (yes, I mean The Strokes) simply to make money, it does seem unlikely.

The band's name itself, as yo u may be wondering, comes from a war poem by Mark Van Deem (the head of English at Columbia University). lt is something, Duncan tells me, that the band "all dug" but which they all had their own take on.

"There were a lot of bands around with one word names but we wanted to stand out and be different. The name is representative of all the member's of the band in all their different ways ."

Just like their name. then. Our Lady Peace present us with possibilities, specifically the possibility of hope, that there is a time to come when music will matter once again. Duncan knows only too well about the problems of commercialism but he is adamant that it will not effect the band.

"You can't control the charts , you can only control the music you make and the live show you put on." Our Lady Peace let the music do the ta lk ing and, as such, they are veritable poets.

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Go Underground: Text: Luke Wright

Everybody involved in the Norwich lndie scene has ·heard of Kaito. But after three American tours in the last 12months, we aren't the only· fans. The Event caught up with vocalist Nikki Colt to find out about life on the road and coming home to Norwich . ..

ast month Nikki Colt was on tour in America with.

Clinic, one her all time favourite bands, playing venues as large as the LCR, with her own dressing room, an abundance of white towels, and even someone to escort her to the stage each night. This month, she's processing films in a Chemist three • • •days a week to pay the bills whilst Kaito finish the • recording of their second studio album (the follow up to 2001's You 've Seen Us...you must have seen us.) Such is the life of an uber-cool underground rock band in the UK today; because whilst all the hippest outfits want to tour with the Norwich's premier rock n roll quartet (Clinic, The Datsuns, The Pattern, Girls against Boys, Imperial Teen, The Polyphonic Spree etc etc) , we have a music industry that doesn't allow for underground bands to make enough of a living from their music. So Kaito have spent the last year taking their music stateside, something which has taken it ' s toll on Nikki and her band mates Dave Lake (guitar/ vocal), Gemma Cullingford (bass/vocal), and Dieta Quantril (drumsjvocal). "it's really hard when you come back off tour, the first couple of weeks you go through a down period and you don't think you could ever return to normal life,~ she muses as we sit in her flat drinking coffee and listening to music. "You forget about your · belongings, basically, they are just not important. I mean, the first.time I came back I felt like a totally different person, and I've got this stuff and I think, why do I need all this stuff?"

But on the other hand Kaito have had the opportunity to hone their already explosive live performances and to gel better as a band. "You do get real confidence within the band. You can tell it musically as well, because everything is more to t he point. You become a family. it's just so different over there. We've got more recognition; we're a really new band, we're from England, so everyone is interested in you. •

" lt's just a shame it's called Norwich . Alan Partridge!

I' m gonna kill him if I ever meet him." - Nikki In fact, Kaito have attracted so much interest that they have been back three times in twelve months, and New York's Time Out Magazine has dubbed them "the band to watch for 2003. • •Yeah, we 're doing alright, • Nikki shyly admits with a tone of deeply ingrained modesty. lt is this modesty that surfaces again when I ask her about playing Norwich. •1 just feel really silly. 'Cos we're still the same band we were. Well, we've grown up a bit. But credibility wise we're still the same as were a year a go in England. So I hate headlining gigs in Norwich cos we're not this big serious rock band. And I'm scared people will think we're really up {)Urselves. • Though this certainly doesn't seem to be the case. You get the impression that Norwich's indie kids are fiercely proud of Kaito; they are not just a band that happen to be from the area, instead they are positioned right at the nucleus of the city 's alternative

" If a ·b a nd is gredt I love that band, I don' t think ~ oh my god, I'm jealous,' I just love supporting really cool bands" - Nikki scene. Nikki still spins the tunes <lnd does the artwork for monthly indiejlo-fi night The Underground (The Ught Bar, Prince of Wales Road), and the band proudly put up with the British Music Press' desire to castigate our fine city with the usual stereotyping.

"There is a real stigma attached to coming from here. In every review they say we're from Norwich, and they don't normally do that with other band. But I think Norwich has got a really good scene. The great thing about the underground is just getting all these people to hail such great music, and get really excited about it. I 'm sure that if you go another city there aren't that many people educated in music as there are in Norwich because they don't get access to that sort of music. it's just a shame it's called Norwich. ALAN Partridge! I'm gonna kill him if I ever meet him."

B

ut having rewritten the stereotypes Kaito also get a fair bit of recognition in this country, if not the financial backing; NME called their first single, Catnap, •a lethal tequila slammer session in a trashed penthouse flat ," and John Peel plays them regularly. So Kaito are not about to up sticks and move off to America forever; "lt's nice coming home, • Nikki smiles.

I doubt that they would have time to move anyway, the second album is due to be finished sometime next month and then there are US and European tours planned for early next year. However, Nikki hasn't really got her eyes set on the sky; Kaito seem very grounded, with their love for the music scene as the main driving force behind the band. " God yeah, I mean, because I so love bands, if a band is great I love that band, I don't think 'oh my god, I'm jealous,' I just love supporting really cool bands, and I love the fact that they ask us to play with them. All these great bands that I love have asked us to play with them themselves, it's not through booking agents, and that's the biggest honour for me.• With comments like that Nikki strikes you as someone who really deserves to be in a band. As she says, •most people want to do the whole rock n roll thing," but it is rare that you meet someone who enjoys and appreciates it so much.

After about half an hour talking to Nikki you really care where Kaito are going next.

"I'd like to be supporting Interpol next year. I still just want to keep supporting really cool bands. We just want to keep writing, we want to keep doing really good records. Basically, if the band spilt up or stopped, I think I 'd be very lost, but I am probably one of happiest people ever. • Can't argue with that.

11

AI m 0 s t Famous N0. 6

Free fall are one of the area's most talented groups, and could become one of Norwich's biggest exports. The Event found out more about them ....

How and when did you form?

We 've been together for almost six years now. We went to see Oasis in concert at Knebworth and we thought, "let's start a band." There were four of us then, and then Dan joined to play the drums because we didn't sound very good without a drummer, obviously, and it all went from there. We started off doing small pub gigs during the week, then weekend gigs, and we've just sort of gone from strength to strength. We started playing down in London, and it's all gone from there.

What do you t hink of the Norwich scene?

Brilliant! The best scene in England!

And what do you think of the guitar scene that's !n fashion at the moment? Do you t hink you ftt In with that?

Yeah. You can trace some of the Strokes stuff back to The Ramones and stuff like that. it's basically rehashing what's already been done, but it's good music so no-one cares. In some respects our music is a little bit more mainstream than some of them, and we're not as underground, but I think we can ride the coast of .the wav~ with them.

So who are some of your Influences?

Oasis, The Rolling Stones, The Strokes, Coldplay, Travis.

Anybody capable of writing good, catchy songs, really.

And what's the most Important thing about your music?

Just playing. The enjoyment of playing and having other people enjoy it, and the buzz we get from that, like when we play our own stuff and people sing along to it.

Is there one band or musician you'd really like t o tour with?

We'd love to tour with The Rolling Stones. Or with some of the newer bands like The Strokes or The Hives. Or U2. And Avril Lavigne would be good.

What are your plans for t he coming year?

The full album will be out within the next month or two, and basically it's just a case of promoting and touring and playing as many shows as possible to as many people as possible. That's basically the goal for the next year. And then to · record some more songs. And then do it again if we have to, and keep going and keep going. Half the bands who do what we do give up after a while because they lose hope, because things don't get handed to you on a plate unless you're really lucky. But we've learned that you're not going to get anything unless you work really hard at it, and we all work real ly hard at this and we all hope that we'll succeed at the end of the day.

Freefa/1 play the Ferry Boat on December 12. For more information, check out www.freefallusa.co.uk

Wedr:esday, November 27,2002

Mischa Pearlman

the event

12

13

•

•

Up The Day Job?

IV In

Now that 8 Mile (released here in Janua ry) has passed the $100 million ma rk at the Americ an box office, the film industry has been forc ed to realise that Eminem is a movie star. But is trying to conquer more than one media ever a.good idea? The Event takes a look at other musicians w ho have attempted the same trick in the past and, on the facing page, film stars who have gone in the other djrection. · ·

Musicians acting

feat of simultaneous film and musical credibility when a succession of songs from Grease were released. Summer Nights and You're the One that I Want with Olivia Newton John both reached the top In 1978, followed by the ballad Sandy which got to number two. The link seemed a viable one given the fact that he'd also been in Saturday Night Fever. Of course, not only did his musical career dip after this, but his film career did too.

In fact, he wasn't in another good movie for 16 years, when Tarantino rehabilitated his career by casting him in Pulp Fiction.

Unless you count the Look Who's Talking trilogy (stop snigger· ing).

Student favourite David Hasselhoff, and holder of the Guinness book of Records 'Most watched TV star' was another actor who wanted to experience the adulation of screaming (preferably female) fans instead of the coldness of the camera. despite his success with Knight Rider, and of course, every thirteen-yearold boy's dream come true, Baywatch. His career never took off in the UK, his only notable impact on the charts being 1993's If I Could Only Say Goodbye with reached the giddy heights of number 35. However, in Germany the man is a national sensation, which can possibly be explained by the fall of communism in the late eighties. 1989's Looking for Freedom became an anthem for the German people, and it stayed at number one for eight consecutive weeks. The album of the same name held the top spot for three months, a terrifYing prospect whatever way you look at it. To top ail this, he actually performed Looking for Freedom on 'top of the Berlin Wall on New Years Eve, 1989, which some may say is a little bit crass. "I was overcome with emotion" he says on his website, the indispensable www.david· hasselhoff.com. Since then he has had six more albums in Europe, and has an upcoming Christmas album due, with Dave reinterpreting such classics as God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and Silent Night in his own inimitable style. You have to wonder if he's happy with the way his life turned out, don't you? I guess fighting Kremlin Joe with the power of music must have been very satisfYing.

here's clearly something going on here. Since the dawn of time (or, more precisely, when fi lms began to make serious money) film executives have been sitting around, chewing their fingernails, eating Chinese food, wondering: "How in Christ's buggering bollocks am I going to make this film a hit?" The first answer is simple: put an already established film star in there. The second answer is similar, but with a little twist: put an established musician in there, and not only will you get film fans seeing it, you' ll get the musician's audience too.

Although, as history has proved, putting a film star in a film doesn't necessarily guarantee a quality film. And putting someone who more often than not isn't a trained actor is, logically, going to make it less of a quality film. But, let's face it, are these people really concerned with quality films? Methinks no. I think it is more likely that they want to milk us for our cash to go and see our Favourite Famous Musician Person on the silver . screen, giving them more limelight than they actually deserve.

Madonna is a prime example of this. She is, undoubtably (the figures prove it), the most successful female pop artist ever.

This will obviously ma.ke whatever film she is in a total success.

To support this statement: she was in Evita. Massive critical and commercial success and, apparently, a very good film too.

But it's a musical, and Madonna is a singer. She is doing what she does · singing in it. Which is all fair enough, it's just when she strays into actually acting, and getting to grips with 'that dialogue stuff', she fai ls quite spectacularly.

Alright, she was good in Dick Tracy, which was an entertaining, fun film. But she merely played a sultry comic book character, hardly stretching her ability. When she does sultry seriously, as in Body Of Evidence (1993), it is laughable. Evidence may be one of the worst films ever made. lt is a special kind of awful, where everything about it · everything about it· is awful. She

"Spice World was filled with a ctors and musicians w ho should bloody-well know better" does 'sultry' in Four Rooms (1995) too, which was a dreadful mess of four short stories by four different directors which made, thankfully, minimal impact on anything, despite having Robert Rodriguez's excellent slapstick segment. Which Madonna wasn't in. No, she was busy as a witch helping collect ' r im Roth's semen to make a magic potion. Or something.

Whatever. it was cack. Now, following the trend of most of her career, she's at the logical conclusion of her film career. Being a Bond girl. Hmmm ...

I don't want to go on (although, I actually do) but Whitney Houston is perhaps an even worse example of what most musicians seem to do in a very thinly veiled way: play themselves.

She was in The Bodyguard (1992), playing a pop star being stalked. Producers of this film clearly reasoned that, because she is a pop star, she can act like one better than any established actor possibly could. This would not explain, however, just why she is so intensly mediocre in the film. That came about because she tries so hard to add depth to a character when there are two problems: 1) the character is written without any depth whatsoever, and 2) even if the character was written with depth, she lacks the necessary acting skills (i.e. being good at acting) to portray it. Harsh, but ultimately quite true. Kevin Costner went on to have a very up and down career (highs: A Perfect World, lows: everything else) while Whitney Houston plummeted into a world of cocaine addiction and making more exceptionally boring music that make The Lighthouse Family sound like something a bit better than the worst group ever. 'm not even going to subtly introduce it. Spiceworld (1997).

The extended pop video to even rival Michaei Jackson's Moonwalker. Even that had a plot (with Joe Pescj. Bonus.

Not swearing lots, unfortunately) ..And even that had good tunes, with some cool dance routines. But Spiceworld is something else, another dimension of trashiness. However, at least The Spice Girls didn't attempt to act, to add depth to their film, to give it an actual point. At least they didn't ·pretend the film they made was important, or actually good. None of these, however, make an essentially boring film fun. Not even in that

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the event

good example of a truly successful juggling of both music and acting is the career of Jennifer Lopez, who started out as an actress in such small movies as Money Train, Jack and Mi Familia, then hit the big time with Se/ena and the utterly ridiculous movie Anaconda (that also starred rapper-turned-actor Ice Cube). To be fair though, the only good film's she ever starred in were Oliver Stone's U-Turn, where she played a half caste girl getting repeatedly raped by her father and Steven Soderburgh's Out of Sight. Her masic career fared much better, with debut album On the Six going multi-platinum and spawning loads of hit singles, proving that you can make the leap from movies to music if you happen to be a young attractive woman with a headline grabbing derriere, celebrity boyfriends like P.Diddy, and aren't Keanu Reeves.

Everyone mentioned so far is pretty well known, but a mention must go to the laughable efforts by movie stars that sank without trace years ago. Did you know that William Shatner (yes, Captain Kirk) released an album way back in 1968, which featured him butchering such classics as Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and Mr. Tambourine Man? Even more alarming is that his co star Leonard Nimoy swapped the plastic Vulcan ears for the recording studio at one point in his life, but the less said about this the better. it's just too painful to contemplate.

Honourable mention must go to Jared Leto, a movie star with massive critical acclaim Oust go and see Requiem for a Dream and you 'll understand why) whose band 30 Seconds to Mars surprisingly hasn't been laughed out of existence by the ever cynical public. They're a prog rock band by the way. Well, at least the guy is trying to do something different, and he's always got the advantage of not being Keanu Reeves.

The list goes on and on, with Eddie Murphy, Russell Crowe, Patrick Swayze all deserving mentions for musical ineptitude, and more recently Ewan McGregor's horrific collaboration with Nicole Kidman, the utterly dreadful single Come What May. lt is worth noting that the only band comprised of movie stars to get anywhere of late has been Tenacious D. Why? Because they' re the only ones who don't take·themselves so damn seriously and actually seem to like music. I think it would be good advice for any actor to stick to what they know best. But where would that leave poor Keanu?

Gary Sudden

A

terrible kitsch student 'it's so bad, it's good!' way. Five year olds can enjoy it all they want, bLt why not develop your taste with age? lt hung on the fact it was filled to brim with actors and musicians who should bloody well know better (Richard E. Grant, Elvis Costello, and all the others I can't be bothered to mention ... we 're all looking at you) and, well, the fact The Spice Girls are in it. This is a prime example of not so much as giving a moderate career a boost (like Whitney) but simply keeping hype afloat. This is commercialisM, ladies and gentlemen, standing tall al')d proud and quietly removing all the cash from your little sister's piggy-bank while she dances around singing.

As a marketing exercise, it's great. On a level it's not supposed to be taken at (i.e. a level where you can effectively criticise it) it is the most pointless thing ever.

One of the few artists who escape this kind of extreme criticism is Ice Cube. The rap act he was in, the seminal NWA, played hard, socially observant gangster rap, so it is thoroughly unsurprising that Ice Cube's first film role was Boyz N The Hood (1991). This film had so much promise, and despite great per-

Wednesday, November 27, 2002

formances • particularly from Ice Cube and Lawrence Fishburne · it was hampered by slightly trivialising sentimentality. His next film of note was Friday · a wilfully stupid stoner film, which was quite good fun. He then made Anaconda. I stated earlier that Body Of Evidence was dreadful to the point of almost being indescribable. Anaconda (1997) is almost as bad, but it is saved at the last by being unintentionally hilarious. Ice Cube seemed to realise just how bad this was, and three years later decided to get more stoner credentials by appearing in Next Friday (2000).

Musicians simply don't seem to want to stretch themselves as actors, and can't seem to get away from the concept of playing themselves. The transference from music to fi lm often seems lit· tie else than an ego trip. They are, more often than not, selling their image to executives who, if I am allowed to be cynical, are more concerned with making money than making a quality film .

And putting a star musician in your film will do just that.

Paul Case

Actors singing hat is it that makes an established actor believe they can make it as a musician? This is a question that has been asked many times, as an alarming number of TV and movie stars have tried their hand at a musical career, wit h vast ly different levels of success.

Take Keanu Reeves for example. Countless critics and film fans alike have scratched their heads over how such a personality free. thoroughly emotionless actor continues to be a Hollywood star, and rightly so. One only needs to watch the woeful Dracula to see what a buffoon this man truly is. Luckily, his band Dogstar have had no such level of underserved success.

Formed in 19.91, they' have had two albums Our Little Visionary

and most recently Happy Ending, both greeted with mass indif· ference from the public and scepticism from the critics.

Keanu plays bass for the band, which got its name from a book

by Henry Miller, with the dogstar being the brightest star in the sky, which clearly shows what delusions of grandeur -<eanu has.

Apparently Dogstar, according to their website, are: ' Simple.

Raw. Romantic. No apologies. For Dogstar, it!s about the music · not the trappings of life on tour. Not the critics. Not the record-label crap. • it's lucky they don't care about the critics, because Dogstar's unspectacular brand of post-grunge, which makes Nickelback look exciting, has hardly set the world on fire. I thit1k. though, that the British public said it best with their warm reception given to the band at Glastonbury 1999 • a friendly pelting of tennis balls, vegetables and bottles of piss. OK, so the man didn't exactly deserve it, but it's funny anyway.

Back in the day, of course, it was more acceptable fer a well know'! actor to release music ·John Travolta achieved the rare

Pictures (clock-wise from top left): Madonna ;Eminem inSMile; Travolta in Grease; Tenacious D;Keanu; Spice World; J-Lo and Ice Cube in Anaconda; David Hasselhoff; Nicole Kidman

Wednesday, November 27,2002

the e~enl

·.. -.·1'"''

14 Albums

New Order: Retro

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WIN MINISTRY OF SOUND COMPLIATIONS At the beginning of this month, Ministry of Sound released their new compilation, The Annual 2003.3 COs and 63 tracks longs, the album features artists such as Jakatta, Sugababes, Liberty X, Ion Van DahL N-

.

.

Trance .. .the list is endless. The Event has three copies to give away. To win, simply answer the following simple question: What kind of soup sounds a bi t like Ministry?

Greatest Hits packages come in two subtle but distinct forms. Firstly there's your bogstandard, throw on the hits with a couple of shaky new numbers and watch the money roll in compilations. This is aimed at Mr Drivetime, stuck in a traffic jam in 'trendy North London' (a format currently being employed by a well-known Welsh rock band). Secondly, there's the box set, usually containing rarities and outtakes for the discerning rock'n'roll anorak, usually an esoteric collection that is far to obscure for the likes of Drivetime and his twelve CD changer.

Retro, New Order's latest offering, falls into the latter category, but dispels the myth of the box set full of novelties recorded in the kitchen. Retro spans four discs and covers the twenty year career of New Order, from when I an Curtis took Give 'Em Enough Rope a little too seriously, right through to live performances at Australia's Big Day Out festival, generally the preserve of wangsty teenagers complaining that their parents have thrown out their porn collection. lt is with such variety that this becomes a pleasure to listen to. lt's clearly been given some thought and not thrown together to plug a dying career (a technique currently being employed by a major Welsh rock band).

Hits, the first disc , does exactly what it says on the tin. They're all here: a full length Blue Monday, the biggest ever selling 12• single in Britain; Crystal, the trashy guitar meets electronic a from 2001's Get Ready LP; and the gargantuan Temptation. Perhaps the best thing about this collection though is its eclecticism, its highlighting of the fact that the New Order sound is always changing, perhaps dispelling some preconceptions that they have a somewhat samey sound.

The Early Years songs are undoubtedly infused with Joy DiviSion, as In A· Lonely Place and Procession show. The songs are pacy, spiky, a wonderful melange of Peter Hook's bass and early dance beats. Their presence in the set is clearly aimed to highlight that right from their messy and confusing beginning, New Order were writing groundbreaking and influential material which was to shape music in general and eighties dance culture in particular.

If Early Years is a statement of intent, then Remixes is a culmination of the world which New Order set in motion. The trance mix of Confusion puts you bang on the Hacienda dancefloor, Regret's trip-hop reworking doesn't really do it justice, but the piece de resistance is the subbuteo mix of World in Motion- dodgy shades, dodgy footle shirts and John Barnes. Does it get any better?

Live, though, is something else. Chosen by New Order themselves, with the helping hand of Bobby Gillesple, it's a clever balance of old and new material, performed between 1981 and 2002. There are tunes which don't appear on· the collection elsewhere, but the main event is a belting version of Temptation which rounds off proceedings splendidly.

All this brings us to a neat end. Twenty years, fours discs, over four hours of music. Sure it costs a few quid. But it's an essential purchase for diehards and newcomers alike. lt may be retro, but that's not to say it isn't relevant!

Email answers to su.concrete@uea.ac.uk. First 3 correct answers win.

Joe Mlnllutne

9/10

Pulp:

Luke Smith:

Jools Holland:

Hits

Life Will Work Itself O ut

More Friends

Perusing the track listing of Pulp's new singles collection, the first thought that occurs is that Hits may be a slight minomer.

For much of the ten-year period that the album covers, Pulp were not in the business of creating hits in the conventional sense; nine of the 17 songs only troubled the top 40 for one week, if at all. Presented in chronological order, what you get is a glimpse of the band's Island Records career, from Babies and Do You Remember the First Time?, through to their reign as Brit-pop darlings (Common People to Help the Aged) and then to their sudden, intentional shift into less chart-friendly territory, marked by the seven minutes of grotty musical magic that is This is Hardcore. Also included is one new song, Last Day of the Miner's Strike.

Taken song by song, Hits is virtually flawless. The oldest tracks, now a decade young, are as musically and lyrically fresh as when they were first released. Less anthemic and willfully clever than songs taken from Different Class, the His and Hers tracks are detached, amusing tales of squalid, workingclass sex and lust, all set to (relatively) simple, catchy riffs.

Commenting on the Different Class songs themselves seems futile. Everyone knows the songs and their lyrics. Every time Common People is sung by drunken crowds it belongs less to Pulp and more to that small selection of songs (Parklife, Alright etc.) that define an era.

Something changed, however;with This is Hardcore. The mes. sage of the track, and those that follow, is that, for Jarvis, things have become personal. The tone of the second half of Hits is darker and introspective. The jokes and razor-sharp comments remain, but at the expense of the front-man rather than of those he observes. Fame has not been kind, and it isn't until Sunrise, the penultimate track, that optimism makes an appearance. The songs from This is Hardcore and We Love Life are more varied and complex than those which precede them, but are just as compelling, and round off an important collection from an important band.

Jlm Whal/ey

Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Just because a compact disc has the capacity to hold 70 plus minutes of music doesn't mean albums should be that tong. Quantity, as so often pointed out, Is not the same as quality, and the former doesn't necessarily (or usually) mean the latter. Luckily, this is something that Luke Smith knows, and which is evident in his music. Ten tracks long and just over 28 minute~ short, Life Will Work Itself Out, Smith's second album, is a wonderfully honest collection of songs which harks back to the days when it was the music that mattered, not the image or the sales figures.

Dominated by Smith's beautiful piano playing (though with the occasional guitar and organ thrown in) and his emotive and quintessentially English vocals, Life Will Work Itself Out is an album that delivers humour and pathos in just the right amounts- Smith's lyrics are both clever and understated, witty and poignant, personal and universaL As such, all the songs are genuine and moving, small slices of life that anyone who has ever suffered frory1 the pains (and pleasures) of growing up and falling in love can relate to all too well. Take, for example, the lyrics of I Fear Change: ·when they say 'Luke, you' re mewing on, you' re growing up, those days are gone,· they think it thrills me, but it kills me. t fear change. • Not only is this one of the album's best tracks, it is also the shortest, clocking in at an epic 1 minute 58 seconds. But, then, it's quality - not quantity that counts, remember? lt is hard to define the genre and style of Luke Smith's music there are elements of jazz, blues, folk and rock there, all melded together to create a gentle, soothing and passionate sound. lt is, admittedly, more an album of introspection and contem· ptation than it is one to rock out to, but what the tunes lack in volume and rockiness they make up for in melody and catchiness. Though possibly hard to find (email lukepianosmith@hotmail.com for more info), this album is short, sweet and quite; quite wonderful. Quality.

If there's one word to sum up Jools Holland and his taste in music then it has to be eclectic. He's n·ever one to shy away from the mainstream, always willing to give a new band a break and has got the number of every A-list musician worth his salt.

He also happens to be pretty handy when it comes to tinkling the ivories too. Put these factors together and you get More Friends, the second volume of his Small World Big Band album, featuring the likes of the ever behatted Badly Drawn Boy, fretwanker extraordinaire Jeff Beck and politician turned musician Bono, amongst a cast of nineteen others.

However, let's get things straight. He might be mates with some of the best, but this LP is not without its flaws. Namely, Stereophonics, self-styled 'classic songwriters' and ·working class heroes' (with a penchant for bombastic musical wank) , playing to form with an annihilation of First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, and Tom Jones' woeful Don't You Kiss My Cheek.

Actually Tom you can kiss something of mine...

But for every unkissed cheek, there's always a sloppy snog.

Badly Drawn Boy's take on The Can Is Open plays up to the bluesy sound subtly, and Marianne Faithfull's novel adaptation of Dylan's Gotta Serve Somebody is, in parts, something to behold. But Ray Davies' Yours Truly, Confused is without doubt the standout track, a slice of Kinks brilliance. The key reason to its genius is simply the fact that he deals with the song on his own terms.

Because despite the obvious musical talent on show, you can't help feeling it's all a bit formulaic. This stuff is great to boogy to and it's good clean fun, but you can't seem to shake off the fact that it all sounds rather similar. Jool's tastes are undoubtedly eclectic, his style however is sometimes caught lacking. At' tlmes brilliant, at times appalling, erratic is perhaps the word, not eclectic.

9/10 8/1 0 tne event Wednesday, November 27, 2002

M /scha Pearlman

Joe M lnlhane

6/10

Singles 15

Robbie Williams: Feel A general precedent has been set in Concrete to take a well established band or musical artist and give them a damn good slagging and it's easy to see why. When reviewing something it's easier to be overly harsh, especially if they're popular. So when I was given the job of reviewing the new Robbie single, I felt a strain as the weight of history came down on me (not like that).

So am I going to give it a slating? I hear you cry. Well, no I'm not.

Whether we perceive Robbie as the cheeky fella' from the Take That years, the arrogant poser from the Let Me Entertain You vid, or the insecure little mite from Nobody Someday; the man has 'easy target ' written all over him. So I won 't be slagging him off.

Although I won't be running out to buy the new Robbie Williams single or album any time in the next millennium (see what I did there?), I have to say that Feel isn't bad. At the very least it's a grower. The lyrics are self righteous crap (but we expect that from a Robbie song), and I have a feeling it sounds like another song he's done before that I can 't remember. There's even a bit that sounds a bit like If You Tolerate This Then Your Children Will Be Next by the Manics. But ajl in all, it's a good pop record. Perhaps not the best by his standard, but I'm sure the fans will think it's 'pretty deep.' And that's all I've got to say on the matter.

Tom Sutton

Pictures (clockwise from top): Robbie Williams; the gorgeous Avril Lavigne; Milk Inc .

Avril Lavigne:

Sk8er Boi

Avril Lavigne's new single, SkBer Boi is just the type of song you'd expect from a 17-year-old skater chick. Avril voices the feelings of many alternative teenagers who roam the streets wearing baggy jeans and slagging off townies. The follow-up to the massive single Complicated, SkBer Boi tells the story of a snobby girl who turned down a 'Skater boy. Of course, the boy then goes on to became a rock star (the somewhat dubious assumption being that now he is a superstar, he is a person of considerable worth .)

For some reason, this song, which is taken from Avril's hit debut album Let Go, reminds me of Wheatus's Teenage Dirtbag. SkBer Boi is an upbeat guitar song and is bound to have people bopping up and down everywhere. Avril 's got quite a sweet voice, which gives a distinctive edge to her music . She also has a sweet face, which cannot be a hindrance.

Vanessa Beresford

Caesars:

Fun and Games EP

Having already achieved widespread acclaim in their homeland, Sweden's Caesars have not yet followed in the steps of fellow countrymen The Hives and The International Noise Conspiracy by invading mainland Europe. But they are currently sharpening their swords in the preparation for fun and games on the continent.

The title track of this EP contains the summery tweet of sweetly plucked strings as tender as the young girl it speaks of. Crackin' Up is more aggressive with its heavily distorted bass. though retains a beautiful melody, and Only You contains a guitar lick Elvis Costello would have been proud of.

Since You've Been Gone, with its persistent falsetto tones and twinkling keys, is a pleasant antidote to a close death, perhaps. Each track really does offer a different portion and is thoroughly enjoyable after repeated listen or ten. The band tour with INC in December, though by rights it shouldn 't be long before they are headlining large venues themselves. Delightful.

Tom Neish

Milk Inc.:

Land of the Living

Many great things have come out of Belgium, such as artists Rene Magritte and James Ensor, and chips. Its latest offering may not prove to have as much longevity. Perhaps it 's because I've never been a fan of Euro-pop (and having spent this past summer in Switzerland, God knows I've heard enough of it). but this is really crap. High-pitched vocals over a tinny drum-track really don't constitute music as far as I'm concerned. The lyrics are the usual dance music fare - that is to say shallow and consisting of one verse. I' m sure it'll be a hit in clubs. but then who's ever sober enough to remember what they're listening to in them? lt might make good filler at the LCR between a Shak ira and a Five track, but I don 't think anyone should spend money on it . If you want cultural diversity and enlightenment, your money will be better spent on a plate of chips.

Come On

The 04:

I love garage rock n' roll. More than anything. The D4 are immense at it. They drag the spirit of The Jam and The Stooges kicking and screaming into the 21st century, revitalising an old genre with newfound youthful energy. This would be true of The D4's latest single, Come On, if it was actually any good. Which it isn't. This is lazy music, written and performed by lazy people who just want to stand there and look cool with guitars. it has no energy, no passion ... just empty posturing and a feeling of bored aloofness. They don't develop a genre, they just replicate it in the most boring possible way , gawping at "beautiful girls walking along the street."

Music is not just about standing around and making pathetic attempts to sound and look cool, it's about dignity, imagination, intelligence and depth. Come On lacks any of these factors. it 's not even fun. Don't buy this wankery, as it will automatically render your CD collection shit .

Ryan J Stephens

Paul Case

Disco Hurts Meant to be reviewed last week , this single somehow ended up as a Sugarbabes review. Oops!

So, for all you eager, eagle-eyed readers out there, this is how it should have been: Cross Blondie with the Strokes and the Dandy Warhols' Bohemian Like You and you're somewhere on the way to Disco Hurts, the debut single from Danish group Nu. Short, sweet, catchy and full of what sounds like na'ive and innocent energy, this song effortlessly combines pop and rock to just the right degree, singer Stine Jacobsen 's voice sexy and impassioned and perfectly late ' 70s punk , but with that classic 2002 feel.

The band themselves may possibly be a bit too self-consciously cool, jumping on the retro music/fashion New York bandwagon that's all the rage at the moment , but unlike some bands, it sounds like these guys do actually have the musical talent to match the trousers. Flipside track Factory Girl is just as catchy as its opposite number, and both songs should have all the (uber-trendy indie ~ids creaming their pants and singing along at a venue near you soon.

Mlscha Pearlman

Mew:

She Came Home For Christmas

Mew are a relatively new up-and-c oming band on the alternative music scene, who met whilst making a film at school. Their sounds sits quite nicely between a number of bands, including The Flaming Lips and The Doves. In the past , they have supported The Manic Street Preachers and Martin Grech on tour, and in December will embark on their own mini tour.

She Came Home For Christmas is the follow-up to their debut single Am I Wry? No, which gained them some fine accolades from the music press. Built around a catchy singalong chorus, this song is a guitar-driven melody with complex arrangements which have the ability to surprise the listener. lt loads itself firmly into your consciousness, making it quite difficult to forget. But in a good way.

VIctoria Holland

Wednesday, Novmber 27,2002

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16 Film

Die Another Day:

Directed by Lee Tamahori Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, John Cleese

Bond has been saving the world fo~ forty years and twenty films, but if the latest offering is anything to go by, he won't need a rocket-powered zimmer yet.

Wai ting to see a new Bond film is like waiting to eat a Milky Bar. You know you've tasted it before, you know it won't last for long, it 路s got more ex pensive in the last few years and yet s mehow you want it to be over before you've begun because you can glimpse that satisfaction wh1ch comes at the end. Die Another Day is no exception to this rule; it's intense, exciting and most Importantly sexy as hell.

Before the credits have even begun Bond's got himself m trouble. Set in a de-militarised zone in Korea (and shot in the distinctly un-exot1c Aldershot) Bond gets chased through a minefield by a fleet of extremely cool hovercrafts, prov1ng not for the last time that Bond can do it bigger, badder and better than any poncy American triple X. Th1s film has a different feel to its predecessors, like bitmg mto that Milky Bar and finding out it's a Kit-Kat Chunky, same company but tastier.

The openmg sequence is heart stoppmg, JUSt about everything that could possibly be blown up gets obliterated and it culminates in Bond being caught. For all the farcical takes on "easily escapable" death traps, th1s time we're really left wondering, "How m God's name is he going to get out of this one?" You 11 have to watch it for an expansion on that, and I strongly sug gest you do. Not only does this film see Pierce Brosnan actually become Bond in a way no other actor smce Sean Cannery has achieved, it sees Bond abandoned. alone, and, worst of all, under suspicion. In the last film Bond fell 1n love and let his defences down, th1s time, and far more believably. he's betrayed by the organisation and the country that he works so hard to defend.

The b1g bad comes in the sl1my form of Gustav Graves (Toby Stevens), a diamond dealer and inventor of the lcarus device, a laser satellite ca pable of repl icating the sun. The words, " Mini-

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me, stop humping the laser" spring unsurprisingly to the forefront of my mind as I write this, but they didn't occur to me once during the film. The wonderful thing about the cliches in Bond films is that they wou ldn't be complete without them.

Wh at with Die Another Day being the twentieth Bond film, 1t rightly celebrates it's own cliche. There's Halle Berry rising out of the sea in a bikini, reminiscent of that mfamous scene m Dr. No w1th Ursula Andress, Q utters the immortal words, "I never laugh about my work', Jinx gets strapped to a dev1ce that will kill her via laser beam, and Bond's Aston Martin has an ejector seat like that in Goldfinger.

Halle Berry makes a fabulous Bond girl. You can believe she is an American secret gent 1n the same way you never could quite get to grips with the idea of Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist (sorry boys- but you'd have to be a real plonker to fall for that). She's nearer Brosnan in age, they have s1uilng exual chemistry and she's a damn fine actress to top it off. Her post-Oscar glow is obvious and she is sexy without simmering, kick ass without being aggressive and she pulls off blatant penis innuendo With class and style (if such a thing IS possible) I can't imagine where to begm explain ng how good the stunts are. There's a good old fashioned sword fight, a plane that gets blown up whilst Bond and Jinx are inside, a wave the size of Brosnan's ... gun, a cracking iceberg and a car chase shot from heaven.

Oh, and 'if you still aren't convinced, the car has an invisibility button.

Emma Ap-Thomas

9/1 0

Wednesday, November 27,2002

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Death to Smoochy: Directed by: Danny DeVito Starring : Robin Williams, Edward Norton, Catherine Keener Somehow, it's always more frustrating when something inexplicably fails to work than when it breaks spectacularly. Though probably more serious, at least when a car is on fire the problem is obvious, unlike when it just refuses to start.

The same is true with movies. it's easier to forgive a film for being terrible if it stars Steven Segal, went $40 million over budget and the director demands to have his name removed from the credits than it is if it stars Robin Williams in 'nasty ' mode, features Edward Norton in a huge, purple rhino costume and advertises itself as "an unexpected hit " . Death to Smoochy is not particularly awful. Bits of it are even quite good. Its crime IS in not using its inspired cast and premise to create something much, much better.

Williams plays Rainbow Randolph, America's favourite children 's television entertainer. His show is a colourful mix of cheery sing-a-longs and costumed dwarves that extols the virtues of being kind and having fun. But all is not what it seems. An FBI investigation reveals Randolph to be a drug-taking, gun-wielding, borderline psychopath who accepts five-figure bribes to put rich kids on TV. When the scandal hits the papers, the star is fired and flung from his network-owned penthouse onto the street, tipping him over the edge into full-blown insanity.

Worse, this is only the latest in a series of revelations to rock the world of children's entertainment, apparently riddled with corruption, greed and clowns with criminal records.

The task of cleaning up the industry's image is given to executive Catherine Keener. In desperation she turns to the only genuinely squeaky-clean act on the circuit, a pathetic character named Sheldon Mopes (Norton) who earns a living playing inspirational songs at drug rehabilitation centres dressed as Smoochy the Rhino. The Smoochy Show is an instant success, much to the dismay of Randolph, who wants his job back, and the mafia, who want to use the programme for laundering money. Both decide the answer to their difficulties is to cause death to Smoochy .

Sounds amusing, doesn 't it? All the ingredients are there for a really unpleasant, black little comedy intent on delivering a welldeserved kick in the ribs to Barney the Dinosaur (of whom

s an ious c somew m1ss1ng. Or perhaps the film tries to do too much, going for satire, slapstick and repulsion all at the same time. The fault is certainly not with the cast . Williams is an evil , grotesque tornado of self-pity ; a sequence where he dances, singing down the street before trying to set himself on fire reveals he still has the same comic energy of 20 years ago. Though far more low-key (trying to match Williams would be physically dangerous) Keener and Norton are just as good, playing jaded and innocent respectively .

me mu director Danny DeVito. For all their efforts, the film lacks sufficient wit to justify such an extreme viewpoint of kid 's TV .

DeVito tries to keep events moving quickly enough to prevent people from noticing, but when the time comes for some kind of satisfying pay-off, we just get more bluster and violence.

Jim Whaltey

5/10

The. Quiet American: Directed by Phillip Noyce Starring: Michael Caine, Brendan Fraser At this time of year Hollywood studios attempts to release interesting and intellectual movies in an attempt to win acclaim at next Academy Awards. In recent weeks we have had Donnie Darko, Rabbit Proof Fence and Changing Lanes all vying for Oscar glory, and The Quiet American is just another film in this genre.

Based on the Graham Greene novel of the same name, it stars Michael Caine as a cynical journalist work ing as a correspondent in pre-war Vietnam . The film opens with the discovery of a dead body and is played out in flashbacks of the events that 路路~ surround the murder. Caine's character is - - - - happily shacked up with a local girl (Do Thi Hai Yen) and is quite content not to get involved as the country fights for independence from the French. it is when he meets and befriends an American aid worker (Brendan Fraser) that his life starts to fall apart. Caine discovers that Fraser is actually a member of the CIA and Yen 's character leaves him for the American. He must then decide whether or not to get involved in the conflict caused by the CIA 's involvement and try to get his girl back .

The movie is watchable and quite short, which means the story doesn't get too bogged down in detail , but it does not have the intended drama the story needs to make you care about the characters and their situation . The script fails as a thriller or as a love story and ends up as something in-between, which really lets it down. The three principle leads are fine and do have some chemistry between them, but Caine and Fraser are both miscast. Caine though convincing in the role is just a little too old for the part, while Fraser fails to carry off the change from na'ive aid worker to amoral CIA operative. Yen's character seems rather two-dimensional ; she is not really developed and apart from when she interacts with her sister. Her character is diminished to the point that she is only there to be fought over; she might as well be a chair or some other piece of furniture.

This movie is still fairly enjoyable, it didn't have me running out of cinema screaming or napping off in the middle, but it suffers because you can tell that the producers are trying just a little bit to hard. The film then fails to achieve what it set out to do and undermines it's own merits.

Paul Wade

6/10

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Wednesday, November 27, 2002

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18 Video/DVD

M .Inorl·ty Report

• Directed by Steven Spielberg . starring: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell

The story of a government White Paper detailing the plight of a smaller portion of the country's population, or something else altogether?

Tom Cruise plays policeman John Anderton in Speilberg 's futuristic crime/ detective drama/thriller. The plot is based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, adapted for the screen by Scott Frank and is set in a future where police are able to arrest muderers before they are able to commit their crimes. The American justice system has become, as a consequence, a mixture of a national lottery and Mystic Meg . Two little wooden balls are dispensed with the victim and the perpetrator of a crime's names inscribed respectively, while the arbitrators of this system are a triumvirate of clairvoyants, half-asleep in a novelty paddling pool. This ostensibly infallible system slowly crumbles, however, when Anderton discovers he is soon to murder a man he has never met. Naturally he sets out to prove his 'innocence'; "everybody runs."

Right from the off the audience is made well aware that 'all is not as it may seem '. Cruise 's character, a troubled man on the run first from a past including a murdered son and a broken marriage , favours Schubert's Unfinished Symphony in the background as he works; "ah" thinks the audience, "something's missing"! However, despite playing what is clearly meant to be a deeply distraught man, Cruise has trouble convey ing any real turmoil beyond the ci rcumstantial : he doesn 't seem to pay much attention to house cleaning. The questionable morals of the system in which Cruise is involved seem to have troubled him very little, and Spielberg less. The only real ethical discussion is conducted in a scene in which Cruise rolls a ball over a table; it approaches the edge and duly falls, causing his questioner to catch it instinctively. There, debate over. All and sundry miss the point that the ball is in fact only an inanimate object set in motion by Cruise, a free agent , and that this is clearly an inadequate analogy. Everyone meekl y falls silent and the film moves on , seemingly unconcerned by the deeply problematic moral questions it is raising.

When Cruise becomes the hunted rather than the hunter a reasonably engaging fugitive phase is set under way. Here the viewer is treated to what Spielberg does best - stunning visuals. This is the film's major saving grace- the way it looks; as it distracts from the fact that it singularly fails to grapple satisfactorily with it's own interesting premise. There are a couple

of engaging twists towards the end, but the over-done final ex pi anatory phase is a little bit too much like Murder She Wrote. Such repeated, irritating, over-obvious plot clarific ations and reiterations are an increasing, tedious aspect of modern film-making. They are clearly designed to slap the more dim-witted of the viewers into attentiveness, but for those who do not live in a lonely caravan in the American midwest it can get somewhat enervating. The film is also often at pains to display just how clever it is trying to be with its sight, blindness and the traditional links (i. e. Tiresias, Cyclops etc.) to 'other sight' motif. lt reaches excruciating levels when Cruise 's character has an eyetransplant operation at the hands of a dodgy street-doctor who makes repeated duck noises - a real 'quack '. Anderton is literally made to see 'with new I other eyes' . He is also twice born a real hero. Spielberg simply does not have the requisite subtlety to carry these things off effectively . As a result the film often grates a little .

Minority Report succeeds in being a good couple of hours entertainment but fails to explore the moral questions it raises

Spiderman: Directed by am Raimi Starrina: Tobev Maauire. Kirsten Dunst Films do not make $115 million in the first three days of their release. Steven Spielberg and his dinosaurs could only get Jurassic Park to 70; for all their hype , neither The Phantom Menace nor Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone managed to pass 100; Titanic, the highest grossmg film of all 't ime, opened with just $30. And yet Spiderman did. For whatever reason, more Americans were desperate to see Sam Raimi's comic book extravaganza than any other film in history.

What is it about the combination of crime fighting, costumes and teenage angst that became so utterly irresistible to the movie-going public?

On DVD the question is even more perplexing, although many of Spiderman's strengths are stil l evident on the small screen. Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and Willem Dafoe are superb examples of intelligent casting, absolutely right to bring their 2-D characters to life, but with more than enough ability to lend proceedings depth. Raimi was also undoubtedly the correct choice, keeping the action fast , loose and frequently very funny. The first half of the film , following Peter Parker (Maguire) as he gradually learns the extent of his arachnid-based powers, comes close to justifying all the attention. Put simply , a comic's tone has never been so accurately captured as in the first hour of Spiderman.

But then everyone starts to cry. Around the midway point , the script seriously misjudges its own importance. Instead of brightly-coloured action and laughs, the tone becomes somber, inexplicably drawn towards examining family relationships and the passage to adulthood. The shift also highlights some of the - very expensive- film 's many ropey effects, forgivable when they matc h the 'try anything· mood , not so easy to ignore once the reminders of September 11th start to be hurled around.

Though plentiful, the extras on the two-disk special edition of Spiderman get no closer to explain. ing its massive success . They begin prom isingly, with very slick, very shiny menus that are j ust difficult enough to navigate to suggest they cost a lot of money. Disk one's highlights are two audio commentaries, one by Raimi , producer Laura Z isk in , eo-producer Grant Curtis and Kirsten Dunst, and the other with the team that handled the special effects. While in the past Raim i has been known for highly amusing discussions of his work, here he doesn't seem that bothered, offering only a few humorous remarks. Dunst is the biggest surprise, revealing herself to have the brains of a maggot with a string of comments like ·gosh! ", "wow!" and "really?". Also included, for those with DVD-rom is the bizarre ability to record a commentary of your own. What are people going to say? 'Oh, this was the bit where I finished my popcorn and co uldn't remember which side cup holder my drink was in.· Disk two is packed with cheap and cheerful documentaries, all concluding that Spiderman is the best thing since genetically-modified white bread, fine if you agree, tiring if you don 't. There's about 20 minutes of really interesting material, including an outtake reel, and profiles of Ra imi and composer Danny Elfman . Certainly nothing that can't been seen with one night's rental.

Jim Whal/ey

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on anything other than a banal level. lt is painted pretti ly, but with a rather thin , flimsy coat. Despite setting it's stall out as an 'intelligent ' film, with it 's scattering of moral philosophy sign-posts and ubiquitous symbolism, the film conc ludes with the rather trite summation that humans are fallible; that no man-made system can ever be perfect and that we each have to be left free to make our own decisions and/ or mistakes. No, really?

Nathan Dixon

6/10

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Arts 19

Theatre Review:

Theatre Review:

Theatre .Review:

Tempest Theatre Royal

Romeo & Juliet St Gregory's Art Centre

Ghost Minotaur

This was a fantastic adaptation of one of Shakespeare's most magical plays with several familiar faces giving superb performances including Richard Briers as Prospero, Orlando Wells (Aiex in As If) as Ferdinand and William Russell (Ted Sullivan in Coronation Street) as Gonzalo.

Ariel the Spirit (Ben Silverstone) had one of the most memorable and impressive moments when he lowered from the ceiling with giant wings and boomed at the cowering actors. His multi-coloured body and _ _...,._..,_"""'_ __ melodic voice were also enchanting. The chemistry between Miranda (Madeleine Worrall) and Ferdinand was electric and I was more than once embarrassed to watch them and I'm sure I wasn't the only one who felt like shouting 'get a room!'. Director Patrick Mason should be praised for some much needed visual humour as it was difficult to hear some of the actors who did not speak clearly. Sometimes it felt as if they were trying to race through their speeches too quickly which was rather disappointing. The actual tempest could have been more terrifying and apart from the odd lightening flash I did not really believe they feared for their lives. Antonio (Crispin Redman), the supposed villain of the piece, was rather tame and only bared his machiavellian teeth in the last scene where he violently knocked over a giant chess piece in frustration at being defeated. The real star of the show is designer, Franc is O'Connor, for his innovative use of a grid of fairy-lights with shiny surfaces on the stage and backdrops that created an eerie effect especially when Prospero was casting his spells, all the lights and their reflections made my vision blur and it seemed as if he was floating through space. Overall, it is an enjoyable and worthwhile theatre-going experience and is not overly long for those who have bad memories of school trips to see four hour long productions of Hamlet and King Lear.

A collaboration between past and present UEA students and members of The Maddermarket Theatre, Romeo and Juliet exploded onto the stage of St Gregory's Art Centre this week. A disused church-cum-theatre, St Gregory's was the perfect setting for Shakespeare's (pictured) tragedy. Great acoustics echoed Adam Moore's evocative music, surrounding the audience with it. The gothic setting enhanced Lucy Fuller's already strong portrayal of an edgy Lady Capulet, teetering on the divide between menacing and cold, and pained and uncertain.

The first show from Star Crossed Productions, which takes its name from the lines of the play, Romeo and Juliet, was professionally put together. Excellent direction from Barnaby Matley and Guy Whalley made the final scene the highlight of the piece. The theatre was dark except for the lanterns carried by the actors and the eerie red glow from the overhead heaters. This focused the entirety of the audience's attention on the action. Strong chemistry between UEA 's own Lizzie Green and Mark Jackson as the star-crossed pair in question meant the audience really got a sense of the despair and tragedy surrounding the unlucky lovers, and truly cared about their fates. Contrary to many productions of the play, the death of unsuitable suitor Paris (Joe Edwards) was not cut neither was the interruption of the scene by Friar Laurence (Richard Mann) before Juliet takes her own life. This intensified the atmosphere to breaking point and greatly heightened the sense of tragedy as the audience were made to wait longer and longer for the ending we all know so well.

Watch this space for more shows from Star Crossed Productions.

Bethany Scott-Boatfield

Clare Butler

Books Re-Viewed: Book Review: The Twits

Life of Pi

RoaldDahl

Yann Martel

In the days before quiditch, Nimbus 2000's and Moaning Myrtle's, all you really needed to pen a good children's story was two hairy tramps.

The Twits, by Roald Dahl is my case in point. First published in 1980, the story revolves around a smelly couple, outcast from society and left to rot in their horrid house with no windows and an equally as ghastly garden. Bored of picking scraps of food from her husbands' beard, Mrs Twit decides one evening to drop her glass eye into Mr Twits' mug of beer. There follows mischief and mayhem as the pair play nasty, and actually rather clever, tricks on each other, ranging from replacing spaghetti with worms to Mr T convincing Mrs T that she has a shrinking disease by painstakingly extending her walking stick. The dialogue consists of great insults such as 'you whiskery old wart hog' and 'Oh, do shut up, you old cow.' Beat that, Draco Malfoy.

You may be excused for thinking that this is a prcx1ivorce lobby group publication, warning about the perils of marriage, especially to a man with a beard. And maybe it is, but not when you are nine years old, or even 21 years old. lt is simply unadulterated fun, in the days before PC would get rid of the many sneers about bushy beards and almost certainly change the name to The Tweet 's, just in case of slips of the tongue.

Despite giving me a phobia of big beards and glass eyes, from which I am still suffering, this book is one of the best of the Dahl collection. Like The Witches, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda, The Twits is crying out for a film adaptation. I hear Brad Pitt is still sporting a very Twitsy beard .. .

And the moral of the story is: if you are born a twit, it's most likely that you will die a bigger twit than ever. Well that's a relief ...

Uz Hutchlnson

In a typically gloomy lbsen style Ghosts presents the story of a supposedly normal farcily that is battling with its underlying awkward history, and shows a haunting insight into the values that shape human behaviour.

The play tells the tale of Mrs. Alving who runs an orphanage, and is living with her son Oswald who has recently arrived home from travelling. Mr. Alving is dead, but throughout the course of the play various truths about the family's past and about Mr. Alving's dark secrets are revealed and wreak havoc on the relationships between the characters.

This Minotaur production, directed by Jennifer Tang, gives an interesting twist to the play in its use of eerie sound clips and lighting techniques, and tbe particularly 'ordinary' scenery which is used<:aptures the uncomfortable atmosphere perfectly. Becci Gemell's performance as Mrs. Alving particularly stands out, due to her seemingly effortless and confident performance. She sympathetically portrays the role of a desperate and lonely woman caring for her difficult son. Matt Smith, who plays Oswald Alving, similarly shines in his poignant perfor'mance as a confused son coming to terms with the truth about his father's shameful history and his own life-threatening illness. Tom Bidwell brings some light relief in ris farcical take on the character of Jacob Engstrand, the ma.id's stepfather.

The company's main achievement is the way in which it really brings life into this quite miserable story and tackles the script from a contemporary angle. All of the cast present themselves as very capable actors each bringing an individual element to their roles. Overall everything about the performance suggests professionalism.

Claudla Web

Theatre Preview: Oliver Studio Theatre

Life of Pi is a fresh, witty novel deserving of this year's Booker Prize. lt opens with Martel, a previously unlucky author, leaving for India in order to try and write a book about Portugal. On this trip he happens instead upon the story of Piscine Molitar. lt is from this plausible wheel that an incredible yarn is to be spun; a yarn, like many, - Moby Dick, The Ancient Mariner, Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver's Travels - concerning a disaster at sea followed by a miraculous survival. On this well-trodden literary path the cliche is avoided by way of an original premise; references to those before kept to surrept1tious nods.

After a life running a zoo in India finally becomes too difficult it is decided that the Molitar family will set sail for Canada - a land "much too cold for good sense, inhabited by compassionate, intelligent people with bad hairdos". The ship sinks. This leaves Pi alone, in a twenty-six foot long life-boat, with a hyena, an orang-utan, a zebra and a fully-grown 'brightly burning ' Bengali tiger named Richard Parker. The story is an enjoyable attempted revelation of the triumph of belief over scepticism: an assertion that the 'real world' remains as elusive to us as the number Pi .

All written in a style which shifts between the lyrical and the deeply visceral, verisimilitude and magic realism. Whether, as Pi himself maintains- and the hyped publisher blurb would have us believe - this story will "make you believe in God" is for the reader to decide; but it makes it ctear that falling either side of the debate requires an equivalent leap of faith. What this yarn certainly will do is deliver an absorbing metaphysical 'knot' in its end for each individual to un-tie their own way. More depth to precocious sixteen-year-old Pi's grappling with faith would have . made this an excellent novel, but it's pretty good as it is.

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You always know Christmas is just round the corner when productions of Oliver start to emerge. The latest one to arrive is Lionel Bart's Youth Theatre Company running at the Studio Theatre from Friday 29th November to Saturday the 7th December. Following their enthusiastic version of The Sound of Music last year we can expect good acting, gusty singing and an altogether entertaining family evening.

The Youth Theatre Company production is directed by David Lambert and the cast are from the Theatre Arts Course at the Theatre Royal. All the classic songs have a place in this vibrant production - including old-time favouritesConsider Yourself, Food Glorious Food and You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two. Christmas wouldn't be complete without seeing at least one Dickens production and Oliver it must be admitted, is something of a national weakness. We just can't seem to get enough of the angelic-looking orphan boy egged on by the oth~r workhouse boys to ask "Please sir can I have some more?" His consequent run of bad luck only seems to warm the national heart further. He runs away from his employer, the local undertaker, and ends up with the fuzzily criminal Fagin and the Artful Dodger. For me this is the best part of the play, for, while I am sure we are all heartily glad that Oliver ends up in a safe, rich home where he will be looked after and kept off the streets, a good Fagin and Artful Dodger can absolutely make the play.

But still, I guess Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas if a child ended up living in the slums and picking pockets for a living.

Nevertheless, underneath it all I suppose a roaring fire, a comfortable bed and a stack of presents under the tree are a more fitting end to Oliver's turbulent childhood.

Nathan Dlxon

Katharlne Potts

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Wednesday, November 27,2002

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20 DiverSiFy Reviews

DiverSiFy:

Drama Society FestivaL UEA Drama Studio

Black Comedy (main picture) Peter Shaffer's acc laimed piece has al l the components of a good farce: a multitude of suitably crazed characters, mistaken identity, secret love affairs, some stolen art and the imminent arrival of a deaf millionaire. The lighting is famously reversed in this piece, all the scenes supposedly taking place in the dark being lit and vice versa so the audience has the unique pleasure of seeing al l the characters groping about in the 'dark'.

Excellent direction from Matthew Peacock , who also played the brilliantly cam p anecdotal Northerner, Harold Gorringe, pulled together what could have gone seriously haywire into a seriously funny, upbeat piece of drama. He managed to orchestrat e t he movement of most of the set by the characters, none of whom could overtly look where they were going and half of whom were not supposed to realise what was going on.

Every major cast member put in a strong performance to create Shaffer's wacky characters. Highlights included Verene Parker's Miss Furnival , a sort of manically doddering Mrs Goggins figure who discovers the delights of alcohol, her furt ive inlays int o the liquor cab inet of the marvellously chaotic Brindsley (Kieran Pearson), being much aided by the dark. The Colonel (Phil Arkinstall) was a marvellously militant Daddy to the plummy Carol, Brindsley's first fiancee. Always on hand w ith a plan of action, he was constantly crit ical of Brindsley B.O. -Bad Organisation, and made t hings t ricky for the lighting c rew by insisting on lighting matches (which did not always strike) but they managed admirably.

This was a cast of good physical and vocal comedians, backedup by strong di rection and professional technical crew. They pulled off this t ricky farce with flair so it was a case of V.l. Very Impressive.

Clare Butler

Welcome to Paradise Welcome to Paradise written by Andy Davies, gets my utmost approval , I was extremely impressed by the ideas and moreover, by the fact that they were pulled off. From the start it captured my attention -the opening scene was an engaging monologue that seemed to set the play as a tragedy, but it changed quickly to a w itty second scene that made it clear t hi s was an orig inal comedy. The acting was slick and the storyline was an interesting one in wh ic h the audience find themselves in heaven observing a dead priest who cannot accept his wife's recent marriage t o another man down on earth. lt was expertly resolved by a clever little twist at the end and despite the highly unbeli evable subject this play worked wel l.

Pally Barker

DeviSiFy

Thou Art A Fishmonger

A newcomer to this year's festival , DeviSiFy consisted of three ta lented Drama Soc members who had less t han five weeks to "just make it up". The result was a string of very funny sketches reflecting on cultural understanding, comedy, 路romance', and song and dance. Choosing to open the piece with an interpretative dance adaptation of Big Rock Candy Mountain, Katinka Esser made a sterling effort of performing every word , Jul ia Strohbach pranced with the best of them , and Kate Kreke was just. special. Needless to say, they'd been on stage five minutes before they brought the house down. This was followed-up by the 'romance' section: the girls portraying three lads with the vocabulary of your regular IKON patron, and testing out their lines on the audience. Apparently I require a parking ticket, because (you've guessed it) I've just got 'fine, fine , FINE' written all over me (groan).

Next we were onto the DeviSiFy school of wooing, presided over by 'God' who made her presence felt via a squeaky duck I guess you had to be there. The trio then instructed us on becoming acclimatised to England with their 'Dick Van Dyke ' method. This contained some very accurate observational comedy which was especially helped by the fact all the girls themselves are not English. One scene reflected on that tendency we have to repeat everything a shop assistant says to us: thank you, bye. bye, thank you, yes, bye. thanks again." you get the picture. Finishing the whole show off with a Broadwayesque number sealed the deal. They devised something genuinely funny and demonstrated good observational and physical comedy. Well done (and that's not just because of the 'compliment ' you paid me in the shape of the opening chat-up line!)

Clare Butler

Thou Art a Fishmonger by Luke Owen was greeted with a popular recept ion by the audience. A com ic combustion of Shakespeare's plays, Owen successfully executed the task of the spoof. My own specific moment of ecstasy, was the male witches dressed in black lace c loak s, crouching in a semi-ci rcle wailing incoherently. lt made my day ... my life even. The play must have been enjoyable to rehearse as the actors channeled so much enthusiasm into their lines. Emma Kelly provided a great portrayal of an airy headed princess brain washed by an idealized conception of love and romance, while Eleanor Willis successfully conveyed her character's feisty temperament and savage love of death and blood. Adam Gaine embellished the play with flamboyant gestures and comic movement (aside: my own favorite moments were Gaine's extravagant sinister expressions, and violent tip toeing to a bottle of poison with which to kill his demanding wife.) lt was a well thought out move by the Drama society to place the comic play in the middle, as both the first and third dealt with serious themes.

Liz A dams

Music Society Showcase An air of relaxation descended upon the Drama Studio as the 20-stro ng UEA Mu sic Society choir took to the stage under the confident conducting of Music Soc president Simon Anderson. Beginning with a confident choral version of William Slake ' s 'The Lamb ', the sound was soft, sweet, and in unwavering three-part harmony (no mean feat if you consider they had no accompaniment).

This was followed by 'T he Lake Lay Blue', which was undoubtedly the highlight of t he performance. There was constant contrast in volume, the choir effortlessly swelling into fortissimo and providing a very rich sound .

Parti c ularly strong performances came from Tanja Miller, Kate Ambrose and the five male performers who provided a solid bass for the choir. All in all , a very professiona l performance, altho ugh the c hoice of so ngs di d not show off t he c hoi r' s ful l ra nge as we ll as it might have.

Clare Butler

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Wednesday, Novembe r 27, 2002

Pizzas 2 for 1 Man, Tue, Wed 5-8 with NUS

Aisle 16/Everybody Elses' Girl (pictured above) The second night of the Drama Society's new festival for 2002, Diversify , was introduced by Luke Wright , of the Aisle 16 collective, with several performance poetry pieces. The evening seemed set to be one of high quality drama and entertainment. The first play Everybody El se's Girl by Sophie Nelson , was made up of three characters, played by Hannah Walker , Angharad Pugh-Jones and Alex Sehmer. All three presented individual monologues that conveyed a confrontational view of the aggressive themes rooted in the script including death, child abuse and inter family relations.

Nelson's explorations of these were skillfully embedded into a conc ise time slot. The acting was presented in a fusion of sty li zed and naturali st ic methods. All three charters were essentially grounded in a freeze frame throughout the piece while one spoke. This single perspective given at only one time proved effective in the portrayal of the central theme.

Liz Adams

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N/Radio 21 Essential Radio

Essential TV:

Miss This:

A Beginner's Guide to Reggae Radio 2, Wed December 4, 9pm

Jackass, Potter and the Queen Times Vary

Party of Your Life ITVl, Thurs Nov 28, 7 .30pm

Whatever you may think of the station as a whole, Radio Two does provide the country with some top-quality specialist musjc shows. Indeed, it may not be an exaggeration to say that informative broadcasting doesn't get much better than Mark Lamarr's new series. This week's programme is of particular interest as it features an tnterview with singing and songwriting legend Jimmy

it's nearly that time again, when the whole family gets together to warm their eyes on the box of wonders. This years war between BBc and Channel 4 looks set to give us a set of stonking shows.

Christmas Specials include:'The Osbournes'. which promises viewers some great moments. Kelly provides entertainment with some impressions of Christina Aguilera but is soon at her brother's throat, one of Kelly's friends offends Ozzy and Jack's behaviour leads to the confiscation of one of his presents... a pocket knife. But on the bright side Ozzy gives us his views on Christmas: "I tucking hate Christmas, I tucking hate it with a passion.· Two thirty-minute Christmas specials of 'Smack the Pony' will also grace our screens. The 'Jackass Christmas Special' is a treat for all fans of Johnny's crazy antics which in this episode will include him dressed up as Santa feeding fried chicken to the homeless.

The Beeb has also got a couple of whoppers up its sleeve this Christmas. After a long battle they finally out bid Channel 5 for the first terrestrial screening of 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone', the final sum coming to £10 million. The amount spent has caused outrage because it lines the pockets of Hollywood instead of investing in British films but for all potty Potter fans it will be a treat. As well as a new series of Partridge, Steve Coogan is also set for a 90 minute Star Trek spoof for the BBC entitled celebrity cruise.

As well as all these great shows there's one which will always win the ratings for the BBC, one that really brings the nation together, one that gives us all a good laugh, it is, of course, the Queen's speech. Who needs to spend £10 million on Harry Potter when we've got a bit of patriotic banter to warm our cockles overl

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Cliff, who will also be choosing some of his favourite reggae tracks to play on the show.

Born in Jamaica in 1948, Cliff is widely regarded as one of reggae's most influential artists. He had his first hit at the tender age of fourteen, signed to Island Records, and would become one of the foremost pioneers in his.field of music. From the outset, Cliff was by no means a conventional artist. Influenced by traditional African music, he was always willing to experiment blending established folk sounds with modern R&B and Jazz. A cover of Procal Harem's Whiter Shade of Pale cemented his reputation as a musician whose influences were all encompassing. And he didn't just stop at music: in 1972 Cliff starred in the film The Harder They Come, which propelled him to international fame. In between he also found time to record some of reggae's most enduring classics, including Wonderful World and Many Rivers To Cross, the latter now best known for UB40's pallid reworking.

Presenter Mark Lamarr is revealed as something of a reggae connoisseur, and brings an infectious brand of enthusiasm to the eclectic music mix. While the airwaves remain cluttered with self-promoting DJs, it is a delight to find a more mainstream programme that revels in the records themselves.

No previous experience necessary, this is definitely worth a listen.

Toby

Sarah Edwarrles

Sle~Johnson

I know what you must be thinking. How is it, that a programme with such an exciting title that brings to mind daring and far-flung ventures like men in Lycra tights leaping from planes, tight rope walking over vast canyons, and generally having the best fun they've ever had, has ever come to be slated? Because anybody who expects any of the above is in for a bit of a disappointment, that's why. If it wasn't for this, you may never have guessed that this programme is, in terms of excitement levels, probably on par with watching the skin grow on a bowl of custard. Shame should be brought upon the very culprit that came up with the cunning idea of taking the reunion of a group of middle aged ex-rockers and trying to pass it off as a party. To say that this programme comes anywhere near a party would be putting it kindly -where are all the drunken revellers being quietly sick in the corner? Where are the peer pie whose usual role at a party is to mong out unconscious on the sofa? This, my friends, is one of those cringeworthy local Anglia creations which is nothing less but a glamorous version of Surprise Surprise, only without the slightly more expensive studio budget. it's hardly going to be riveting listening to a group of tracked down, reunited strangers reliving the "key news event" that was the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival; talking about the old times and how they've all changed (which will no doubt lead us through the enthralling topics of hair loss and hip replacements and the like). it wouldn't be so bad if the show wasn't presented by Julie Peasgood, of all people, but it is.

If you've ever resided on the Isle of Wight and you're feeling a bit homesick, this could be a good one to watch. However, this show evidently tried to jump on the Friends Reunited bandwagon but hit the dust just as the wheels were rolling away. Miss it I Kate Herrlngton

Essential Soaps: Crikey, paternity suits aplenty in the soaps this fortnight. In Eastenders Laura's got a bun in the oven, who would have thought fan had that much lead in his pencil? Well he doesn't actually, thanks to the surgeon's knife; so the hunt is on to find out wtio exactly had the pleasure of Laura's company several weeks ago. Could it be Ricky or Paul, or even Patrick? it sure isn't devoted father Phil, who's finally being taken away by the boys in blue to help them with their enquiries as to Usa's whereabouts. The Mitchell's solicitor must be on some huge money the number of times he has to go down to the station to sort them out. Does Peggy buy Phil's story that Lisa really has sentenced that poor kid to a life in Walford? Phil's also busy scaring Sonia resulting in many a flared nostril, but really with the run up to the Christmas storylines and inevitable death in the Square, she should really be helping Jamie memorize "look left, look right" before crossing the road ....

New cockney geezer Alfie Moon (any relation to Button? Too easy, sorry) seems to be going down a storm at the Queen Vie, but will he stay till after the quiz night or do a bunk with the

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takings? Here's a clue: the rest of his family, Spencer and Nana Moon (I wish I was joking ... ) have installed themselves upstairs . by the end of the week.

In Hollyoaks, Jodie is devastated after brother Jamie snuffs it after going on a 'boys' day with the other hunks. Things become all the more confusing for her when Nick gives her an "extra special" hug. Lisa also discovers who's been sending her the mean messages. Here's a clue: he's tall and very pale, wears black eyeliner when grey would suit his complexion far better...

In Hollyoaks' continuing search for subjects that can warrant a plug for a helpline in the end credits, Becca finds herself pregnant, Ben's pesky fireman's pole, eh. Wanting to keep it a secret, she tells Anna, but OB overhears.

In Neighbours luuurve is in the air. Firstly with Darcy and Chloe, doing a damn fine rendition of The Graduate. Chloe starts taking him out to dinner, then gives him a flashy watch, and in no time she's touting Darcy as her very own toy boy. Well I goess he has been out with almost every woman who's ever been into the Coffee Shop, so why not Chloe? Stuart finds himself working at

Wednesday, November 27, 2002

Lassiter's with the object of his affection, Flick, which makes things rather awkward. Karl asks Susan out on a date, which turns out to be a success, so will there be more dining than whining? Much excitement when Toadie's family move into No 30 with him providing endless hours of comedy bickering no doubt. Ah, the joys of Christmas soaps.

Charlotte Mann

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Listings: Film:

city

Campus

UCI

All films start at 8 .30 pm and are shown in Lecture Theatre One unless otherwise stated.

Tickets £2.75

From 27 /ll

Unfaithful Fri 29/11

28 Days Later Fri 18:45 21:15 23:50 Sat 18:45 21:15 23:50 Sun 18:45 21:15 Mon 1 3:30 16;15 18:45 21:15 Tue 13:30 16:15 18:45 21:15 Wed 13:30 16:15 18:45 21 :15 Th u 13:30 16:1 5 18:45 21:15

Italian For Beginners Tue 03/ 12

Almost Live: So Solid Crew Mon 19:00

Star Wars: Attack of the Clones Thu 05/12

Anita & Me Fri-Thu 14:15 16:30 18:45 21:00

Sunshine State Fri 06/ 12

Changing Lanes Tue-Thu 19:15

Mulholland Drive Tue 10/ 12

Die Another Day Fri and Mon-Thu 12:50 13:45 14:30 15:00 1 5:50 17:15 17 :45 18:15 18:40 20:15 20:45 21:15 21:40 23:15 23:45 Sat-S un 10:45 11:30 12:00 12:50 13:45 14:30 15:00 15:50 17:15 17:45 18:15 18:40 20:15 20:45 21:15 21:40 Sat 23:15 23:45

Minority Report Thu 28/11

The Grinch Wed 11/ 12 M IlB Thu 12/ 12

Donnie Darko Fri-Sat 23:40

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Fri and Mon-Thu 13:00 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:00 17:30 18:00 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 Fri 22:30 Sat-Sun 10:30 11:00 11:45 12:30 13:00 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:00 17:30 18:00 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:30 Lantana Tue 16:30 19:00 21:30 Lilo & Stitch Sat-Sun 12:00 Mr Deeds Fri-Thu 14:45 16:45 Rabbit Proof Fence Mon 14:30 16:45 Wed-Thu 14:30 16:45 19:00 Super Troopers Fri-Sat 23:30 Mon-Thu 21:45

Cinema City Bowling For Columbine 29/ 11- 12/ 12 A powerful, fiercely critical look at Ameri c an gun culture Aamlng Creatures & The War Game (double screening) 01/ 12 2 notorious, influential , shocking , films from 1960s Rabbit-Proof Fence 06/ 12 - 12/ 12 The Neutrinos in Concert 14/ 12 Tonite Let's All Make Love In London 08/ 12, 11/ 12

8 Women 13/ 12 An audacious. genre-bending comedy that 's also part musical and part comedy

Ster Century From 8/ll

XXX (Triple X) Fri-Sat 23:15 Mon-Thu 21:30

From 29/11 The Santa Claus 2 The Quiet American 8 Women The War Bride

Changing Lanes Halloween: Resurrection Harry Potter...

Lilo & Stitch Mr Deeds My Big Fat Greek Wedding My Little Eye Orange County Red Dragon Road to Perdition

Music: Gigs Waterfront The Vandals Thu 28/ 11 The brand, th e band, t he legend! Go nuts kids! Like the album says, "Live Fast, Diarrheal " £10 LA Doors Tue 03/12 A tribute to the sound of the seminal six ti es act , Th e Doors £8 (£7 NU S) King Prawri Thu 05/ 12 These mad ska-punkers make a welcome return to Norw ic h £7 Murderdolls Sun 08/11 Joey from Sl ipknot has put together the finest trash metal rock outfit £10 Rawkus 'Live' Part 11 Wed 11/ 12 Spot+ Dragline + lnsaniac + Repressed Desire + DJs £5 Cradle of Filth

Thu 12/ 12 Dani Filth brings the screams in this deliciously goofy goth panto £11

LCR 'A' and Goldflnger + Voodoo Glow Skulls Thu 28/ 11 'A's recent ,i ll-advised nu-metal monkeyings may be shitty , but the older pogo-punk tunes can still get you going £13 Toploader Fri 29/ 11 We j ust CAN'T get rid of them ...the foolish haired jazzpopsters laugh in our faces once more £17 .50 Doves Sun 01/12 The finest Manchester band of the decade? Who's to say ... but brilliant nonetheless £14 Beverley Knight Mon 02/12 If R 'n B's your bag Beverley Knight is this month 's hot ticket...baby. £16

'now then now then' FroM the peop.l e who brouQ:ht ,-ou Mr Scruf~, :F:req Bastx,., the Scratch Pe.rverts, Andy Slll:iith.

Andrew veatherall, the Mllnllscule orbound & KraftyKuts ....... .

As ofL.2.003. :vrou ~an sret 8 . on the last Frii.da7 o:r eac.lt •ont.lt at t.-e Ifa"er.l-rOD"'· B.orw.llc .

3 rooMs of funklo breaks, soul, jazz. electro, T :iideo, IiL.ip -liL.op. roots & upl:ii~ t Jllofo party,: Jll-qs.tc frO.IIl tb.e best local .

J)J s, VJ s & 'the J.:irlces o:r ,

JOblATliiON, MORE

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Future World Funk N,OJtMAN, JAY .l mbe) ~Good Tiimes

lJanuar,' a003}

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• £2 b411 pm Saw Doctors Tue 03/12 Classic Irish fun time band, folk punk in the same vein as the Pogues £16 Badly Drawn Boy Fri 06/12 The tea-cosied Damon Gough arrives to air new material from 'Have You Fed The Fish', as well as older classics £15 Magnum Sun 08/12 Playing progressive rock from a back catalogue of 11 studio albums since 1978. Yowzersl £13.15 Bjom Again Mon 09/12 The grave-dancing lookalikes strike at the hearts of the kitsch and the camp £14 (£10 NUS)

Norwich Arts Centre Wombat Wombat Thu 28/11 Aqua Vista, Oil Red 0, The Dawn Parade and Aisle 16 £4 adv. £5 door Kennedy Soundtrack plus support Mon 02/12 Ho-hum nu-metallers that miss more than they .h it £6 Add N to X Wed 11/12 Analogue and digital collide in an avant garde sound clash £7 Aqualung 12/12 Singer songwriter who did the song from the Voltswagen car ad £7.50 Wombat Wombet Thu 13/12 Bearsuit, The National, Luf!!a Lane, DJ in the bar

Thursdays Isotonic Kafe Da Progressive trance & house Free The LCR disco LCR £3 The Underground Last thursday of every month From 10 pm £3 Girls and Boys Comercial Pop and Chart Time £2 b4 11.00 £3 after Charty Handbaggy The Loft Gay night Ministry of Cheese Liquid 9.30 pm until 2.00 am £2 students Rebel Lion Bank Thu 7/11 The great reggae night £4

Fridays Delirium The Concept House, garage and R&B Charts and Dance Liquid 9.30 until 2.00 £2 students Chart Hits & Classic Anthems Ikon 9.30 til 2.00 £4 b411 pm Marvel 1 Gas Station The Loft Hip hop & funk £3 b4 11 pm, £4 after.

Skill Waterfront Beats, funk 'n' hip-hop featuring Daddy G (Massive Attack)

Ferryboat

Saturdays

Wombat Wombat Fri 20/12 Christmas party starring Motel, The Lollies, Benn's Little Rebellion (TBC), South Sea Company Prospectus (TBC) and more

Now That's What I Call the 90s UEA/LCR 19th October 9.30 pm - 1.30 am £4 adv

Clubs

Saturday Rewind Bar Metro Chart, dance, garage

Wednesdays Sundays Superfly Lock Stock Funk and Hip-Hop £3

Sunday Service Manhattans £2.50

Jitterbug I Jam Po Na Na Funky drum 'n' bass & house Free b4 10 pm, £2 after

Hot2Trot Liquid 9.30 pm until 2.00 am £2 students

Classic Hits Ikon 10 pm until 2 am

Mondays Loaded

LockStock 10pm until 2am £2.50 students 1 £3

Tuesdays Life Time 9pm until 2am £1 students

Arts: Norwich Playhouse Flreblrd Multlstory 30/11 Prince lvan and his brothers searching for the fabled firebird · aimed at a family audience £4 Book Club 11/12 Reading material provided in session £1.50

Theatre Royal The Tempest 18/11- 23/11 A violent storm, the son of a . witch, a delicate spirit -these are the elements of Shakespeare's most magical play Chicago 25/11-7/12 Murder, greed, violence, corruption, exploitation, adultry and treachery ...

St. Gregory's Art Centre Twelfth· Night In 1949 New York 3/12-6/12 Inspired by the festive feel of the play and the presence of music in the original, this new production relocates the action to 1949 New York City.

Presented by the UEA Drama Society. £6 (£3 Drama Soc. Members)

The York Tavern Alsle16 03/12 Low brow beat poetry featuring the Aisle16 residents (Luke, Paul, lan and Joel) and London favourites Chris Hicks and Nathan Pennlington.

"Meaty, satisfying and very funny * * * * • - Edinburgh Fringe rating

Photos: Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in Die Another Day, showing at all good cinemas; Performnace poetry collective, the annoyingly happy Aisle16, playing on December 3 at the York Tavern

DIVA HAIR No 7 ST BENEDICTS ST

20% ENT DISCOUNT

603 767854

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Finallnfo:

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IS SOAIII

Schedu e:

Monday

8-10: Fresh OJ 1 0-12: Armed & Dangerous 12-2 : M agical Myst ery Tour 2-4: Vanish ing Poi nt

Thursday 8-10: Trans-AtlantiC Express 10-12: Ta sti 12-2 : The Undecided 2-4: The Vanessa B Show

4-6: Far From Home & Far From Talented

4-6: Mark Boutros

6-8: B.E.A.T .S. 8-1 0 : Daydrea m Nation 10-12: Drop t ha Bomb! 1 Hip Hop Trax

6-8 : The Reverends' Revival 8-10: Rebel Lion Roots 10-12: The Funk Connect ion

Tuesd ay

8-1 0 : Sound Adv1ce 10-12: That Show 12-2 : " Look , a Squirrel! 2-3: After Lunch w it h Miss Nic ki 3-4: Culture Shock I S.E .E.D. 4-5: Matt Brown !Hi: Kil l an Hour 6-8: Dancing Round t he Borders of the Curfew 8-9: Contemporary Music Soc iety 9-10: Evening Please 10-12: We the Funky Foo

Frid ay 8-1 0 : Where t he Wild Things Are 10-12: Illegally Blonde 12-2 : Essent ial Selection 2-4: Simonson & Nickelback 4-6: You Don 't Know You 're Born

6-8 : SKILL and Superfly 8-10: Progressive Minds 10-12: Rebel Sold ier

Saturd ay 9-11: The Hook 11-1 : Alternative Session

Wed nesday 8-1 0 : Eastern Ex posure 10-12 : The Grapevine 12-2 : The Tom & Joe Show 2-4: Front ier Psychiatry

1-3 : No More Barbi e P* rn 3-5: The Groove Bu s 5-7: Spo rt s Frenzy 7-9: Underground Session 9-12 : TSN 1 D1g1tal Nightmares

4-6 : M ad M an Dan & His M us1cal M onk eys

6-8 : The Mental Insti tute 8-9: The Unt1tled Show 9-10: Sports Report 1 0-12: T w 1th the Vica r

Sunday 9-11: Think !

11-1 : Soundt rack to the Revolut1on 1-3 : Sunday Review 3-5: The Incident Room 5-7: SBN Chart Show 7-9: L1vew1re Chart Show

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Free drink for everyone in fancy dress and boUie of bubbly and £25 cash for boy &girl In best costume

Visit Santa's Grotto and try to win in the Tombola Prize Draw

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Use.ful Numbers: Canary Cue Club Cinema City Ikon Liquid Maddermarket Theatre The Light Bar Lock Stock Norwich Arts Centre Norwich Playhouse Po Na Na's Ster Century Theatre Royal The Loft The Waterfront Tourist Information Time UEA Studio UCI UEA Union Ents

01603 627478 01603 622047 01603 621541 0 1603 6 1 11 13 01603 620917 01603 622533 0 1603 629060 01603 660352 01603 598598 0 1603 619961 01603 221900 01603 630000 0 1603 623559 01603 632717 01603 666071 0870 6078463 01603 592272 08 70 0 102030 01603 508050