Fuse Binder

Off The Shelf special with Sarah Dunant and Kachi Ozumba

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Features.Short Fuse.

Editorial Hallowe’en is coming

Fuse.

Friday October 23 2009

If you don’t go out this Hallowe’en you are a boring person. Fact. This may be your last chance to properly party this semester, possibly even this academic year. You’ll wake up on Sunday, November 1 (or November 2 if it turns into a really big one) and realise that Christmas is only next month and that what follows that is January and, oh bollocks, that means exams. Real work starts now, unless you’re a first year, in which case keep going at it.

There are recommendations for two nights on these pages that are holding Hallowe’en specials but if they don’t tickle your fancy, you can rest assured that every venue across the city, excluding places of worship, will be holding some kind of horror meets dressing-up drinking occasion.

Let’s be honest though, no one is going to spend from now until New Year non-stop in the library.

Frankly, I’m not sure it’s physically possible. The IC is such a frustrating and depressing place that if anyone even made it to Bonfire Night I would have reason to suspect that they are actually a cyborg.

So don’t worry too much about work (but still do it) and keep immersing yourself in everything that’s going on in the city. All the while, you can rely on the fact that Fuse will be here guiding you as to what’s going on and what’s worth checking out.

The main thing happening around the city at the moment is the festivals.

Last week, the coverage of Fuse focused on the Grin Up North comedy festival, and this week we take a look at Off The Shelf.

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This week we take a look at Off The Shelf

Death march music

In Hindsight Arcade Fire Funeral When you actually think about it, it’s quite amazing that the pre-eminent theme in pop music is love. Love and the collage of emotion that falls under its purview is not something that will necessarily be felt by the entire audience of a song; it may be craved by them, sought by them or even be previously experienced by them but just because the author of the lyrics is assotted with an individual, it doesn’t mean the listener shares in it or even understands it. In particular, I find it slightly nauseating when I see people unconsciously singing along to some tale of a broken heart until I realise that I am humming the tune as well.

Win Butler sounds so lonely and agonising Wouldn’t it be more pertinent if pop chose death as its premier muse? There is no greater guarantee in life than, well, death. It is something we will all have to go through and the majority of us will, at one time or another, lament the loss of a loved one if, indeed, you

have not done so already.

Funeral, as the name would suggest, is about death and yet it is also about so much more. Conceived and produced at a time of grief for several of Arcade Fire’s band members, it encapsulates far better than many other albums the full miscellany of feelings and thoughts that make up the full mourning process.

Physical numbness, utter confusion, a desire to escape and an overwhelming, unexplainable directionless anger, which are often overlooked in popular music’s assessment that bereavement equals tears, are all present here.

Running alongside the main motif of the album are other consistent ideas, the most recurrent of which is “neighbourhood”, a word which receives repeated mention in the titles of the tracks, featuring in no less than four.

Perhaps it’s reference to the city of Montreal where the band are based and which is vividly constructed in the imagery of the lyrics; perhaps it refers to the emerging sense of community and the support network of friends and family that arises through death or maybe it simply hints at the sheer number of personnel required to make the LP. Either way, it cuts against the voice of lead singer Win Butler, whose slightly whimpering and farfrom-pitch-perfect vocals sound so lonely, bleak and agonising.

This is not the only use of contrast in Butler’s words.

There is continual mention of shadows and light; on

elegantly glides up and down on waves of crescendos and diminuendos between and, on occasion, in the tracks.

Sometimes it’s a mass of energy bursting from the speakers, and at others it can be just a delicate, lonesome whisper but it never falls or falters.

Today something may have been lost in the five years since Funeral’s initial release through simple overplay; the difference between when it wakes and when it sleeps is not quite as intense as it once was and something has vanished from the power of the words. However, it is still an extremely relevant album and many critics believe it to be one of the best of this decade.

‘Une Annee Sans Lumiere’ (‘A Year Without Light’ to translate) Butler depicts shadowy images against the dwindling streetlights of Montreal and on ‘Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)’ there is the verse “I woke up on the darkest night / Neighbours all were shoutin’ that they found the light / We found the light / Shadows jumpin’ all over my walls / Some of them big, some of them small.”

An enforced coming-ofage due to tragedy Coldness and ice feature heavily as well but despite the raw bawling of

The sheer theatrical opera of the music One of the biggest marks of the quality of Funeral is that it has become a benchmark by which many other releases are judged.

Not only was Arcade Fire’s follow-up Neon Bible given such treatment but any artist that skirts even slightly too close to the style of Arcade Fire has their music compared to that of Funeral. Ironically, for an album that is about death, Funeral may just be one of those LPs that lives for a very long time.

Alistair White

Kicks the shit out of other club nights Clubbers’Guide Pickers, Knickers and Shitkickers The Stockroom

Name of the night Pickers, Knickers and Shitkickers (PKS for short).

Simon Jenkins, Stephen Trafford and David Pottnegrine.

Tagline “Going Straight For The ‘A’ Since 2008.”

When is it on and how often is it Usually every second Saturday of the month.

Who runs it

Where is it The Stockroom.

What type of music is it A broad mixture of pop, postpunk and hardcore from the ’80s onwards. Plenty of Springsteen, Weezer and Prefab Sprout.

Door Tax Free entry.

We have been fortunate enough to get interviews with two writers who came to the city for the literary festival: Sarah Dunant, the international bestselling author of Renaissance based novels centring on the women of the period, and Kachi Ozumba, whose new book recalls his own harrowing tale of imprisonment in a corrupt country.

Maybe you’re not much of a reader (you should be, you’re at university) or aren’t a fan of Hallowe’en after a traumatic trick or treat episode, in which case take a look at our reviews section for things you might like. Just whatever you do, don’t be a bore.

Alistair White

emotion there is something strangely warm, indulgent and uplifting as the sheer theatrical opera of the music washes over the listener in the purging of emotional tension that is such an important step for someone trying to come to terms with lost to take.

And it would be impossible for such an album not to mention age considering all the other elements of Funeral. The naїvety and innocence of children and their playfulness are often portrayed and yet with all the adult issues taking place it demonstrates that this is an album about growing up; an enforced coming-ofage due to the tragedy of circumstances.

And beneath all this poetry, there lies the music: the real metaphor for the catharsis taking place. The indie rock, baroque pop

Standard attire/uniform Band tees, nice shirts, daps, borrowed/stolen clothing from lost property departments.

Who’s it for Absolutely anyone; punks right through to popstrels.

Ethos/motto Play music to have a good dance to and attempt to get girls attention in process.

Kellogg’s choice of replacement for Snap, Crackle and Pop was considered a bit risky.

General info Started as a drunken conversation to see how easy it would be to start a DJ collective, 18 months later Pickers, Knickers and Shitknickers have a monthly night at the Stockroom, occasional nights at

Bungalows and Bears and numerous guest slots in and around Sheffield.

Who’s played in the past Pretty much all the local indie promoters and DJs have played at one of their nights.

Who’s lined up for the future Rotary Ten will appear at their spin-off night Pralines and Dick on Saturday, November 28, at Bungalows and Bears and then there’s some stuff in the pipe line for the December and January events.

Recommendations for similar nights Death By Shoes (The Cremorne), OK Crayola (The Washington), Sticky (The Stockroom), Vulgar (Raynor Lounge), Speedball (Bungalows and Bears).

There used to be a night called Fuzz Club that was alright now and again...

Next event Friday, October 30, with Deutschmarks and My Monkey Baby.

Features.Short Fuse.

These boots are made for killing Clubbers’Guide

Name of the night Death By Shoes.

Death By Shoes The Cremorne

Who runs it Daniel Dylan Wray.

When is it on and how often is it Third Saturday of the month at The Cremorne.

What type of music is it ’60s garage, ’90s U.S. alt, pop, post-punk, noise.

Stuff like Nick Cave, The Velvet Underground, Voilet Femmes, Pavement, Sonic Youth, Deerhunter, Wire, The Modern Lovers, Gang Of Four, The Stooges, Dinosaur Jr, Japandroids, Talking Heads, The Jesus & Mary Chain etc.

Door Tax Free entry.

Who’s it for Anybody that has a love for music that is not normally heard in venues on a night out in Sheffield in a venue that actually has character and isn’t some pristine lifeless box with white walls.

Just a geniune night, at which people genuinely enjoy being there.

General info It’s been running for three years, there used to be bands playing every month but now it’s just a clubnight running until the early hours of the morning.

Who’s played in the past Lots of wonderful local bands over the years such as The Hipshakes and Navvy. Some out of town post-punk bands like Neils Children and Electricity in Our Homes and noise makers like Kasms, Nephu Huzzband and Wonderswan.

For a full list of those that have appeared in the past visit the Death By Shoes Myspace page.

Who’s lined up for the future No bands play these days but there are some guest DJs lined up for the future.

Keep an eye out for the Christmas special which should have a good bill.

Recommendations for similar nights Daniel Dylan Wray also runs a night with Drowned in Sound at Bungalows and Bears on a monthly basis, and DJs all over the place at other nights.

Next event There will be a Halloween special on Saturday October 31.

Fuse Musings The FuseTeam’s Thoughts Fuse saw… Bloc Party perform at O2 Academy on Saturday October 10.

Having anticipated them to be a little earnest, we found them to be surprisingly fun.

One member of the Fuse editorial team even felt compelled to buy a T-shirt, however later assessment of their wardrobe revealed that this was their third such Bloc Party merchandise purchase.

Fuse is… curious to know what exactly is available from the vending machine in The X Factor hospitality suite. Having witnessed both Robbie ‘bright eyes’ Williams and Whitney ‘Who’s Got The Crack?’ Houston be not quite compos mentis, we are fairly confident that it’s a little more than decaf coffee.

Testimonial Terry Pratchett Jingo

Fuse likes… the new Wild Beasts album Two Dancers.

We reviewed it in our last issue and gave it five stars but we still can’t get enough of it. Frankly, we’re just a little surprised having believed they were destined for the standardised path of not matching the debut and then gradually falling off the music stratosphere.

Instead, they offer us one of the best albums of the year.

and it’s this lightness of touch that makes Jingo so appealing. Whenever I get bogged down in dry political textbooks, or despair at politicians on the news, it’s nice to escape into a book containing politics that’s both accurate and witty. A core text for anyone studying International Relations? I think so.

Luke Temple

Fuse is… already getting excited about New Moon even though it’s not out until Friday November 20.

Cue gratuitous Robert Pattinson picture. Though let it be known that that isn’t the sole reason we are going to see the film. Oh no.

Not at all.

Fuse heard…

Mayer Hawthorne’s album A Strange Arrangement and did what everyone else did and checked the release date again. It borrows so heavily from ’70s soul and R&B, it’s hard to believe it wasn’t just discovered in a time capsule and put out as a hoax. It isn’t faultless or utterly brilliant, but considering in a few weeks we are probably going to have to witness The X Factor contestants ruin Motown all over again, it’s worth listening to this before then to hear how it should be done.

Fuse.

Part of the cover illustration by Josh Kirby for Jingo. typically their respective farce is the delightful ports take it to the next irony that Leshp is only a mature step of political useful geostrategic point relations: by declaring war during times of war, and on each other. for the most part is simply This not-so-implausible a buoyant rock covered in turn of events allows funny-smelling seaweed.

Pratchett to satirise a Throughout, Pratchett host of themes including playfully mixes funny (and nationalism, back-handed scarily believable) Council diplomacy, xenophobia of War scenes with crossand war-mongering. dressing policeman and Underpinning the whole home-made submarines

Fuse watched… Flashforward, Channel Five’s big new American show that apparently none of the other channels wanted. Must be good then, surely. They’re pushing it though; it’s been advertised on formats other than the channel itself. Kept us amused and passed the time in which we were supposed to be working even if at times it’s pretty obvious that the notso-astronomical production budget has been made to stretch.

Friday October 23 2009

Terry Pratchett is a writer still tagged as having an obscure ‘cultish’ following despite selling millions upon millions of books. It’s likely down to the fact that Pratchett’s Discworld series is fantasy, and no one over the age of 10 should admit they read books featuring trolls and goblins lest they get associated with those pillocks who dress up as wizards at weekends and name their children Hagrid.

But with his Discworld series Pratchett proves that fantasy is so much more than the garish, soapopera of Harry Potter and the bloated pomposity of Lord of the Rings. Pratchett provides outlandish characters that interact like actual human beings, a mixture of dry and surreal wit, and pointed, satirical observations. Choosing a favourite from the 30-odd books in the series will always divide fans, but for me, it has to be Jingo.

In Jingo two fishermen claim “finders-keepers” when they discover Leshp, an island that bubbles to the surface equidistance between Klatch, a vast desert country, and AnkhMorpork, the Disc’s largest city.

Typically, neither believes the other was there first, and so even more

Fuse caught… Yeasayer’s support set for Bat For Lashes at the Octagon on Saturday October 17. Their experimental, psychedelic pop had us entertained and interested and though it is unlikely that we will invest in a multi-coloured jumpsuit like one of their members had, a look into their past and present output through the wonder that is Spotify is definitely on the cards.

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Interview.Doc/Fest 2009.

A global document on a film genre For five film-filled days in early November, the city will give over to Doc/Fest. Mark Clement talks to the festival’s film programmer Hussain Currimbhoy.

Launched in 1994 as both an international film festival and industry conference, Doc/Fest has grown in size, stature and reputation since its birth. Now, as well as an impressive and truly global programme of films, a great number of business and educational events take place while the projectors are rolling.

Doc/Fest hosts a significant international marketplace for documentary films with executives, distributors and commissioners from TV and cinema and from all over the world coming to the city with the specific view of doing trade.

But for us the public, the main concern is what exciting and exclusive films are showing which for students are all going to be available to see free of charge.

Fuse.

Friday October 23 2009

What do you feel is the motivation/impetus for staging Doc/Fest in Sheffield?

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Why not really? It was an idea born out of necessity.

The UK’s expansive documentary industry had no where to come together, to meet and to rejuvenate.

Sheffield is far enough out of London, that’s one thing.

But Sheffield is a city that knows how important it is to be true to yourself and to be ready to fight for what is right. I think it’s the perfect place really!

‘The programme is so juicy it’s got vitamins in it’

How important do you feel the festival is to the city?

Doc/Fest has been around for 16 years now.

We see audience numbers climb and get more press coverage every year. We get new people coming to us wanting to work for the festival, to submit films and ideas and wanting to get involved.

If we were not a significant part of this city, we wouldn’t see these kinds of rises.

How and why did you get involved with the festival and reach the position you hold today?

Mat Whitecross’ documentary about Burmese refugees moving to Sheffield, Moving to Mars, opens Doc/Fest.

I did a degree and postgraduate studies in film and made a bunch of short films when I lived in Australia. I watched a lot of films and just kind of fell into festival work when I was in Melbourne.

I was at so many screenings of the Melbourne International Film Festival that the director of the festival said: ‘who are you?

I see you everywhere. You should work for us’ and that was that. I met the director of Doc/Fest when I was a programming assistant at the Adelaide Film Festival in 2007 and was hired to programme at Sheffield. I moved in a heartbeat.

What always strikes me about the festival is the diversity and sheer volume of documentaries on offer.

How pleased are you with this year’s lineup and how do you think it compares to previous years?

The other day I said to someone: ‘the programme is so juicy it’s got vitamins

in it’. I love this year’s programme.

‘Do not miss Taqwacore, about Muslim punk bands’

We have had over 1,200 film submissions and I visited about a dozen festivals this year, so audiences can be assured they are getting the best of the bunch from around the world.

Each programme has its own relevance during the era it appears in. So I guess time will tell how good these films are compared to in the past.

What are your personal picks for the festival?

Which documentaries should people really look out for?

Oh man! Hard one – do not miss Videocracy, Rerberg and Tarkovsky: The Reverse Side Of “STALKER” or Taqwacore, about Muslim punk bands. I also love Best Worst Movie, it’s hilarious. Oh, man, this is too hard... It’s like picking your favourite child.

What special guests can the public look forward to seeing this year?

RJ Cutler, director of The September Issue. The public masterclass is going to be massive. Kazuo Hara – genius. Andrew Lang is super, smart and very cool, don’t miss his film Sons of Cuba. All our guests are fascinating people, or they wouldn’t be here.

What free events can the student population look forward to attending?

Films are free for students at Doc/Fest (except opening night) so they can come to what ever the heck they want. There are also great

interactive films, archive footage and exhibits to see on The Moor.

The festival opens on Wednesday November 4 with Moving to Mars: A Million Miles From Burma, which follows two Burmese refugee families as they try to adapt to 21st century Sheffield, what can we expect from Mat Whitecross on this one?

He is a real champ, Mat. He knows how to get the most of out a story and a subject.

He spent ages with this family before they came to Sheffield, so you get proper contrast in their lives and you see first hand the kind of life thousands of people from less fortunate countries have to endure here as refugees.

These are good people stuck with murderous, evil governments. We all know this, but we do not often see the human cost of escape.

Mat shows us this in the way only he can do.

Feature.Game Design Courses.

Degrees nerfed?

Hundreds of students getting useless degrees?

Brendan Allitt considers the alternatives and the solutions.

W

ith the videogame industry’s growth outstripping that of all other media one would assume that one of the multitude of games development courses would be the best way to get your own piece of this pie. Unfortunately there are a disproportionate number of students and courses for the size of the games job market.

Games design is an attractive prospect to many who spent their youth in arcades or with their hands firmly glued to a controller but the public perception is far from the truth. The curriculum generally doesn’t involve playing games all day nor are such courses often lax. Understanding of coding, system architecture and other parts of more supposedly serious computer related courses are key building blocks. An infatuation with the hobby is not nearly enough to get you through a full three years. But even with the necessary drive, the road is a slippery one.

Slapping courses together in a rush for fees The advent of online retail and direct download has also meant that it is possible to cut out the middle man so that new developers can have just as much of a chance as the big name publishers.

Indie games such as Braid (pictured) and World of Goo receive critical acclaim and high sales despite not being attached to a known development studio.

The success of such avenues is testament to both the desire for new things in the medium and the vast opportunities available to newcomers. Which is why it’s so frustrating that many aspiring game designers are being misled.

There are currently attempts to legitimise courses either by working towards a standardised skill set or having the curriculum evaluated and given a stamp of approval by industry groups.

Unfortunately this might be too little too late, with the number of courses predicted to balloon to over 300 by UCAS and the fact that many students are already partway through these discredited degrees, games designers might replace all the English students queuing up at the job centre.

Fuse.

In 2006 there were 44 such degrees around the country. This number doubled by 2008 and yet both government and industry bodies agree that only a handful of these are up to standard. Many offer a pick ‘n’ mix skill set which leaves graduates as jacks of all trades, masters of none.

Others provide outdated or overly simplistic versions of what is essentially a computer science degree.

Those cynically minded might blame the universities outright.

The casual observer might suggest they are just slapping together courses in a rush to get a new wave of fee payers.

created by the Nintendo Wii saw a tremendous growth in the market and the Wii remote was held up as the pinnacle of innovation.

But behind any Christmas related hype, people are still playing the same games they were 10 years ago.

There has been no quantum leap and consumers have begun to complain about the tendency of developers to just throw out another World War II shoot ’em up whenever they want a quick buck.

Friday October 23 2009

Graduate jacks of all trades, masters of none.

However the problem facing most computer related subjects is the short half life of anything involved.

System architectures and coding languages change over the course of a few years and will differ between game developers.

Keeping lectures relevant and up-to-date is hard enough with areas of study which you’d expect to be pretty stable.

Many members of the industry would point potential employees to community sites for their gateway to the industry.

Modding, user made content for pre-existing games, was the starting point for many individuals and even entire teams to go on to developing full titles.

The key difference in this route being it is, for all intents and purposes, free and has much more in the way of instant gratification.

Developers often release tools which they used later on in-game productions (SDKs) to the public, which means a complete amateur can come up with something unique in a short amount of time.

Or there are programs like Garry’s mod which facilitates simple scripting in a widely used physics engine, allowing the creation of entirely new games but with the frame already in place.

The major flaw with the community based design education is the lack of structure and measurable traits to show.

Most degrees, in any faculty, stress that they not only teach facts but also good communication skills, team work, critical thinking and other life skills. Many companies are quite happy to take physicists, mathematicians et al, with computer games courses only having any sort of marked advantage in that most students will have developed a portfolio. There are however many more options open to a graduate with a physics degree in the job market.

The industry is in dire need of new blood. The buzz

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Interview.Rich Fulcher.

A modern rebel without a cause Rich Fulcher is advocating revolution in his new book 97 Tiny Acts of Rebellion. He talks to Amy Patricia Smith about sticking it to the man, his latest projects and plans for the next Boosh series.

Fuse.

Friday October 23 2009

R

ich Fulcher cuts quite an imposing figure.

Best known for his role as Bob Fossil in The Mighty Boosh, Fulcher’s larger-than-life personality is at times over-powering and always funny, if occasionally exaggerated. With a sense of humour that manages to be both in-your-face whilst retaining a certain psychedelic edge, Fulcher is undoubtedly one of the most original comedians on television at the moment.

His new book then, Tiny Acts of Rebellion: 97 almost legal ways to stick it to the man, showcases his kaleidoscopic personality at its best as he challenges the reader to complete the 97 acts and stick it to the man, without the man really finding out.

Each act has its own dedicated section, with Fulcher’s surreal prose describing the act and expounding reasons why the establishment should be challenged in these subtle and amusing ways.

Tiny Acts certainly makes for entertaining reading, although sometimes the authors comedy can be an acquired taste. This means that he may only ever be preaching to the converted and Boosh fans.

Fulcher is an experienced comic writer, most famously having produced material for The Mighty Boosh and cult comedy Snuff Box (with Matt Berry). Writing a book seemed the natural next step: “Last year we wrote The Book of Boosh and I wrote the portions for the Fossil character. I got the bug. Since we weren’t doing anything with The Mighty Boosh this year I thought this would be a perfect time for me to write a book.

“I didn’t find it too difficult. Dave Brown [Bollo in The Mighty Boosh] did the design and Mr Bingo did the illustrations, they were really easy to work with and they made me stick to my deadlines. They would say, ‘we need ten more by tomorrow, wake up Rich, wake up!’”

The process of writing for

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Mr Bingo’s artwork brings Fulcher’s ideas to life. a book is different to writing for a comedy show and Fulcher developed his own techniques to produce highquality work: “The process of writing each section involved remembering each tiny act and trying them out.

‘Throughout my life I’ve done these little acts of rebellion’ “I walked around town, I started causing mischief and I asked friends for suggestions. A lot of times I noticed everybody does these tiny acts. They’re not necessarily all the same, but everybody has their own little act of rebellion.

“I wrote each section myself, but if somebody told me about an act that I hadn’t done then I would road-test it to see if it worked. If it passed the inspection then I would include it.”

Inspiration for the book came easily to Fulcher, who

seems to have something of an anti-establishment feeling ingrained within him: “Throughout my life I’ve done these little acts of rebellion, nothing big mind you, but little tiny acts. I thought ‘I’m going to try and write a book about them’.

I’ve tried almost every one of the acts I write about.”

This perfectionism seems to be typical of the comedian.

A devotee to his art, as well as personally trying out the tiny acts he subsequently devised a scale to rate the rebelliousness of each. This, along with the categories that give the book its structure, allow the reader to pick the tiny act most relevant to his or her situation. Luckily, Fulcher seems to have covered quite a variety of scenarios.: “I’ve divided them into categories; if you’re with your boyfriend or your girlfriend and you don’t really want to verbalise a thought – ‘I feel trapped’ – just write a note and put it on the kitchen table.” Or if you’re sick of irritating salespeople, Fulcher has the answer for that too: “When sales people come up to you and want to help

you, get in there first with ‘may I help you?’ This usually leaves them very confused.

Alternatively, if you pay for something say, ‘oh by the way I’ve just farted’. They don’t know what to say to that.”

With the rebellious nature of the suggestions advocated by Fulcher, isn’t he worried about the danger of problems arising: accidents, injuries or potential arrests? He insists that the most worrying incident occurred during the publicity: “To promote the book, the day before it came out we arranged for people to carry out one of the tiny acts I have: flipping off inanimate objects; buildings, kettles, blades of grass, babies... Basically I organised a group to flip off Big Ben. It’s in a very security conscious area and we thought we might get in trouble but it rained so hard that day that I think we were more worried about not getting wet. About 100 people turned up to take part and we definitely flipped off Big Ben.” Fulcher is perhaps the perfect candidate to write a book of this nature. He originally trained as a lawyer before abandoning this to answer his calling in comedy, much to the dismay of his parents.

This undoubtedly gave him a grounding in ‘flipping off’ the man that stays with him to this day.

“I’m writing a screenplay right now about trying to be a lawyer. Initially I was training as a lawyer before I went into comedy. I hated law. After I graduated I went to Second City in Chicago, where Bill Murray and John Belushi went.

I didn’t tell my parents straight away, but it was a gradual process whereby I was an agent first and then a producer.”

His comedic influences from this time certainly come through in the eccentric

‘We’re going to create a revolution here’ tone of his writing: “Monty Python is really a big influence on me. I love Hunter S. Thompson too; he wasn’t so much comedy per se but I loved his craziness.

In the UK I love Chris Morris, Brass Eye and of course Alan Partridge.”

Now that the book is complete, Fulcher will be turning his attention to other projects. Claiming it’s just a matter of time before the next series of The Mighty Boosh is filmed, he’s also hoping to produce another series of Snuff Box: “I’m very proud of all The Boosh stuff because that was definitely

ensemble work but I’m also very proud of Snuff Box because Matt [Berry] and I wrote and performed it all.

It was just the two of us so the burden was on us to do it all. It was really rewarding, especially when people come up to you and say ‘I just loved Snuff Box and it turned me really violent’ [laughs]. We’re hoping to do another series but it’s up to the BBC, and they’re a little less edgy than I’d like. We’ll maybe try to do a stage production as well.”

Tiny Acts is highly entertaining and is everything you would expect from the man who brings Bob Fossil to life. He even invites his readers to take part and submit their own tiny acts to his website, claiming “hopefully we’re going to create a revolution here”. His book is eccentric and witty; a light form of escapism in an increasingly controlled world. It provides a glimpse into Fulcher’s surreal life and demonstrates that there is certainly method in his madness.

Rich Fulcher will be signing copies of his new book at Waterstones, O r c h a r d Square on Monday October 26.

Interview.Kachi Ozumba.

Who have we left in the dark?

Kachi Ozumba’s novel based on his experience of wrongful imprisonment in a Nigerian prison has attracted national attention and critical acclaim.

He talks to Kathryn Withers.

(a Nigerian musician and human rights activist) the reader finds an unexpected sense of joy and laughter in spite of the horrific conditions. Ozumba’s use of descriptive prose brings

to life the experience of imprisonment in such a way that a sense of injustice is evoked in the reader within the first few pages. Making a clear political comment on corruption in Nigeria, The Shadow of a Smile is also a compelling work of fiction.

Anyone interested in the fight for justice and and the struggles some people go through, particularly those

Kachi Ozumba, who is now studying for a research degree in Creative Writing at the University of Newcastle.

Zuba represents himself, Ozumba says about 6070 per cent but admits that the The Shadow of a Smile is an amalgamation of both fact and fiction which conveys not only his own experiences, but also those of others. And it is this desire to realistically inform the world about the plight of others, particularly those who are forgotten on the fringes of society, that resonates so strongly in both his literature and conversation.

When speaking to Ozumba, it is clear that he doesn’t want people to pity him; in fact he humbly insists that many people go through a lot worse than him.

Since his release he has done his part to help correct the international problem of false imprisonment, even going as far as to secure the freedom of two other prisoners by paying their bail.

And here we are presented with a situation where the fictional characters directly mirror the author’s own experience. In referring to a character called Papa, Ozumba explains that while he was in prison “there was someone just like Papa who is free today, and up until today he still calls me his son. He tells everybody if not for this person I would have died in there.” Far

from flaunting his act of selflessness, Ozumba’s modesty is refreshing and proves that he really believes that by making changes in our own little way we can resist corruption.

‘Many people go through a lot worse’ Ironically, in Nigeria, prison bail is technically free and Ozumba jokes about the signs declaring this that can be found in all police stations and are often parodied in the country’s cartoons.

Nevertheless in a vicious twist on our notion of ‘innocent until proven guilty’, in Nigeria the reverse is true and even then you have to pay for your release. The author is keen to make it known that his debut novel is more than just a comment on the corruption of prison officials and instead an allegory for the hierarchical, unethical structure of society as a whole, where your finances determine your rights and everything is controlled by an immoral leader.

At first I thought I would find little to relate to in a tale of false imprisonment in Nigeria, but Ozumba has cleverly used a flawed protagonist to remind the reader that we are all trapped in our personal prisons, where self-doubt and low self-esteem limit our opportunities. The author is clearly aware that any reader will be able to identify with Zuba on this point and so the novel transcends cultural boundaries, even for those who know little about Nigeria. Which is lucky as it is yet to be published in the very country it is set in, although it is hoped that it will be in the near future.

In his next novel, Ozumba intends to take this connection between members of different societies to a new level.

Although still putting together ideas for it, Ozumba intends to focus on a Nigerian and British protagonist whose life experiences mirror each other’s and only realise this when they eventually meet.

His enthusiasm for his writing is contagious and I am being sincere when I tell Kachi Ozumba that I am looking forward to reading his next novel.

Fuse.

‘I was trying to make the best of an adverse experience’

in other cultures, won’t be able to put this book down.

The light hearted way in which he recounts his own ordeal, where a government strike over minimum pay led to his being locked up for six weeks, is a perfect example of Ozumba’s ability to see the humour in the negative.

Ozumba describes the book as an “example of trying to make the best out of an adverse experience,” and the indomitable nature of the human spirit is a theme which comes across strongly in the novel. Ozumba introduces it by telling us that this is a story which explores the intrinsic ability of humans to find humour in awful circumstances, citing examples such as the survivors of the Gulag and Holocaust who were forced to make the best out of harrowing circumstances.

The fact that Ozumba is currently researching incarceration fiction at the University of Newcastle is testimony to his belief that the worst events can set your life on a different path.

When asked if he believes in fate, Ozumba answers that everything that happens for a reason, but that it is up to the individual to find the positive in a bad situation and make the most of it, just as he has done.

After originally attempting to write the novel in the first person, Ozumba found that he needed to create distance between Zuba, the main protagonist, and himself so that as well as being an entertaining work of fiction, the novel could also be cathartic for him.

When asked to what extent

Friday October 23 2009

Sheffield’s annual Off the Shelf Festival of Reading and Writing has brought together not only the literary community of our Steel City, but also creative craftsmen from farther afoot. One such example is Nigerian Kachi A. Ozumba, whom I had the pleasure of meeting.

Kachi first received recognition when he won the 2006 Penguin Decibel Short Story Prize.

However, after being falsely arrested for a crime that didn’t even occur, downto earth Ozumba turned his attention to writing an novel based on his own experiences. He even began planning The Shadow of a Smile while still in prison by noting down observations and conversations using an exercise book and pencil that were smuggled to him.

The book gives an original twist to coming of age fiction.

When the main protagonist, Zuba, finds himself incarcerated in a Nigerian prison for a crime he didn’t commit, he is forced to pass from childhood into adulthood as he fights to prove his innocence. While the character of Zuba is at first portrayed as weak and cowardly, the spiral of events beginning with his father’s stroke begins a journey of character development which eventually transforms anti-hero to hero.

Despite the stark portrayal of life inside a Nigerian prison, the novel manages to be funny and poignant without trivialising Zuba’s struggle. Alongside the horrors and humiliations of the ‘inside world’, a term for prison coined by Fela Kuti,

7

Feature.Sarah Dunant.

HIST IN T RE-PAIN

At Sheffield’s Off the Shelf Festiva

Dunant about the latest book in

women caught up in the heady th

Fuse.

Friday October 232009

and her conviction that the histor

8

Sacred Hearts is the final volume in Sarah Dunant’s Renaissance ‘tryptych’ of novels (a reference to a type of three-panel religious painting) about the lives and passions of women in the Italian Renaissance of the 14th and 15th centuries. For most of us it is the great art that is familiar.

Michelangelo’s David, Botticelli’s Venus and Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. But for historians the Renaissance is also the wellspring of most of the scientific and political ideas that made the modern world, and for Dunant, a powder keg of human passions with the power to ignite the imagination. My first question upon meeting her is how she came to discover those passions.

“My love of history was very early. I was one of those teenagers who read one historical novel after another.

The trajectory between reading my first novel and doing history at Cambridge – you can’t see the join. They were the sort of historical novels that were coming out 40 years ago – about kings and queens, love affairs and battles, a lot about Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. They’re very romantic books, which is why people are attracted to them. It did light a fire in me.

“I was completely obsessed by the past and history. So then I started doing history at university and having the romance completely beaten out of it – very pleasurably, of course, but understanding that history is really complicated.

I never realised then I would ever have the confidence to

write a historical novel.

“Forty years later and the idea for my first novel, The Birth of Venus, came to me when I spent a summer in Italy, in Florence, and began to peel back the skin of the city. And my God, if you actually sink into, it leaves you gasping. You’re asking ‘500 years ago, what the hell happened here?’ Because this was a revolution. A bloodless cultural revolution, but everything changes: religious thinking, political thinking, art, culture.

I thought it would be amazing if you could write a novel that recaptured that feeling – that shock of the new.

How nerve-wracking and intoxicating it must have been.

‘I had to ask this question where were the women?’

“That was the first part of it. Then my daughters came to stay with me. I was determined to show them everything I knew about Florence’s history (of course, at that age they didn’t want to learn).

But I quickly realised that every single thing I was going to show them was male. Religious and political figures, translators, scholars, artists. They were all men. And that is where the impetus for the novel began, because I had to ask this question – where were they, the women? Did they have a Renaissance?”

Above: The firs of the Italian tr Art from Sacred

Each one o books focuse character in th life roles that to ambitious wo Renaissance: a wife, a prostitute, and explore the w could find in

R

TORY THE NTING

al, Richard Scott talks to Sarah

n her trilogy of thrillers about

hroes of the Italian Renaissance

rical novel has changed forever.

Fuse.

of Dunant’s es on a he only three t were open women in the a nobleman’s professional a nun. They ways women ndependence

been intimidating?

“There were scenes in The Birth of Venus with the mother and the two daughters that I was almost too terrified to write. If you’re talking about figures from the past like Machiavelli or the Medici, there are sources, there are voices in the past you have to match.

We have accounts of women in conversation with men, but no record of how they spoke to each other alone.

In the end I realised that was a great freedom for a writer. I’m not going to get it right, but I’m not going to get it wrong. With women you have to create credible characters who embody the historical moment.”

In the first two novels there was always a mystery running alongside the emotional journey of her characters. Is this the case in Sacred Hearts, I wonder, and what does Dunant believe it adds to the story?

“My apprenticeship was writing thrillers. It taught me if I want someone to read a novel in the past then I have to pull them out of the present and hold them there. You have to embed the history in the story. In the pacing of thrillers there is always threat, questioning or some kind of mystery: contradiction, compulsion or conflict.

“Sacred Hearts has conflict. It’s about a power struggle in the convent - a real republic of women between the pragmatic group, who don’t want to be there, and the fundamentalists, who are committed to religion or see it as a way to power. It’s about the liberal versus the fundamental.”

Friday October 23 2009

st two books rilogy. Right: ed Hearts.

and creativity in a maledominated society. “Assume that you’re a woman, you’re smart, you’re having a Renaissance education, and you have a talent for drawing.

I really don’t believe it all went to men. I understand clearly why men got to put their hands on the walls and women didn’t – but what would it be like?

There is a whole hidden history there.

Students probably know a lot more about that now – it’s all been coming out in the work of historians over the last 30 or 40 years. There were very powerful, smart and cultured courtesans who could write philosophy and poetry and could play the male game, although not forever. Very powerful nuns could do it too.”

And for Dunant, the ground-swell of history dealing with the lives of ordinary people should make those traditional romances of kings and queens a thing, so to say, of the past. ‘My beef is: the historical novel has changed. Or if it hasn’t, it damn well should have done. A book like In the Company of the Courtesan couldn’t have been written without 30 years of PhDs and scholars looking beyond the famous names – and that fresh perspective is what is so exciting.”

As a historian myself I can empathise with Dunant’s excitement, but I am also impressed by her boldness. Shedding light on those dark areas can be a frustrating enough effort in the pages of a history book without the added challenge of bringing them to life believably in fiction – surely the task must have

9

Reviews.Music.

The American dream The seven movements and accompanying interludes - best listened to in order - showcase a wide variety of instruments and themes.

The ethereal, glistening violins in more atmospheric sections such as ‘Dream Sequence in Subi Circumnavigation,’ contrast but avoid clashing with the more frantic movements such as the electronicallyinfused ‘Traffic Shock,’ which incorporates a drum machine and synthesised harmonies.

The two final interludes, ‘Subi Power Waltz’ and ‘Invisible Accidents’ move almost seamlessly through musical styles, from classical waltz and jazz piano, before building into a powerful orchestral climax.

Whilst the album as a musical concept probably makes more sense alongside the accompanying BrooklynQueens Expressway visuals, it is an interesting and worthwhile listen, if only for

Album Sufjan Stevens The BQE

Fans of the catchy melodies and thoughtful lyrics which characterised Sufjan Stevens’ previous offerings, such as Michigan and Illinoise - both revered on the indie-folk scene - should prepare to open their minds.

The BQE is Stevens’ instrumental tribute to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, and marks the prolific New York-based singer-songwriter’s foray into the world of classical composition.

Alongside a 36-piece orchestra, Stevens premiered his latest work at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, alongside an original film inspired by the road itself.

Album

The Holloways have been through a lot since the release of their debut album in 2006.

A fire which destroyed their spiritual home, the Nambucca venue in north London, was promptly followed by the departure of drummer Dave Danger and multi-instrumentalist Rob Skipper.

Despite the line-up changes, those familiar with The Holloways will not encounter any wholesale changes to the band’s sound.

As one might expect, this is a collection of material filled with uptempo, energetic and sunny sounding numbers.

Also present is the trademark ska influence and multi-instrumentation, (steel drums on opening track ‘AAA’ being a particularly nice touch).

One of the major strong points is the witty, sharp and slick lyrics, depicting inner city muggings in ‘Cool Down’,

Fuse.

Friday October 23 2009

The Holloways No Smoke,No Mirrors

10

errant school children in ‘Little Johnny Went to Parliament’ and days lost in front of bad television.

‘Public Service Broadcast’ is arguably the best instance of engaging social commentary, a wry side-swipe at popular culture, typified by the lines “BBC and ITV are meant to educate, they’re PSBs / But I might as well watch QVC”.

Biting observations aside, The Holloways have by no means started trying to lecture their audience, reminding attentive ears, “I just want to have some fun / If that’s alright with you”.

However, this makes the unfortunate lapses all the more noticeable. ‘Alcohol’ is particularly tired and unoriginal as is ‘Sinners ’n Winners’. Furthermore, some of the chord sequences and progressions seem formulaic and are hardly different from earlier material.

A notable exception to this is ‘Knock Me Down’, which has a moodier and more introspective feel, combining strings and minor chords emotively.

This will never be remembered as an exercise in timeless song writing, but it’s certainly entertaining and worth a listen.

Alex Burgess

the sheer diversity of multiinstrumentalist Stevens’ composition.

The BQE is undoubtedly an ambitious project. To some listeners it may appear to have a slight delusion of grandeur.

Should the line from popular to classical music be so readily crossed?

Maybe so. Stevens’ talent for his signature folk songs are not eclipsed by this venture into new territory, and with any luck he will continue to pen spiritual, sing-along tracks such as ‘Chicago’ and ‘Casimir Pulaski Day’.

If nothing else, The BQE is a brave attempt to do something different.

With this project, Sufjan Stevens is stepping decidedly away from the socalled ‘indie-pop’ subculture where everyone is starting to sound, and look, very much the same.

Lizzie Palmer

Album

Album

Sub Focus Sub Focus

The Scratch Whatever Happened to Friday Night?

Nick Douwma, better known as DJ Sub Focus has been on top of the drum and bass scene since 2003. Now, six years later, his self-named album Sub Focus has finally dropped.

There have been high expectations for Sub Focus’ debut album and it certainly hasn’t disappointed. With a brilliant introduction and intensifying bass it is exactly what we would expect from this man.

Apart from the expected ‘Rock It’ and ‘Timewarp’ (both of which have topped the UK dance charts before) the rest of the album is extraordinary.

The album covers so many different genres including dubstep, house and jungle and with many tracks crossing over two or three genres alone, Sub Focus can easily be considered eclectic.

Douwma hasn’t compromised on production quality either; ‘Move Higher’ is an unexpectedly superior electro-house track that really shows off the British producer’s talents.

Despite all this, there are also plenty of first-class tracks for the drum and bass purists.

‘Splash’ deserves a special mention: it maintains a satisfying rock feel which makes dancing completely unavoidable.

‘Could This Be Real’ is a breakthrough which mixes dubstep with a retro piano riff that emerges from nowhere.

Despite following the classic guidelines, ‘Triple X’,

Better late than never: Sub Focus releases his debut album. is slightly cheesy, meaning album with minimalist it doesn’t really reflect the arrangements but also a rest of the album. statement of where they Concerns aside, Sub stand as musicians that Focus has managed have worked together since to destroy many genre they were 10-years-old. boundaries whilst staying It would be boring to use loyal to his original drum the term ‘mature’, but when and bass roots, which songs talk about one taking makes the final result very the blame and not putting it impressive. onto others, then it might be more fair to use that cliché.

Ollie Laslett “Maybe it was me that made you old / stole whatever it was that made you glow” confess both Erlend and Eirik in ‘Power Kings Of of Not Knowing’, which is probably the most honest Convenience song in the album.

Declaration of The perceived tension Dependence probably helped them canalize their feelings in an album teeming with Bossa Nova rhythms and cathartic lyrics (“So we meet again after several years / several After a five year drought years of separation”) that where it seemed the speak of relationships at all Norwegian duo were done levels. for, Kings of Convenience Liberating and intimate, have returned to form with Declaration of Dependence a splendid album full of is an album that deserves finger picking and intimate to be listened to in its lyrics. entirety and needs to be to If you believe some of completely get the message their recent declarations, they want to promote.

Declaration of Dependence is not only another personal Samuel Valdes Lopez

Album

Put simply, Whatever Happened to Friday Night? is a great example of how not to make an album. You would think that having formed seven long years ago, and achieving in the mean time little more than a number one single in the unsigned bands chart and a couple of testimonials from Clint Boon, St Albans’ group The Scratch would have either developed or called it quits.

The aforementioned number one single, ‘You Want the World’ combines everything that’s annoying about shit punk bands: illinformed and accusatory lyrics, nasally caustic vocals, unimaginative power chords and contrived aggression.‘Independent Unrepentant’, ‘Against the Grain’ and ‘Whatever Happened to Friday Night?’ follow in much the same vein, at least lending the album some level of continuity.

The production is - excuse my French - piss poor and the sleeve art is just a girl with mascara on her face.

Honestly, swine flu is more fun.

Does anyone care what happened on Friday night?

Most people just go out on the town. Losing 40 minutes of life to the most laborious, soul-sucking record ever made is much more concerning. The truth is that it would never have been released if it wasn’t on their own record label.

Joe Christmas

Reviews.Music.

Slow-burning and clever Live Cats and Cats and Cats + Maybeshewill + Firesuite The Harley 11/10/2009 They may look as twee as Los Campesinos! in appearance, but the immediacy and aggression of set opener ‘Happiness for Lola’ revealed Cats and Cats and Cats may have more in common with post-hardcore innovators Glassjaw.

Their front man, the curiously-named Bongo Gong, lives and breathes every guitar strum; convulsing frenziedly across The Harley’s stage; before announcing, as is tradition whenever they play Sheffield, that they would play the song again, at a much different speed.

Played at half the pace, ‘...Lola’ takes on a new

lease of life; the subtleties that go unnoticed when played with such ferocity are exposed, and the shimmering melodic guitar and dreamy electronics come to the fore.

Sadly by now, the crowd, which hadn’t risen above slim all night, was now very slight indeed.

The majority of the audience, it seemed came to see instrumental post-rock four-piece Maybeshewill, who had played prior to Cats x3.

Their loud and aggressive brand of post-rock is a much more accessible and compelling alternative to the countless other bands of that genre, where the point gets lost somewhere between pretentiousness of the band and the boredom of the listener.

Interspersing excerpts of film dialogue over the more melodic sections and soaring crescendo, Maybeshewill provided a dense and atmospheric

set.

Openers on the evening were Sheffield’s Firesuite, who took on the loud-bit/ quiet-bit dynamics with much aplomb.

The boy-girl shared vocals were never anything but earnest and heartfelt, and their sound mixed equal parts Smashing Pumpkins with the anthems of poppunk.

Those that remained for Cats and Cats and Cats’ set, however, would have witnessed an intelligent and experimental band that still very much retains their pop sensibilities; right down to Gong humorously renaming one song ‘Hit Me Baby, One More Time’, to the three-part harmonies that succeeded it.

The slow-burning set closer, with a prominent, soaring violin section, signalled that Cats and Cats and Cats are a capable band with many strings to their bow.

Jordan Tandy

Mimas + Shapes The Red House 13/10/2009

Live Themselves Bungalows and Bears 15/10/2009

Example Plug 12/10/2009 Example may arrive from the love of hip hop, but he goes in an opposite direction: in his own words he makes “dysfunctional electro-pop”.

And he is damn good at it.

But first things first: it’s

Gig Gallery

sheet of paper handed to him, or word games – “We put the ‘zap’ in ‘RZA, please stop making music’”.

As well as old tracks, and new songs from their forthcoming third album CrownsDown, Themselves perform cover versions of tracks by other projects they were involved in, namely Subtle and cLOUDDEAD. At one point, Doseone ends up delving his way into the audience, and the next he is holding a bouquet of roses; all the while he is a captivating MC and frontman, whilst Jel’s production remains intelligent and experimental all the way through.

Themselves are challenging and unconventional, as is the ethos of the majority of the artists found on Anticon.

And it is this constant pushing of the boundaries of music that makes them one of the most impressive labels at the moment, and Themselves a major part of that group.

Jordan Tandy

Fuse.

Live

Photo: Sam Bennett Monday, and thus should be dedicated to recover from the weekend’s hangover, not to hip hop gigs.

Nonetheless, the club is dark and ready to party.

When Example appears on stage, he gets the fully, enthusiastic, readyto-dance attention of the crowd.

Again, he’s no Eminem with a posh accent. Born and raised in Fulham, he doesn’t pretend to speak from the ghetto; he mainly talks about love, dating and clubbing, and by keeping it easy he also gets the right vibe.

He appears on stage in a black and white country shirt, half cowboy, half surfer; hair straightened up to underline any possible effort to look cool.

He conquers credibility with the energy, the fun, the confident flow he pours onto the audience; he turns a boring Monday night in some reckless, careless clubbing.

Tonight, Anticon.’s adventurous alternative hiphop duo, Themselves; MC Doseone, and producer Jel, return to live performance after a six year hiatus. They have kept themselves busy working on various other projects and collaborations, but this time it was back to their roots.

Themselves begin with Jel dropping a heavy, claustrophobic, almost

industrial beat, before Doseone launches into a furious rapid-fire flow of abstract and surrealist libretto.

He seems to speak to every member of the crowd; rallying them, as if electioneering. As the song finishes, Dose gives the audience a military hand salute, before beginning his discourse with both Jel and the audience; something he continues to do throughout the show, providing in equal parts, humour and bizarre reflections on life, love and the latest Guns N’ Roses record.

Doseone’s appearance Mohican haircut and denim jacket - contrasts with his nasal high-pitched voice, and frequent bouts of freestyle poetry.

At junctures during the set he begins improvisational free-styling, including one about Sheffield (“You have a lot of stores...”), and even tries his hand at rapping an audience member’s homemade lyrical endeavours from a

Friday October 23 2009

Shapes, pulling shapes. exposed small frames (a “Mr Puny-verse contest”) and Mimas’ return to the land of “Carlsberg, bacon and Peter Schmeichel”.

Beyond the usual dedications to one another there seems to be a genuine camaraderie between the bands on the bill that lends a truly warm atmosphere to the evening; a sense that this could be the best free parties you’ve been invited to in a while.

Kyle Rice

Eclectic supergroup Dreadzone didn’t let injury stop Bez- endorsed moves at Corporation. For a full review visit www.forgetoday.com.

Photo: Sam Bennett It’s the perfect dancing situation and the DJ set is very well connected to his voice. He claims to be a rapper “who happens to make huge, catchy choruses”: no poet of counter-culture, but you could really dance to it all night.

Marta Musso

Live

A free gig - awesome. And there are free pastries provided in honour of our Scandinavian visitors. Even better, no?

As Mimas take to the stage overheard is a discussion of exactly what to expect. “They sound very Danish” is the verdict of one punter, and it’s hard to deny the truth of the statement.

There is a certain foreign nature to their lush sounds; rich in texture, serene brass interludes and bizarre lyrics (is he saying “armpits”?).

They fill the now-packed venue with waves of sound that cause all heads in the room to bob, caught in the current.

Technology issues halfway through leave them unfazed, opting to share microphones for their harmonies and joyous gang yells, and they leave the stage having enthralled and charmed throughout.

In contrast, Shapes offer up a more unapologetically raucous experience, with their twisting and turning guitar parts, unfathomable time signatures and dual yelped vocals that continually sound like a slanging match.

The beauty of their performance lies in the juxtaposition of this noisy attack - swinging from the angular to the psychedelic, and back again – with that of Mimas.

Despite the clash of sounds, they somehow complement each other.

The crowd has no issues getting their heads round the abrupt shift and there are smiles all round at the banter based around their

Gig Gallery

Johnny Foreigner drop in at The Harley ahead of the release of their second album “yet to leak, we’ve checked”.

Photo: Sam Bennett

11

Feature.Media.

Fresh from the Forge Review ForgeTV #1 Regular visitors to Forgetoday.com may have already noted an ominous black video-shaped box on our homepage; no ordinary box, it in fact heralds Forge TV’s debut full-length broadcast, featuring a variety of news, interviews, music and how-to’s.

Following a revealing tour around Forge TV HQ with hosts Georgia and Nigel, Union President Paul Tobin is grilled on his aims for the coming year, whether there’s a place for politics in the Union and, more pertinently, whether Forge TV can have any more funding (clue: the answer isn’t yes).

Elsewhere, Forge Press’ own Paul Garbett talks to Student Sports Officer Kate Rickard about getting the University to acknowledge the importance of sport with the aim of greater success in the future.

It might seem far too early to be thinking about Varsity, but with Rickard promising an event “bigger and better than ever before”, and confirming that discussions with Sheffield United on the subject of hosting the event

Photo: Sam Bennett

The cameras roll at Forge TV HQ. are currently taking place, it’s hard not to get excited.

The greatest pulling factor

to those of you with far too many free afternoons will be an interview with Wakefield

born-and-bred Loose Woman Jane McDonald.

McDonald waxes lyrical

about her daytime show as well as her past experiences, with highlights including

12

Jeremy Peel

Listen online at www.forgeradio.com, in the Union or at The Edge

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thurs

Fri

Sat

Sun

8 - 9am The Monday Breakfast Show

8 - 9am The Tuesday Breakfast Show

8 - 9am The Wednesday Breakfast Show

8 - 9am The Thursday Breakfast Show

8 - 9am The Friday Breakfast Show

9 - 10.30am Heal Your Hangover

12.30 - 2pm The Sunday Snews

9 - 10.30am The Edge on Forge

9 - 10.30am The Noble Morton Sessions

9 - 10.30am Georgina and Charlie Gatecrash

9 - 10.30am Dale Wetter

9 - 10.30am That Friday Show

10:30 - 12.00am The Punchline

2- 3:30pm Good Vibrations

10.30am - 12pm Straight Outta Crookesmoor

10.30am - 12pm Harry Horton

10.30am - 12pm Evil Home Stereo

10.30am - 12pm Something for the weekend

12 - 1.30pm Cultural Implosion

3.30 - 5pm Dubstep Forwards 2-step Backwards

10.30am - 12pm The Happy Monday Show 12 - 1.30pm Hey, Monday 1.30 - 3pm Gus and Sam’s Hour of Power (and 30 minutes) 3 - 4.30pm What a Wonderful World

12 - 1.30pm MnM: The Mikey and Mark Show 1.30 - 3pm Charlie Hardwick and Olivia Morley

12 - 1.30pm 100 RPM

12 - 1.30pm Matt and Lena SupaShow

1.30 - 3pm Unplugged

1.30 - 3pm The Pid and Imo Show

1.30 - 3pm The Alternative Show

3 - 4.30pm PG Tips

3 - 4.30pm Mike Mike and Mic Show with Glenn

3 - 4.30pm Ready for the Weekend

4.30 - 5pm Thursday News

4.30 - 5pm Your Sport

5 - 6.30pm FUSE

5 - 6.30pm Schubert Lemon

6.30 - 8pm Brewing up trouble

6.30 - 8pm The Melting Pot

8 - 9.30pm Come Grime with Me

8 - 9.30pm Tokyo Sexwale Show

9.30 - 11pm Clara Chinnery and Eric Shapiro

9.30 - 11pm The Soundclash

3 - 4.30pm Walk Talk

4.30 - 5pm Blue Like an Orange

4.30 - 5pm Monday News

4.30 - 5pm Cricklewood

5 - 6.30pm Chart Show

5 - 6.30pm Colin and Ben

5 - 6.30pm Jed and Jen

6.30 - 8pm Chris Conway

6.30 - 8pm Katherine and Anna

6.30 - 8pm The Lovely Show

8 - 9.30pm KC

8 - 9.30pm Sports Desk

8 - 9.30pm Kristi Genovese

9.30 - 11pm 1337

9.30 - 11pm Tom Bowles Hip Hop Show

9.30 - 11pm Beats and Pieces

11pm - 1am Ready Steady Crunk

Fuse.

Friday October 23 2009

Forge Radio schedule

her take on Joan Rivers’ now infamous sweary appearance (“I’m really glad I was on that show!”).

She can’t help but have a swipe at men – we will never have a Loose Men, apparently, as males won’t open up in public – and is just flirtatious enough to put our host on edge, making for hugely entertaining viewing.

What looks like a great regular feature comes in the Zane Lowe Gonzo format – only marginally less gonzo – as all four members of local indie troupe The Crookes are squeezed onto a tiny couch for interrogation.

While topics cover everything from financial pies to hotdogs with Matt Helders, perhaps the most striking revelation comes when Steve Lamacq is outed as a devoted supporter of Colchester United.

The band talk about their newfound respect for Richard Hawley and ’50s American singers – although as they spend the duration of the interview staring at their laces a new shoegaze direction seems more likely – and end with a mellow studio rendition of ‘More Blitz than Ritz’.

All in all it’s a promising start for the new format, with plenty more to come.

11pm - 1am The Jazz Show

11pm - 1am Forge In Trance4nation

11pm - 1am Gutter Music

12 - 1.30pm Ed and Guy

11pm - 1am Bedrock Late Night with Ashley

1.30 - 3pm The Saturday Meltdown 3 - 4.30pm Owen in Rock 5 - 6.30pm The Globetrotter 6.30 - 8pm Ace and Hannah’s Emo 101 8 - 9.30pm False Idols 9.30 - 11pm Keyboard Cats 11pm - 1am Morgi Music

5 - 6pm The Shrimps Present 6 - 7.30pm Soon I Will Be Invincible 7.30 - 9pm Talk Forge 9 - 10.30pm The Liam White Show

Reviews.Screen.

A moving masterpiece Documentary The Cove Out Now

I have a confession to make, or a masculine gloat to share, depending on how you look at it - a film has never brought me to tears.

Sure, during a few I have welled up, perhaps most notably and predictably The Shawshank Redemption brought me closest to the brink, but The Cove brought the first tearfall.

I am not remotely ashamed, for it is an affecting experience and a truly remarkable documentary.

Richard O’Barry shot to stardom in the 1960s as the world’s finest dolphin trainer and star of the hit television programme Flipper, which sowed the seeds for the captive dolphin industry.

As time moved on, however, so did the enterprise and it quickly began to lose its innocence, becoming a billion-dollar industry with no regard for the welfare of dolphins.

O’Barry became convinced that dolphins did

not belong in captivity, and has fought for over 40 years for their release.

Taiji, Japan is home to the world’s biggest dolphin slaughterhouse, around 23,000 dolphins are mindlessly killed each year in a remote waterway known as ‘the cove’, an area of no public access.

The Cove sees Director Louie Psihoyos and O’Barry assemble a team of activists, filmmakers and free divers; an amphibious A-Team who attempt to uncover Japan’s biggest secret.

The infiltration mission provides for some incredible footage.

The team are fearless in their quest to expose the barbarity which hides in the cove, and with the Japanese law enforcement in constant pursuit there are plenty of heart-pounding moments.

This is all compounded by the fact that as easily as this could be mistaken for a fictitious thriller, it is of course reality.

This is however, if you will pardon the pun, only the tip of the iceberg. One of the joys of The Cove is the tremendous scope of material which first-time director Psihoyos manages to pack into 90 minutes.

Although the infiltration of the cove is the centrepiece,

By any means necessary: Richard O’Barry has fought tirelessly to put an end to dolphin captivity. the documentary as a oblivious generation. industry he perhaps had willing to risk their personal whole launches a relentless This is all beautifully the power to safeguard freedom for what is right, as diatribe on Japanese policy. intertwined with O’Barry’s dolphins, but instead is well as questioning the right Nothing is left unturned personal story. What is so now left trying to slay the to kill a species which may as the team and other interesting about the man is monster he helped create. be more intelligent than contributing colleagues tear that he is not only devoted The account is often humankind. apart the government and to the worldwide welfare heartbreaking, and his road The Cove is an utterly force it to bear it’s shame. of dolphins, but also with to redemption unforgettably inspiring documentary They uncover public washing the blood from his moving. which thoroughly deserves health cover-ups and the own hands.

The success is also down all the accolades and devastating effects of He claims a share of the to what it manages to avoid. awards it has received. mercury poisoning (caused responsibility for the current Never irritatingly preachy or by dolphin meat) which is crisis, lamenting how once self-celebratory, it simply Mark Clement threatening the lives of an being the godfather of the documents a team who are of the film that makes it a masterpiece.

With its blend of adult and childish humour, Up will be enjoyed by all ages. Pixar have delivered another wild, heartfelt adventure that proves they can do no wrong.

Film Up Out Now

Melissa Gillespie

DVD NewTown Killers Out Now moments with this quaint little gingerbread style house floating amongst the clouds.

Up appears to be Pixar’s bravest feature yet as we are thrown into a strange world with packs of talking dogs, giant birds eating chocolate and a thrilling Star Wars style finale.

The creators, as always, constantly play with stereotypes to add a touch of realism to this world.

The relationship between Carl and the stowaway on his ship, Russell an eightyear-old wilderness explorer, is perfectly reminiscent of a grandfather and grandson.

Working with the simple personas of an irritating little chubby kid and a typical grumpy old man that has somehow morphed into the shape of a cube with age, they create exquisitely timed comedy.

It is this inventiveness coupled with the simplicity

Set in inner city Edinburgh, and comprising of a mysterious game of hide and seek played between teenager Sean (James Anthony Pearson) and two shady bankers, Alistair and Jamie (Dougray Scott and Alistair Mackenzie), New Town Killers overflows with both grittiness and unpleasantness.

Sean’s debt-ridden sister, Alice, needs £12,000, and fast. Working in a restaurant toilet, and warned that if he messes up a Pole will be snapping up his job, Sean is approached by Alistair and Jamie, who tell him that if he survives the night he can use a key to open a locker at Edinburgh train station containing £12,000. How convenient.

Conceded, the plot may be a touch too tedious for some and not a great strength, nevertheless, the film does boast quality in

Simon Reilly

Fuse.

the epitome of old age as he struggles to retain his dignity and voice; against his will his house is about to be demolished, people believe he is crazy, and now he is being forced into a retirement home.

Carl’s deterioration from a hopeful child into this fragile old man makes this opening sequence just as poignant and sad as the death of Bambi’s mum.

Being aimed at children though, of course there is a moral message, and this one is quite simply to never give up and follow your dreams, and what better way for Carl to escape his mundane life and fly to South America, than to fill up thousands of balloons with helium and fly away in his house.

With a rapid burst of primary colours on the screen, Pixar have exceeded in creating one of the most bizarre and magical

an end sequence which sees him disguise himself as one of the bankers at his workplace to uncover an address.

However, the film ultimately suffers too much from structural flaws, a weak ending, and by cramming its characterisation and premise into the first 20 minutes to ever really get off the ground. It simply becomes too threadbare to encourage any engagement or empathy.

Without Pearson’s decent display as Sean, who rises above the one-dimensional bankers, there would be nothing for the viewer to latch onto.

There is also an embarrassing whiff of a recession allegory which is clumsily handled and quite unbearable.

Economic upheavals may be valid subject matter for films, but they can certainly be handled with more finesse than this.

Friday October 23 2009

Since the death of the hand drawn cartoon, and the successes of computer animation so far, the big studios appear to be constantly churning out lifeless animated films full of celebrity cameos to cover up for their inadequate plots, failing to live up to the magic of Pixar.

Everyone seems to think they have mastered computer animation, and maybe they have in a technical sense, but Pixar are the true pioneers of this technology and are the only company to have coupled this with the art of storytelling.

With classics in their back catalogue like Toy Story and Wall-E, you wonder if Pixar can keep reaching such a dizzyingly high bar. But their new animated feature, Up, continues to be just as imaginative, witty and charming as all the rest.

In Up we are first introduced to a young Carl Fredrickson as he falls in love with an adventurous young girl, Ellie, a spirited dreamer who longs to travel and live in South America.

They marry and have a long happy life together, but 70 years after their first meeting, she dies.

Carl Fredrickson becomes

other areas.

There is no doubt that director Richard Jobson is successful at delineating a poverty-line existence.

The first half of the film gives us a vivid panoramic sweep of this environment where nothing is missed; the high-rise estates, dingy nightclubs, graffiti-scrawled backstreets and the streetroaming rent boys are all captured nicely.

A key, albeit overwritten, scene between the bankers provides the catalogue of all the things they hate, comprising of just about everything, from benefitscroungers to the state.

There is an interesting tension between the amoral, vitriolic Scott and Mackenzie, who is more sympathetic to the plight of the individuals around him, which works particularly well.

Pearson is successful as Sean; the viewer cannot help but admire his ingenuity to escape from unsettling situations, culminating in

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Reviews.Games.

FIFA 10 is top of the league

Multiplatform FIFA 10 PS3, 360,Wii, PC, PS2, DS, PSP, iPhone, N-Gage, and Mobiles

Unsurprisingly for some, FIFA 10 raises the bar again. With improvements in almost every aspect of gameplay, its clear that this is not simply FIFA ’09 with a new box and some graphical tweaks.

EA Canada’s most notable update is the new 360 degree movement options, dominating the eight directional system previously used. This allows for minor tweaks in a player’s run or shot that can make a huge difference.

The only quibble is when running along a sideline; it is very easy to accidentally run the ball out for a throw in, especially when you’re used to the AI doing

Multiplatform

It seems that all big movie franchises will have the obligatory soundtrack, book adaption and more recently a game tie-in. Often such attempts are rushed and end up being clones of other more popular games.

The new movie from Disney Pixar, Up isn’t an exception to this rule by any stretch of the imagination.

Up is a platformer focused around the two main characters from the film, Carl and Russell, as they manoeuvre through levels loosely based on locations from the movie.

The gameplay centres on both of the characters having different abilities and so they’re able to traverse obstacles before helping the other through.

There are not many of these puzzles (and I use the term ‘puzzle’ generously).

It feels just as you

Fuse.

Friday October 23 2009

UP 360,Wii, PS3, PS2, DS, PSP, PC and OSX

14

l e a r n how the mechanics work you have seen everything it has to offer and so from there onwards you simply have to repeat the same tasks.

Admittedly this should

everything it can to keep the ball in play. Not a huge price to pay for far more freedom and greater realism.

This is simply the best football game on the market to date, with little change in graphics over the past few years developers have come round to the notion that gameplay is key. With an ever improving tackling system, confrontations are much more realistic and relatively easy to get the hang of.

There is a new balance concept, whereby over committing can easily result in a foul, and faster players may often fall over easier.

Frustrating as this can be, it turns out that insulting the player doesn’t improve his play (no matter how much of a pussy he is).

The commentary is rarely dull, with some lengthy conversations about various teams/players, less noticeable when its mistimed, and slightly more enjoyable when it is spot on. This combined with a less ridiculous referee makes the game instantly become repetitive but instead in an odd way this predictability gives the game a great flow and if you are playing cooperatively with a friend it gives a feeling of unison. Half an hour later of course, it just becomes monotonous.

There is a nice feature however in the extremely easy drop in/drop out two player co-op play, although the game has no online compatibility and with four friendly characters on screen at one time it is a wonder this game didn’t ship with four player co-op.

Sadly the game never quite does enough to impress, even in the games high points such as shooting down a waterfall before fighting off a giant serpent are completely spoilt by later greeting you with the exact same scenario except this time you fight an giant alligator.

Surprisingly what many may assume would be the strongest point of a movie tie-in game is the weakest, the story itself. If you have not seen the film you will not know what is happening in the game, the only narrative offered is given to you at seemingly random occasions in short ’40s style film reel clips; these b o t h f e e l jarring a n d

With Fifa 10 EA has finally introduced their much anticipated VPL engine to the series. seem to flow more, with fewer outrageous foul calls leaving you blinded with rage, and the opportunity for a cheeky quick free kick appearing sporadically to infuriate your opponent.

With far more emphasis on realism, player pressure becomes obvious. Take a inappropriate and could simply be substituted with clips from the film which would offer a lot more enjoyment.

So many moments in the game are a recurring phenomenon and whenever it does try something a little bit different it fails miserably, either with poor AI behaviour or erratic camera movement.

Admittedly I found the characters endearing and they may make it worth playing through the story, although it did take me under three hours to complete, with over half the collectables discovered; this is more characteristic of a downloadable game which would probably be half the price. Overall with a two player story and other multiplayer options, kids will probably like this game, achievement and trophy hunters may also consider it; almost 500 achievement points are easily attainable in less than three hours.

For everyone else you will be able to recognise that the game is full of heart, but you will never shake the feeling that it is a half hearted effort.

Daniel Rowbotham

Multiplatform Marvel:Ultimate Alliance 2 360, PS3,Wii, PS2, DS, PSP and PC

Superheroes represent a modern mythology and as such Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 represents a

shot when you are free and clear and your aim will be true, but put a man on your shoulder and limitations take shape. This is the case for all aspects, shots/ crosses/passes, everything.

It also means that in tight games sometimes the shot from well outside the box

is on, just the possibility is a vast change, especially if you take into account the removal of most guaranteed goal scoring opportunities.

All in all throughout the game, the swear box tends to remain lighter than after a session of any of the previous games in

the series, and scoring is far more satisfying. You’ll be far more likely to call your friend a cunt when he does his sixth robot victory dance of the match than the referee a wanker after giving another ridiculous penalty.

Mike Walden

And you thought registration during intro week was stressful. clash of gods. Based on Marvel Comic’s Civil War event, the game sees good guys fighting good guys.

With one side arresting those violating the new Superhero Registration Act and the others trying to protect their rights.

The game is an action based role playing game with the ability to control up to four heroes at once. The best experience, grab three friends or strangers off the street if you’re lacking and play together. While it is difficult to call the majority of the combat teamwork orientated, the new fusion system allows two players to pull off powerful combined attacks which can wipe out an entire screen of enemies.

With a new development team this time round the game feels surprisingly different to its predecessor.

Combat seems more intuitive and attacks flow seamlessly one into another.

Unfortunately there has also been a reduction in

the number of powers for each hero. With no way to customise your power set beyond putting more points in the powers you prefer, levelling up has become less of an exciting occasion in the sequel. Individual equipment has also been scrapped in favour of group related boosts. While this does curb petty fighting between players over every item, this along with the loss of the extra powers means you’re less able to tailor a hero to your play style.

The cut scenes, while entertaining, remove you from the action and make you feel like a second party to events in many occasions.

At one point you’re forced to continue fighting nameless henchmen and navigate a generic factory whilst what had been the biggest moment in the comics, a battle royale between the two factions, goes on elsewhere.

The writing for the dialogue sections are incredibly boring even when they take full advantage

of the prior relationships of those talking and the events going on around then. This problem would be negligible but talking to heroes gains you much needed points to different stats depending on your reply, so you’re compelled to continue chatting to everyone you see even if you couldn’t care less what they have to say.

The roster is unfortunately a bit lack lustre with some glaring omissions and the number of alternative costumes has also been reduced. It’s a safe bet that Activision likely wants to shake down its player base with some DLC in the near future if you want to plug these holes in content.

Ultimately the game lives and dies on if you enjoy the combat or not. The story peters out towards the end and with no unlocks to look forward to you best enjoy beating on nameless henchmen until the cows come home.

Brendan Allitt

Reviews.Arts.

Sweet dreams for SuTCo Theatre Bed The Edge

The latest play from SuTCo is a strange and interesting choice. Bed

by Jim Cartwright tells the somewhat surreal tale of seven people who are all asleep in one bed which has a head that watches over their slumber whilst envying their ability to sleep.

The audience are taken on a bizarre journey through the dreams and memories of the characters, whilst each character is subtly manipulated by the god-like head.

One of the first noticeable features of the production was the clever use of space.

Being performed at The Edge instead of the Drama Studio meant that the flat performing area must have created issues for the production team.

Nevertheless, this was handled very well by turning the whole stage into one huge bed.

There was no back stage and no stage curtain to fall resulting in there being no divide between actors

and audience. The director compensated for this by having the actors already asleep in position when the audience entered and left so that the cast never had to break character, apart from when they accepted their applause at the end, before falling back to sleep until the room was cleared.

The disadvantage of having a smaller space to work in and no tiered seating was turned into an advantage as this created greater intimacy.

The closeness of the action to the audience along with the occasional interaction meant that the surreal element of the play came across strongly as dreams and reality really did mix and conflict as the divide between audience and actor blurred.

The cast were strong as this peculiar and odd mixture of people, acting convincingly and with sincerity when it came to their individual monologues.

The language of the script was rather complicated and at times hard to follow but the emotional acting and clever stage directions made it easier to follow and understand.

The actors were used imaginatively to add a physical element to the play as they each became a part

of the others enactments.

The stories became visually enjoyable as the actors illustrated the memory or dream that was being related, whether they were part of a car or transformed into wind and waves.

Clare Colbourne as the Sermon Head was brilliant, strangely appearing in the

background with crazy back-combed hair and paint splattered overalls.

However, the Director’s Note in the programme stated that she was meant to be a moving portrait which did not come across strongly.

Nevertheless, the lingering presence of the

The cast of Bed catch forty winks.

Insane in the Brain Lyceum

Catherine Redfern

Gallery A.RosemaryWatson PersistenceWorks

punishment scenes. At one stage the company had three patients hanging from the back wall seemingly from their heads and they would then intermittently convulse violently when stunned with electric shock therapy. With the perfectly timed lighting and the well chosen music working together the scene was unbelievably harrowing and ingenious.

The performance was simple mesmerizing, with meticulously chosen movements and songs.

Every move had energy and attitude behind it which was ready to explode into something powerful and impressive. The cast worked incredibly well together on stage, and as a team of choreographers and artists

From the outside, the sketchy looking grey warehouse - Perstistence Works - looks less than promising. But appearances can be deceptive. Albeit small, the white washed walls, high ceilings and tall glass windows transform the space into a light and airy gallery that radiates tranquility and class.

Combine this with the calm and contemplative nature of A. Rosemary Watson’s work and you’re onto a winner.

Remembered Experience Imagined is a thoughtfully compiled exhibition of work that explores the inconstancy of memory and its capacity to blur, distort and change, through images of England’s East Coast. The notion that the intersection of land sea and sky is a constant state of visual and physical flux, acts as a springboard for the expression of the changing nature of memory, in work that is both thought provoking and well executed – through a refreshing

variety of paintings, prints, installations and video.

A trolley to one side of the room contains an array of half-filled white paper bound diaries, sketchbooks and notepads. Their pages are partially open or painted over, in a testimony to those select memories that stick with us, or those we would rather forget. Unusually, the white cotton gloves suspended from the stand let you freely peruse the delicate pages, as fragile as the memories themselves.

A series of 20-odd, too small, colourful impasto paintings seem uncharacteristic of Watson’s otherwise greyscale collection. However this overdone repetition is more successfully mirrored in the adjacent, rather beautiful sequence of black and white prints of ripples left in sand by changing tides.

A screen marginally

larger than a letter box boasts an almost hypnotic video sequence. Close up, three separate, yet blurred and out of focus seascapes emerge. Take a step back and they become one lone image, suggestive to the interchangeable, fragmented nature of our memories.

Some almost sporadic Perspex boxes are lined up along the glass window ledge, containing from as little as one to as many as 100 pieces of paper; delicate fragments of works on show, torn to scraps and assembled in neat piles.

Why some experiences are remembered, others imagined, and some forgotten is integral to this exhibition, and as a whole it offers a meditative glance into the retrospective calm of an artist’s work. Not to be missed.

Becs Mitchell

Fuse.

The patients’ dancing was often manic and crazed.

The medium of street dance was perfect for this as the scope of moves and shapes that can be created gave such variation. To further highlight this freedom the wardens and Nurse Ratched often danced in mostly regimented unison, with the moves being aggressive and structured with more defined popping and locking to show the controlling nature of the institution.

There were also scenes of unexpected comic brilliance such as the patients escaping into the audience to watch a film.

These scenes of freedom and frivolity were contrasted most dramatically with the

Catherine Redfern

Friday October 23 2009

Bounce’s production is provocative and edgy.

play that was given the right edge of humour and sweetness. The director Christian Latham handled the text with sophistication and imagination and turned it into a successful and completely bizarre piece of theatre.

Photo: Shelley Firth

they devised and performed something exhilarating, powerful and unique.

DanceTheatre

Electrifying, bizarre, funny, terrifying, ingenious… all fitting descriptions of Insane in the Brain. The Swedish dance company Bounce bring to Sheffield an energetic street dancing reinvention of the famous story One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, providing us with the tale of the rebel who disrupts the strict order that is imposed by Nurse Ratched and her wardens over the inmates of a psychiatric hospital.

Through brilliant choreography and a perfect soundtrack from Cypress Hill to System of a Down, the company represent the confusion, fear and frustration of being imprisoned in a mental institution. The beginning scene instantly plunges the audience into this bizarre and scary world; cleverly portraying schizophrenia by having the dancers wear masks on both sides of their heads. The dancing becomes confused, as does the audience, as the moves appear disjointed and impossible.

The uniqueness of the performance was just incredible with each scene providing new amazement at the performers dance skills and inventiveness.

Head and the way in which she manipulated the other characters was interesting.

She was played well with a childish nature and a loneliness and desperation to sleep that made the character endearing and sympathetic.

This was a harrowing, peculiar and often confusing

The inconstancy of memory is examined by Watson.

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Fuse.listings Friday October 23 - Thursday November 5 2009

email: listings@forgetoday.com

Fri 23

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Thur 29

Just A Pub @ Bungalows and Bears; 8pm; Free Rough Trade ruffians The Mystery Jets with be bringing their freshest tub of tunes for an all-night, in-house hootenanny. With Dan Shepard on the decks too, there’s sure be disco dynamite and high calibre indie all night long. You may want to bring a spare pair of dancing shoes.

The Dogs D’Amour +Silverjet + Violent Angel @ Corporation; 7pm; £10adv Offering a mixture of Faces-style roots rock and Hanoi Rocks-style glam punk, The Dogs D’Amour and friends promise a good time with old-school thrills to spare.

The Wildcats @ Boardwalk; 7:30pm; £8 Take a monster shot of full-on hard rock, throw in a heavy measure of blues and mix it all up with a double hit of glam and swing and you’ve got the essence of local diehards The Wildcats.

Green Day @ Sheffield Arena; 6:30pm; £35 The punk trio pass through Sheffield on their mammoth world tour, delivering the arena show act they have perfected in the years following American Idiot.

Hullabaloo @ Bungalows and Bears; 8pm; Free An evening of good, clean fun with arts and crafts, DIY board games, off-centre music, video installations, retro consoles, cake and sweets. Sheer bliss for all those with a childhood they’re not afraid to revisit.

The Holloways + Hoodlums + The Basement Project @ Plug; 7pm; £8.50adv Touring on the back of new album No Smoke, No Mirrors, The Holloways set is likely to feature a number of new songs for your delectation, as well as two new members.

Tom Hingley @ Boardwalk; 7:30pm; £5

The Castle @ Drama Studio; 7:30pm; £6 The University Theatre Workshop stages Howard Barker’s classic tale of a Knight returning home from the crusades as part of an international festival celebrating his work.

Anguish @ Showroom; 1:10pm; £4.30 Classic of 80s horror.

After being hypnotized by his bizarre mother, a disturbed optometrist’s assistant goes on a brutal killing spree to carve the eyeballs from his victims.

Film Unit: Thelma and Louise @ SU Auditorium; 7:30pm; £1.80 A successful hijacking of the road trip selfdiscovery formula, following an Arkansas waitress and a housewife who shoot a rapist and take off in a 66 Thunderbird.

The Tennessee Three @ Corporation; 7pm; £16adv

Indigo Girls @ Plug; 7:30pm; £20 The Grammy awardwinning American folk rockers and Gay rights activists bring their effortless harmonies and infectious melodies to Plug for one night only.

Shuffle @ Plug; 10:30pm; £5 NUS Plug shuffle the decks once again and deal up yet another full house.

The King Of Clubs, Mason, is joined by Jokers in the pack Utah Saints. No need to take a gamble with this lot, you’ll always come out a winner.

The Tennessee Three helped define the shape of Country over the course of 40 years as Johnny Cash’s backing band. Now led by guitarist Bob Wootton, they continue in keeping Cash’s sound alive.

Fri 30

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Sun 1

Morrissey @ City Hall; 7:30pm; £32.50 Mozza returns to the fitting grandeur of City Hall to play tracks from his latest long-player, Years of Refusal, along with numerous classics from his back catalogue.

His seasoned backing band and sarcastic banter should ensure a night to remember.

Halloween Fancy Dress Spooktacular @ Bungalows and Bears; 3pm - 3am; Free With pumpkin carving, apple bobbing, a fearsome line-up of sinisterly named DJs and live acts through till night time, this fancy dress party is going to be killer.

The Nolans @ Sheffield Arena; 7:30pm; £35 Long before the Spice Girls, Bananarama, Girls Aloud or the Sugababes, another girl group held the hearts of the country’s youth.

Touring on the back of a new album, The Nolans return on their 30th anniversary to give those whippersnappers a run for their money.

Propaganda Halloween Party @ 02 Academy; 10:30pm; £4 Want to dress like a ghoul and dance to Friendly Fires?

Propaganda are promising an “audiovisual extravaganza” to soundtrack your pointytoothed antics.

Cannibal Corpse @ Corporation; 6pm; £15adv After two decades of unending death metal torment, the band’s calling cards are many: depraved lyrics, blinding technical prowess and, of course, dominating stage presence.

Century Kids + Supernova Bandits + False Sense + Chatfield + The Matadors @ Plug; 6:30pm; £6adv Local rabble Century Kids headline an evening of Steel City-based scenesters with their eyes on the big time.

Film Unit: State of Play @ SU Auditorium; 7:30pm; £1.80 The highly praised BBC serial swaps Whitehall for Washington in this classy conspiracy thriller. Russell Crowe stars as the journalist investigating the mysterious death of a junior researcher.

Fantastic Mr Fox @ Cineworld; Various times; £5.30 NUS An animated extravaganza from director Wes Anderson, based on the children’s classic by Roald Dahl. Mr Fox puts his family life in jeopardy when he slips back into his old ways as a sneaky chicken thief.

Features a cameo from Mr Jarvis Cocker.

The Sofa Sessions @ The Harley; 7pm; Free Various DJs play laidback sets with the aim of easing you out of your post-Halloween hangover.

Ross Noble Presents: Riders for Health Comedy Night; Sheffield City Hall; 8pm; £25 Hot on the heels of his sell-out UK tour, cult stand-up hero and biking fanatic Ross Noble returns to Sheffield City Hall to host a unique charity event in aid of Riders for Health.

Persistence Works: remembered imagined experienced @ Yorkshire Artspace; 10am - 5pm; Free In her exhibition at Persistence Works this Autumn, Sheffield-based artist A. Rosemary Watson will explore the complexities and fragmented nature of memory.

The Tuesday Club @ Foundry and Fusion; 11pm; £7 The Tuesday Club’s eleventh birthday - part two! Featured are Caspa & Rusko (Dub Police), Breakage (Digital Soundboy), Daedelus (Ninja Tune), Nero (Breakbeat Kaos), Mikey J, Andy H and Stoaty.

As the singer of Inspiral Carpets, Hingley wowed with his extraordinary vocal range and charm.

His solo career has built on this foundation and his voice is as accurate and powerful as ever, whilst his live act covers soul, R’n’B and jazz.

Pink @ Sheffield Arena; 8pm; £35 Pink brings her promisingly named Funhouse tour to the UK, reportedly boasting slides, dancers, acrobats and giant inflatable evil clowns. And Pink.

All Forgotten + Not Advised + Front Room Wreck + False Sense @ Leadmill; 7pm; £6 All Forgotten bring their odd brand of ambient screamo to Leadmill, accompanied by a plethora of post-hardcore acts guaranteed to get your heart pumping.

Triple Echo @ Firth Hall; 7:30pm; £2.50 NUS Comprising of soprano, clarinet and the Music department’s own George Nicholson on piano, Triple Echo will play Schubert alongside original compositions.

Michael Jackson’s This Is It @ Cineworld; Various times; £5.30 NUS A film presenting us with the intriguing prospect of being behind the scenes during rehearsals for Jackson’s planned long stint at the 02 Arena.

Expect plenty of topnotch moves at the very least.

Mon 2

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Wed 4

Thur 5

A Picture of Us? Identity in British Art @ Graves Gallery; 10am - 5pm; Free Every picture tells a story. Which one tells yours? This is the question asked of a host of artists, writers and designers from across the UK as part of the exhibition at Museums Sheffield: Graves Gallery.

CKY @ Leadmill; 7pm; £12

DocDay Afternoon P-Star Rising @ Library Theatre; 3:45pm; £1.80 In this screening hosted by the Showroom, P-star is a 9-year-old rapping sensation from Harlem, guided by her overzealous dad, Jesse.

Over four years of filming she tastes fame and fortune, but real life keeps crashing in.

Steve Williams @ The Lescar; 8pm; £5 Last Laugh veteran John Scott hosts proceedings as we’re introduced to Welsh wonder Steve Williams, fresh from Michael Mcintyre’s Comedy Roadshow.

Perhaps more famous for their links to Bam Margera and Jackass than for their cocky alternative metal anthems, CKY are nonetheless what might be described as a great party band. Party-lovers sign here.

Paradise Lost + Katatonia + Engel @ 02 Academy; 6:30pm; £12.50 Gothic metal royalty comes to town with these three stalwarts: one part English, two parts Swedish and wholly brilliant.

Street Dogs @ Corporation; 7pm; £8adv Boston punk band featuring Mike McColgan, former lead singer of Dropkick Murphys, and Joe Sirois, former drummer for The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.

My Sad Captains @ Harley; 8pm; Price TBA The Harley presents My Sad Captains, purveyors of melodic indie-pop already pounced on by the nation’s rock tastemakers; namely XFM’s John Kennedy and Radio 1’s Steve Lamacq.

Chthonic @ Corporation; 7pm; £10adv Taiwanese Chthonic play extreme metal, paint occult symbols on their faces and refer to each with names like ‘Dispersed Fingers’, making them the perfect bunch to spend your mid-week stress busting jump-around with.

The Pitmen Painters @ The Lyceum; 7:30pm; £12.50 - £23.50 This humourous and deeply moving play

by Lee Hall arrives in Sheffield following sell-out seasons at Live Theatre, Newcastle and the National Theatre.

For The Record @ Bungalows and Bears; 8pm; Free Warm up those vocal chords and stretch out those skanking limbs as For The Record embark upon their weekly adventure into funk, stax, motown and ska. We’ll provide the northern, if you provide the soul.

Pama International @ Corporation; 7pm; £14adv Chilled-out vibes from the UK’s leading dub collective, boasting an all-star cast that includes former members of The Specials, Madness, Steel Pulse and The Selecter.

VV Brown @ O2 Academy; 7pm; £7.50 Having made waves at every festival going over the summer, VV Brown takes to the stage with her retro pop futurehits. Also witness that fantastic fringe, live.

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra @ City Hall; 7pm; £15 The Liverpool Philharmonic and their Principal Conductor Vasily Petrenko make their return to Sheffield with an all-Sibelius programme. Young British violinist Jack Liebeck is one of the most exciting musicians of his generation and he performs this magnificent, thrilling piece.