FUSE Issue 47

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he Best of Superhero Cinema

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et Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.

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eviewed: The Witcher 2

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he Worst

oming up at Sheffield Theatres

SHORT FUSE

Year of the woman: Rolling in the gold

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hat do the three nominees for the Ivor Novello award for Best Album all have in common?

No, they’re not all American, and they’re not all dubstep artists (surprising, I know.) They’re actually all women.

Adele, PJ Harvey and Kate Bush have been nominated for the prestigious accolade this year, which leads us to ask the question: has this year been the Year of the Woman? Or just more like the Year of Adele, with her four Ivor Novello nominations adding to her two wins and three nominations at the Brits back in February?

Whichever way you look at it, you cannot deny that women in music haven’t had too shabby a year.

Take the Mercury Prize for example. Four out of the twelve nominees were women: Adele (again,) Katy B, Anna Calvi and the eventual winner, PJ Harvey, demonstrating the pervading influence that women, especially British female singer-songwriters, have had on the British music scene in the past 12 months.

Also nominated for the upcoming Ivor Novello awards are Florence + The Machine, with her follow-up to the huge Lungs, and relative newcomer Lana del Rey, who has definitely been one of the women in music of the past 12 months.

As well as huge singles such as the unforgettable ‘Video Games’ and haunting ‘Blue Jeans,’ the controversy surrounding her rise to fame has helped her to become one of the most talked about artists of the last year, whether you like her or not.

Azealia Banks, although not yet recognised by any of these awards, has also been flying the flag for women with her breakthrough track ‘212’ - frankly any artist, male or female, that can achieve such a massive club hit with a song that has the word ‘cunt’ in it multiple times definitely deserves a round of applause.

So, in conclusion, has it been the Year of the Woman? Definitely, and that’s without even giving a second thought to Adele. So PJ Harvey and Kate Bush, please make us Adele-bashers proud.

Zoe Antell

Editorial

Hey look, it’s the handover issue! Which means this is our first issue as Fuse editors. How exciting.

We’d like to thank the outgoing Fuse eds for their awesome work over the last year; we’re really going to miss the old team a whole bunch.

Coral Williamson &Arnie Bennett T

he Best of Superhero Cinema

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G

R

et Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.

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he Worst

oming up at Sheffield Theatres

eviewed: The Witcher 2

This issue’s front cover was designed by the very lovely Tim Rooker & Sam Bolton.

We like them.

No more torture-yawn Stop flogging a dead Ponyta

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Fuse.

Friday May 4 2012

oss Whedon’s slasher with a twist, The Cabin in the Woods, is described by the Buffy creator as a ‘loving hate letter’ to the modern horror film.

It’s clear to anyone who’s seen the film that Whedon knows his horror well, referencing just about every monster, archetype and subgenre imaginable, all with a knowing wink and tongue firmly in cheek.

It’s also evident that there are certain things he loves and admires within the genre, while other areas are subject to some biting critique.

In particular, the film rails against the way people behave in your modern scary film, particularly when normally smart, capable young people start to act like total idiots.

Who hasn’t groaned when someone inevitably says the words “Let’s split up”, in what is clearly a situation where the last thing in the world you should be doing is setting off on your own?

Even more frustrating for someone who loves tension and genuine scares from their horror

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movie is what Whedon described as the ‘devolution of the horror movie’, seen in films like Saw and Final Destination, which essentially act as little more than tortureporn where pretty people die in all kinds of elaborately nasty ways.

These films manage to take the fear out of horror – you don’t care about any of the cardboard cut-outs that decorate the screen, and why should you when you’re there purely to watch them get inventively massacred?

In order for horror to pack a real punch, we have to have real, interesting, fleshed out characters before us. We have to root for them to make it out of there alive. We have to be screaming at the screen ‘He’s behind you!’ as the nasty creeps up on a protagonist we feel something other than contempt for.

Because when we can relate to the people we’re watching, when their characteristics and emotional reactions to the situation they’re in become recognisable, then we start to think that could be us up there. And that’s truly frightening.

Ellen Jurczak

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n 1997 the western world fell in love with a yellow electric mouse. Pikachu was a mascot for one of the most successful games franchises ever and by the late 90s that yellow mouse and his 150 friends were the stars of several games, an anime and a few manga volumes.

In Pokémon’s 15 years or so though, they’ve hardly taken risks.

The main series games have stuck to the same formula of fighting eight gym leaders to earn access to the ‘Pokémon League’ and prove yourself as Pokemon master. Oh, and beat an often idiotic villainous team along the way.

Whilst the game mechanics and the graphics developed with the series, the releases always

followed the same pattern; two very similar games are released, followed by a third, which is essentially a combination of the first two.

But that all changed with the Generation 5 games, which gave us a more engaging story and NPCs with some real personality.

The result was the most critically successful game in the series, which fans new and old couldn’t get enough of.

And now, for the first time ever in a Pokémon game there’s going to be a direct sequel. Anyone who picks up Black 2 or White 2 will experience what happened after Team Plasma’s fall in Unova. You won’t be playing through the same story again with a few

added frills.

But there is one thing that is very perplexing. Generation 5 was supposed to be a new start; everything they’ve done has been to refresh the franchise. So why have Gamefreak decided to expand Unova’s pokedex with old pokémon in the sequels? The franchise had its biggest success when it decided to innovate, so why rely on legacy to sell units?

If Gamefreak stay too reliant on the good they’ve done, instead of the unique ideas they’ve proven they’re capable of, they may find themselves falling from grace. And let’s be honest, we’re all waiting for the Pokémon MMORPG. Sam Bolton

Tupac: hologram or holo-grim?

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he resurrection of Tupac in holographic form at Coachella festival has caused quite a stir.

Only slightly marred by unintentional moonwalking, the uncanny illusion has proved so popular that Dre was forced to sort-of deny touring with holoTupac, though he hoped to see other iconic artists such as Marvin Gaye and Jimi Hendrix revived.

According to the Sun, the surviving members of the Jackson 5 are even considering bringing Michael Jackson back from the

dead.

Now, there have been accusations of bad taste levied, but really, why not?

Tragedy plus time equals a moving tribute to the artists the way we remember them most fondly: Tupac with his preposterously muscled abs, Jimi with his flower shirts and trademark afro, and MJ at his whitest.

It’s not just a trip down the memory lane, it’s a heartfelt tribute to our insurmountable legends of pop.

In fact, let’s resurrect them all.

Let Biggie make up with Tupac, Elvis shake his awkwardly-animated hips, and Jim Morrison break on through to the other side (geddit?).

Just imagine Madonna making out onstage with Marilyn Monroe, Graham Chapman looking on the bright side of death, and Amy Winehouse, in a poignant duet with Mark Ronson, tearfully telling the kids to stay off the crack. It’s beautiful stuff.

Martin Bottomley

Ahead of an appearance at the Great Escape festival this month, Fuse caught up with Cloud Nothing’s Dylan Baldi to talk whiskey and Steve Albini.

Attack on Memory is out – who were your biggest influences while you were recording it?

My number one influence for this record was a band called the Wipers. I listened to them almost exclusively for the six months leading up to recording. So they were probably the main thing, I would say.

What made you change styles in between albums?

Well, it’s only different because I had been writing songs between the last album and this album, and I had been gradually progressing towards songs that sound like the stuff on Attack on Memory.

Those songs I wrote between it and the last album are unreleased, nobody’s ever

heard them, but it was a steady progression from wider, poppier stuff which is more progressive.

Were you worried you were going to alienate any fans?

A little bit, but also...we didn’t have a whole lot of fans, [laughs] since the last couple of records didn’t do so well. I’m more concerned about just making music that I like.

How was it working with a full band, rather than just solo? Do you think you’ll stick with that?

Definitely, yeah. It’s a band that I’d been playing with for the better part of two years, so it kinda made sense to record with them.

And what was it like working with the legendary Steve Albini? You told Pitchfork that he just played Scrabble...

I did say that. And I didn’t mean it as a negative thing, because I think that’s how it looked, in con-

text. He was very hands-off, in terms of what he did, outside of setting up the microphone, and telling us to go for it.

Because we recorded in his studio, with his techniques, with his stuff, it sounded amazing.

I’m really happy with the way it came out. And Steve was a nice guy, we got along, so it wasn’t bad, what I said.

Was there any album he’d worked on in the past that made you think, ‘yeah, I wanna work with him’?

No one in particular, I just really like the sound that he gets. And I wanted someone that would stay out of the way, make it sound like we’re a band, in a room, playing our songs, and that was his thing, how all his records sound.

You’re coming over in May and June for some dates - how different are crowds in the UK to crowds in America?

Not so much in the UK, the crowds

there and in the US are pretty similar. Once you get to Europe, the crowds are very different.

I mean mainland Europe, of course. They just seem to really... think about what we’re doing a lot more.

Like in Germany, we’ll play a set, and people will come up to us afterwards and ask why we didn’t play certain songs, like they think it’s because we don’t like them, or we don’t like Germans so we didn’t want to play this one song for them. Of course that’s not why we’re doing that. They take things a little more seriously, it seems, than we do.

What made you get into music in the first place?

I really don’t know. I guess my parents were always playing music around the house, they both really liked it. So I think when I was really little I probably saw my dad like, playing guitar or something and thought that looks like a cool thing to do, and I kinda stuck with it from there.

SHORT FUSE

Q&A : Cloud Nothings

And do your parents listen to Cloud Nothings?

Do they listen to us? Yeah, they’re always asking what I’m up to.

Have you heard of the website Drinkify? It suggests whisky with a maraschino cherry for Cloud Nothings, does that sounds right? [laughs] Sure, that sounds fine to me, I guess yeah. I dunno about the cherry... Actually, the cherry sounds right, it’s not like we’re straight rock, there’s a little bit of happiness in there.

Okay, yeah, I agree with that.

Well, I’ll let you get on with your day, thanks very much for your time.

No problem. Bye! Coral Williamson

Fuse was confused... and a little horrified to learn that a 17-year-old Chinese boy sold one of his kidneys for an iPad 2.

Nobody should be that desperate for the latest Apple gadget.

Still, he also apparently got a laptop, so maybe it wasn’t that bad value for money.

Fuse is intrigued by... news of an American Psycho musical. We worry about who’s going to play the kitten that gets stuffed into an ATM. Let’s hope he gets a nice song first. And a chance for some jazz hands.

Fuse really, really wants to play... this mental game from Japan, called.. wait for it... Conception: Please Have My Babies. Seriously.

It’s a dungeon-crawling RPG, but you have you sleep with zodiac maidens (what?) to produce star children (no, really, what?) who can fight demons. It’s out on PSP in Japan, but sadly, no UK release has been announced.

Fuse couldn’t give less of a shit... about rumours surrounding the Smiths reforming. Let’s not forget, this is the same band that threatened two months ago to reunite if David Cameron stepped down as Prime Minister. Did we believe it then? Of course not. And we don’t believe it now.

Fuse.

Fuse would like to wish you all... a happy Star Wars Day! May the fourth be with you. (Unless you’re picking this issue up after May 4, in which case, you’re clearly a member of the Dark Side. You should pick up Forge Press as soon as it comes out.)

Friday May 4 2012

Fuse Musings

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ver the last half decade a new trend has sweeped the videogame industry: the public beta. James Garrett asks why.

Fuse.

Friday May 4 2012

GAMES

Feature. THE BETA MAKES THINGS BETA

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“Although this sounds like a demo, there are slight but significant differences”

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hat does it take to make a great game?

Well there are a few necessities.

You need a compelling story, and too often games are released with the basic formula: an evil man threatens the world and you as the player have to save it.

The Call of Duty series took this formula very seriously, releasing eight games that basically had the same narrative arc throughout. But what else does it take?

Another factor would be great characters, characters that the player can engage with and connect to.

Heavy Rain would be an example of a g a m e that did this well; f o r c ing the player to make decisions that affect the story arc throughout the entire game helps to create a sense of immersion that you simply don’t find in games like Battlefield.

So, there are a few steps to follow if you want to make a successful game. Recently though another step has been added, one that is becoming increasingly important given the amount of games that come with a multiplayer component. Games now need to preface their release with a multiplayer beta.

For those of you who don’t know what a beta is, it is where the developers of the game release a slice of it for the public to test in advance. Although this sounds like a demo, there are slight but significant differences. Demos

are for gamers to get a taste of a game, to see if they like the look of it and whether or not they want to buy it. A beta is designed to test a game, to see where the bugs are, if everything is balanced, and to get a handle on how much stress gamers are going to incur on the developers servers come launch day when everyone expects a working product for their money.

The reason is simple; gamers do not want to play a game where fundamental things are broken.

I am talking about simple game mechanics here. Take Call of Duty as an example, and I am not bashing on the series here, I play them, a small part of me actually likes them, but when gamers spawn and die instantly something is fundamentally wrong. Indeed the problem is so bad that gamers can exploit it and win an online match simply. The Ghost Recon: Future Soldier multiplayer beta at this very moment suffers from such an affliction. Hopefully this will be rectified come launch day.

“Gamers don’t want to play a game where fundamental things are broken” The same problem occurs with the guns that players can use online; within two weeks I can guarantee that players will have found a specific gun, combined it with specific perks and it will be the only thing everyone online uses. That’s a problem. Online shooters are meant to give people variety and balance, you can use explosives or stealth, stick to sniper rifles or sub machine guns but when it becomes abundantly clear that one gun is better than the rest, why would gamers use anything else? They would just be putting themselves at a blatant disadvantage.

Betas have also adopted a new roles in recent times. Years ago betas were closed affairs for testers who had to apply formally with a CV; now they’re open, without restrictive NDAs (non-disclosure agreements), and serve as word of mouth marketing tools.

Betas are also used as bartering tools to reclaim fans who may

“Within hours the servers had been broken and information had been sent to Blizzard” have become disillusioned with a particular franchise. The Gears of War 3 multiplayer beta acted to rectify the memory of Gears of War 2, which was a disaster in nearly every way.

A beta shouldn’t just be used for first person shooter genre; it needs to apply to all genres. The same thing applies to massively multiplayer online games (MMO’s) such as World of Warcraft. These are huge games that rely on servers being up and running all the time, and a beta is necessary to test these servers to see if they can handle the amount of activity that they are likely to experience come launch. Imagine if World of Warcraft had been released and no one could play it as the servers couldn’t handle the traffic, it would have been a disaster.

The recent Diablo 3 beta for example was a resounding success.

Within hours the servers had been broken and information had been sent to Blizzard regarding the amount of players on at the time, where they were and what they were doing, all useful things when looking at how to fix the game before its retail release. In fact a good case could be made for a beta being of even greater importance to an MMO given that gamers are paying for it on a monthly basis.

The beta renaissance began with Halo 3 and Modern Warfare in 2007, and spiralled ever since.

They’ve become a necessity for any multiplayer game attempting to break into the status quo, and the notable absence of a beta for Modern Warfare 3 and Halo 4 implies that once those franchises have achieved recent mainstream success, such a luxury isn’t necessary. This casts a cynical view of the beta as a marketing tool rather than a legitimate testing environment, but that’s besides the point; in every way possible the beta makes for a better play experience come launch day, and for that reason it’s crucial.

PETER PAN

Library Theatre May 2 - May 5

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utco performs Scottish author J.M Barrie’s beloved children’s story about the boy who never grows up.

Performed by a cast of students from the University of Sheffield, the story focusses on the Darling children Wendy, John and Michael, whose lives are turned upside down when they embark on their adventures in Neverland. Alongside Tinkerbell, the Lost Boys and Peter Pan himself, the children do battle with Peter’s nemesis, the dark and sinister Captain Hook.

This is undeniably a family classic, whilst simultaneously exploring the deeper, more adult themes of mortality. Not to be missed.

grease

THE INVISIBLE DOT TOUR 2012: COMEDY’S NEW WAVE

wonderful town Lyceum Theatre May 1 - May 5

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Lyceum Theatre May 14 - May 19

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ust off your leather jackets and take a trip back to the 1950s, as ‘bad boy’ Danny Zuko and ‘girlnext-door’ Sandy Olsson fall in love all over again.

After meeting during the holidays, the pair worry that they will never see each other again. However, when by pure chance they are reunited in high school, chaos ensues. Will they be able to work out their differences and be together?

This is the original highschool musical, featuring, ‘You’re The One That I Want’, ‘Summer Nights’ and many more.

Danny Bayne (ITV’s Grease Is The Word) stars.

Library Theatre

onnie Fisher (The Sound of Music and winner of the BBC’s How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria) and Michael Xavier (Love Story and Phantom of the Opera) star in the multi award-winning musical comedy, Wonderful Town. The musical also features a superb score by Leonard Bernstein.

Connie plays aspiring writer Ruth Sherwood, who arrives in 1930s New York City with her beautiful younger sister Eileen. Dreaming of romance and riches, the pair meets an array of colourful characters along the way in their search for success.

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his is one for those who prefer comedy to be inventive and offbeat. The Invisible Dot’s previous shows have introduced acts such as Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Tim Key into the field, and this year’s line up includes Nick Mohammed, Toby, and Edinburgh Comedy Award winner, Adam Riches.

So if the Comedy Roadshow and Live At The Apollo aren’t quite for you, and you like your comedy a little edgier and more surreal, then The Invisible Dot Tour 2012 might be just what you’ve been waiting for.

betrayal

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Studio Theatre May 23 - June 2

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n a new world of bioengineered athletes and genetically-improved human beings, how far should an athlete go to be the best?

Should they embrace the new scientific possibilities available to them, or remain unenhanced? Is it possible to become leaner, faster and stronger without a little help?

Written by Katie O’Reilly (winner of the Ted Hughes Award for Poetry 2010) and inspired by the looming 2012 Olympic Games, Leaner Faster Stronger is the world première of a darkly humorous and thought-provoking theatrical experience, exploring the limitations of humanity.

Fuse.

n Harold Pinter’s heartbreaking play, characters Jerry and Emma reminisce about times past, as it becomes clear that they both yearn for the security of the past.

After an affair lasting seven years, their final meeting brings to light the destructiveness of their betrayal, as well as how a single moment in time can change the lives of everyone around them forever.

Starring John Simm, Colin Tierney and Juliet Aubrey, Betrayal is set to be one of the Crucible’s most emotionally stirring performances this year.

leaner faster stronger Friday May 4 2012

Crucible Theatre May 17 - June 9

ARTS

Feature. UPCOMING SHOWS TO WATCH OUT FOR.

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MUSIC

Interview. GET CAPE. WEAR CAPE. FLY

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am Duckworth’s music style has changed greatly since he came out with his first album in 2006; he’s developed into an artist that likes to experiment with many different sounds and this is what his new release Maps is all about.

His 2011 album The Mannequin was his first under his own name and this album sees him return to the Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly moniker that helped him make a name for himself all those years ago.

Sam talks of how he is constantly trying to find his ideal sound and at only 26 with five albums under his belt already, he has plenty of time, he states: “I like to experiment and mess around with lots of different sounds. It’s important for me because I’m still quite young and still don’t really know what I’m doing when it comes to making records. Each one is a learning curve and an opportunity to try something different.

“Without trying to sound like a hippy, it’s an exploration of sound, some records are keyboard heavy and this one is quite electric guitar heavy. I’m just trying to find my seat really.”

“Working with Jason Perry was a cross between making an A record and working with a five year old” The process of recording is something that Duckworth clearly enjoys, even saying that his favourite thing about his new record was the amazing time he had making it. He’s worked with a bunch of new people in order to make an album that has a lot of significance for him. Listening to him nostalgically looking back on his time in the studio, it’s obvious that the recording of Maps was an experiment in itself, he says: “Working with Jason Berry was great.

I’ve always been a big A fan and working with him was like a cross between working on an A record and working with a five year old. Everything had to be louder and faster and it was such a cool way to make music. A lot of thought has gone into the lyrics and the songwriting but outside of that it’s essentially larking about for eight weeks. I wanted to have as much fun as I could.”

Fuse.

Friday May 4 2012

Duckworth has shown many times how his interests do not just lie with music; his political opinions are not just implemented through shaping lyrics but also

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With a new album out on May 7 and a UK tour planned for next month, it has been a hectic time for Sam Duckworth. Lianne Williams gave him a call to see what else he’s been up to.

Photo: Mike Siggers

through events and organisations that he associates himself with. His avid support of Love Music. Hate Racism as well as the part he played in the riot clean up in London last summer are good examples of this. When asked about his involvement in the riot clean up, the tone of his voice changes and he starts to sound very passionate whilst describing the hectic event.

“We are connected by more than postcodes” “It was a whirlwind to be honest, it was four days of chaos and I didn’t have much chance to process it really. It was interesting to feel a sense of community; it was nice to feel that people still wanted to look after each other. We are connected by more than postcodes, where we live is so important to the fabric of our lives and it’s nice to feel that it was coming together. It was just odd circumstances that brought us there.

“There are still a lot of questions to be asked like why did it happen in the first place? And is it going to happen again?

I’m sure it’s not the last riot we’ll see in this country in the foreseeable future, that’s for sure.”

The video for the track ‘The Real McCoy’, from his new album, shows a match between professional wrestlers Austin Aries and Alex Shelley and is shot in a similar way to the film Raging Bull. When asking Duckworth about this video his voice lights up as he explains the inspiration behind it and how it even came about.

“I love wrestling, I’m a huge fan and I’ve spent about two years trying to get that video together. I’ve always wanted to make it and a friend of mine works for TNA wrestling; I told him about my idea and he got in contact with the wrestling stars.

“We managed to pull it off in Nottingham this year; I wanted to show what I find interesting about wrestling, there’s something quite traditional and theatrical about how to recreate the intensity of confrontation. I wanted to try something different and I was really chuffed with how it turned out. The song was written with the video in mind so I’m really glad it worked out. “ It definitely isn’t your standard music video but it is an impressive one. Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly’s new album Maps is out May 7 and has been reviewed on p.10.

MUSIC

Interview. BASTILLE

On Tuesday April 24, Forge Press were introduced to BASTILLE’S abashed front man Dan Smith to chat about the Weeknd, Glastonbury and burst tyres.

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e begin by chatting about the city and when BASTILLE have previously played here to ease into the interview. Dan admits he’s shy and that he isn’t a massive fan of interviews but he doesn’t appear tense or uncomfortable which makes chatting to him a lot easier.

“I’m quite shy naturally so this is a really bizarre career choice.”

“When it comes to the whole making songs and recording side,

“Last summer, we played a whole load of different festivals which came in last minute so we were really busy, it was really good. This year we’re playing places like RockNess and Slottsjfell Festival in Oslo which will be our first proper trip overseas.

“There’s nothing better or weirder than singing to complete and utter strangers who are singing along to songs that you made in your bedroom.”

When asked about which is better, gigs or festivals, Dan muses over the question for a while, before replying, “Gigs. There’s nothing better or weirder than singing to complete and utter strangers who are singing along to songs that you made in your bedroom.”

But he is adamant that he

“Their stage show is really energetic and they run around doing lots of things. As a band we saw them and how they did it and definitely learnt some things.”

“We had to wait for three hours before being towed back to London.”

One of the gigs when they were supporting F-S in Manchester did not go according to plan.

“We had absolutely no money so we borrowed my friend’s mum’s car and put all our stuff in it and drove up the motorway from London,” Dan begins.

“The tyre burst just half way in between London and Manchester. We spent so long trying to find the spare tyre; we had to unload all our equipment and eventually we found what we thought was the tyre. Woody, the drummer, was trying to unscrew this thing and it turned out it was actually a hybrid car and where the tyre would have been was actually the gas engine.”

This resulted in the band having to wait three hours by the

side of the motorway until eventually they were towed all the way back to London, but as Dan says “Yeah, awesome tours!”

exactly what I wanted too.”

Moving along from The Weeknd, we asked Dan what else he likes to listen to.

Our discussion changes to talking about BASTILLE’s new EP that is coming out. (Overjoyed EP released on April 27) It’s different to their other material, “It’s one of the more mellow songs we’ve done which is always fun to play live because we all come to the front and play together. We’ve also got a whole load of remixes on the EP including one by Yeasayer, who are one of my favourite bands, which was crazy.”

“My favourite band of the moment is probably To Kill a King.

They’re my best mates so I’m slightly biased as I live with one of them. They’re amazing, everyone should check them out.”

Through conversing with Dan, it’s easy to see his enthusiasm for what he does and how he seems to be incredulous that it’s all happening to him.

BASTILLE released a free mixtape last year, ‘Other People’s Heartache’, as a result of the fact Dan caught glandular fever and became worried that they hadn’t released anything in a while.

“It was fun to make an album that didn’t have any pressure because it was just covers; it was an opportunity to mess around with different sounds and play with different songs.”

When asked if the inspiration for this project came from The Weeknd who is famed for his mix-tapes, Dan says yes.

“At the time we were listening to a lot of The Weeknd and Frank Ocean. It’s so accessible, you just go to theweeknd.com and click to download and that’s

“My favourite band of the moment is probably To Kill a King.”

To round up our meeting with Dan, we asked him to give us a little preview of what they are getting up to next.

“We’re playing a place called The Scarlet in London which is about 1,000 capacity and so the biggest gig we’ve ever played.

My new friend who is a rapper from New York is coming over to support us for that and we’re going to do some working together. After touring, I think it will just be some more singles, a bunch of festivals this summer, some more touring and hopefully an album!”

Whatever BASTILLE’s next project is, and hopefully it will result in a much-anticipated debut, we here at Forge Press are looking forward to the end result.

Fuse.

Dan then went on to tell us about how BASTILLE works overall. The production and writing is done mainly by himself because he is “a bit of a control freak” and then a producer friend helps him to get the sound he wants, which transpires onto the band when they play shows together.

The conversation moves to talk of festivals and previous tours the band had done together. They played Glastonbury last year on what was an “obviously really small” stage for Glastonbury – the Rabbit Hole stage, but “for us it was huge”.

still enjoys playing festivals, “They’re awesome!

Hopefully if we get better known, it will be like that but in a field.”

Last year, the band played with electro-pop four piece from Northampton, FenechSoler who had an impact upon the band, performance wise.

Friday May 4 2012

“I’m quite shy naturally so this is a really bizarre career choice. I got into music when I was at Leeds University. I did English Literature but all my friends were doing music and all my housemates were in bands and stuff. There’s this competition called ‘Bright Young Things’ where bands audition. 10 people win every year and it’s really cheesy, they get a day in a studio, play a big gig somewhere and have a really terrible photo shoot. My friend at uni persuaded me to enter and then I won, so I had to play a gig.

I started doing gigs and stuff even though I absolutely hate being the centre of attention.”

I’m a bit of a loner but it’s different to when we play live. These guys are more than just a backing band; however isolated I make the recording process, when it comes to the live show, I very much want it to be a band idea.”

Words: Amelia Heathman Photographs: Nipuna Jayanath

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SCREEN

Feature. BEST AND WORST COMIC BOOK ADAPTATIONS With the release of Avengers Assemble getting nerds everywhere shaking with excitement, Phil

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ominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Film in 2007, Persepolis is a slightly odd film, but one that deserves to be watched, re-watched and deeply thought about.

It’s based on a series of French graphic novels which chronicle Marjane Satrapi’s reallife experiences. She grew up on the streets of revolutionary Iran, before emigrating to Europe as a teenager so that her rebellious streak wouldn’t get her killed.

Like many great

Persepolis

Dir: Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud 2007

animated films, it manages to deftly and brilliantly balance irreverent humour and deeply political and philosophical messages, and does so with an impressive level of maturity and sophistication.

Marjane is a wonderfully real and likeable character, and watching her grow up in such a war-torn and oppressed part of the world is genuinely heartbreaking.

The minimalist black and white style is eerily beautiful and is also wonderfully dynamic.

A fabulously Pythonesque conversation with God and Karl Marx contrasts with shots of faceless Iranian soldiers that border on terrifying.

Most of all, with the memory of the Arab Spring fresh in the world’s consciousness, it’s a film that’s strikingly relevant.

It’s a frank and honest insight into everyday life in an oppressive regime, and its message to western audiences is simple: be true to yourself, and don’t take freedom for granted.

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tHE dARK kNIGHT Dir: Christopher Nolan 2008

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S E O R E H E H T

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ast your mind all the way back, if you can, to 2010.

Hollywood kept insisting on churning out the same mould-fitting comic book adaptations again and again.

We’d seen it all before and it all looked the same. It was a sad, sorry time.

But then came Matthew Vaughn’s adaptation of Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.’s Kick-Ass, and it was a genuine breath of fresh air.

Unlike all those tired, replica comic book adaptations, Kick-Ass was actually interesting and exciting. It was both clever and entertaining; funny and brutal. It reminded us what superheroes are all about, and not even Nicolas Cage could ruin it.

The cast were all impressive, with Aaron Johnson facing Mark

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ven without the inevitable media hype surrounding his tragic death, Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning performance as the Joker deserves to go down in cinema history for one reason: it’s perfect.

He manages to tap into a dark, primal place that Jack Nicholson and Mark Hamill could never reach and creates a villain that’s scary, enigmatic, and surprisingly three-dimensional.

He doesn’t just play the “I’m so bonkers” card. He has a whole, screwed up view of society, and he shows his working out in a series of tense, excellently-written monologues.

But of course, there’s more to The Dark Knight than Heath Ledger and his Chelsea grin.

Kick-Ass

Dir: Matthew Vaughn Strong, but best of all was Chloë Moretz as Hit-Girl, just 13 years old but stealing every scene.

Kick-Ass even caused some controversy over its 15 certificate; apparently some people aren’t happy about a man being put in a microwave.

But all those things that were complained about were the things that made Kick-Ass one of the best comic book adaptations ever.

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A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE

Dir: David Cronenberg 2005

ohn Wagner’s tale of an ordinary American man whose world is turned upside down by a single act of violence was made into one of the most interesting comic book adaptations, by one of the most interesting directors, David Cronenberg.

A History of Violence is his first collaboration with the masterful Viggo Mortensen, and the pair have since become a force to be reckoned with.

Not only is A History of Violence a beautiful, intelligent and powerful film, it’s actually even better than the comic book upon which it’s based.

Cronenberg never tones down the violence, but uses it sparingly and effectively, and when it comes it’s devastating.

The film is considerably more

The tone is tense and dark, the characters are believably flawed and damaged, and the plot (especially when TwoFace appears) is downright disturbing in places.

Having a plethora of talent in the form of Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine can’t hurt either. Even Maggie Gyllenhaal managed not to suck as love interest Rachel Dawes.

Christopher Nolan has created that rarest of movies: a comic book adaptation which transcends the source material, and becomes a must-see film in its own right.

If this summer’s finale, The Dark Knight Rises, is even half as good as this it’ll be a job well done.

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subtle than the graphic novel, and more interesting, focusing on the theme of identity.

Mortensen is the king of the understatement, and can dominate a screen without lifting a finger.

His relationship with Mario Bello and their children is completely believable, making it even more painful and destructive when everything comes crashing down.

Impressively, William Hurt was nominated for an Oscar for his performance, despite only being in one scene and clocking up less than 10 minutes of screen time; testament to the mesmerising power of A History of Violence, and of David Cronenberg.

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ow that Christopher Nolan has bowled everyone over with the Dark Knight Trilogy, Tim Burton’s surreally gothic take on Batman seems camp and light-hearted by comparison.

They started out well, but later instalments got progressively wacky and stupid as Warner Bros. tried to make the franchise more “family friendly”.

However, the final excruciating nail in the coffin has to be Batman and Robin, the woeful offering from Joel Schumacher.

The problems came by the truck load. Arnold Schwarzenegger gave possibly the worst performance of his career (which is saying something) as Mr Freeze, whose part was reduced to a series of woefully bad one-liners (“Ice to see you”

Batman and Robin

Dir: Joel Schumacher 1997

was just the tip of the... sorry).

Uma Thurman fared little better as a one-dimensionally slutty Poison Ivy. Bane – one of the more intellectual villains in the Batman universe – was turned into a dribbling moron in Technicolor spandex.

And then there were the BatNipples. Good God, the BatNipples…

Still, it takes a lot to turn both fans and newcomers alike against you, and in a sense Joel Schumacher has to be applauded.

He’s the only person who’s ever had to apologise for making an adaptation of a comic book.

PB

SCREEN

Bayles and Dan Meier look at the best and worst adaptations ever to grace the silver screen...

Ghost Rider

H

alle Berry stars in a film later described by Halle Berry as a “piece of shit god-awful movie.”

The only explanation for Catwoman is that the studio was so committed to the cat theme that it was written and directed entirely by cats.

Halle Berry drowns and gets resurrected by some cats. What’s more, she inherits the characteristics of a cat; she hisses at dogs, becomes transfixed upon shiny things, gets hooked on catnip, and develops a taste for fish and milk. (“White Russian, no ice, hold the vodka, hold the Kahlua.”)

This is a superhero.

Catwoman might be good

Dir: Mark Ste ven Johnson 2007

...AND THE VILLAINS.

at fighting, but that’s fairly useless when she can be defeated by a squirt of water.

She also dresses head to toe in leather; you know, like a cat does.

Apparently 43 cats were trained for the film, though it seems that Halle Berry was not one of them.

Her baffling performance won her the Razzie Award for Worst Actress, which presumably now sits on her mantelpiece alongside her Oscar, and the spot where she curls up to sleep.

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Spider-man trilogy

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Dir: Sam Raimi 2002/2004/2007

Catwoman Dir: Pitof 2004

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Fuse.

Artwork: Stirwise/Flickr

play the iconic Peter Parker, and you suggest Tobey Maguire.

You’d be laughed out of the office, then fired, then beaten up. Right?

Wrong; you’d be applauded, showered with cash, and kissed all over.

The point is, Tobey Maguire is about as dynamic and interesting as a pile of pencil shavings found at the bottom of an old school bag.

This year’s The Amazing Spider-Man will probably be better. But then so is being kicked in the face.

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ounting a trilogy as a film may be slightly cheating.

But it’s entirely justified as the three movies are almost indistinguishable.

Sam Raimi brings none of the spattery fun that made him a cult horror hero to the Spider-Man films, presumably under rigid industrial constraints from the Marvel giants. As in the producers, not the Hulk.

The result is a lifeless, plastic-looking adaptation of the classic superhero story.

Imagine you’re in a casting meeting, trying to come up with the actor who should

t may not seem like it now, but there was a point when Nicolas Cage made decent movies like Face/Off, Leaving Las Vegas and Lord of War. Anyone looking for the break-off point should look no further than Ghost Rider, one of the worst comic book adaptations of all time.

Here we see the start of Cage’s “few fries short of a Happy Meal” phase, as he eats jelly beans out of a martini glass while trying to look brooding and serious.

The Ghost Rider is one of Marvel’s darkest and most complex heroes, but here he’s a complete joke.

The action isn’t much better, either. Almost every scene was devised using the formula “wouldn’t it be cool if…”

Wouldn’t it be cool if he rode up the side of a building?

Wouldn’t it be cool if he jumped over a bunch of helicopters?

Wouldn’t it be cool if we saw way too much of Eva Mendes’ cleavage?

Unfortunately, Ghost Rider wasn’t cool. It was just dumb. And the sequel, Spirit of Vengeance, made it look like The Godfather by comparison.

If someone had used the Penitence Stare on Mark Steven Johnson, he’d have surely been sent to Hell for this.

PB

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MUSIC

Reviews.RELEASES

Richard Hawley

Standing At The Sky’s Edge Mute 9/10

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ichard Hawley’s name should be on the Sheffield walk of fame, centre stage for all to see. And rightfully so; this is a man who is so respected here and has contributed so much to the Sheffield music scene, not just for his involvement in Pulp but more importantly because of his work as a solo artist.

His seventh studio album, Standing at the Sky’s Edge does not disappoint and we see Hawley really experimenting with different sounds throughout; there are most certainly some dark themes behind the lyrics.

The first three tracks on the record are slow-paced and put much focus on Hawley’s outstanding and melancholic vocals. The delicately plucked guitar parts that are present at the beginning of tracks evolve and become much more forceful and euphoric as it goes on; this is especially poignant on title-track ‘Standing At The Sky’s Edge’ which is definitely a high point of

Get Cape. wEAR cAPE. fLY Maps Cooking Vinyl 8/10

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et Cape. Wear Cape. Fly’s new album, Maps, shows the growth and progress Sam Duckworth has made throughout his career in music, especially when you compare it to his debut album Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager.

It starkly contrasts to the acoustic style he used to wield because he has developed the guts to experiment with other genres and styles, and this bold, gutsy attitude Duckworth has grown to have is reflected in Maps. He also discusses issues

of politics and ethics in his lyrics which fit in well alongside his bold musical demeanour.

He opens the album with ‘The Real McCoy’, which illustrates the resentment towards the corrupt, bully-boy type character which is illustrated in lyrics like “He’ll take your money / leave you crying home to mummy”. Using crashy percussion to make a strong, bouncy beat and an overdrive guitar, he creates a mob-like atmosphere which gives the opening to Maps a bouncy yet slightly angry feel.

The next song however is a stark contrast. ‘Vital Statistics’ features a more laid-back, funky soul riff with discrete drums and a solid bass line. This calms the atmosphere from the previous song and changes the tone of the whole album because it’s so early

Friday May 4 2012

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ith the abundance of new releases each week it can be difficult to sift through the shit in search of the gold so Fuse has handpicked some of the musical highlights for you.

For starters, there is the wonderful mixtape by BASTILLE which is free to download from his website, bastillebastille.com, called ‘Other People’s Heartache’ which includes the incredulous cover of David Guetta’s ‘Titanium’. Check out our interview with Dan and a review

of Bastille’s show at the Harley on pages p.9 and p.11.

Azealia Banks is continuing on her conquest to take the music world by storm by being featured on a remix of Lana Del Rey’s ‘Blue Jeans’ by DJ Group Smims & Belle. Will there be no end to the exponential amount of remixes of anything by Ms. Del Rey? Hot Chip’s new release ‘Night and Day’ has made us all very excited in the Media Hub. In relation to Hot Chip, we’ve finally given New Build’s debut, ‘Yesterday was Lived & Lost’ a spin but it doesn’t seem as impressive as their single, ‘Do You Not Feel Loved’ that came out earlier this year.

Lianne Williams

on. This is a skill that Duckworth manages to continue throughout Maps, to flip the tone of the album completely without it feeling particularly strange or disjointed.

What it does do, however, is compromise some of the album’s flow.

To close the album, ‘Home’ gives a familiar feel that rounds the album off nicely. Duckworth uses subtle synth, what sounds like panpipes and a chilled out guitar riff that creates a comfortable atmosphere.

Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly’s Maps is brilliant. It shows the progression, development and maturing of a musician who has always been promising. It’s definitely worth a listen.

Jack Crisfield

Keane

Strangeland Island 5/10

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Now Playing

the album.

The bleak yet captivating atmosphere of the first part of the record disappears on the absolute belter of a rock track ‘Down In The Woods’ which draws some similarity to his collaborations with the Arctic Monkeys earlier on this year.

The wonderfully mellow love song ‘Seek It’ would not have sounded out of place on Hawley’s magnificent 2005 release Coles Corner, showing how he can keep that trademark sound while still bringing something new to the table. This is exactly what he has managed to achieve.

It is incredible that after seven albums, Richard Hawley can still deliver and he doesn’t just do that, he comes out with a record that consists of nine excellent tracks; there is no weak link here.

Bringing the album to a close is ‘Before’, which is quite simply beautiful. The combination of soft, echoing vocals and a calming melody eventually fade out leaving you with a feeling that you’ve just experienced something very special.

‘I Come Undone’, the debut single from Violet, Pixie Geldof’s band was announced recently and has actually had some positive feedback from places like Nylon mag. It’s out May 7 and available to listen to online so you can be the judge of whether or not Pixie’s latest project is worthy of a space on your iTunes.

Another track that has caught our attention this week is ‘Body Weather’ by Sunless ‘97 which was tweeted by our lovely friends Uneven Blonde (@unevenblonde). Check out the feature Sam Bolton did with them online at forgetoday.com.

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t’s not easy to treat a new Keane record with complete neutrality; no matter how tasty a hook Tom Chaplin may produce, this is still the band accountable for ‘Everybody’s Changing’. To be fair on Keane, though, they’ve tried to expand on themselves in recent years, albeit by dolloping a synthesizer over the top of each track in order to qualify as ‘alternative’.

Strangeland is the band’s first full length album since 2008’s Perfect Symmetry, an album so blasé and indifferent that not even the mums of Britain took much notice. You’d have thought, then, that they would have shaken things up a little bit; of course, this is Keane we’re talking about.

Pleasantly up-tempo for the majority, Strangeland sees Keane enter ‘super-happy-fun mode’.

This isn’t to say the album is ‘bad’. There are some decent moments in fact. Lead single, ‘Silenced by the Night’, is as good as anything Gary Barlow has spewed out in recent years, and the sparkling Radio 2 pop of

‘Sovereign Light Café’ will have you spiritually prancing naked through a field of barley in slow motion, in a pleasant way of course.

But once you’ve gotten past the galloping serving of cheddar that is ‘On the Road’ and the Simon Cowell wet dream ‘The Starting Line’, it gets difficult to see this album as anything other than a hefty spoonful of mediocre, over-protected Leona-pop that is as quickly forgotten as it is predicted.

Like almost all of their previous work, it’s all very cute, elegant and blameless; it’s the sort of album you’d have no qualms about sharing with your grandmother over a nice cup of Horlicks and a buttered scone, but one you may keep hidden from your friends.

Overall, Strangeland is a runof-the-mill, generally agreeable pop record through which Keane’s biggest crime is lacking balls.

Tom Fletcher

Follow us on Twitter @ForgePressMusic

BASTILLE

The Harley

Tuesday April 24

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ASTILLE grace the city of Sheffield for the first night of their UK headlining tour that started with a resounding bang.

Playing to a brimming Harley, Dan Smith and his band perform hits, covers and new material and leave the crowd crying for more.

Sheffield local band, the Lion Works support BASTILLE. Despite technical difficulties and the performance issue of playing almost only to their friends in the crowd, the Lion Works have a good alternative-rock sound and work well as a warm up for BASTILLE. Favourite tracks from their set include ‘Too Far’ and ‘At Arm’s Length’ which are all available to listen to on the band’s soundcloud. They are a good addition to the bill and are gaining some

decent recognition around the city, so it’s sure we’ll be hearing more from the Lion Works soon.

When BASTILLE takes to the stage, the crowd erupts and a shy smile spreads across Dan’s face.

The show has such a brilliant atmosphere and the band play with such energy; it would be easy to assume they’d been doing this for a lot longer than only two years.

Highlights include Dan’s cover of City High’s ‘What Would You Do’. The audience almost explode when he begins with “Boys and girls, wanna hear a true story / Saturday night I was at this real wild party.”

The Harley descends into a mayhem of dancing on cue for the track, ‘Laura Palmer’ that was released May last year.

Dan’s voice seems so abashed in person that he almost transforms on stage; holding the audience’s full attention, with a clear

and resounding sound that casts similarities to other frontmen, such as Fenech-Soler’s Ben Duffey.

The night calms down ready for ‘Overjoyed’, which is the newest single to be released

by BASTILLE. It tells the story of yearning, “I hear you calling in the dead of night”. Its melancholy sound is a stark contrast to his other material and portrays that there is no end to what Dan Smith can do.

Finishing on their cover of ‘Rhythm of the Night’, in which Dan becomes stuck on top of one of the speakers for most of the song, BASTILLE wowed, amazed and astounded the crowd in what will have been an unforgettable night for all.

Amelia Heathman

BASTILLE: Nipuna Jayanath

PARADISE lOST Corporation

Tuesday April 24

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Insomnium: Talie Eigeland

the crookes The Harley

Tuesday May 1

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he night begins with a pretty shaky start with Vreid, a Norwegian black metal band. Vreid put on an awesome show but people are here to see Paradise Lost and are not expecting black metal. Still, it is a solid and enjoyable performance.

Next comes Insomnium, who put on one hell of a show. They begin by blasting out some of the best metal Scandinavia has to offer, with perfectly timed break downs, blasting riffs and gut-ruining mid sections which would have please any metal fan. The crowd are pumped; the atmosphere euphoric.

As Paradise Lost step out the crowd screams and cheers as the stage drops to black. Smashing

out the same chunky epic riffs as they always have, the crowd could not have been happier about it. Unfortunately, the messy audio was clearly noticeable.

Nonetheless, Paradise Lost are tight on stage.

Paradise Lost’s new album Tragic Idol was released in the UK the same night as the gig.

When Nick Holmes announces that the next song would be the title track ‘Tragic Idol’, the audience was sceptical. How could they pull off a track that had been out in the UK for less than 12 hours when most of the fans have come to see their previous material? But they manage it, and they do it with style. Everyone in attendance goes insane for the new song.

The only flaw in the performance is the difference between Paradise Lost’s studio vocals compared to their live set. Holmes’ voice sounds less ‘evil’ live.

However, their material sounds a lot more epic when played to a crowd which more than satisfies the audience.

The highlights of the night are most definitely ‘Erased’ and ‘Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us’. ‘Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us’ is absolutely mind blowing live. The chorus is a head-bang fest; everyone there, young and old, totally goes for it; a unique atmosphere to be a part of.

Overall Paradise Lost are a great band to see live with more than worthy supports.

Niall Bird More reviews online Read more reviews online at: www.forgetoday.com

DOT COM

with guitarist Tom. The slightly shambolic appearance of their dancing just adds to the fun – especially in addition to their offer of free vodka for those who come forwards.

There isn’t actually much space to move, what with the Harley being full and all, but a couple of girls manage it and top up their drinks with helpings from the bottle on stage.

The Crookes close on ‘Yes, Yes, We Are Magicians’, with its majestic clickalong bringing back the art of finger-clicking. Such is the draw and appeal of the band that George doesn’t even have to sing the final refrain – the crowd is loud enough.

Special (and, perhaps more importantly, free) gigs like this don’t come along every day, and judging by the Crookes’ growing popularity, they won’t be able to manage them for much longer either.

They certainly won’t be able to continue hanging around postgig at the merch stall, “selling all their possessions” and generally acting like the lovely young gents they are, unless they fancy being mobbed by rabid fans.

Friday May 4 2012

Fuse.

oly shit it’s roasting in the Harley. That might be because it’s only just gone 8pm, and apparently we’re only 50 people away from full capacity. It is, to say the least, rammed, and Hey Sholay are only just taking to the stage.

Tonight is a more than exemplary example of just how damn good Sheffield’s music scene is.

Hey Sholay are a brilliant start to the evening, with each round of applause at the end of their songs louder than the last.

The Crookes’ labelmates take the time to plug their forthcoming debut album in between running through enjoyable and familiar tracks like ‘Wishbone’ and ‘Dreamboat’.

New single ‘Burning’ is just as well received, and energetic frontman Liam’s wish for us to enjoy a “sensible evening” towards the end of their set is met by an amused crowd.

But no matter how good the support band is, tonight is about Sheffield’s (adopted) darlings.

The Crookes don’t even announce themselves when they take to the stage, instead opting to launch

into ‘Afterglow’, the first single from the upcoming Hold Fast, with flair and energy.

For a band whose second album hasn’t even come out yet, the set is impressively varied.

Longtime fans are treated to old favourites like ‘A Collier’s Wife’, and we’re also privy to new material; ‘American Girls’, available to download for free, is accompanied by apologies to the girls of Sheffield, who are yet to have a song written for them.

Another new song is introduced as ‘Where Did the Love Go’, a subtle hint at what gems Hold Fast will contain.

An interesting cover of ‘Blue Moon’ also breaks up the evening’s entertainment, with the band again avoiding relying on too many songs from debut album Chasing After Ghosts.

That’s not to say that familiar material isn’t enjoyed by the crowd. At the height of the night, there are genuine screams of delight from young, impressionable girls as ‘Godless Girl’ comes on.

It’s like Beatlemania for the modern day indie kid.

The energy on stage is incredible; the boys know when to calm things down for a slower song, but there are moments when it looks as though frontman and bassist George is about to collide

MUSIC

Reviews. LIVE

Coral Williamson The Crookes: Sam Bolton

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SCREEN

Reviews.

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE Dir: Joss Whedon 9/10

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fter five films, a few postcredits sequences and a couple of short vignettes hidden in various DVDs, one of the most ambitious s u p e r h e ro movies to come out in recent years is here.

Thanks to a stellar cast, and marvellous direction and writing from Joss Whedon, Avengers Assemble more than lives up to expectations.

Make no mistake though: it’s a comic book movie through and through, and this is nowhere more apparent than in the story.

After fiddling around with forces that they don’t understand in

the form of a glowing blue cube called a “Tesseract”, the international security agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D, headed by Director Nick Fury (played ably

by Samuel L. Jackson), open up a portal to release everybody’s favourite Norse God of mischief, Loki (Tom Hiddleston). If that’s not enough, the fiend is planning to summon an alien invasion from across space and time to

“Avengers Assemble more than lives up to expectations” subjugate the Earth.

It’s up to Director Fury to summon the world’s greatest heroes - Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), a recently unfrozen Captain America (Chris Evans), Bruce Banner/the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) as well as super spy Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and expert marksman Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) - in order to save the day. Before that, though, they have to start getting along with each other; not an easy task as almost all of the characters shouldn’t even be left in the same room together,

LE HAVRE

Dir: Aki Kaurismaki 7/10

T Albert Nobbs

Dir: Rodrigo García 6/10

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n 19th century Ireland, Albert Nobbs (Glenn Close) is a waiter at a Dublin hotel. However, all is not what is seems, as Albert is actually a woman who has lived as a man for 30 years to survive independently in a male-dominated society. But after a hotel painter, Hubert (Janet McTeer), discovers his secret, and reveals one of his own, Albert decides he wants more from life, and goes in search of love, becoming embroiled in the tumultuous relationship of handyman Joe (Aaron Johnson) and hotel maid Helen (Mia Wasikowska), as he tries to fulfil his lifelong dream of owning and running his own business.

Close, who co-wrote and produced the film, and was the driving force behind its production, is outstanding as Albert, mastering the required level of androgyny with apparent ease, and demonstrating a level of control and restraint in her performance that captures the character’s loneliness and isolation.

However, this has a tendency to make Albert appear stilted, somewhat distant, and as a

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result difficult to relate to or invest in emotionally.

The remainder of the cast, including Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) and Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges) are strong, but this can’t quite make up for what is lacking from the film’s titular character.

The romantic side of the film is held back by the obvious constraints implied by the main character’s secret identity, and the ageing Albert’s pursuit of youthful maid Helen, less than half his age, comes across as creepy rather than endearing, and makes him appear less innocently optimistic, more hopelessly deluded.

This combination of factors means Albert Nobbs unfortunately falls short of the mark.

In spite of its problems, Albert Nobbs tackles its issues of gender identity head on, demonstrating sensitivity for its subject matter, and providing an interesting insight into gender roles in the 19th century. Close’s deep commitment to the role, and the project as a whole, is evident throughout, but this can’t mask the problems Albert Nobbs faces as a consequence of both its unusual premise and the awkward romantic elements which don’t quite succeed.

Alex Chafey

he latest film from Finnish film director Aki Kaurismaki, Le Havre explores themes of courage, loyalty and hope. The film expressively portrays the worlds of illegal (or legal) immigrants through the charming tale of a street shoeshiner and an young African immigrant.

Set in the French port town of the same name, Le Havre tells the story of Marcel Marx, (Andre Wilms), penniless due to the increasing popularity of nonleather shoes, and his mission for a boy he meets by chance.

His acts of charity towards the gentle Idrissa begin with a sandwich and a piece of acerbic advice - “You want the other side of the Channel for London” - which soon take on greater degrees as his ineffably French neighbours chip in baguettes, tinned fish and fruit.

Wilms gives a believable, lived-in performance as Marx, whose sailor-like rituals of smoking and salting boiled eggs render him truly winsome. His

let alone battle on the same side.

This is where Joss Whedon’s gift for taking advantage of tried and tested genres really kicks in.

Although the plot is generic, the dynamics that the script develops between the different characters make the overarching story almost irrelevant. Tony Stark and Bruce Banner’s budding bromance, long time S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson’s (Clark Gregg) fanboy admiration of Captain America and the epic sibling rivalry between Thor and Loki (“He’s adopted” is the thunder god’s explanation for his brother’s villainous tendencies) are the reasons this film is so brilliant.

Special mention should go to Mark Ruffalo, who’s the third actor to play the part of Banner/ the Hulk and definitely the best so far. He brings an air of calm and earnest self-loathing to the role that makes you wish he had been cast for the previous Hulk films as well.

Even the lengthy action sequences (these are superheroes after all) barely ever stray from being heart-pounding to tedious.

It would, in fact, be spoiling to give you specifics, but the battle royale in New York City gives the heroes moments to shine in a way

that they never did before, even the ones who previously had their own films.

This summer is a relatively big one for comic book movies, with both The Amazing SpiderMan and The Dark Knight Rises close on the horizon. Avengers Assemble, however, has set the bar high, and it’s most definitely going to be a hard one for the competition to beat.

wife Arletty, played by Finn Kati Outinen, adds another thread to Le Havre’s vibrant narrative through her unidentified illness and subsequent hospitalisation.

Her Finnish-accented French sounds slightly strained at times, but serves well to add an extra layer to her character’s quiet mysticism.

Quoc-Dung Nguyen deserves greatest praise for his role as Marx’s taciturn but engaging coworker Chang. Having himself travelled the journey that Idrissa is beginning, his accounts of new life in a new country add great pathos to the film, as does a moving monologue in which, presenting his passport to Marx, he explains how he has rights, responsibilities and security in France. Nguyen portrays the success story of many immigrants’ dreams - to be secure in a safe country and with legal rights to be there - though his covert warnings and advice to Adrissa are evidence of his experience of the harder side of migrant life.

Through Marcel’s undertaking, we glimpse into situations which are part of daily life for countless immigrants: state controlled eviction camps, Megabus-style transportations from country to

country, and even real video footage of the destruction of the notorious ‘Jungle’ camp near Calais in 2005.

For these lows of the film, however, there are equal moments of joy, such as the charity concert Marcel and Chang organise to raise money for Idrissa’s clandestine journey across the Channel. The concert stars Little Bob, a genuine star of the North-French music scene, evidence of Kaurismäki’s genuine love for the Le Havre area.

One stylistic feature of note is the inconsistency in time period: the cars, clothes and housing interiors of Le Havre suggest the late 60’s, but all transactions are made in Euros and newspaper headlines note the threat from terrorist groups; a point which adds a degree of confusion to the film, but not so much to distract from the overall message.

Le Havre is, in all, a poignant and well-acted work addressing the timeless topics of courage, trust and human kindness.

Tom King

Kirsty Moyse

Dir: Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey 7/10

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et in the Kenyan Savannah, African Cats follows the progress of two cat families - a pride of lions and a female cheetah and her four cubs - as they progress through life and try to survive the perils of the wild.

Made by Disney, African Cats is a somewhat anthropomorphised take on the wildlife documentary.

Sir Patrick Stewart lends his rich voice to the commentary, which gives all the animals a name and, to an extent, a character, but to the untrained eye these are rather hard to keep track of. Information is very thin on the ground, as no facts about the animals or their surroundings are given to us, and even their whereabouts is not revealed until the very end. Make no mistake,

this is a kids’ film, not a David Attenborough documentary.

However, there’s plenty of eye candy for the less easily amused. The sweeping shots of vast African scenery, set to a rousing, if excessively emotive, score, are a marvel to behold on a cinema screen, and the animals are shot fantastically. And it’s not just cats on display, as elephants, ostriches, aardvarks, giraffes, hyenas and more are worked in to showcase the best of the rich variety of fascinating creatures that inhabit the plains.

Particular highlights include a bird’s eye view of a millionstrong herd of wildebeest, and a riverbank showdown between a lion and a crocodile. But the cats are the stars of the show here, which are carefully filmed in great detail throughout their life cycles, including an adorable litter of cheetah cubs which may now find themselves at the top of a lot of letters to Santa.

There are several engrossing

hunting sequences too, particularly those involving cheetahs, slowed down to capture every movement, although at a U certificate they remain noticeably bloodless.

As mainstream cinema is flooded with special effects and CGI, it’s refreshing to see a film that indulges the eye with natural, rather than artificial, spectacle, which is something that African Cats does with relish and enthusiasm. While more mature cinema goers may begrudge the personification of the animals and the lack of information on offer, there is a lot of glorious wildlife photography on display to make up for it, and while it may not be anything you wouldn’t find in a TV documentary, the opportunity to see the spectacular landscapes and vast herds on a big screen is one that is worth taking for nature enthusiasts.

Alex Chafey

Cult Corner.

Sucide Circle Dir: Sion Sono 2002

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VERY IMPORTANT PEOPLE Friday, 9.30pm

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kids share some banter about collectively killing themselves.

Two minutes later, when they actually do, it all becomes a gleeful pisstake. By linking crass violence to the failings of society, Sono simultaneously makes fun of and confronts those who indulge in it. “What is wrong with you?” he seems to ask.

It’s perfectly valid to just see Suicide Circle as a trashy splatter flick with surreal thrills galore. But why settle for that when you can indulge in a crass, relentless equivalent of Donnie Darko on steroids?

As a social critique it’s no A Clockwork Orange, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s a cult classic in its own, beautiful, bloody right.

Martin Bottomley

Fuse.

Ben Brunton

appy music plays as a crowd of 54 Japanese schoolgirls form a straight line on the platform in a Tokyo subway station.

The train turns a corner. The girls lock hands. The music sounds like sweets and roundabouts. They start chanting. “And a one...”

What are they on about? “...and a two...” Oh god, this is a Japanese film. But surely, they won’t... “... and a three!” This is Suicide Circle, a modern classic of Japanese splatter.

The opening scene in the subway with its buckets of blood seems a bit harsh, but it’s only

the beginning of an increasingly nightmarish wave of suicides.

The police are lost, a mysterious website suggests a conspiracy, and copycat suicides and criminal opportunists only make things worse. And there’s that girl-group of 11 year-olds on TV, who seem cheerfully innocent but oddly sinister at the same time.

Set in Japan, which has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, suicide seems a fairly tasteless premise to base a film on. However, Suicide Circle never settles for cheap horror: it eschews curses, ghosts and other tropes for a simple philosophical question posed half-way in.

Click: suddenly, it’s a film about alienation in modern life.

Director Sion Sono is actually a scathing critic of modern society, cackling in the background of a scene where adolescent school

Friday October 2011 Friday May 472012

hannel 4’s latest venture into comedy, Very Important People, came to our screens on Friday in the form of an impressions show.

For those of you already familiar with the concept, it will come as no real shock that it is practically the same as every other impressions show that has graced our TVs. Only not as good, because it’s on Channel 4.

Although, aside from the fact that it is a product of the channel that brought us half of the celebrities that it mocks, the program itself is, at the very least, watchable.

Featuring the joint talents of writer, actress and comedian Morgana Robinson, and impressionist and comedy actor Terry Mynott, Very Important People comes as a follow up to The Morgana Show - a similar Channel 4 series, again based on impersonations.

In the first episode of the new series, we go from a mock reality show involving washedup soap star Natalie Cassidy (formerly Sonia from Eastenders) to the trailer for Some Sort Of Disagreement, a film involving Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston.

The interesting layout of the program as a montage compiled of excerpts from fake films and TV shows is an intriguing and intelligent concept, which could work better if compiled more methodically.

Instead the makers seem to have crammed in as many stars as they can, whilst even returning to those they particularly dislike throughout; a feature that becomes quite tedious and irritating after seeing an impersonated Amy Childs for the third time, as apparently impressions can be as minddestroyingly aggravating as “the real deal”.

Moreover, Mynott’s aptitude for voices, and hence the realism of the sketches - notably those in which David Attenborough tracks obnoxious comic Frankie Boyle - turns the show into more of a disconcerting parody.

Nonetheless, there remain some amusing high points. Bizarrely, the less realistic impression of Professor Brian Cox is one of them. With stunning scenery of canyons and forests and slow, drawn out panning of the camera, our gaze is always drawn back to the professor, and in particular his fashion choices.

Add to this a musical rendition from Adele (with a twist) and Tom Jones comparing Jessie J to Mystic Meg and there are worse things to do with a Friday evening.

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ratchet & clank: all 4 one PS3

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he latest game in the Ratchet & Clank franchise is the multiplayer Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One. After the bumbling yet loveable imbecile that is Captain Qwark leads Ratchet and Clank

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Friday May 4 2012

7/10

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n the novel ‘The Garden of Forking Paths’, author Jorge Luis Borges attempted to create a hypertext that offered an infinite number of different narrative outcomes based on various moments within the text. It was the precursor to the ‘choose your own adventure’ novel. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition is the videogame equivalent to this.

Many games pretend to offer the player a degree of agency within its narrative; Mass Effect lets you choose which party member you’d like to romance, Skyrim allows you to tackle the various quest structures in whatever order you’d prefer.

Whilst these games merely flirt, The Witcher 2 boldly allows you to change the entire course of the story based on split second decisions in dialogue or combat.

In The Witcher 2 a single choice in a conversation can determine the environment you’ll visit for the next 20 hours of play. As a consequence, complete towns and quests are locked out depending on how you behave. Some will moan that they’re required to play the game more than once to get a complete experience, but these people are a collection of limp minded cretins. The Witcher 2 is a step forward for narrative in videogames; it tells a tale that’s more mature, believable and engrossing than most, and gives you the opportunity to effectively structure it as you see fit.

The game’s story is based on a series of novels by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, adapted by Polish developer CDProjekt Red. You play the

witcher, Geralt of Rivia; In the game’s fiction, a witcher is someone who was taken from childbirth and genetically modified for the purpose of hunting monsters. During the extensive prologue you are blamed for the assassination of a king, a plot which leads you to travel around the world of Temeria to clear your name.

The combat in The Witcher 2 is relentlessly unforgiving. A brief tutorial attempts to assimilate you into its unique blend of block and riposte sword play, but the only way to truly grasp the mechanics is to die continuously. The prologue is titled ‘A Trial By Fire’ for this very reason. Fighting more than one enemy at once is a surefire way to get yourself killed, and evasive moves like rolling, blocking and parrying are just as important as swinging your sword or throwing knives and bombs. Traps can be placed around the environment to help you divide enemies up, and spells can be cast to perform a variety of offensive and defensive actions, such as throwing fire or repelling sword blows.

Part of the witcher’s mutated skillset is the ability to handle toxic concoctions that buff their abilities. Potions must be consumed prior to combat, but they allow you to see in the dark, regenerate your health faster and resist poisonous effects, amongst other things.

Alongside this you can oil up the blades of your swords with various poisons and lotions that allow for advantages in combat. Given the game’s punishing difficulty these actions are essential for survival, and add to the satisfying level of responsibility given to the player. The Witcher 2 isn’t afraid to challenge you, but it makes the payoff more rewarding when you fell a group of enemies or a particularly troublesome foe.

Visually The Witcher 2 is spec-

tacular, especially the Xbox 360 version. As a port of a 2011 PC title, on 2005 console hardware, in 2012, it exceeds all expectations. Quite simply it’s up there with the best graphics on the system. Walking around the forest of Flotsam as streams of light filter down through the rich, dense foliage is a wonderful experience. Similarly, indoor environments are littered with minute details that combine to sell you the believable world described in Sapkowski’s novels. Finally, Geralt himself is littered with detail, from the scar on his face, to the realistic sway of his silver hair, the detailed mix of patchwork and steel on his armour and the lifeless trophy of some long felled creature dangling from his sword belt.

Dialogue trees shape how you interact with the world’s colourful cast of characters, and within that there are choices in how you wish to approach each conversation, from raw intimidation to bribery, and a jedi-like power that allows you to trick people into agreeing with your every whim. The voice acting is also stellar, Geralt particularly stands out with his cool yet firm tone that perfectly captures his fearsome personality.

The Witcher 2 is a peerless RPG. In a world where Skyrim can be lauded despite it’s atrocious combat system, a world where Mass Effect is held aloft as a bastion of player choice, The Witcher 2 shines even brighter.

It’s a game built by gamers, for gamers, that doesn’t hand hold you through it’s mechanics or it’s plot.

In a ‘Garden of Forking Paths’, The Witcher 2 may not be the most obvious route to take, but if you walk in it’s direction you’ll wonder why you ever tolerated anything else.

trilogy that proceeded it, All 4 One doesn’t quite hit the mark.

Some of the great gadgets of the Future trilogy have been left out, such as the Omniwrench’s Kinetic Tether Ability which moved bridges and powered spring pads. This may have been done to put each character on an equal footing, but you may feel that some previously great ideas were left out in order to pursue a more co-operative experience.

Why couldn’t they have given all of the characters kinetic tethers?

The game has some great mini missions, and the many ways in which all four players have to work together to traverse the map and defeat their many enemies makes up for the change in style from the Future trilogy.

After each mission segment ends, points are added up to see who did best which adds a fun competetive element to what is ostensibly a co-op

game.

The plot is quite good too, the graphics are as good if not better than the preceding games, and the humour remains amusing for all ages. Quark and Nefarious also develop a great side story through the cut scenes which is great to watch and makes you forgo playing Ratchet or Clank in favour of the comedic pair’s dialogue.

This is not a serious game. Ratchet & Clank games rarely are, they are continually loved for their jovial attitude towards gaming.

In keeping with the series’ traditions Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One comes with a great variety of weapons, from Pyro Blasters to Frost Cannons, Arc Lashers and Plasmabomb Launchers. Each character also gets a special weapon of their own; these all come with a unique cartoony introduction when supplied by your faithful

robot companions, Cronk and Zephyr, while they are stuck in an asteroid field.

Also, don’t worry; there is flying in space as well.

To reiterate, this game is not as good as the Future trilogy, but it is nevertheless worth getting, just to plug in and have a good time with all your mates, inevitably arguing over which c h a ra c t e r s you are going to choose.

Despite its flaws, Insomniac Games have attempted a new direction that’s both bold and fresh for the franchise. They’ve done themselves proud.

The witcher 2: Assassins of kings Enhanced edition PC/XBOX 360

10/10

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into the perilous hands of their arch-nemesis Dr Nefarious, the quartet is captured by a new enemy, forcing them to work together to defeat their unknown captors.

Ratchet & Clank’s penchant for cartoon violence and dry wit has turned the series into a classic since it’s inception in 2002.

As the first game to release after the excellent Future trilogy, Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One has a tough act to follow.

In comparison to the acclaimed

Arnold Bennett

Kieran Dean

ANDY WARHOL : LATE SELF-PORTRAITS Graves Gallery 6/10

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ndy Warhol’s late selfportraits are stained by an uncomfortable preoccupation with death and mortality.

Despite the overwhelming theme of Graves Gallery’s latest exhibition - portraits developed in the decade before his untimely death in 1987 - several people still enquired about whether Warhol himself would be at its launch.

The exhibition parades Warhol’s intensity, drama and glamour, even as he battled death after a near-fatal shooting in his studio in 1968. His presence at the opening of an exhibition such as this would have been more remarkable than the portraits themselves.

Because in many ways, Warhol was his art. After being criticised in the 1970s for allowing his

ARTS

Reviews.

work to become ‘business art’ and his particular penchant for producing portraits of Hollywood personalities, this latest exhibition encapsulates both the irony of Warhol’s commercial drive and his crippling personal and professional self-doubt.

His monolithic self-portrait from 1986 stands at the rear of the exhibition, instantly absorbing anyone who approaches the room. Warhol’s characteristic stare is shadowed by a garish red mist, creating a surrealist vision of superficiality and raw simplicity. Warhol seems to be imploring the viewer to let him go now: his time has come.

His 1976 Skulls portraits are scattered around the room, heightening their exhausting effect. As soon as think you have explored one repeated portrait of a skull steadily eclipsed by painterly shadows, another creeps up behind you.

A self-portrait from 1978 also shows Warhol with a skull sitting happily on his right shoulder, as if it’s a faithful companion accompanying him on his inevitable road to death.

Another self-portrait from 1978 sees an almost euphoric Warhol being strangled by a pair of truncated hands, as if he is being suffocated by an abstract alien force that he has willingly conjured himself.

This image of a fragile yet playful Warhol is contrasted with poster prints and magazine mock-ups, showing Warhol in all his glossy superficial glory.

Yet the Warhol on the cover of a magazine or the Warhol stood elusively adorned in the latest fashion with blackened sunglasses still exudes a sketchy uncertainty, screaming, “Who am I?” across the room.

The battle that Warhol had between image and reality is demonstrated by his graphite on paper from 1981, The Shadow.

The identity insecurity of his later years seems to have inspired Warhol to show a different perspective to his constantly recreated Campbell’s Soup or Marilyn Monroe prints.

It is thankful that Warhol’s portraits carry enough impact as individual pieces alone considering the sparseness of the

show. The first exhibition room is dominated by recordings of the people closest to Warhol and those who were instrumental to his projects. Whilst such an addition gives us a different impression of Warhol’s outlandishness – that he was obsessed with the mundane and committed to intimate conversations – the exhibition would have benefited from far more funding and far more Warhol himself.

fishing in qatar; the archaeological evidence

demonstrates the significance and sheer diversity of these resources in Qatar’s history.

The exhibition therefore aims to show which particular types of fish were caught at the time, how exactly this was achieved, and the importance of fish in the people’s diet. What we are presented with, however, is a mishmash of poorly constructed diagrams, basic annotations paired with each object on display, and rather uninspiring photographs to boot.

The exhibition also has a deeply underwhelming outwards appearance, due to its failure to fully utilize the space available to it; the display cases themselves are barely noticeable, tucked away in the far corner of the Jessop West foyer. In fact, if you’ve been in the building this week, you’ve probably already walked past them by now without even knowing it.

However, the low point of the exhibition has to be the rather unprofessional diagram of stone fish traps, consisting of a piece of blue paper, a scattering of gravel, and some little cut-out fishes. It doesn’t exactly strike one as particularly scientific in appearance, at least.

Nonetheless, there are some more worthwhile exhibits on display too. In particular, the skeletal form of a fish, recovered in its entirety, was certainly interesting to have a closer look at. Additionally, there is a colourful and eye-catching display positioned in the corridor of the building, showing cut-outs of Qatar’s different varieties of fish, each artistically suspended in a glass cabinet. This particular exhibit also contained more informative annotations than any of the others, explaining the purpose behind Russ’s work.

Sadly, this exhibition will

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Olivia Middleton

MRead more reviews,

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interviews and features online at ForgeToday.com

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howcasing the findings of Dr. Hannah Russ of the University of Sheffield, Fishing in Qatar; The Archaeological Evidence focuses upon the skeletal remains of fish that she has been examining in her research.

These remains were recovered through excavations made at Rubayqa, Qatar, as part of the Qatar Islamic Archaeology and Heritage Project (QIAH). Due to its extensive coastline and desert environment, Qatar relied heavily upon its marine resources during the site’s occupation in the 19th and early 20th Century.

Analysis of the fish remains and fishing paraphernalia recovered

probably only appeal to Archaeology students who have a genuine interest in the subject matter, and not to a wider student audience. Although the exhibition is probably looking to provide facts over aesthetic appeal, there is no denying that it wouldn’t have gone amiss to try and display Russ’s findings in a more attention-grabbing fashion.

Friday May 4 2012

Jessop West Foyer 3/10

Laura Connor

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LISTINGS

GIAG: Newcastle

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ewcastle is the largest city in the north-east and is famous for the River Tyne which was at the heart of the shipbuilding industry.

Today this northern ‘toon’ is famous for the BALTIC cultural centre at Gateshead which is one of the city’s most recent developments.

Pay a visit to one of the music or arts centres, stroll down the riverside walks, admire the fantastic architecture or to get your tasting buds going at the glamorous La Riviera restaurant.

Other attractions include Castle Keep, which dates back to the 12th century and the Millennium Bridge, which attracts people from all over the world, so don’t miss out.

Film Unit

Sunday May 6: The Muppets; 3.30pm, 7.30pm

Wednesday May 9: The Woman in Black; 7.30pm

Friday May 11: Another Earth; 7.30pm

il has been discovered beneath the Muppet Theatre and Tex Richman plans to drill

rthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe), is ordered to travel to a remote village and sort a recently deceased client’s papers. As he works alone in the client’s isolated house, Kipps’ unease grows when he glimpses a mysterious woman dressed in black.

Kipps is forced to uncover the true identity of the woman on his own, leading to a desperate race against time when he discovers her true identity.

This is a special charity showing. All proceeds go to the West Pokot Education Project, set up by the students and staff of our own Geography department.

hoda Williams (Brit Marling), an Astrophysics student at MIT, is driving when she sees a planet and leans out for a closer look.

She hits a minivan and kills a family. Upon release from prison she seeks out the widower of the family, composer John Burroughs (William Mapother).

The planet is a mirror planet of Earth, and an essay contest is held where the winner can ride a space shuttle to visit it.

Williams considers the possibility of visiting it to find out what kind of life her mirror self led. Another Earth is a deeply emotional piece about human connection.

O Saturday May 12 outside Bar One, £14; 8am ‘til 5.30pm

Tickets: £2.50

Available from the SU box office

for it.

Walter, the world’s biggest Muppet fan, his brother Gary (Jason Segel) and Gary’s girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) and try to stop him by staging The Greatest Muppet Telethon Ever, raising $10 million needed to save the theatre.

Walter, Mary, and Gary must help Kermit reunite the Muppets, who have all gone their separate ways. The Muppets brings back all your favourite characters in this magical musical comedy.

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Fuse’s Four for the Fortnight World Snooker Championships: Monday May 7 @ The Crucible; £65; 7.30pm

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rounds.

The event moved to The Crucible in 1977, and coincided with the BBC providing major television coverage. The Crucible seats fewer than a thousand people with the front row of seats only a few feet from the players.

On May 7, the final match of the championship will take play at The Crucible. It’s sure to be a fantastic night, so make sure you find a way to watch!

D

rowned in Sound and Harley Live once again join forces to bring the live action back to the

rink.

They said it could never work, but it did: live music, roller skates and alcohol...all in the same place, at the same time. In 2009, Rollerpalooza hit Sheffield’s Skate Central with a bang, headlined by Atlanta punks Black Lips, and the feat was repeated one year later (headlined by LA’s No Age, and also featuring Leeds heavyweights Pulled Apart

By Horses).

Rollerpalooza makes an eagerly awaited return in May 2012, with a new name but the same fun-packed format: a stage at one end of Skate Central’s roller rink and a bar at the other, with skaters somewhere in the middle. Bands and DJs take it in turns to provide the soundtrack

Lyric Festival: May 9 - May 11 @ St. George’s Church Lecture Theatre / Firth Court; various times and prices

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yric Festival is a three-day celebration of music and the written word.

This year includes talks on the troubled and brilliant first world war poet Ivor Gurney, offering a portrait in both sound and words, with poetry readings and a discussion of his life, with Simon Armitage; and Peter Redgrove, a poet of wild imaginative exuberance,

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Friday Friday May September 4 2012 16 2011

he World Snooker Championship is the highlight of the snooker calendar. Held since 1977 at the legendary Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, the event draws the best players from around the world to compete, in front of sell-out crowds, for the most coveted prize in the sport. The world’s top 16 seeded players are joined by 16 more that have battled through the qualifying

Rolled School: Saturday May 5 @ Skate Central, Queens Road; £14; 7.30pm

deep psychological analysis and mystical insight.

There will be a celebration of The Poetry Business, which was founded in 1986 and at this event we celebrate its 25th (and a bit) year supporting poetry in the region.

Representing The Poetry Business are three spell-binding and distinctive performers, plus readings of the work of much-

loved Sheffielder Stanley Cook.

There will also be an interview with Linton Kwesi Johnson, who has been described as the world’s first reggae poet. His sell-out appearances at readings are a testament to the power and energy of his performances.

Linton will be introduced and interviewed by broadcaster, DJ, author and friend of the Lyric Festival, Stuart Maconie.

while the madness unfolds.

Skating isn’t compulsory, but it’s certainly encouraged – the range of skating abilities amongst attendees is extremely varied!

Glaswegian electro boffins Errors return to headline in

Sheffield for the first time since 2010’s appearance at The Harley. They drew a large crowd at Tramlines last year on the 2,500-capacity New Music Stage stage, and this will be a great chance to hear tracks from their superlative, career-best third album, Have Some Faith In Magic.

It’s their firmest move yet towards something that over the past few years the Glaswegian four-piece has always hinted at: Errors have just gone and made a pop record.

Rolled School will be run this year in association with long-time friends Death By Shoes and, for the first time, the Sheffield Steel Rollergirls, who will be running a stall, assisting skaters and selling their very own branded beer, Amber’s Nectar, which is brewed locally by Blue Bee Brewery.

We’ll see you on the rink!

Bang Goes The Theory LIVE: May 6 - May 7 @ City Hall; free; 11.30am and 4pm

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n the past three years, over a quarter of a million people have put science and technology to the test at BBC One’s Bang Goes the Theory Live.

Following this success it’s back in 2012 and promises to be bigger and better than ever.

Join the presenters for a brand new, action-packed show as they bring the television series to life and test, stretch and explode

science live on stage.

Then it’s your turn to get experimenting in the Bang Goes the Theory Live interactive area.

Pick up some science tricks to impress friends as our science buskers demonstrate the best of street science.

Check out bbc.co.uk/bang for exclusive videos and science demos you can try at home.