Quench - Issue 93

Quench meets

The Maccabees +Charlie Winston +Cate Le Bon +Movie Poster Art +Where to eat in Cardiff +How to start your own club night

All the latest from the worlds of

film, music and arts

contents: Issue 93 // March 15th - Mar 29th

THE STUDENT MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR AT 8!

200 RDS AWA DIA GUARDIAN STUDENT ME

VOYEUR ROBBIE BLIND DATE FEATURES GAY

INTERVIEWS p. 19

FOOD TRAVEL INTERVIEWS BOOKS PHOTOS p. 19

PHOTOS BOOKS FASHION GOING OUT ARTS MUSIC

FILM p. 55

Cover Design: Paul Stollery

FILM

04 06 07 08 10 12 16 19 26 30 34 34 36 39 43 53

Acting Editor Paul Stollery Sub Editor Jake Yorath Executive Editor Emma Jones Assistant to the Editors Elaine Morgan, Hector Roddan Arts Amelia Forsbrook, Natalie Stone, Blind Date Sarah Kilby, Caroline Baldwin Books Emma Pocklington Fashion Emily Cater, Kate Eaton Features Ellie Woodward, Sarah George Film Lloyd Griffiths, Jody Tozer, Steve Wright Food Harriet Davies, Hayley Pyper Gay Lucas Owen Going Out Jack Doran Interviews Steve Beynon, Tom Rouse Listings Steve Beynon, Tom Rouse Music Sam Smith, Phil Guy, Si Roach Photos Jake Yorath, Liz Foggitt Travel Dom Kehat, Paul Stollery Proof Readers Jenny Pearce, Judith Dray, Michael Brown, Caroline Astley, Natalie Copp, Martha Partridge, Michael Brown, Tessa Waterman.

printed on recycled paper. PLEASE RECYCLE.

voyeur

IN

OUT Seal Clubbing The Canadian past time.

H

ello pretty people, welcome to the latest issue of Quench. You may notice a few changes in this issue. For you see, Simon Lucy is off dressed as a cow so I'm the new editor, for one week only.

My name is Paul Stollery. I don't know how to put this, but I'm kind of a big deal. People know me. I have many leather bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany.

Yes, that's right, I'm clearly not that funny, hence the fact that I've stolen that joke from Will Ferrell.

However, the magazine hasn't completely fallen to shit under my control, honest.

I resisted the urge to place my smug face on the front cover – which will be much to Si's relief – mainly due to the fact that no one knows who I am, so it wouldn't really have the same affect as when Ricky Gervais did it whilst he was guest editing Esquire. I also ressisted the urge to place my face anywhere else in the magazine. You're welcome.

Anyway, I digress. Welcome to the issue. I've been racking my brain for a subject to write this column on. As you can probably tell by my ramblings, I've come up somewhat short. I looked at Si's last column. It was about cheese. I respect this, however it didn't really give me any ideas.

I've decided to tackle a slightly deeper subject – prejudice. Now, I'll leave racism, sexism, and all of the other 'isms to gair rydd – these seem like topics that are slightly too deep to discuss in a column that started by quoting Anchorman.

The one prejudice I will mention, however, is beardism. This, essentially, is the fear of people with beards. You see, I have a beard, and that seems to immediately suggest that I am some sort of sexual predator – usually of the Gary Glitter-esque sweet yielding type. I once actually had to tell people that I wasn't hiding Maddie in my beard.

Campaigning and stuff seems like a lot of hard work. Threatening people, although easier, would probably end up reinforcing the stereotype that I may in fact assault you. So, instead, I'm going to start a new prejudice in the hope that it will somehow cause people to forget about the current one.

It's a foolproof plan, I know.

We'll keep on the subject of facial hair: have you ever known a person whose beard is a different colour to his other hair? That's strange. Most people hide this by not growing a beard – which screams guilt in itself – however these people must be watched. We'll call them multi-beards, and we shall forever fear and insult them. Tell your friends.

Spotted a multibeard?

Email: quench@gairrhydd.com

04 / voyeur@gairrhydd.com

Panda Punching POW! Right in the Kisser.

ba dom tish jolly humorous stuff

ent in Sunday school. UsuLittle Janice was not the best stud the teacher called on day ally she slept through class. One ce, who created the Jani me "Tell ing, napp was her while she ny, a boy seated John little stir, 't didn ce universe?" When Jani her in the rear. ed jabb and pin a in the chair behind her, took said, "Very her teac the "God Almighty!" shouted Janice and ep. asle back fell ce Jani good" and ce, "Who is our Lord and A while later the teacher asked Jani from her slumber. Once stir even Saviour." But, Janice didn't and stuck her again. again, Johnny came to the rescue the teacher said, "Very and ce Jani ted shou st!"

"Jesus Chri ep. asle back fell good," and Janice third question. "What did Then the teacher asked Janice a twenty-third child?" and her had she after m Ada to say Eve pin. the with her ed jabb ny again, John shouted, "If you stick me This time Janice jumped up and break it in half and stick it up I'll , with that thing one more time your ass!" ... the teacher fainted.

dictionary corner on the buzzer with student filth

Persiflage The only word for banter that begins with a P.

A change in editor meant we could sneak this word in under the regular editor's nose...good persiflage all round.

Voyeur

What would Nick Clegg do?

I've written to with Dear Nick, ulous. You're the third person Right, this is getting fucking ridic – about a problem en Que the and e Dyk Van Dick g this problem – the first two bein to describe my I've been having. ewhat vague. I used innuendos In the first two letters, I was som ably my mistake. I told Dick Van Dyke that I was prob parts short problem, which in fairness was wouldn't go and that I was a few (AKA, the willy my that , pork s eles bon y Lizz serving to te wro I n whe s ndre double-ente of an erector set. I used similar going on in my bitch). right out and say it. There’s less k you all, stop But I’m now just going to come up. Fuc it get ’t can I . king Haw han pants right now than those of Step se help me. plea laughing, I’m in trouble, can you Regards, Gareth

is the biggest Dear Gareth, ody knows who the fuck I am. This crying into a nedy You think you’ve got problems? Nob Ken rles Cha received since they found coverage that the Lib Dems have had scratched the eyes he h whic from – ent pend Inde the glass of scotch, next to a copy of red Tony Blair. is a stack of out of all of the pictures that featu three things in my garage. The first tioned three ently curr are re men For fuck’s sake. The I’m e.

Twic r. them all, cover to cove is in a feature 47 copies of the Guardian. I’ve read der of the Lab Dems’); the second (‘lea word s cros a in was first The rlie Brooker’s Cha times: of one in was third the y’; in purgator titled ‘People who would fit in well me in an election was like being able to jump higher ing columns, where he said that beat signed photos than Stephan Hawking. es in my garage is a box of 15,000 The second item that currently resid t 300 of them through my neighbours’ doors, and, abou of me that no one wants. I posted posted them back. ally within 48 hours, people had actu ht it to make me feel depressing, is a Hummer. I boug The third, and perhaps the most straining my out with seat r’s drive the into b clim like Mr Big Dick, but I can’t even n I was of an old injury, which occurred whe was thigh. This strain is a recurrence cheerleading that se reali now I tise. prac ing warming up for cheerlead a mistake. are just as depressing ¬– The rest of the items in my house edition copies of Sinaed first Phil, Dr. from os motivational vide first season of Cold plete com the m, O’Connor’s latest albu Feet. You get the picture. at is that your life What I’m essentially trying to get worry about these can you t leas At e. wors could be a lot was when I n actio any got I things ¬– the last time Edna, she was was in high school. Her name was was the school she 30 pounds heavier than me, and secretary. lar basis, and, Also, I speak to the Queen on a regu may see about penis to be honest, I agree with her. My but at least it as much daylight as Stevie Wonder, knows when to stand.

Lad the fuck up, you little bitch.

Nicholas Clegg

Regards,

voyeur

robbie

Big Uni House, this is the real world... you have been evicted The real world is stark and scary, which has got Robbie Wells thinking about Big Brother, John Cleese and fools in fancy dress running for president...

T

his column is going down in quality fast. I’d blame myself, if it wasn’t for the fact that there is nothing else in the world left to comment on.

Take a look around, the Oscars were boring as hell, the Brits were shit (with the scant exception of Dizzee Rascal and Florence) and television reached its peak when Malcolm Tucker utilised about 14 expletives in explaining Tucker’s Law. The political landscape is looking bleak on all sides: Labour are still on the losing side, but the Conservatives don’t look strong enough to earn the majority of votes, leaving a hung parliament and a potentially hung Nick Clegg if he doesn’t get noticed soon.

In the midst of this, the BBC, possibly the best media network in the world is trimming its fat in fear of free-market loving Tories coming to power, and for some reason, a lot of people seem to be glad. You can save £142.50 a year and have the inane dross produced by commercial television companies for the cheapest amount for the greatest number, or you can set aside 39p a day, less than a national newspaper, and have access to innovative programming, unrivalled radio stations and a comprehensive website. If you don’t like it, piss off to America and see how long you last before you join Nick Clegg in the noose-tying club.

But I don’t want to talk about that, because it’s nothing new. Until the

06 /robbie@gairrhydd.com

BBC is gone, the private sector will be always be irked by it.

Talking of annoying, you’ll most likely have had lectures interrupted by some clowns dressed up in silly costumes with theme tunes berating you to vote for some Student Election nonsense last week. It’s easy to sit in a lecture theatre, and think, “I’m paying thousands of pounds a year for this education, and I’m listening to a bunch of wankers in fancy dress?” But isn’t that just the best thing ever?

"Outside Uni there's things like income tax, council tax and David Cameron" Only in the university context can politics be boiled down to fancy dress and sing-along. Only at university are the voting public so apathetic that being funny or memorable is the most integral component of a successful campaign. Apply this tactic to the real world and John Cleese would have been PM instead of Thatcher and instead of depressing things like miner strikes, we’d actually have had a Ministry of Silly

Walks.

The thing is, university is an experience like no other: it’s like investing 20 grand into living in the Big Brother house for three years.

Every now and again you might have to do a task, you’ll have to live on rations, but most of all you’ll sit around finding ways to amuse yourself then get drunk and make some bad decisions.

Unlike the Big Brother house though, when you get to leave the house, you don’t get filmed, and instead of leaving with a sense of regret and general hatred from the public, you are seen as some kind of wise academic that people should look up to. You’re still not guaranteed a job, but you do get to go to interviews with an inflated sense of superiority over the peasants who “couldn’t afford it”. And, really, isn’t that why we’re all in higher education?

For those who voted last week, don’t forget that the winning candidates not only get to continue living inside the University bubble, but are paid handsomely for it and get to feel even more superior at interviews.

Now try telling me that Student Elections are worthless.

And to everyone leaving the Big Uni House soon, remember to enjoy the last few months. Outside there’s scary things like income tax, council tax and David Cameron.

I’d better get working on that Ministry of Silly Walks proposal.

Blind Date

blinddate

The start of real love, or did John jump in to another women's bed straight after?

" I tried to cop a sneaky feel at his birthday party but she was having none of it"

Cheryl

John 1.So what were your first impressions?

Well I'd always had a sneaky look when she was with Ashley, and I tried to cop a sneaky feel at his birthday party but she was having none of it. I thought this was definitely my chance.

2. Best & worst bits?

I enjoyed when she dropped her napkin and I was able to get a cheeky eye full. When she told me she was going through divorce it ruined the chase a bit.

3. Were you listening....?

I wasn't really listening, I was too busy thinking about how good I looked that night.

4. Any embarrassing moments?

John Terry doesn't get embarrssed. What kind of question is this?!

5. Describe them in three words?

Female. Fit. Fuckable.

6. Were you nervous? What did you do to get ready?

I armed myself with some X-Large condoms and was on my way.

7. So will you be meeting up again?

Well I'm hoping she saw the banner, she has my number.

10. And the infamous chuck, fuck or marry?

Fuck, obviously. Again and again and again...you catch my drift.

1.So what were your first impressions?

It truned out we had met before, he was a bit "handsy" but I was willing to give him a chance.

2. Best & worst bits?

He paid which saved me some money for hair extensions. After all I am worth it. I did get a bit annoyed when he was eyeing up the waitress.

3. Were you listening....?

He told me he was a really good listener, and a better footballer than my ex. Hopefully Ashley will follow Bridge's example and fuck off.

4. Any embarrassing moments?

Ashley walked past the restaurant. I'm starting to worry that he might be stalking me.

5. Describe them in three words?

Charming, gentlemanly and perfect.

6. Were you nervous? What did you do to get ready?

I was a little nervous so I rang Simon for some pointers.

I had tried Louis but he said something about Westlife and a hot tub...

7. So will you be meeting up again?

Yes, I found him really sincere. He understands my really hectic schedule so seems quite happy that I might not be around a lot of the time.

9. And the infamous chuck, fuck or marry?

Is it too soon to say marry? Maybe I should wait for the divorce first...?

Want to know where they went? Pick up a copy of The Sun this week!

Quench would like to point out that Cheryl Cole and John Terry did not go on a date and this does not reflect their actual views...well not that we know of.

We don't advise reading The Sun either.

blinddate@gairrhydd.com / 7

features

Teaching China Considering taking a gap year and travelling after your degree? Want to add to your CV while having fun at the same time? Kate Weeden discusses her experience of teaching in a Chinese school and explains how you can do the same.

08 // features@gairrhydd.com features@gairrhydd.com 08

a

O

n my first night I remember thinking, “What on earth am I doing here?!”

I’d been in Taizhou, China, for approximately four hours and somehow I’d found myself on a stage in the city centre singing Like a Virgin to a few hundred bemused Chinese men, women and children.

An interesting first day. It wasn’t exactly what I’d expected when signing up to teach English to 9-15 year olds for six months, but I quickly learned that nothing ever happened as expected.

I spent the first week somewhere between elated and terrified as I stepped into each class of expectant faces who seemed constantly on the edge of uncontrollable giggles. My first day was the worst, as I stumbled through my lesson plan, slowly realising that these children knew more English than I did and that trying to maintain the attention of 70 children at once was pretty much impossible.

As time went on I learned that even the best plans could never anticipate the responses of these intimidatingly intelligent students and eventually I found that games, rather than a structured lesson, were the best way to get everyone involved. In a lesson based around the subject of food, one child tried to ask me how to say, as I later discovered, crisps. Unfortunately he didn’t know the word for potato or crisps and I hadn’t got the foggiest idea what he was saying in Chinese.

It took half an hour, most of the class and a good amount of terrible drawings on my part to finally understand each other, but it was well worth the effort when the children erupted into cheers and applause at our success. After this, our games of Pictionary became a fixture in most classes as I taught them new vocabulary and they attempted to teach me some of their own language. This usually ended

in hilarity at my expense, what I was saying wasn't what i meant.

Outside of the daily school routine, I often had something planned. Within my first week there, a friendly group of British and Australian ex-pats sought me out and helped ease my way into Chinese culture. We often went to one of the two bars in the city where we could be guaranteed much attention from curious and very friendly residents, along with a lot of dancing.

These nights usually concluded with a trip to one of the local late

"I spent the first week somewhere between elated and terrified as I stepped into each class of expectant faces" night restaurants with our newlymade Chinese friends. These places regularly looked liked they’d give a health inspector a heart attack but the food was amazing and I never got ill so it couldn’t have been that bad! I learned very quickly not to ask what each dish was, as they usually tasted better in ignorance. The only dish I ever refused to try looked like it might have been called “turtle meets sledgehammer”, and one glance was enough to put me off.

There was also a copious amount of shopping to be done both in the small city of Taizhou and during our many trips to Shanghai; I took two pairs of shoes with me and came back with ten.

Good times.

The week before I was to leave, my students organised a party in which they planned a variety of

entertainment. There were games, singing, dancing, a short story and one child gave a beast of a performance on a traditional Chinese instrument. I am pretty sure there was a cheeky tear or two (from me) at the end of it as various students gave me home-made cards and pictures as farewell gifts.

One little girl ran up to me and gave me hug whilst whispering “I’m going to miss you Kate”. There was a brief contemplation of the size of my suitcase compared to the size of the child but in the end I didn’t think I’d be able to get her through customs without being arrested.

I was then taken to a farewell banquet by the teachers where they thanked me for my time with them and forced copious amounts of Chinese rice wine on me, (think lighter fluid but less tasty). Coming home was surreal, and I didn’t expect how long it would take me to get used to the British way of life again. Those six months are some of the best I’ve had, and although at times I felt like curling up into a ball to be alone with my homesickness, I wouldn’t change any of it.

There are many companies who offer similar projects to mine, but my time in China was organised through Latitude, who run social and environmental projects around the world for various lengths of time. You can work at a Red Cross Hospital in Japan, help re-plant the rainforest in Brazil, or organise kayaking in a camp in Canada.

Latitude have a well established support system set up for each project, from pre-departure briefings, to teacher training, in-country orientation and a host in constant contact with the project organisers. They will also help organise your flights and visas and make sure you have proper accommodation for your time abroad. To find out more about these projects go to www.lattitude.org.uk. I would recommend the experience to anyone; after all, it's not just the children you're benefitting!

features@gairrhydd.com /0 9

gay

the

case the

of

not

quite

Lucas Owen takes a walk down memory lane, and discovers twatty ex-boyfriends in Coventry, accidental fuck-buddies and emotional torture in the early Noughties.

O

ver the course of the last six months, Gay Quench has argued some pretty strong cases against some of the stereotypes that are regularly squared against the LGBT community. So, for a change, we though we'd introduce a new one.

The concept of the non-boyfriend was introduced to me by someone who would later become one of my closest friends, Michael, as we chatted on a gay dating website in the dark days before Facebook.

It was seven (bewildering) years ago.

We were discussing the godawful relationship I had with someone who is now referred to solely as 'The Spaniard'. The Spaniard was a 6'3'' brick wall of a man with a personality that could sand floors and about as much soul as the departure lounge at Luton Airport.

We lived together in a ramshackle flat in Birmingham and glamorous it was definitely not.

10 /gay@gairrhydd.com

Michael explained to me that the general theory is that non-boyfriends are this kind of accidentally exclusive fuck-buddy, and it turns out that this is something apparently unique to the gay community (although I would be happily convinced otherwise - lady readers may or may not be able to confirm the existance of non-girlfriends).

When trying to explain the concept to friends, they at this point getting it confused with some similar friendships for being non-boyfriends.

This includes those invaluable best friends who cook you dinner after a crappy day in lectures, provide timely hugs at times of crisis (i.e. deeply hungover) and resolutely do not want to sex you, regardless of their blood alcohol content; these are priceless and their friendship must not be jeopardised under any circumstances.

The same must be said of those frustratingly nice straight guys who fulfil all the requisite aspects of a

partner, except for that whole 'affection' thing.

No. Indeed, this is an affliction is characterised by joint invites to parties, unconscious handholding, and the chronic inability to pull anybody who isn't your non-boyfriend.

Of course, the flat denial that the pair of you are effectively a couple goes without saying.

One friend familar with the concept identified a trend which had passed me by: answering questions about their whereabouts with reactionary outbursts that go something like "I don't know, we're not going out!".

In fact, this particular friend is not alone. Before starting to write this article I had a quick strawpoll within the Council of Boozehounds (an affectionate term for my friends) about their experiences of non-boyfriendhood; they had all (at some point) had some kind of experience of this (although this perhaps speaks greater volumes about the kind of friends I keep

x e gay

than anything else).

So! Before you all start judging me, I am reasonably confident that non-boyfriendhood exists quite normally in others, and thus satisfied that the phenomenon cannot be explained solely by my largely absent relationship abilities. Perhaps predictably, The Spaniard and I were once an item, and after we amicably broke up we stayed close, so since we lived together I didn't (at the time) process the notion that we weren't a couple.

This can, sadly, be one of the many sinister consequences of non-boyfriendhood.

Emotional fuckwittage (copyright Helen Fielding) is one of the most frequent, especially in the unfortunate scenario where one begins to feel (or maintains) some kind of romantic attachment, which I discovered at my cost.

But enough of that — you'll be pleased to learn that The Spaniard was later removed from my life (at least in part) with the assistance of

a nice cleansing fire (another story entirely). I take solace in the knowledge that he now lives in Coventry and I can safely assume that his life is more shit than my own.

If you or anybody you know have been affected by non-boyfriend-

"The Spaniard was later removed from my life with the assistance of fire."

hood, the good news is that there are fast, easy and painless solutions that will remove emotional fuckwittage from your life without the need for any fires, cleansing or otherwise. For instance, getting some friends who will tell you square on that he's being a dick, whilst plying you with alcohol un-

til you agree with them. Thanks, Michael.

Or, should you find yourself and your respective non-boyf sharing a ramshackle flat in Birmingham, noisily shagging that hot guy you met in the Nightingale Club seems to work quite well (whilst conceding that it would be better had it not turned out he'd started working in your office the Monday before, was 37, and called 'Dwayne').

Now, seven years on, I have learned to avoid non-boyfriends at all costs. They will leave you with more baggage than Terminal Five at Heathrow, and questioning your ability to hold down a stable relationship for a considerable period of time.

Hopefully you will, by now, have the skills and knowledge to identify whether or not you are a citizen of non-boyfriendsville and get the hell out faster than a Michael Jackson's doctor.

Do it for your own sanity — or maybe mine!

gay@gairrhydd.com /11

Cardiff, come dine with me

food

Home-cooking is great, Quench investigates the

The Falafel Bar,

Woodville Road

T

he Falafal Bar on Woodville road is the perfect place for a working lunch, especially if you feel like eating healthily. It has a very basic vegetarian menu consisting of hot made-to-order falafal or sabiche and hummus in a pitta, with a help-yourself salad bar to fill your pitta with and a delicious selection of homemade sauces.

The prices are reasonable: £3.70 for a filled pitta and they offer a meal deal with a drink and cookie.

The atmosphere is really friendly and the staff are lovely (the owner will even show you the best tactic for stuffing your pitta as full as possible). If it’s quiet they are always eager to chat and get you to try their latest new sauce or Turkish coffee. The Falafal Bar is also open in the evening for dinner where you can bring your own wine to accompany your pitta.

Alice Collins

12 /food@gairrhydd.com

food

cheap and wholesome etc... but everyone loves a meal out once in a while. independant culinary delights that Cardiff Studentville has to offer.

Deli Rouge,

La Sizzla Steakhouse, Wood-

The Embassy Cafe, Cathays

Mackintosh Place

ville Road

Terrace

N

a Sizzla Steakhouse and Grill Bar (106 Woodville Rd) opened recently, but has ambitious food and a classy interior. Tiger prawns with garlic butter, Cajun fried chicken and other delicious morsels fill out the starters menu and, despite being a steakhouse, fish and chicken dishes are also available as lighter options.

I'm picky about my steak, so I'm always wary of disappointment when eating out. However, my steak was perfectly cooked, flavourful and tender, and the chips homemade.

Of course, no meal would be complete without dessert, and I wasn't disappointed. Top picks would be the creamy chocolate mousse with a hint of chilli, and the vanilla creme brulee with a crisp, sticky crust. It's not the cheapest place to eat in Studentville — somewhere to take the parents — but the service, atmosphere and food are really good.

Christina Mackie

L

A

estled at the top of Mackintosh Place, Deli Rouge offers a charming menu that ranges from soups and tapas to huge salad bowls and crunchy rolls filled with an assortment of Welsh cheeses, cured meats and olives.

The breakfast menu is also worth a look with everything from organic porridge to pastries and if their incredible home-made brownies and teacakes are anything to judge by, it would definitely be worth paying a visit before midday. Best of all, if you are finding it hard to make a choice from the variety of treats on offer, the friendly staff will happily let you sample before you buy! Whether you want to take your goodies away, lounge on one of the comfy armchairs inside or sample one of their freshly ground coffees in the cosy garden, a trip to Deli Rouge is the perfect place to relax away an afternoon.

Lindsay Foley

s hidden gems go, the Embassy Café is pretty damn well hidden. With its surrounding iron bars looming over you as you enter, it may initially feel more like visiting your friend in prison than having lunch with them.

But despite doing its very best not to look like a café, the Embassy serves some of the best grub this side of the Union. Offering vegetarian food exclusively, it manages to avoid the usual culinary cop-out of ‘cheese-on-everything’ so ubiquitous when it comes to meat-free dishes, serving such mouthwatering delights as beetroot and coconut soup and Trinidadian bean stew. Pretty much everything is homemade too – from the bread to the brownies – and very good value (I paid £5 for soup, cake and tea).

Oh, and if you’re not already sold, maybe the daily newspapers and free Wi-Fi will probably tempt you.

Alice Hughes

food@gairrhydd.com / 13

Students get 15% off at Lilo Grill!!

Cardiff Arts Institute,

Milgis,

Lilo Grill

Park Place

City Road

City Road

U

U

he Lilo Grill's location, towards the bottom of City Road, may prevent some of the laziest students from exploring the hidden gem.

However being just a five minute walk from Gassy Jack's and central Cathays, these students are making a grave error. As you wander down City Road, Lilo Grill sticks out like a big neon, Disney inspired sore thumb. However once you step inside the mood is transformed into an Arabic oasis amongst the hussle and bustle of Cardif.

The service is impeccable and the prices are highly competitive with most meals comfortably under £10, many closer to the £5 mark.

Once you've added on a 15% discount for all students, this is great value for money.

The variety of starters is outstanding, which is why I'd advise sharing a mixed mezza so that you don't miss out on too much.

For main course, I chose lamb steak with a tasty spicy salsa. The lamb was tender and delicious but I was defeated by its size!

Lilo don't serve alcohol, we used it as a bit of detox but make up for it with an amazing range of smoothies and juices.

So if you are brave enough to ignore the neon disney exterior decor it is definetly worth trying something a bit different at the Lilo Grill!

Simon Lucey

pon entering Cardiff Arts Institute, I noticed the words ‘Nothing Special’ staring out at me from a plain white wall. I thought this was a bit odd, given all the attention this newly-established “canteen/ social club/music room” has received.

Intrigued and hungry, I stepped inside in search of a menu. Then I saw it – wow – opposite the bar, there was a Lego wall. I mean, you could actually stick blocks of Lego onto the wall. I had to feel it to believe it. It was difficult to prise myself away, but my rumbling tummy dragged me over to the nearest table and I couldn’t help but order myself a posh sausage sandwich.

As I waited for my meal, I feasted my eyes upon the giant mass of blue, yellow and pink marigold gloves stapled to the wall, fingers splayed out like tentacles.

Then came the food. As soon as the plate hit the table, I grabbed my sandwich and eyed it up, looking forward to the first bite. However... let’s just say I was a bit peeved to find a repulsive little hair staring back at me! I felt a lot better though being compensated with free humus, pitta bread, and beer. Upon leaving Cardiff Arts Institute, I saw those words again – ʻNothing Special’ – quite the opposite, I thought.

Kacie Morgan

14 /food@gairrhydd.com

pon entering Milgi it feels like you have been transported to a different world, far away from the hustle and bustle of City Road. This modern student friendly café combines art, music and tasty food to create a unique experience.

Although perhaps a bit pricey for the average student, Milgi’s range of homemade, fair trade and or-

"It feels like you have been transported to a different world" ganic food is well worth the money.

They pride themselves on sourcing both their food and their art locally, supporting the community. Their comfy sofas are the best place to relax and enjoy wonderful cocktails or yummy chocolate cake. The staff are always welcoming and friendly and I especially recommend the honeycomb hot chocolate!

Melissa Parry

T

Maki

More people are choosing to spend their holidays making a difference, and with discusses his time in Panama, and why conservation can be time well spent.

E

cotourism: a word that should immediately make you highly suspicious. It’s the current buzzword; every other travel company claims that your £2,000 is helping to sustain local communities and environments.

Too often though, these expensive projects turn out to be nothing more than, essentially, an elaborate con.

That school you re-painted in Ethiopia was refurbished three months later by newer, more eager volunteers. Those monkeys you nursed in the jungles of Borneo shouldn’t have been in captivity in the first place. And those Nepalese kids you taught already knew better English than you .

So how do you know when you’re saving the world and when you’re funding a bigwig’s private yacht?

This was exactly the problem facing me when I signed up for a turtle conservation project in Panamá.

Desert islands! Coconuts! Heroics!

The authentic Robinson Crusoe life, albeit with a bit of Michaela Strachan thrown in. Surely that alone is worth

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a hefty price tag, especially when the cause is so significant, right?

It started off interestingly enough: abandoned on a desolate peer with just an iguana for company. After stumbling across some locals who spoke no English and only thick-accented Spanish, my fellow volunteers and I were eventually guided to the project camp, also desolate. When the English project leaders arrived two days later, I was overwhelmed by the facts.

Leatherback turtles are one of the most critically endangered animals on the planet: it is estimated that as little as 1% of the species remain.

And as usual, it’s all humanity’s fault.

Besides pollution, the biggest threat to these two-metre long creatures is poaching, as their eggs are sold to restaurants to make (supposedly) tasty starters. Poachers however, are normally too impatient to wait for the turtles to finish doing their business, so will save time by killing and ripping open the mother in order to grab the treasure straight from the womb. It sounds like some sort of

Freudian nightmare, but on Soropta beach, as many as 35 Leatherbacks were slaughtered every year. We were told that upon first setting up camp in 2002, the local fisherman threatened the charity by lining up a dozen dead sharks on the beach in a perfect semi-circle, with the largest skewered in the centre on a harpoon.

The whole adventure suddenly felt less like Shipwrecked and more like Lord of the Flies. I just hoped that I wasn’t Piggy.

In order to prevent any more bloodshed, we had to patrol the beach throughout the night, walking twelve kilometres of firefly-lit sand and surf. Sometimes we’d scare off a poacher and watch his torch disappear into the nearest patch of jungle; sometimes I’d just castrate myself on one of the many pointy logs inconveniently strewn along the beach.

Every now and again though, we’d stumble across a pregnant turtle. I can only equate my first encounter with one of the turtles to something out of Jurassic Park: I’ve never seen something that looks more like a

ng a Difference it a growth in people making a buck out of kindly souls. Johnny Wrate dinosaur. Enormous, rough and panting heavily, it really did seem to arrive from a prehistoric world. It took a while to recognise the telltale signs in the dark; leatherbacks drag themselves around for about forty minutes before finding a perfect spot to nest, leaving behind a path that looks like a tank just crawled out of the sea.

But within a few days, my nose could distinguish their rather pungent seaweed aroma and within a week I was acting midwife to the dilating reptiles.

Believe me, there’s no better way to be at one with nature than to hold a bag under a turtle’s nether regions catching fifteen eggs a minute while getting smacked repeatedly in the legs by its flippers. After that, I’d have a quick straddle to measure the shell, before trekking back to base camp where the clutch would be buried safely in a hatchery. It’d be another two months before the eighty or so offspring hatch and race to independence out in the big bad blue.

Despite all of this exotic action and adventure, it was hard to see where my hard-earned money was going.

It certainly wasn’t the accommodation, which was candlelit and came

"The desire to 'make a difference' is being thoroughly exploited" complete with an en-suite bucket. Nor was it the food, which tended to consist mainly of a pile of dry rice – for every meal. The staff didn’t see much of the profit either; the English couple running the site barely made enough to get by out in Panamá, while the locals just appreciated being able to learn some English (the first phrases they wanted to know were “my girlfriend is a bitch” and “what is your favourite type of biscuit?”). Indeed, we came to learn that other volunteers passing through were paying considerably less than we were for the same deal. The travel company

had snapped up the difference, profiting from the budget-conscious but naïve youngsters of the Gap Year market.

With the ice caps melting and weather going berserk across the globe, the travel industry has cottoned onto contemporary concerns and turned ecotourism into a lucrative marketing tool. The desire to ‘make a difference’ is being thoroughly exploited. This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t try to do so but you should be careful when choosing what you sign up to. It is solely through volunteers that the turtle conservation project is funded, and the charity is in desperate need of more volunteers every year to help on the beaches where these animals are most in danger. If it weren’t for the Gap Year Company, I wouldn’t have known about the project, but with a little bit of research I could have got there several hundred pounds less out of pocket. When it comes down to it, you’re volunteering. Why should you be paying for that? info: www.turtleprotection.org

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travel IN F BRITA BEST O

...sheffield

Known for its music scene, Hannah Pendleton talks us through the buzzing venues, bars and clubs of Sheffield, as well as how to fill your time the blearly eyed next day

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esides its industrial heritage and the very important fact that Sean Bean is from there, Sheffield has much to offer eager visitors. Whether it’s the vibrant nightlife you crave, its buzzing music scene or a civilised evening at the famous Crucible Theatre, there is a northern treat for everyone.

All the way up in South Yorkshire, the city of steel, probably most famous for its contribution to the music industry, has produced the likes of The Arctic Monkeys, Pulp, Human league and Def Leppard, to name a few. Sheffield has a number of popular live music venues that hosted bands in their early careers.

The Dove and Rainbow (a ha ven for heavy metal fans) and West Street Live are bars that regularly present live gigs, show casing the latest unsigned talent. Rock legends such as The Sex Pistols and The Clash played their early gigs in The Boardwalk and more recent stars like Muse, Coldplay, Oasis and Stereophonics played their early stuff many years later in The Leadmill.

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If a night in a bar listening to hopefuls trying to become the next ‘Monkeys’ is not your thing, then drinking far too much in the vast array of bars on West Street or Ecclesall road is the place to be!

Embrace, Leadmill and Plug are nightclubs that are just five minutes away, where you can dance all night to the latest chart toppers.

stop by the steel city for a brew To cure the next day's hangover from ‘Sheffs’ brill nightlife, it is recommended that you get some fresh air on the city’s doorstep – the Peak District. Quite different from a walk in Graves Park, the activities that you can perform in the Peak’s outdoors are not for the faint-hearted. Why not go for a trek through the moors or climbing on Froggatt Edge’s rock faces and experience the fantastic views of the Derbyshire countryside, just 20 minutes away.

For a more relaxing day then

perhaps it is worth a visit to the theatres that Sheffield has to offer. The Crucible Theatre, Library Theatre, Lyceum Theatre and even Sheffield Arena all offer regular box office busting shows and performances.

With the wide variety of choice, from The Rocky Horror Show and Calendar Girls, right through to Wuthering Heights for the old romantics, there is a show to suit everyone.

If you can’t afford to go into your overdraft then a cultural day out that includes free admission is there for the taking at the Millennium Gallery and Winter gardens. At the heart of the city, the Millennium Gallery is full to the brim with craft, design and the visual arts. The Gallery’s neighbour, the Winter Gardens, is a spectacular glass building that houses a lush jungle of 2000 different plants from all over the world.

As you now know, Sheffield is a great place that has a lot of fun to offer, so when you’re next “up north” you should definitely stop by the steel city for a brew and see what all the fuss is about.

interviews

Tom Webb and Jack Williamson go for a waltz around the BBC headquarters and have a question-and-dancer session with two So You Think You Can Dance finalists.

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t just 19, Charlie Bruce was the youngest of the contestants on the first UK season of ‘X-Factor with dancing instead of singing’ or ‘Britain’s Got Talent without all the juggling and terrible ventriloquism’. Despite competing against older, more experienced dancers with several years’ training, she won over the British public and was crowned ‘Britain’s Favourite Dancer’, receiving a cool £100,000 and the opportunity to travel to Hollywood and compete on the series finale of the US sister show.

A hit in the US since 2005, the popularity here in the UK of Nigel Lythgoe’s latest talent show, So You Think You Can Dance, was probably helped by the success in recent years of acts such as Diversity, Flawless and George Sampson – all competitors on rival Simon Cowell’s Britain’s Got Talent – although he would probably be keen to dismiss

this observation if you proposed it.

"Yet behind most cases of modesty lies genuine talent" Perhaps the main difference between the programmes is that it’s not quite the ‘all or nothing’ mentality with the final contestants on SYTYCD – they are all talented dancers who have landed various paid roles in the past and will continue to do so in the future.

Visiting the studio it became clear that this show is clearly one of the most unassuming talent programmes currently on air. Yet behind most cases of modesty lies genuine talent

and So You Think You Can Dance is no exception. Bringing styles of dance choreography from all periods and corners of the globe to a prime time Saturday night television slot is not a familiar format, yet it is both successful and enriching. It replaces the usual audience hysteria synonymous with talent shows and replaces it with an honest appreciation of the act itself rather than the celebrity affiliations that come with the performer. This was certainly evident amongst the studio audience who were largely made up by the family members of the dancers.

The impressively versatile Swede, Tommy Franzen, finished second and Lizzie Gough was eliminated early from the live final securing third place for her efforts. The fourth spot went to Robbie White, who unfortunately was unable to compete as he injured his shoulder in rehearsals.

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We interviewed the eventual winner and runner-up at BBC Television Centre after their striking performances in the semi-final, where both were voted straight into the final by the public vote.

Tommy, you’re obviously very passionate about dancing. What would you be doing however, if you weren’t pursuing a career in it?

I’ve always had a passion for filmmaking like my father; and I also love doing sports massage therapy.

I have a creative side too, I like constructing music to dance to and could do choreography in the future.

I’ve always wanted to be a stuntman too and I’ve started my training!

There’s definitely a lot to keep you busy then!

Yes, I’m only 28 and I still want to keep all my options open – although I’ve had to put everything on hold for a while for the competition.

You have been described by the judges as being very versatile but your speciality is hip-hop. Is there much of a hip-hop scene back in Sweden?

It’s fairly new in Sweden but it’s starting to thrive now and there are many talented dancers there although there are more here so the competition is fierce! If you go to Stockholm you’ll see a lot of hip-hop dancers.

You’ve said that while you enjoy being part of a group of dancers, you’d like to do more solo work. What do you see yourself doing?

I’ve been asking myself that same question for years!

I definitely want to explore the solo route more.

Maybe some guest appearances at events and some

shows with lots of music and lights!

Charlie, at 19 you’re the youngest contestant in the competition. Have you felt any added pressure because of this?

To be honest I haven’t really thought about it! I don’t think age matters in a competition like this: I just want to deliver the best I can. The atmosphere has been great and we’ve all become really close as a group and all look after one another.

Have you any advice for students pursuing a career in dancing?

It’s never too late to start dancing; it’s so beautiful and rewarding. It’s the best experience in the world where you can express any emotion. For me it has been life changing and I cannot recommend it enough.

Would you ever incorporate singing into your dance act?

I do sing, and would love to sing on stage, especially alongside my dancing. In this competition there would be no opportunity to do so, but to play Roxie in Chicago would be my dream role. I’d love to do more singing in the future.

Have you thought at all about what you’d spend the £100,000 on?

I have! I’d like to give some to my parents for supporting me and paying for my various tuition programmes and training. I’d also got a dream of travelling to LA and setting about teaching choreography, that’s something I’m very passionate about. Then I’d probably invest the rest!

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interviews

The well dressed hobo Like a hobo, but very well dressed, Charlie Winston discusses with Steve Beynon what it's like to grow up in Fawlty Towers.

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interviews

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n exhausted sounding Charlie Winston is currently half way through a European tour with Newton Faulkner, who will take the headline slot in the UK after supporting the French-adored Charlie recently in France. “The French took to me like wildfire. It's been a crazy year – I released my album [in France] first, and it got really big, really quickly. I can't complain!”

He's not bitter about taking the back seat en Angleterre, however, ensuring that all there is between him and the man hand built by robots is friendly competition. For him, he's there to enjoy the experience and give people a great gig.

“The gigs with Newton seem quite intimate in comparison to what I had to perform to in France. I've headlined a festival to 55,000 people, and now I'm playing to one or two throusand.

I really like it, though, it's my favourite kind of gig. You get heckling and you can banter with the audience, which is a bit more of a challenge.”

The 31-year-old's history is littered with self challenges. After the necessary teenage step through the RHCP-esque cover band, Winston – described by many people in his home of Suffolk as 'a daydreamer' – upped sticks to London and began writing music for theatre, working mainly on the instrument closest to his heart, the piano, as well as trying himself as a playwright once in a while. On the side he helped out his brother, Tom Bax-

ter (who uses his middle name as a surname), by playing bass on his first album.

“I agreed to work with Tom until he got a deal with Universal. It was great, playing bass a lot and being a fly on the wall, seeing how the industry worked, whilst still working on my own stuff.”

“It was good to be touring and discovering my life as a traveller, or hobo as it were. When I left the band I carried on travelling on my own for a bit.”

"It was good to be touring and discovering my life as a traveller" Winston met Peter Gabriel, with whom he toured in 2007, on his travels, and shortly received very enthusiastic feedback from the ex-Genesis legend, together with a publishing deal. Trying his hardest not to “blanket bomb” the public, the next step was to build up an audience - “like an independent troubadour”.

The first time the UK heard his voice, he was covering the Spencer Davis group in a VW Polo advert (which, for the record, was banned after complaints from the RSPCA for featuring a talking dog).

A talking dog, coincidentally, is one of the few things Winston did not encounter growing up in a hotel in Suffolk.

“[The hotel and my parents] coloured my whole life, it's the whole tapestry of what I do. My life in the hotel was a learning ground - there were all sorts of things coming in and out of the hotel - theatres, bands, can can dancers, classic car clubs, weddings, funerals, local drunks... it was an interesting place, like growing up in Fawlty towers. It was hilarious, and watching it was like watching a documentary of my life. My dad was Basil Fawlty.”

It was this experience that led Winston to call himself – before Danny Wallace – the YesMan. Living life whilst being prepared to take anything on, jumping at chances coming to him, and seeing what happened. Hence the move to Paris.

“When moving to France, I wanted to get into another cultural mentality and have a reason to look back at where I'm from and make comparisons and question it a bit.”

There's always somewhere else to go, though, with my music.

If there's anything I hate its just staying still. I'm happy with what I've produced so far, but there's a lot more I'd like to go for. I'm looking forward to my next record.”

Although he refused to tell me anything about the plans for his next record, due to my admittance that I had not heard his first (oops), a thorough listen to a selection of tracks on his website, namely Like a Hobo, suggests we can expect beaucoup from the French number one soon enough. www.charliewinston.com

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interviews

There's more to the Maccabees than meets the eye Adam Barr heads behind the scenes of the NME tour to meet Felix White and learns that not every indie rock band are romantics, especially not the Maccabees

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’ve seen The Maccabees live once before and was impressed with their presence, energy and charm- something which guitarist Felix White exudes. As we move from a conversation about how awful he is in fights to their headlining slot on the NME Shockwaves Tour, Felix’s reluctance to talk up his bands success seems misplaced but it swiftly becomes evident that it is this modesty that forms the base for the band’s growing support.

“We’re earning our stripes and I think the more respect you build up that way, the more time people have for you” Felix declares “We’re lucky to not be a band that relies on the hype and still exists as a word-ofmouth group and are slowly becoming more and more in the public consciousness as such.”

Supporting The Maccabees on the NME tour are rising stars The Drums, the dense tones of The Big Pink and indie as fuck Bombay

Bicycle Club. The tour provides an exciting proposition for many music lovers, however discussing the other acts withdraws little passion from White: “they’re a bunch of lovely people and the gigs have been great.” But it’s not long before a topic that does withdraw a far more visceral reaction soon reveals itself, Valentine’s Day (which was one day away at the time of the interview).

"I've always been a bit of a scrooge when it comes to Valentine's day" “I’ve always been a bit of a scrooge when it comes to Valentine’s Day” Felix declares, “because I think you shouldn’t be forced to have to tell someone that you love them on one day of the year. The commercial enterprise and money

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that’s made from such a false, nonevent really annoys me. It’s a much stronger gesture to tell someone you love them on any other day of the year, other than Valentine’s Day.” I’d love to know if Felix’s girlfriend (Laura-Mary Carter from Blood Red Shoes) echoes Felix’s anti-romance sentiment.

Days off on the road are rare for The Maccabees so Felix is eager to offer me his personal form of Zen. “We had a day off yesterday; I was in Cardiff — had a curry; a reasonably good Rogan Josh, and I watched TV. I really enjoy doing nothing, we didn’t go out because all the rugby fans were starting to arrive [and] marking their territory so it didn’t seem like it was our town to conquer last night.”

However tonight it’s a different story as The Maccabees play to a sold-out Great Hall, leading the crowd through a captivating set and culminating with a heartfelt thank you from front man and heart-throb, Orlando Weeks. From the reaction

interviews

it’s odd to think this is only the third time The Maccabees have played in the Welsh capital and Felix is keen to emphasise that the band are happy to be this side of the Severn.

“Cardiff is a bit rarer to play so you don’t know what to expect but it’s that unexpected element which makes it more fun to play, the unpredictable gigs are the best ones”.

It’s not just unpredictable gigs the quintet revel in, surprising and defying the critics has always been part of The Maccabees genetic make-up.

Back in 2007, following the release of Colour It In it would have been easy to write The Maccabees off as a just another Indie-pop group who would swiftly be usurped by another NME buzz band, something the group were obviously well aware of.

“We’re a band that has more longevity than people thought we had at the start” says Felix, “that’s half the fun of what we did with Wall of Arms”. Wall of Arms was of course the groups second long-player, the

more mature and tonal counterpart to Colour It In, it was “more threedimensional than the first one, and at moments it’s darker, but on the

"I'm always excited to spend some time at home" whole I think it seems like just quite a spirited pop record.” The latest unexpected delivery from The Maccabees is Empty Vessels, a reworking of No Kind Words which in Felix’s own words “was by far the darkest thing on the record.” Featuring Roots Manuva, it shows real musical depth and progression so it’s unsurprising that when the conversation turns to future Maccabees releases, Felix becomes visibly energised.

“I’m so excited to spend some

time at home. It feels like everything is leading up to this third record,” he explains: “we keep getting better and better and now really understand what we’re doing. We’ve put ourselves in a really good place to make a great record. I don’t know if it will make us big in terms of being popular but I think in terms of quality it will be the first time we make a really great, genuinely brilliant album.”

As the interview winds to a close, Felix reflects on his single year at university and glazes over: “it was the time of my life. I spent a year having more fun than I should have done. I genuinely loved it. It was a really beautiful year. It’s that age isn’t it? You fall in love and make proper friends.” With such a sentiment it’s impossible not to leave the room a convert to The Maccabees’ cause, with the potential to emerge at the forefront of the British Indie music scene they aren’t giving up anytime soon.

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books

The Monk

by Matthew Lewis pub. Penguin Victorian Bestsellers

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riginally published in 1796, Matthew Lewis’ ‘The Monk’ is regarded as one of the best and most prominent publications of gothic literature.

Set in Spain, it explains how Ambrosio, a distinguished monk, learns that one of the other monks is in fact a woman named Matilda. He allows himself to be seduced by Matilda consequently, becoming completely obsessed with her. He slides into a world of deprivation before committing monstrous crimes. He attempts to rape a young girl called Antonia, from a neighbouring, wealthy family, who he has also become obsessed with. However, he is thwarted by Antonia’s mother, Elvira. Ambrosio strangles Elvira before attempting to rape Antonia again. This time, he is successful and the whole encounter

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results in Ambrosio fatally stabbing Antonia. In a further twist, it materialises that Antonia is his sister and Elvira is his mother. Therefore, he has raped his sister and murdered her and his mother.

Consequently, Lewis shows Ambrosio’s spectacular demise from being an inspirational and responsible monk to a cowardly murderer.

This reflects the insincerity and cruelty of the 17th Century Catholic Church. Lewis vividly demonstrates the brutality imposed upon the Spanish people by the Church and its followers.

The reader is therefore left astounded by the truths that are revealed through the novel and makes the reader aware of the evils that can be inflicted on people by an institution that supposedly represents peoples’ values. The reader is therefore, delighted when the Devil goes back on an agreement with Ambrosio that would have enabled him to escape punishment for his crimes.

The String of Pearls pub. Penguin Victorian Bestsellers

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he String of Pearls is the original tale of Sweeney Todd, and whether you’ve seen the film or not, it’s worth a read - if guts and gore is your cup of tea. Really though, it’s a gripping tale of murder and mystery set in 18th century London, following the twisted characters Sweeny Todd and Mrs. Lovett.

Yep, it’s grim, but the plot will keep you turning pages.

Billed as a classic British horror, the novel is gripping from the first few pages, where you as the reader are more or less plunged straight into the backstreets of London, and the lives of the shopkeeper and barber from hell.

The main plot revolves around customers visiting Sweeney Todd in his barbershop, and then mysteri-

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ously disappearing. Johanna Oakley is distraught at the sudden disappearance of her lover, Mark, and takes it upon herself to dress up as a boy and infiltrate the barbershop.

Her courage pays off, and the grisly remains of Todd’s many victims are found under a church, and, get this, her lover Mark is not dead but alive, making for a cute happy ever after ending. If you could ever call a story about a demon barber serial killer a happy ever after.

One criticism would be that because the book was written in 1847, well before the days of forensics and DNA tests, some of the plot

changes are a little fantastical, but in all, it probably adds more to the story, and certainly contextualises it in the period in which it was written- it shocked the nation. Quite rightly too- some of the narrative towards the end of the book is quite graphic and chilling, and the main idea- pies made of human flesh- is stomach churning. But still, like I said, if that’s what floats your boat, pick up a copy, you won’t be disappointed.

Jenny Sleeman

A Sicilian Romance

by Ann Radcliffe

pub. Penguin Victorian Bestsellers

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s an admirer of Victorian novels it’s difficult for me to find fault with the work of Ann Radcliffe. In A Sicilian Romance Radcliffe effortlessly combines romance and the gothic to create a novel of mystery and intrigue.

The novel follows the plight of Julia, a young woman forced to flee from her tyrannical father and her gothic castle in Sicily to avoid a loveless marriage with the heartless Duke de Luovo. What follows is a very elaborate game of cat and mouse where Julia is constantly on the run and forever being chased amidst gothic surroundings. The description of the landscape successfully transports the reader into Julia’s world while the enchanting plot allows you to empathise with

the characters.The gothic storyline combines a sense of isolation and the imprisonment of women with dark family secrets. However, the characters are a little too underdeveloped for my liking.

Emilia has no opinion or personality and is very much marginalised by her sister, Julia. Many stereotypes are present in the novel; the girls are virtuous, frail and prone to fainting while Julia’s lover Hippolitus has no depth and is only present to fight for the heroine.

The moral message that evil will eventually suffer and good will prevail often gives the novel a very black and white feel.

A Sicilian Romance may not be as developed or accomplished as Radcliffe’s more famous novel, The Mysteries of Udolpho, but it has a more condensed story that keeps the pages turning. The supernatural elements of the tale combined with the story of a timeless romance will keep even the modern reader yearning for more.

Melissa Parry

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books

To Die For? U

nless you’ve been hiding in a cave (or possibly a coffin) for the past few years, you can’t have failed to notice the arrival of The Twilight Saga.

Incorporating books, films, and even bedlinen, the franchise is an inescapable, all-conquering juggernaut. Author Stephenie Meyer has single-handedly brought bloodsuckers back into fashion, and spawned a new industry in the process.

Meyer struck gold by combining the traditional vampire yarn with a tale of awkward adolescent romance, and now a million copycat stories line the shelves of every bookshop in the country.

Vampires are the cultural icon du jour. A seemingly endless parade of TV shows, movies and novels can’t seem to quench our thirst: even Wuthering Heights has been rebranded as ‘Bella and Edward’s favourite book’, and shot to the top of the classics chart as a result.

Fitting nicely into the niche previously occupied by J. K. Rowling, Meyer’s series holds even more crossover appeal than a certain bespectacled boy wizard. The saga tells the story of the love affair between clumsy teenager Bella Swan and beautiful vampire Edward Cullen: full of teen angst and sexual tension, Twilight is an emo Romeo and Juliet. However, although ostensibly aimed at the youth market, the novels have a hugely diverse readership range.

Ten-year-olds buy these books, but so do their grandmothers. The key to Meyer’s success is that her themes are practically universal. Jenny Berling from Waterstones hits the nail on

the head: ‘A lot of people think that teenage girls are the only ones falling in love with the Twilight books, but it's much broader than that. The themes of rebellion, angst, and finding your place in the world against incredible odds appeal to girls and boys, teens and adults alike. These books are a phenomenon.’

We've tried to fight it, we've tried burying our heads in the sand, but Quench has finally faced up to the facts: Twilight is here, and it is here to stay. So, after ignoring the saga for as long as possible, Chloe Grant talks about the biggest literary phenomenon since a certain boy wizard.

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Make no mistake, ‘phenomenon’ is no understatement here. PR firm Coleman Getty handles the Twilight behemoth, and they’ve provided us with some truly startling statistics.

The first three books in the series have all sold over a million copies,

and the fourth title is well on the way. Unbelievably, 10 pence in every pound spent on a children’s book in Britain is on a title in The Twilight Saga, and one is sold here every 2 seconds. In the UK alone, 4.1 million copies have been sold to date, and global sales have topped 85 million. It seems that even the soaring spires of Oxford and Cambridge Universities aren’t immune to the charms of Edward Cullen and co, as apparently the series now features in their prestigious undergraduate assessment.

However, the most important thing about the Twilight novels is that they’re really, actually, quite good. Yes, many of the criticisms thrown at Meyer are not without foundation. Her writing is sometimes clunky; plot and dialogue are often cheesy; Bella is rather self-involved; many characters are stereotypes; and let’s just say that feminism isn’t very high on the agenda. But the point is that none of this really matters. I admit that I’m something of a snob when it comes to books, and if I read fantasy it’s usually of the more ‘literary’ variety, but as soon as I picked up Twilight I was hooked.

I read all four titles in 6 days, when I should have been revising for exams, but I couldn’t stop. I laughed, cried, and felt utterly bereft when I’d finished. Books like this don’t come along very often.

Twilight appeals because it is an unabashed romance, albeit with a touch of the zeitgeist about it, and we will always want to read about love.

Like its hero Edward Cullen, Meyer’s story is an immortal one: a dash of blood and angst just updates it for a modern audience.

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classic romance, sweeter, and longer-lasting, than Romeo & Juliet. Filled with, action, drama, and an unforgettable love, where the plain girl gets the beautiful, mysterious boy. Sometimes scary, sometimes sad, always gripping. And, honestly, what girl doesn't wish her boyfriend was bit more like Edward Cullen?

Leah-Roxanne Denton

Your views...

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wilight makes me feel ill. Generally I’m pretty tolerant, if people want to read trash it’s up to them. However, I am sickened by the extent to which Twilight is dominating bookshelves. Edward may be hunky, or charming, or sparkly, or whatever, but when you begin hearing about boyfriends being dumped because they’re not like Edward, it begins to get a tad concerning...

Kirsty Goodall

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gged on by enthusiastic girlfriends I read the first book and enjoyed it but personally, the second book was so boring I couldn’t even finish it. The fact that Twilight was not only now the official ‘band wagon’ of teens and tweens alike but also its links to teen abstinence put me off and I have since steered clear of this saga…

Kayleigh Toyra

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d l r o W ion photos

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photos

into capturing t h g si in n a u yo rath aims to give photos of fast moving things.

Yo ke Ja , k e e w is Th some pretty f o se u e th ia v t, movemen

I

’m a motorsport photographer.

Saying those words is the photographic equivalent of saying ‘I’m a part time model’ at any time during life. You may have posed for a few naked photos as a student, but you’re hardly Kate Moss. Most photographers try motorsport at some point, and most motorsport fans try photography at some point.

There are, however, a few rules that can set you apart from the crowd. And those rules can be applied to other moving things, not just racing cars. The most used technique for capturing movement is panning – simply swinging the camera at the same speed as whatever it is you’re shooting. The picture at the top of the page is a slight diversion (in terms of angle) but is pretty much a simple pan.

Nailing it isn’t necessarily easy, but with a bit of practice it’s remarkably simple. For a fast moving subject, you need a shutter speed towards 1/100th. Much slower, and you’ll struggle to get a sharp photo

(especially as a beginner), but much faster and there’ll be no sense of movement at all. I tend to shoot at about 1/125th or 1/100th. For reference, the main image on this page is 1/80th and the subject is moving at about 130mph. But my hit rate was about one good shot from every 40 or so, from a slightly awkward position, and I’ve had a lot of practice.

Other kinds of movement need a different approach. The exploding champagne you see to the left took a short shutter (1/1000th) and repeated shots to create a sequence with a lot of trash (people are very unpredictable) and a handful of useable shots. It’s a similar technique with ball sports. Capturing movement is often more about freezing it to create a sharp shot, but you can experiment with slow shutter pans to blur your subject and get a dynamic effect. Or you might just end up with a blurry mess.

Once you’ve mastered basic things, try to change your point of view. Things look faster from lower down (and they get more interest-

ing) so try and kneel down instead of just standing. Try aiming for a three quarter pan (slightly head on) instead of a dead side on pan, because everyone else has already done a stood up, side on pan. Try getting really low so there’s grass in the shot because in my experience that goes down very well. Try making it look like your subject is moving under ground level (so the grass covers some of the car/horse/bin truck) or like you’re underneath it.

Getting a gap under the car is a well recognised technique in motorsports photography and even though it’s difficult, it’s well worth trying.

Instead of paying whatever ludicrous amount to get into a sporting event, try shooting some university sport (gair rhydd are always looking for photographers), or trying your technique on traffic – both of these options are free. The bottom line is that practice makes quite good, and a lot of practice makes pretty good but you need years of practice to even stand a chance of being very good. Get started!

quenchphotos@gairrhydd.com / 31

photos

32 /quenchphotos@gairrhydd.com

photos

quenchphotos@gairrhydd.com / 33

Photos: Liz Foggitt Make-up: Christina Mackie Models: Rachel Cunningham and Holly Reece

SPRING// SUMMER This season it’s all about a return to soft, feminine make-up, following the grungy '90s look which dominated autumn/winter 09. This season’s palette sees an altogether fresher complexion, with colours muted down to soft beiges, lilacs and corals, perfectly complementing some of the latest catwalk trends.

S/S'10 commands flawless skin with the appearance of a natural make up

look. Nude lips and eyes, lightly lined with pencil is key. The trick is to create glossy polished skin, building the rest of your make-up on top of it. Of course this is all down to either being really lucky and having an amazing complexion or using a good quality foundation. Use a soft pink blusher to create a healthy glow, Benefit’s dandelion is a great choice.

As far as lashes are concerned, bigger is better. The idea is to create lustrous long lashes as if you are wearing false eyelashes.

Pink and purple eye shadows bring out the eyes, whilst defined eyebrows add to a softly made up face.

Pretty pink lips are set to return this season as well as coral and sunset orange for a more summery

F lawless T he

look. Red lips are still very much in; however pair them with bare eyes as seen at Prada to stop it looking too heavy.

Nude lips were also big news on the runways, coupled with smoky eye makeup. An easy way to achieve nude lips is to put a good foundation or concealer over them and then a dash of clear lip-gloss.

For the all important finishing touches, don’t neglect your nails.

Use pastel colours such as pale pink, blue and lilac.

Another key colour is the new ‘Greige’- a mixture of beige and grey.

Brought to us by Chanel, their newest shade 'Particuliere' is popular with countless A-list celebrities.

Emma Wilford

F ace

F ashion

of

Fashion explores the all-or nothing beauty trends for 2010

AUTUMN// WINTER If London Fashion Week told us one thing loud and clear, it was that next winter’s makeup has an all or nothing vibe.

Minimalism was ubiquitous on the catwalk. Foundation was dewy, lips were nude, brows were bleached and blusher was barely there at Christopher

Kane, Burberry and Matthew Williamson’s shows.

Although an unlikely trend for the colder months, the opulence of winter attire (think furs, silks and heavily textured fabrics) juxtaposed with a nude face is surprisingly chic.

Regarding brows, there was one clear trend: bigger is better. Dark, strong eyebrows were seen on the catwalks of everyone from Prada to Alberta Ferretti.

To get the look, don’t ditch your tweezers. Instead use an eyebrow pencil, such as Spiked by Mac to define and shade your brows.

At the other end of the spectrum was

heavy duty glamour. The models at Gucci revealed heavily lined feline eyes, pale pouts and glossy manes.

To achieve the sultry winter look, apply Urban Decay deluxe eye shadow in zero over eyelids, add a sweep of L' Oreal Super Carbon black liquid eyeliner and coat curled lashes in Max Factor’s Masterpiece Max Mascara. For the perfect nude lip try Nars’ Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Belle de Jour.

Whatever you do next season, don’t be half-hearted. Pick a look and take it all the way- that's surely winter's way.

Natalie Ticehurst

Promotion.

Promotion.

Promotion.

Don't like what's on offer in Cardiff? Then start your own night! Jack Doran caught up with Cardiff University graduate and founder of C-Y-N-T, Steve Francis...

38 / goingout@gairrhydd.com

going out

Steve, how did C-Y-N-T come about?

When I was studying at Cardiff Uni, the sudden realisation came to me that I may have to endure the same cheesy shit clubbing for 3 years was enough to make me almost quit my degree. I figured I couldn’t be the only student feeling like this, and had nothing to lose, so started my own night where people could come and hear underground dance music in the week.

Was it instantly a success?

As there was no real ‘dance music’ community at that time among students, we had no idea if anyone would turn up. Amazingly we sold out on the opening night, around 200 students who seemed chuffed that something new was happening in the city. There were times when the turnout dropped and we had to think of new ways to get people through the door...but this was all a learning process.

Can you remember a night when you realised CYNT had taken it to a next level?

Probably the night we had Boys Noize. It was a huge financial risk for us, in the sense that if it had flopped, we wouldn’t have been able to continue doing more nights. Luckily though, it was a great turnout and opened the doors to booking a lot more high profile acts.

Why do you think it is that students queue up in the rain week after week for your night?

I think it’s for 3 reasons, the people, the music and the venue.

We’ve definitely found our home at Clwb Ifor Bach after a series of venue changes. Most weeks we have a well known guest DJ which often leads to big demand and queues, but I still think it’s mainly down to the crowd and the fun they have together at C-Y-N-T. Is there a secret to successful

promoting? What is the most important thing to remember?

I think if you’re bringing something new to the table which hasn’t been seen before, there’s always going to be a level of interest. Listen to what people want, and be prepared to put in a lot of hard work.

New club nights seem to come and go very regularly, what is the biggest pitfall for a new promoter?

A lot of the time new promoters try to imitate and copy another night which has done well, assuming they’ll also do well. If you’re not, doing something original, no ones

"The question we’re always asking ourselves each week is how can we can keep people excited" really gonna shout much hype about it. Also don’t start a night as a way of making money. This is the bonus if it does take off, but be prepared to do plenty of free parties to get your night established.

Often new promoters price their customers out on the opening night.

So there's not big money in promoting in Cardiff?

As I said, don’t go into it looking to make money. Treat the money as a bonus bi-product. The question we’re always asking ourselves each week is how can we push things forward for Cardiff and keep people excited, that's what we do it for.

Can anyone have a stab at it or do you think there are certain people or qualities suited to it?

I think these days, yes, anyone can become a promoter. If you’ve got an idea, got some cash, and got a Facebook account, you can get the word out pretty fast about your new night compared to 5 years ago. People who are passionate about music seem to succeed more as they have something to always focus towards.

We hear of a level of politics in Cardiff's scene, have you experienced this or do promoters generally get along?

It is genuinely the same for every city. It’s not a dark underworld of threats and violence, any conflicts are usually from a business point of view. I mean a DJ or act is a product and nobody wants to give up that product as it generates good numbers through the door.

Successful promoters maintain a respect for one another, as they deserve it for doing something right.

And finally, what direction do you think Cardiff's dance music scene is taking?

Ha ha, dubstep has definitely made it’s mark and seems to be everywhere and anywhere now. It will be interesting to see how long it stays this popular. From where we’re sitting, we still have a huge list of names we wanna see play Cardiff so we're working our way through them one by one!

You can find C-Y-N-T every Thursday at Clwb IIfor Bach. For tickets and listings go to www.c-y-n-t.com

goingout@gairrhydd.com/37

going out

Recommended

Mowgli

Punk Rolla

Junglist Massive

Thursday 18th March Clwb Ifor Bach

Wednesday 17th March Undertone

Friday 26th March Millenium Music Hall

W

ith the Spring term drawing to a close, what better way to celebrate than a fat night out at C-Y-N-T. Aside from the great venue and friendly crowd, the big pull is Mowgli, playing in Cardiff for the first time.

The house DJ has burst on to the scene and is tipped for big things. This is a perfect chance to catch him for a reasonable price in a small venue.

Undoubtedly the usual suspects will be lining up in support as C-Y-N-T residents nail out the electro, house, fidget and techno.

Head to the middle floor for your fill of drum and bass and dubstep as CU society One Mission provide the tunes. Get on it!

H

aving suddenly started receiving regular radio play, Punk Rolla is a force to be reckoned with. Another exciting new comer lands in Cardiff.

Also known as ILL Phil, Punk Rolla is a true pedigree, formally of duo Bass Weazal. Electro is the order of the day with a unique blend of driving bass lines and twisted vocals.

Hosts of the night, Save the Rave, are making a name for themselves as an alternative to the usual mid-week raves. More than competant resident DJs will keep the electro, house and fidget banging out until the early hours.

What better venue for such a night than 10 Feet Tall's grimey basement, Undertone.

38 / goingout@gairrhydd.com

R

apidly becoming synonymous with Cardiff’s drum and bass scene, Frequency Domain deliver once again.

One of the UK’s most successful MCs takes a deserved place at the head of the bill, the mighty Top Cat. With countless awards and hit releases under his belt, this feline means business.

Returning to Cardiff once again, Nicky Blackmarket will be slamming out the old school DnB. A true pioneer of the genre, he has earned an international reputation for his skills.

Propelling the line-up to dizzy heights, we have the likes of Mickey Finn, The Ragga Twins and Serial Killaz. Local support comes from Jackal & Hyde, TBone, Stu Grady and Cod. Huge.

arts

A

ny backpackers out there might have caught the odd flash of bum cheek on Bondi whilst putting their sun cream on. But imagine having your tourist snaps of the Opera House rudely interrupted by no less than 5,200 Sydneysiders, all stripped off in the name of art for U.S photographer Spencer Tunick. Tunick has built his reputation on photographing bare bums in bizarre, beautiful locations from Barcelona to glorious Gateshead. His latest Sydney venture, entitled The Base, was carried out as part of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

Volunteers lay down in the not so hot forecourt of the Opera House awaiting instruction from Tunick from a megaphone.

I

t may not have been covered in an OK! Magazine glossy two page spread but Warsaw certainly held a party and a half for celebrated composer Chopin’s 200th birthday bash. Concerts by the composer were held day and night and free of charge to mark ‘The Longest Birthday’, a title inspired by the fact that no one actually knows for sure when it is.

2010 was designated by the government as the official Chopin year and that means one thing: lots of musical merrymaking. The icing on quite a tremendous cake was a 170 hour long musical marathon to which a handful of locals turned up to. Well, 25,000 visitors. One visitor commented ‘Let’s make it an annual event.’ No wonder.

I

t appears that everything Andrew Lloyd-Webber touches turns into a pot of West End gold. But things haven’t been quite so jammy in the run up to the debut of the long awaited sequel of the Phantom of the Opera. Love Never Dies is in hot water as the opening night is being haunted by ‘technical difficulties’, with pressure to live up to its predecessor's reputation for Hollywood style special effects.

After all, a falling chandelier spinning over the heads of the audience, just one technical titbit from Phantom, is a pretty hard act to follow.

Kirsty Allen

Arts update arts@gairrhydd.com/39

arts seen The Argument/The Blue-eyed Girl Theatre The Park Conservative Club

F

rom deep in the heart of the old Conservative club shone a couple of plays by Natalie Stone so diverse in their themes and characters and so fresh in their humour that they transported an audience miles away from mismatched carpets, the ghosts of cigars and the petty demands of the staff.

First on the agenda was The Argument. This work is a mature piece bringing a modern twist onto traditional British wit (think the warmness and familiarity of Fawlty Towers, just with more gentle intelligence and an absence of casual 1970s xenophobia). Here, an older couple watch on wisely as a newly engaged pair bicker yet finally reveal that with age does not necessarily come experience. Tom Wansey who plays the older husband, has gained complete mastery of endearing geriatric obnoxiousness and his wife,

40 /arts@gairrhydd.com

played by Ruth Millington, provides the perfect dynamic from which this functions.

A five-minute interval allowed the audience to switch themselves from dinner party to the morning after of a student party in the piece entitled The Blue-eyed Girl. Although just set in one room, this piece is far from boring as warm, likeable and – perhaps – all too familiar students wander in and out. One constant is Mike (Will Palmer), a slightly hung-over student who struggles to remember the events of the night before. 'I don’t remember much', he announces 'but I remember big blue eyes coming towards me.'

There are standard signs of a good night everywhere. A mountain of discarded Strongbow cans, a tongue that 'feels like a cactus' and – of course – a mysterious smooch nobody can quite remember. But what completes this play are the idiosyncratic details. Mike goes to the P-themed party dressed as a pterodactyl, a pat on the back for any members of the audience who get this cheeky reference.

Natalie Stone sculpts a world of convincing and likeable characters, taking familiar situations in both of her plays and layering them with

such a sophisticated degree of richness. These were plays truly made for Act One and provide the strongest marriage of cast to text that I have seen in this group so that – despite a central theme of forgetting – this is a truly memorable piece.

Amelia Forsbrook

Grand Opening Graffiti Gallery/Event

The Boiler House

B

uoyancy was the leitmotif at the opening of the Boiler House Graffiti Gallery, tucked away in a quaint bylane in the north of Llandaff. The scent of fresh spray paint, beat music and the conspicuous coloured caricatured artwork on the brick wall elevates the experience at Wales’ first Graffiti gallery. Graffiti artists Bryce Davies and Jodie Driscoll manage the art space, originally set up along with an eclectic bunch of other painters, welders and carpenters, with an aim to make art on the wall acces-

sible to all.

Fittingly, the duo who organise art events in Wales, including Fair Play and Dub in the Pub, have factored the gallery around a festival model. There is music buzzing in the background along with food and drinks being served at the unconventional art hub. They also plan to screen films on the walls and set the studio space for carousing during the evenings.

“We want the place to be more relaxed, where people can come in and interact with others. We don’t want people to be intimidated by the graffiti culture… we want to expose them to it,” informs Davies.

In fact, some of the events and workshops lined up at the new art hub are geared towards exposing cross-section of people to the graffiti culture. Besides, there will be monthly graffiti jams where a group of regular artists will come together to spray paint on the outdoor wall space. The artworks will remain on the wall for a couple of weeks until the next session. The mezzanine floor at the gallery also provides a platform for young graffiti artists to display their graffiti art on canvas, t-shirts and table lamps. They are up for sale and are priced between 20

to 140 pounds.

Indeed, it is heartening to find a new art space in the times of a crumbling financial market. Nevertheless, how does the duo plan to sustain it?

“I know it is risky business, and quite honestly, we don’t have too many expectations, but we enjoy the mission and we hope to keep it going.”

Reema Gehi

To Kill a Mockingbird Theatre

New Theatre

T

he play began impressively as the entire cast stood silhouetted against a sunset backdrop. They were singing in harmony whilst Scout began her narration. Both the novel and the stage adaption present the story through the eyes of a child. This production, however, seemed to appeal deliberately to a younger audience, as if they expected an endless stream of bright-eyed GCSE pupils to come and see it.

Anyone who has read the book will have been left with a desperate desire for Atticus Finch to be their father. Gwyn Vaughan Jones’ attempt is commendable, but nothing can compare to the picture of Atticus Finch painted by the novel. The biggest disappointment of the play though, was Denise Orita’s performance as Calpurnia.

In particular, her attempt at the southern accent seriously grated on me, and I wondered why she hadn’t auditioned for some sort of stage adaptation of Kenan and Kel. The first half ended halfway through the court trial. At this point, I felt really disappointed. The play seemed fit for eight year-olds, if that.

The second half, however, showed a marked improvement.

Oliver Wilson was particularly impressive as an anxious Tom Robinson during the court trial.

Furthermore, Atticus’ impassioned defence of Tom was convincing and moving. Finally, at the plays denouement, strobe lighting was used effectively to portray lightning flashing through the darkness of the sinister final scene and even seemed to encapsulate the moral of the story.

Chris Humphrey

arts@gairrhydd.com / 41

music

music albums:elliegoulding interview:catelebon

local:review

newsinbrief

bensem, 06.03.10, mmh

T

onight the Millennium Music Hall plays host to, amongst others, rising Welsh stars BenSem. Formed around lead singer Ben's talent for introspective songwriting, the band have been generating a wide array of critical acclaim from a variety of outputs.

Mirroring the media's reception, the band's set goes down a storm with the crowd. Semmens's powerful and passionate vocals are spot on, highlighting the versatile moods of his material. guitarist Rich Beech panders to the crowd's desire for a show, playing through his solos with a degree of flair perfectly suited for the live environment.

The band are incredibly tight and well-rehearsed, driven by the rhythm section made up by bassist Gez and drummer Steve. The fans are out in full force, clamoring to dictate the next song on the setlist.

You can feel the closeness between the band and the crowd, as Semmens engages in friendly banter.

He takes to the stage by himself for one song, strenthening the heartfelt connection. Set closer Apathy is met with a cheer and audience participation, clearly a fan favourite.

If the success of tonight is anything to go by, expect big things from BenSem in the future.

live:ladygaga

the globe saved!

traffic

o it looks like The Globe saga has come to an end this month with the venue finally raising enough financial support and funding to undertake the work demanded by the local council last year. Good work, people of Cardiff! That's a mighty fine spirit you've got there.

In an e-mail sent out by the venue's representative, The Globe wished to thank everyone who got involved and attended the Save The Globe fund-raising shows. To be honest, we weren't holding out much hope for the venue. For much of last year it was looking like the venue was heading the same way as The Point, which also suffered similar noise complaints and was forced to close by the council in 2009.

This news, though unexpected, is a happy ending to a story that's been developing throughout this academic year, and here at Quench Music we're delighted with the result. The venue have promised a free party to celebrate their survival, although details haven't emerged yet. Keep a check on the website at www.theglobecardiff.com - you wouldn't want to miss a free party.

Plus, those Globe-folk are likely to be in pretty good humour for the next few weeks. Employment rocks.

very academic year will happily watch on as new societys form, old societys fall, and some merely fade into the already overflowing list of 1-event-a-year redundancies. But rising out of the ashes of past success has now come Traffic Cardiff University's Dance Music Society - and in a big way.

After 2 years of relative inactivity, the past 7 months has seen the struggling society gain growing success and popularity as it's provided the Cardiff clubbing scene with a fresh injection of house, electro and techno - all genres largely overlooked in a time dominated by dubstep and drum and bass.

From the beginning of the year each night has offered a welcome sense of originality and fun, from face painting to board games and puzzles. This style of clubbing is found nowhere else in Cardiff and is a testament to soceity president Jack Doran's ambition. His latest savvy booking saw Jazzsteppa play at the CAI, providing the busiest night of the venue's short life. Officially. What's more, events won't stop there, though, with rumours of more Jazzsteppa-like bookings already circulating. It's been a great year for Traffic already, but something tells me it's not over yet.

S

E

music@gairrhydd.com / 43

Cate Le Le Bon music-feature

44 /music@gairrhydd.com

feature-music

Unusual, eclectic and Cardiff-based — Cate Le Bon is fast becoming one of our city's finest musical exports. After an acclaimed debut album, Simon Roach finds out what it's like to be a young musician in the Welsh capital...

Firstly, congratulations on the debut album. Are you pleased with its reception and how highly do you value critical praise in relation to commercial success?

Obviously, it’s nice but I think that once you’ve decided that an album’s finished then you’re resigned to whatever happens. We did the album quite quickly and I think we were all pretty pleased with it, everyone in the band, else we wouldn’t have released it. It’s nice to have nice press but it’s neither here nor there. I started to read reviews as they get sent through to me, but it’s the ones online that are the weird ones, because everyone’s a critic nowadays. Everyone’s a music journalist now which is a good and bad thing, I guess.

Your music is often described as dark and melancholy, is this something you strive for, or is it just the way that your writing naturally goes?

I think it just seeps out, I don’t know what it is. I just tend to write the way things go and that often ends up on the dark side of the spectrum.

I even read somewhere that you only write in the dark, is that true?

How come?

It’s totally true. It’s just because that’s how I work best.

Would you describe your music as folk, and if so who’s influenced you in that way?

I don’t know: it’s very difficult to describe your own music. It has been described as folk, although I guess once it’s left me then it’s out of my hands what people describe it as. I mean, I certainly love a lot of folk music, I’ve been listening to a lot of Matthew Friedberger’s [of The Fiery Furnaces] double album which I think is incredible, I’m a huge fan of Syd Barrett. But then obviously Neil Young – On The Beach is one of my

favourite albums, and then The Bealtes are just incredible, they still blow me away everytime I listen to them.

And I guess the things that influence you aren’t always what you’re in control of, and sometimes you want to sound like something that doesn’t always work out.

You seem to have developed a working relationship with Gruff Rhys of the Super Furry Animals, how did that come about?

Well, we’ve been friends for a number of years now and he’s been very supportive of my solo work, and obviously we were in Neon Neon

"The community of musicians here is something quite unique, it's not something that I've seen in any other city" together, he asked me to come onboard with that. It’s just fortunate to be able to make music with a friend but also he’s someone who’s very well respected so it comes as a very nice letter of recommendation.

How do you find living and working in Cardiff as musician?

I think it’s fantastic, I mean it’s got everything you need. The community of musicians here is something quite unique, it’s not something that I’ve seen in any other city. A friend of mine was down from Glasgow and he said that there’s a similar vibe and he’s a musician and he’s travelled a lot and said it’s quite an

unusual and nice thing. I think there’s so many really good bands in Cardiff at the moment and I think from any different level of how ever successful they are or whatever they’ve done there’s still this quite humble feeling where everyone still hangs out together, everyone still jams together and everyone still influences one another. It’s just somewhere where no one’s precious about their music, everyone’s open and willing to share and share opportunities, as it should be. Like Gruff asking me to join Neon Neon, I was a nobody in that sense of things but it doesn’t matter and is just about having a good time and the music.

I think it’s something more than just the size you know, it’s just a really lovely community of musicians.

What does the rest of 2010 hold for Cate Le Bon? I’ve heard America mentioned...

I think it’s going to America after the tour and playing SXSW – I’ve got a booking agent out there now, and a record company, and the album’s coming out there in April so I’ll spend a month out in New York gigging and a month in LA gigging, come back to the UK for the summer festivals and then I think go back out to America in September forever, maybe if I’m allowed and Cardiff don’t kick me out for it. It wasn’t ever something I really pursued, but just that I got a cracking booking agent and a nice little label and they seem to want me to keep going out there. Gruff always said from the beginning that he thought America would “get” my album more, but I’ll have to see how it goes. I think it’s such a vast country that you could tour for years and years and years and still not scratch the surface, so it’s a pretty exciting time.

Me Oh My is out now on Irony Bored Records

music@gairrhydd.com / 45

music-albums

Shearwater The Golden Archipelago

Matador

Ellie Goulding

I

Ellie Goulding Lights

Polydor

I

won’t lie. Ellie Goulding’s debut album Lights has proved to be rather tricky to handle. I figured this Brit Award winning artist would be quite easy to rate: a simple thumbs-up or thumbsdown. But rather unusually, I find myself to be sitting on the fence.

Frustrating, but hear me out.

Firstly, don’t get me wrong — I was pretty excited to hear this album given all the hype surrounding Ellie Goulding. But I had to listen to it a few times over in order to convince myself that it wasn’t simply comprised of one half hour long track. It’s fairly repetitive. Despite this, I do have a favourite. However, the thing is, I can’t remember what it’s called. Definitely not a promising statement. There isn't really a single standout track that screams for your attention. Plus, flick through the album cover and you’ll find that

46 /music@gairrhydd.com

the best songs on the album are produced (or should I say rescued?) by the likes of Frankmusik and Starsmith.

Now that I’ve dug my nails in, it’s probably time to relent. I’ll say this: Ellie Goulding’s voice is mesmerising. Her dream-like, haunting tones echo a Björk-esque quality, which clearly show a talent for something much more than the album reveals.

Strip her vocals away from Lights and it feels like all you’re left with is a headache from all the twinkles and synthesizers.

For first time listeners, you do need to be guided through the album. So, give Wish I Stayed a try but feel free to skip past the aptly named, Your Biggest Mistake. This is one of a few songs on the album which follows a very distinct pop formula: I have to say that some of her songs feel a tad obvious. So, take from this what you want but I’m going to remain comfortably here with my feet dangling over the fence. Anyone want to join me?

Claire Dibben

6.

nspired by frontman Jonathon Meiburg’s ornithological (you know, bird-watching) adventures around the globe, this is the third album from the Texas-based environmental indie-folksters.

The Golden Archipelago aims to represent the beauty of nature, as well as the damage humans can cause to the environment.

Unsurprisingly, the eleven songs that make up Archipelago are predominantly mellow in mood and, whilst all clocking in at under five minutes, manage to convey a great sense of cinematic scope.

In fact, with such an epic, cohesive piece of work – part indie-folk, part film score – it becomes difficult to describe it in terms of audible as much as visual qualities; every song conjures a new vista in the mind of the listener, likely drawing comparisons with Icelandic post-rock hero, Sigur Rós. Lead single Black Eyes, although the most accessible and conventional track on the album, still manages to evoke images of sea-faring journeys between desolate shores and remote islands. The fragility of the sparse piano lines in Hidden Lakes is elegantly contrasted with the throbbing pulse of songs like Corridors and Runners Of The Sun, demonstrating the album’s great sense of pace and progression: each track is a mini epic that comes together to form a grander, fluid whole.

However, what may be the album’s unique selling point is also what lets it down. It feels as if a body of work such as this should be accompanying some visual element and this prevents it from standing strong in its own right. Although Meiburg has doubtlessly8i8po8-seen some incredible sights, he sounds like a bird-watcher, making any lyrical emotion seem slightly forced and a bit too intellectual to produce any real connection with the listener. Make no mistake, this is a stunning, eyeopening listen but struggles to maintain emotional depth on repeated plays.

Michael Brown

7.

albums-music

Jason Derulo Jason Derulo

Warner Bros

J

3.

Serj Tankian

ason Derülo is probably one of the most hyped R’n’B artists currently in the game and from what I’ve heard, he’s going to need all the help he can get. Lead single Whatcha Say, a grammatical bombsite in itself, is pretty much the standard fare for over-produced, heavy on the sampling American pop music that permeates our Top40. No wonder he says his name at the start of most of his songs – if he didn’t, I’d have no idea whether it was him or not.

I’m probably not his target audience though, to be fair. At the front of the queue for this CD at your local HMV will be the cast of Oceana’s weekly drama ‘Slutty on the Ice Room Dancefloor’, and I’m sure they’ll love this.

At first, I came close to almost liking this album a little bit. I even said to a nearby colleague that Whatcha Say sounds much better on good headphones than my girlfriend’s 1990s radio set. However, I soon had to check my iTunes because I was sure it was on repeat. To my dismay, it was not. The first four songs are essentially the same – but blessed relief, the fifth track What If employs (according to the press release) "a delicate piano line" - if by delicate, you mean ‘written by a nine year old’. Also in the mix are "infectious backing vocals" (what, like flu?) and "dramatic dynamics to create a sophisticated love song" (yeah, like rape was sophisticated when you were a viking). Therein lies a lesson for not believing everything you’re told in the press.

Between this song and the end are more songs…but that’s about all I can tell you. I woke up briefly during Love Hangover and this, believe me, was a mistake. It is about a one night stand - something that shares a lot in common with love, I hear. It's best listened to while absolutely twatted, being rubbed by UWIC slags wearing not enough and gentlemen of the rugby field with their pants down.

Jake Yorath

Serj Tankian Elect The Dead Symphony

Warner Bros

F

or an artist with only one solo album to his name, this is a particularly bold move from Serj Tankian. Though best known for his work with System Of A Down, Tankian has always kept himself busy; whether it be experimentations with world music, collaborative remixes or political activism, all are represented in his own musical output.

This latest release further highlights his unconventional approach to music as 2007’s Elect The Dead is stripped apart and reworked into a one hour symphonic performance with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.

It is testament to the versatility of Tankian’s vocal stylings and multi-layered songwriting that this cross-genre pairing should work at all. Unlike Metallica’s 1999 clas-

sical/metal crossover effort, S&M, this record features only acoustic instruments with no drum kit in sight, making this different enough to the original recording to warrant its own release. Some arrangements are particularly stunning, with Beethoven’s Cunt and the extended Feed Us seemingly better suited to the more cinematic representations the orchestra can bring. Tankian’s vocals soar from rich lows to screaming expletives, his political sentiments all the more poignant over such refined accompaniment.

At times, however, the performance can seem like more of an experiment than a serious artistic achievement; the sharp dynamic contrasts of Money become a wall of noise and the request for audience participation in Empty Walls seems unnecessarily cliché. With a musical reportedly in the works, Elect The Dead Symphony may be the first taste of Tankian’s future musical path; if subsequent releases build on these foundations, the results are likely to be quite extraordinary.

Michael Brown

6.

music@gairrhydd.com / 47

music-live

Johnny Flynn Clwb Ifor Bach

2nd March 2010

A

blonde, cherub faced singer stumbles onto the stage, mumbles a quiet hello and begins to pluck a vibrant rhythm on a steel guitar.

So begins Johnny Flynn’s set, a shy but rosy performance of wholesome sounds and intelligent story-telling lyrics. Accompanied by his band The Sussex Wit, tonight’s performance is a showcase of what’s to come from his forthcoming album (set for release in May) and a reminder of why he has been credited as one of the young talents who led the ‘nu-folk’ scene that emerged in London a couple of years ago.

Leftovers shows the singer at his best, fully utilising the force of his backing band in a toe-tapping number driven by thumping percussions and a strong voice that seems to exceed the years of his fresh face. He injects personality into timeless folk with innovative musical arrangements, as he makes his way through an array of different instruments proving that he is proficient on the guitar, mandolin, trumpet and violin.

Brown Trout Blues is an endearing contrast to his other lively songs, with Flynn effortlessly pulling off the one-man-and-his-guitar act and adopting the Dylan style trick of not being concerned with stick to the song’s original time signature.

Combined with confessional lyrics ‘I could be someone else, I should be someone else’, he casts a sombre net over the crowd. His newer songs hint at a darker, thoughtful musical path as a never before performed song is based around minor chords on an electric guitar.

Flynn delivered a delightful and diverse set wholly appreciated by an enthusiastic audience, dominated mostly by females who swoon at his every word and song. And just when we thought the goneShakespearean actor could be no more likeable, he gives a shout-out to his mum who's in the crowd and asks the audience ‘to be nice to her’. Bless.

Megan Dobson

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Lady GaGa CIA

3rd March 2010

K

nown her down right crazy outfits, and even crazier live performances, I was expecting a show that was nothing short of spectacular when Lady GaGa brought her sell-out Monster Ball tour to Cardiff.

With her mixture of arthouse burlesque, musical theatre camp and rock concert energy, The Wizard of Oz received the GaGa treatment as The Monster Ball told the story of Lady GaGa making her way through New York to attend the ball.

The two hour set featured no less than 15 costume changes as she worked her way through hits from her worldwide smash album, The Fame and its expanded re-release, The Fame Monster.

As she opened the show, proclaiming “I’m a free bitch baby”, GaGa’s phenomenal stage presence was evident. From gyrating through Teeth, to bathing in a fountain of blood in Alejandro, to searching for her disco-stick on the NY subway, GaGa barely had time

to catch her breath.

However, strip away the dazzling visuals, troops of dancers and the ludicrous costumes, and put GaGa behind her piano and that is where she really shines. Her rendition of ballad Speechless displayed her incredible talent as a pianist and a vocalist, showing that she does not need gimmicks to be considered a genuine star.

GaGa’s stage banter was, as you’d imagine, suitably bizarre, and at times the “however will we get to The Monster Ball?” narrative wore a little thin. When the stage mask dropped, however, we saw glimpses of an articulate, charismatic and likeable character, who even joked “Have you heard that I have a very large dick? But I hear there are a lot of them around”.

What amazed me as I found myself chanting ‘GA GA OOH LA-LA’, is what a meteoric rise to superstardom she has had. With a show as jaw-droppingly staggering as this, it’s hard to believe that Lady GaGa has only been around for a year or so. It seems that Stefani Germanotta is carving out a place in pop history among the greats, and while I’m convinced that the persona of GaGa is simply a brand, it’s one I’m happy to buy into. Ash Percival

"I believe there should be more serious content in Quench."

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Nominations are open for student media jobs. CUTV Station Controller, Xpress Radio Station Manager, Quench Editor and individual gair rhydd and Quench section editors.

Email editor@gairrhydd.com and get involved.

BE THE CHANGE

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"I don't like the content in gair rhydd or quench."

music-singles

Alison Goldfrapp

singles round-up

Goldfrapp Rocket Mute

5.

Gaggle I Hear Flies Transgressive

7.

We here at Quench Towers quite like Goldfrapp. But allow us some elitism as we state that we prefer the duo's earlier material. This latest effort from the synthpop pair does little else than mimic other 'quirky' female-fronted pop acts seen sprawled across the Top 40. It's repetitive, simplistic and I am sure that it's the same synth sound used in Van Halen's Jump. SS

A twenty two piece female-only group, this ensemble creates a powerful theatrical sound that translates amazingly live, but loses a degree of its intensity on record. This said, the first single from Gaggle, I Hear Flies, is unique, aggressive and a hell of a lot of fun. Spitting lyrics over minimalistic electronic beats like a choir of MCs, it’s well worth a listen. DK

Eliza Doolittle

Pantha Du Prince

Skinny Genes Parlophone

4.

A ‘naughty little sex song’ with a borderline offensive amount of whistling, the debut single from Eliza Doolittle is a chirpy, cheeky tune certain to brighten the surliest of moods. That said, Doolittle’s Lily Allen/Kate Nash impersonations soon start to grate, especially when accompanied with that bloody whistling. Oh, and Doolittle isn’t even her real name. For shame. MB

52/ music@gairrhydd.com

Stick By My Side Rough Trade

8.

German producer Henrik Weber has made a smart move in borrowing the vocal chords of Noah Lennox. He's so hot right now. This features Weber's characteristically pretty approach to dance music and Lennox performance is careful not to detract from it. His melodic, slow-forming hook still manages to lift Weber's hypnotic palette, though and hopefully this'll be something of a hit for Pantha. PG

Ginz/Kool Money Kwame Wet Wipe Riddim Earwax

7.

Last year Ginz collaborated with Bristol dubstep legend Joker on the spectacular track Purple City and this latest release echoes much of the signature 'wonky' sound heard in that track. Warbling high pitched synths create an eerie atmosphere, complemented by the reverbernt vocal sample. It's not quite the usual fare heard in dubstep, but it's definitely thinking progressively. SS

Jamie Liddell Compass Warp Records

5.

Having a neo-soul voice that will inevitably attract the admiration of many a middle-aged woman and lyrics which evoke the sentiments of a saccharine, romantic film moment, James Lidell’s latest single couldn’t be released at a better time. With Mothers' Day lurking round the corner (remember?) this is the kind of inoffensive stuff we’ll no doubt be encouraged to buy for our sensitive, unappreciated mums.

JP

film

film Upcoming Releases

We Like...

We Don't Like...

17th March - The Bounty Hunter - I Love You Phillip Morris

- Rip Torn's hilariously inebriated mugshot taken after being arrested for barging into a bank whilst utterly pissed. With a gun. Pure genius.

- Warner Bros. investigating development rights for Space Invaders.

What next? Pong: The Beginning?

19th March - Dirty Oil - Happy Ever Afters - My Last Five Girlfriends - Old Dogs - The Scouting Book For Boys - The Spy Next Door 26th March - The Blind Side - Extract - Lion's Den - Lourdes - Nanny Mcphee & the Big Bang - Perrier's Bounty - Shank

Tekken Although Hollywood appear to be making a swift transition from fartoo-many to outrageous in terms of videogame adaptations, I must admit that I was more than a little animated when I found out about Tekken. 'My favourite screaming karate man game is being made into a movie!', I fantasized, as I jubilantly pressed the play button on YouTube, preparing myself for two minutes of shameless ass-kicking glory.

Sadly, this atrocity seems to bear none of the original game’s charming arcade-style simplicity. There’s talking instead of fighting, characters that I don’t recognise, and perhaps most heartbreakingly of all, no boxing kangaroos whatsoever.

Should I have expected this?

Maybe. In fact, the day that they make a film out of Crash Bandicoot, I’m throwing my Playstation out of the window. MA.

- Legion. Because it's shit.

- The latest Toy Story 3 trailer.

References to cyber sex and a metrosexual Ken = great success.

- And while we're at it, the new Iron Man 2 trailer. It's probably making the same mistake as X-Men 3 and Spider-Man 3 by having way too many new characters, but hell, it looks orgasmic.

- Oscar wins for Christoph Waltz, Jeff Bridges and Mon'ique. Predictable, but nonetheless deserved.

- The slow and painful demise of the career of Robert De Niro. Everybody's Fine? You're better than this Rob. Seriously.

- Date Movie, Epic Movie, Disaster Movie...in fact, anything with movie on the end. Anyone else up for trying Aaron Seltzer and Jason Friedberg for crimes against cinema, and then shooting them? In the face? I am.

Trailer Trash

film@gairrhydd.com/53

film

A TWISTED FAIRYTALE

I

t’s probably fair to say that the name of Tim Burton is almost synonymous with ‘weird.’ Let’s be frank: what comes to most of our minds when we hear that the eccentric visionary behind The Nightmare Before Christmas is working on a new film?

Long shadows, gnarled trees and detachable heads. It’ll possibly include some artsy-fartsy stop motion effects, and it’s almost certainly going to have something to do with someone who’s creepy, in a kind of adorable way. Whatever, it's definitely going to be weird.

Those who are well accustomed to Burton’s vast array of work within the film industry as a director, producer and writer will know that his career stretches beyond the usual quirks and oddities of low-budget indie films and into the realms of star-studded blockbusters. Even in his 1989 rendition of Batman, one of the most widely loved superhero

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movies ever to grace the DVD collections of comic-book nerds, Burton manages to infuse his signature strangeness into Gotham’s own rich boy crime fighter. The film grossed $400 million worldwide – clearly, weird works.

"Burton has collaborated with a plethora of household names" Indeed, upon the 1990 release of Edward Scissorhands, the enchanting tale of an android in quaint suburban America, it was apparent that the director wasn’t the only one with a penchant for the peculiar. Johnny Depp’s performance as Edward, the lovable, blade-fingered boy

did more than escalate his acting career to dizzying heights in Hollywood: it also secured him a life-long friend and collaborator. Burton was so drawn to Depp’s offbeat acting style, so wildly different from his previous standing as a teen idol in the hit ‘80s television series 21 Jump Street, that to date the pair have worked on seven feature films together.

They’re now something of a duo, appearing in public together to promote their new adaptation of Alice in Wonderland and generally being a couple of brooding alternatives to the usual glitzy film stars that we see in Jonathan Ross' green room.

That's not to say that Johnny Depp is by any means Burton’s only kindred spirit. Having worked repeatedly on different films with a plethora of household names as diverse as Jack Nicholson and Danny Devito, the director is well known for creatively collaborating with the

film

actors he works with. Helena Bonham Carter, who starred in Burton’s previous six releases, is also his long-term partner and the mother of his two children – their relationship was reportedly the inspiration for Corpse Bride, in which the actress stars.

Such collaborations have been widely accepted by fans and critics alike, augmenting Burton’s distinctive directing style with each film and even marking him out as an auteur. But throwing pretentious terminology aside, you might question whether his routine of hiring the same actors for the same oddball roles is getting a bit tiresome.

Take the example of one of his more recent films, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

It’s an adaptation, obviously, and a musical. Burton is hardly new to adaptations. Nor is he a stranger to musicals, though he still chose to cast his song-and-dance shy pal,

Johnny Depp, in the lead role (perhaps not without merit, given the resulting Academy Award nomination, but still, a ludicrously loyal decision when the opportunity to work with fresh talent arose). There’s also the dependable return of Helena Bon-

"There’s still room in Burton’s work for a fresh approach" ham Carter, along with black and white stripes like Beetlejuice and a load of blood like Sleepy Hollow.

Fine, so the film did well at the box office. And the reviews were generally great. But haven’t we seen this all before?

Even if you go by the thesis that

an artist is better off sticking to what he’s good at, there’s surely still room in Burton’s work for a bit of genuine originality, amongst the eccentric personal touches that we know and love.

Going back a bit, we can remember his stint as producer on a reworking of Roald Dahl’s beloved story, James and the Giant Peach; a beautiful mix of murky live action sequences and trancelike animation that gave the impression of a child’s daydream – totally in keeping with Dahl’s imaginative tale and doubtless characteristic of Burton’s own artistic flair. All that, without a Johnny Depp cameo in sight.

I won’t deny that Burton has created some fantastic cinema by working with his favourite actors, but perhaps by mixing things up a little, he could treat us all to something genuinely weird and wonderful once again.

Matt Ayres

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film

Alice in Wonderland Dir: Tim Burton Cast: Mia Wachowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham-Carter

W

hen Alice first fell down the rabbit hole sixty years ago, Disney produced a colourful and trippy adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s beloved novel. For their sort-ofsequel, Disney have enlisted the weird and wonderful Tim Burton, who brought life to the Chocolate Factory and concocted a whole world of strange characters for his Nightmare Before Christmas.

There’s never been a director more qualified to adapt the hugely imaginative source material.

Alice (Wachowska), now 19, has completely forgotten her first trip to Wonderland, but after following the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen) down yet another hole, she finds that its inhabitants remember her, and have been eagerly awaiting her return.

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With a little help from her friends, including Dormouse (Barbara Windsor) and Tweedledum and Tweedledee (Matt Lucas), she must end the Red Queen’s (Bonham-Carter) reign of tyranny and slay the Jabberwock (Christopher Lee). Naturally.

Burton’s Wonderland is a dark, creepy and mutated world. The Mad

''Burton's Wonderland is a dark, creepy, mutated world" Hatter (Depp) is a mercury-poisoned schizophrenic with enlarged green eyes, while the March Hare (Paul Whitehouse) is a blast as his bedraggled Glaswegian companion.

Newcomer Wachowska impresses as the typically Burtonesque heroine, with shadows around her eyes and an otherworldly quality that makes her a bit of a misfit in Victorian society. The script, though, gives the best lines to Mrs Tim Burton, who steals the show with her perfect delivery of comic gems like 'I

love a warm pig belly for my aching feet.'

Unfortunately, it also feels very much like another case of the Johnny Depp Show. While he may be a crowd-pleaser, his screen time comes at the expense of other characters. The Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry) is forgettable by comparison, and it seems a wasted opportunity to explore so little of the magic that Wonderland has to offer. Instead of birds with mirrors for heads and dogs with brooms for snouts, we have a muddled back-story for the Mad Hatter, and the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) doing her bit as Alice’s ethereal mentor.

The new plot is, in theory, a wise move. The original Alice was a passive girl who stumbled from set-piece to set-piece, so the narrative adds a much-needed drive.

But it also detracts from the film’s sense of fun, climaxing in a generic CGI battle that’s more Lord of the Rings than Carroll or Burton. The further away from the original story it ventures, the less enjoyable it becomes. And the less said about Depp's break-dancing finale, the better. Personally, I’d have preferred two hours at the tea party.

Jonny Wrate

6.

film

Shutter Island Dir: Martin Scorsese Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley

B

ased on the Dennis Lehane novel of the same name, Scorsese’s latest offering sees US Marshalls Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Ruffalo) travel to the windswept, eponymous isle, home to a psychiatric facility run by the seemingly benevolent Dr. John Crawley (Kingsley) in order to investigate the disappearance of an inmate, child-murderer Rachel Solando (Emily Mortimer). As is usually the case with such psychological thrillers, however, not everything is as it seems…

Shutter Island proves quite a radical departure from the usual gritty Scorsese gangster fare, although considering that two of Lehane’s previous novels, Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone have successfully been adapted to much critical acclaim, the legendary director’s change in creative output

is perhaps understandable. But is this yet another success story, or is three a crowd? Overwhelmingly, the results points towards the former.

That Shutter Island works is testament to Scorsese’s ingenuity and versatility. With recent works Kundun and The Aviator revealing more in his repertoire than merely gangsters, guns and grimacing, Shutter Island continues this progressive forward motion, seamlessly functioning as a murder mystery, crime thriller, psychological insight and post-war commentary rolled into one.

''This is one of Scorsese's most ambitious films" The casting, as is almost a given when Scorsese’s around, is spot on. DiCaprio exudes a calm demeanour whilst still possessing that same spark of unpredictability that has made him Scorsese’s new muse, with his ability to effortlessly imbue any character with a repressed sense of vulnerability surely being enough to establish

himself as one of Hollywood's leading men. For the title of 'Best thing in the film', however, the result is a close tie with Kingsley, who despite giving one of his most understated performances for a while, manages to steal virtually every scene by mere virtue of being present.

Ruffalo again proves to be much more effective as a sparring partner rather than the main attraction, and there are also star turns from Max von Sydow, Michelle Williams and Jackie Earle Haley.

Shutter Island is one of Scorsese’s most ambitious films, arguably sometimes too much for its own good, as some of the more surrealist elements ocassionally detracting from the main narrative, with the film at times trying to remain ambiguous for ambiguity's sake. This is a minor complaint, but it’s enough to ensure that it doesn’t quite reach the heights of The Departed or Gangs of New York.

Overall, Shutter Island is dark even by Scorsese’s standards, despite not reaching the upper echelons. Nonetheless, what ranks as average for Scorsese is still good by general standards, and it should be applauded as such.

Steve Wright

film@gairrhydd.com / 57

8.

film

Ponyo Dir: Hayao Miyazaki Cast: Noah Cyrus, Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon

N

ow that the anime of legendary director Hayao Miyasaki and Studio Ghibli (Jib-lee if you are silly and American) is slowly bubbling under into some kind of mainstream buzz, some diehards were pessimistic about the latest – a retelling of the Little Mermaid tale.

The message for the cynical or uninitiated is one of abundant welcome and joy. It is easy to prejudge the film as twee and the addition of Noah Cyrus as the voice of Ponyo (among Liam Neeson, Matt Damon and Tina Fey) may strike as too sugary sweet. But even if merely for escape value, Ponyo errs on the side of a life affirmingly bright rather than precocious childrens film.

This is evident from the start, as we are plunged into the deep sea and the beauty of the ghibli animation comes into its own. It creates a crawling, shimmering and dumbfounding array of fishy critters crawling into life, surround-

58 /film@gairrhydd.com

ing the boat on which Ponyo, the eponymous magical goldfish lies, protected by her cranky and paranoid father (Neeson).

Sosoke, a young boy discovers Ponyo and falls in love with her.

This is presented with remarkable balance, carrying your attention and the tale (despite the trailers implication that the fate of the world rests on it) while staying sweet and childlike. This is developed with humor, not least when Ponyo's magical powers come into play. Seeing here squint her face and pop out some new legs and a boat is a particular pleasure.

Even the most grown-up of viewers will find it difficult to be cynical as Ponyo and Sosoke adventure without hyperbole, despite Ponyo's mother being Mother Nature and kicking up a literal Tsunami. Their relationship remains the centrepiece, a delicate representation of youth and growth, all the more fun, colourful and enriching given their naivete compared to the ongoings around them. Miyasaki has produced a vivd film which is effortlessly joyful and bright, yet also has brillint resonance for all ages, despite being an explictly young story.

Lloyd Griffiths

8.

Micmacs Dir: Jean-Pierre Jeunet Cast: Danny Boon, André Dussolier, Nicolas Marié

A

new decade turns its habitual head, and JeanPierre Jeunet is seemingly waiting in the wings with another nugget of French cinematic gold to help the transition between decades to be undertaken in fine style. It seems more than purely coincidental that Delicatessen (1991), Amélie (2001), and now Micmacs have all been released at the immediate departure from a given decade.

For anyone au fait with French cinema, the virtues of his last two motion pictures need not be reiterated, and following the trend that Jeunet has directed for himself, it is no surprise that Micmacs is by no means a release that will in any way diminish his status as a wonderfully imaginative and visually playful auteur.

For a film whose tagline is ‘a satire on the world arms trade',

Micmacs is a wonderfully irreverent look at subject matter that could quite easily be viewed in a far darker, less life-affirming light.

Filmed through Jeunet’s highly stylised, amber hue, Micmacs' greatest achievement is its ability to interweave subtle offbeat humour with pseudo-slapstick into something both hysterically funny and genuinely heart-warming in equal measures.

''A wonderfully irreverent take on the arms trade."

Boon’s performance as the protagonist is as understated as it is kinetic, never appearing too stoic considering his situation, nor too manic considering the degree of mania his situations warrant.

Micmacs is definitely a film whose warmth will see out the remainder of the cold winter months in very fine style indeed.

Jon Berry

7.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Dir: Niels Arden Oplev Cast: Naomi Rapace, Michael Nyqyvist, Lena Endre

I

f I learnt anything from this film, it is that Sweden looks beautiful. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is based on a bestselling book written by a man now dead – dead, in fact, before any of his novels had been published, let alone successful.

The plot of this, his first, revolves around the disgraced liberal crusading journalist Mikael Blomkvist’s attempts to unravel the secrets of a teenage girl's disappearance at a family reunion in the mid sixties. It’s a classic locked room mystery – the island her and her family were on was cut off from the mainland for an hour – so the conundrum is not when it happened, but who killed her and where they put the body.

Blomkvist is assisted by Lisbeth Salander, a twenty-four year old,

socially-maladjusted hacker, the tattooee of the title, and also the film’s most intriguing character. Though long, the pace is rapid and contains enough action, mystery, smoking and excitement to keep any viewer engaged. There is an horrific rape scene and strong themes of violent misogyny throughout (the original Swedish title translates as ‘The Men

''A dark, exciting and gripping thriller."

Who Hate Women’), but this is a dark, gripping and exciting thriller.

Having read the book beforehand, I was aware of every impending revelation, which did diminish a little from my enjoyment, but the pace, characterisation and sinister music whenever religion was mentioned were enough to keep me involved for its whole 152 minute length. And the scenery is fantastic.

S. Manley Hadley

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8.

film

ArtleSs BastArds Lloyd Griffiths asks whether movie posters can be more than 2D Trailers

M

ovie posters and DVD covers are an undoubtably immovable object of modern marketing. As long as there have been cinemas existing for our voyeuristic leisure 'n' pleasure, posters have quietly permeated almost all mediums, jumping into magazines and bus stops with a quiet insistence. And just as quietly, we all see them, process them and are informed quietly of what we should see at the movies.

Perfect! See – Know – Go Watch.

So what? It's a simple, well known formula and. of course, gets many of us to see films. People who may not go otherwise. FHM, The Sun, The Metro; all consumed by people nowhere near as intelligent as your average Quench reader, but commonly full of film ads. As much as I hold contempt for some of their readers (I hate them all with the passion of a thousand knives) at least they can be tempted to sum cultcha every so often. But many of us yearn for something more than a thousand Star Wars poster rip offs.

Perhaps in another cultural medium, I could be criticised for being decadent and expecting too much of a crowded industry. After all, it's a dog eat dog world. And I will eat your dog. However, it seems justified to be tired of posters which numbly have famous faces lined up in a triangle, beginning with the most

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famous at the angle. (Pirates of the Caribbean 4: The Death of Narrative, I mean you).

Back in the golden age of Hollywood, posters were wholly original.

Maybe we've only caught the gooduns but there seemed to be little set format for film posters. Some were even printed in landscape!!! Rather than being given a set of signs to decode (Fire = Thriller, Axe = Horror, Jennifer Aniston = Shit Romcom) posters were there to paint some sort of story in their own language.

Looking at a Hitchcock poster nowadays gives one a kind of fit from merely having the absurdity of not telling us wtf will happen!

And so some of the best underground and independent posters have begun at a completely new point to inject some meaning. For example, Spacesick's I Can Read Movies series presents a myriad of films as books, with a nuanced style to boot. It makes the films seem all the more intriguing too.

The Blade Runner poster's eyes flicker, standing out enough to motif the movie-going experience yet clearly hinting at a desperately human theme, aching to get out. And what's more, seeing them as books tempts you to see the film as a pseudo-penguin classic, and see the characters as fully formed linguistically. Maybe Mean Girls was a protofeminist novel! Obviously no, but the

intimation is enough to seduce you.

Aside from this I don't see why this cannot be to the benefit of films advertising. While the poster industry lumbers along photocopying George Lucas, it makes it all the easier to stand out. Posters bereft of linear messages show up like, well, art.

Who actually wants to know what is going to happen anyway? Fight Club? Imagine how less impactive the headbending twist would've been if it'd been sketched out for us.

Expert blog Not A Movie Poster however has come up with a continuous log of the latest alternative movie posters since 2008. Blood diamond, for example, painted just as a bleeding crystal. It's so much more affecting that Leo Di Cap's face shoved in front of some fire!

The most pleasing thing is a lack of any particular demographic shoved down your throat. Most great posters invite you to think of them as speaking for themselves rather than ironic and self-conscious referencing. Its an open book, but we hope some' of the sexy posters here at least flicker your consciousness a little. For a start, the more you chuck them out, the less scared douche designers will be to 'go rogue'.

Check the links for more pleasing artyness. If you have some poster favourites, email film@gairrhydd. com and we will print a few of the best next issue.

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film@gairrhydd.com / 61

film

B

es

t FO FI R. LM ..

Falling in love with

Audrey

Wishing you were The

Bad Kid.

The Breakfast Club (1985)

Roman Holiday (1953) Whilst Breakfast at Tiffany's may be her iconic role, Roman Holiday is Audrey Hepburn at her most charming. She plays a European princess visiting Rome who escapes her chaperones and ends up with Gregory, an American journalist determined to get his big scoop.

He is aware of her identity, and in attempting to get his story, the unlikely couple do everything the Princess has never been able to on one unforgettable day. While the inevitable inevitably happens, the film keeps its fresh and classy vibrancy until the very end, but at its heart it is a romance, and I dare you not to swoon. Despite his cynical beginnings, Peck's character is smitten, and as he falls for Hepburn, you in turn fall for him and life appears to mirror art. It's obvious that the almost unknown Hepburn would enchant audiences just as she had enchanted his character. Peck was seemingly right – while this was her first major feature, of her five Oscar nominations it was this that won her a statuette.

One of my all time favourite films, this is nothing less than a shining example of Hollywood's Golden era.

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Like most great '80s films, The Breakfast Club was directed and written by John Hughes, who also gave us classics like Pretty in Pink and Sixteen Candles. The film is set during the Saturday morning detention of five high school students, each one representing a stereotype; 'a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal'. Over the course of the film, each character shows there's more to them than meets the eye. Ally Sheedy's character, 'the basket case', shines when drawing a picturesque winter scene and then making the snow out of her own dandruff. Deepest secrets are revealed in typical teenage tone, with comedic circumstances. How seriously the film takes its own message is questionable, when we see that after a make over, Sheedy is actually pretty, and the jock actually likes her. However, all these scenes, coupled with an iconic soundtrack – Simple Minds' 'Don't You (Forget About Me)' was written for the film — makes this stand out among its contemporaries. We never know if the quintet continue their improbable friendships after that day, and maybe it's better off that way.

Believing in Magic The Prestige (2006) The Prestige is all about oldfashioned magic, and whilst after watching this film your mind is left blown by the story's pure brilliance, the magic of the film itself leaves an even deeper impact. It's situated in 19th century London, the premise centered around the friendship, rivalry and ultimate demise of two magicians, Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman, joined by their love of magic and divided by their ambition. The brilliance of this film lies not only with its complex yet classy plot, nor the striking imagery (the lost top hats provide a memorable image). The brilliance of the film lies within the magic trick itself – we are told how a magic trick begins with 'The Pledge', followed by 'The Turn'. However, the audience won't applaud until they witness the crowning glory, 'The Prestige'.

That gasp, that look in the eye of the audience when all is revealed is exactly what The Prestige provides in its final twisting moments, when nothing is as it seems. This film is a magic trick of its own, from its turn to its prestige, rivalling even director Nolan's Batman Begins for simple, yet perfect film-making. And it's got Michael Caine.

Emily Kate Bater

listings

Monday 15th A Genuine Freakshow: Buffalo Tommy Cooper: New Theatre Fun Factory: Students' Union

Wednesday 24th Charley Boorman: St David's Hall No Sweat: Cardiff Arts Institute Milk: Barfly

Tuesday 16th Boyce Avenue: Students' Union Sound of Guns: Barfly

Thursday 25th Owen Pallet: Millenium Music Hall The Computers: Clwb Ifor Bach The Three Mediums: St David's Hall

Wednesday 17th Jo Caulfield: St David's Hall The Lash: Students' Union Thursday 18th Chris Addison: The Glee Club Battle of the Bands: Talybont Misty's Big Adventure: Buffalo Friday 19th Acoustic Ladyland: Buffalo The four Tops: CIA Saturday 20th Come Play: Students' Union James McCartney: Barfly Sunday 21st Editors: Students' Union Lie in: Your Bed Monday 22nd The Sopranos: St David's Hall X Factor Live: CIA Fun Factory: Students' Union Tuesday 23rd Death of a Salesman: Chapter Arts Centre X Factor Live: CIA

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Friday 26th Cardifffashion.com: 10 Feet Tall Rebel Truce: Barfly Boombox: Students' Union Saturday 27th The Joy Formidable: Barfly Tinie Tempah: Millenium Music Hall Come Play: Students' Union Sunday 28th We Have Band: Cardiff Arts Institute Benni Hemm Hemm: Buffalo Dirtbox- A Feast of Comedy: Cardiff Arts Institute Listings Pick of the Fortnight With only one week left before most of us go home for easter its a shame that the best event of the fornight, Owen Pallet is not in that week. However if your still in Cardiff do yourself a favour and go see him, you'll literally have your breath taken away. Chris Addison is possibly the funniest new comedian in Britain as anyone who's seen his performance as Ollie in The Thick of It will attest.

listings@gairrhydd.com/63