Do You Click All The Boxes ?
Front Page
Cool Hand Tim: Shakey Jake
Pages 2 and 3
Contents/ Twatter
Pages 4 and 5
Dub Step
Pages 6 and 7
Lily Fowler/ There Lies History
Pages 8 and 9
13 Riots
Pages 10 and 11
Problems/ Horoscopes
Pages 12 and 13
Fun at the Fair
Pages 14 and 15
Hekz
Pages 16 and 17
Restricted Hours/ Magick Brothers
Pages 18 and 19
Mindcore
Pages 20 and 21
Shakey Jake
Pages 22 and 23
Gadget Review
Pages 24 and 25
Manamucova/ Bozwood
Pages 26 and 27
Kids with Fireworks
Page 28 and 29
This Empire
Page 30 and 31
Sound Arc/ Restaurant Review
Page 32 and 33
Rebellion of Gennaro/ Remix
Page 34 and 35
Underground Heroes
Page 36 and 37
Hitchin Gigettes
Page 38 and 39
Spiked
Page 40 and 41
Webscape
Page 42 and 43
Raj Swamy
Page 44 and 45
Hitchin Gigs goes to Dublin
Page 46 and 47
Arusha Accord
Page 48 and 49
Face Book Events
Page 50 and 51
ArcFest
Back Page
My Passion
World Cup Qualifier
Sports Caps With this season of F1 coming to an end it has been a very up and down season for teams. No one can underestimate that Brawn had a great start to the season and that Red Bull have been very unlucky on many occasions, but what does this tell us about what the 2010 season will be like? Will we have underdogs scoring big points and showing the likes of Ferrari and Mclaren that you don’t need multi million pound budgets to beat the best? With no major rule changes happening next year will the likes of Brawn be on top or will it be a two horse race again ? I for one hope that what ever happens it never goes back to the days of one driver winning all the time and one team spending millions on development to get him there. With that in mind should all sports have caps on production and salary? The NBA has a cap and it makes for the closest games. By having caps on salary it means that smaller teams have a chance at getting big players and making a sport better to watch, but then does that eliminate capitalism in sport ? Is it fair that Microsoft have billions of pounds to spend on development and small companies like Daves PC’s can’t compete? I suppose there is a reason big companies are so big and that is because they have good products. They would have never got as big if they couldn’t see what the public wanted. So in the end I have now changed my opinion and I say no. Don’t Cap Sports.
Ukraine V England At
Club 85 Saturday October 10th 4.15pm kick off Live TV Feed Not Internet ! Do You Click All The Boxes ?
Well it’s about time! About time for a new night representing hard dance music in Hitchin. its been too long since we had somewhere to go and dance to drum and bass, it’s been too long since Club 85 didn’t have to deal with moaning neighbours and could really stretch its speakers. Hitchin used to have Stink Like Sock, a local musical collective that championed Dubstep early in its arrival, by putting nights on at The George, Bucklesbury, eventually graduating to the Cambridge Junction and becoming one of the nations premier Dubstep nights but now with Mutual Party Sessions we finally have somewhere decent to go and enjoy the music we love…
Mutual Party session resident George Gidden starts things off with a heavy purposeful dub step track and almost straight away heads into Benga’s ‘Midnight request line’ arguably the Tune that made Dubstep when it dropped on Mary Anne Hobbs ‘The Breezeblock’ on Radio 1 last year. George’s set then picks up into the harder side of drum and bass with a fair number of old school sounding tunes thrown into the mix for a bit of nostalgia. MC Shox joins George to bring his vocal gymnastics to the proceedings and is actually a pretty good MC in his own right with quick delivery and a whole load of different ciphers spat over the music instead of just shouting hype and running out of rhymes five minutes in like most MC’s, so a lot of respect is due to him for that. Minerva & Cynical are up next and the first thing you notice about Tom (Minerva) when he’s DJ’ing, is that he is having fun ! as he dances along to the tracks and constantly fine tunes his mix These two showcase more of the club friendly ‘Liquid’ style of drum and bass keeping the transitions between each track smooth until they decide to turn it on their heads with Noisia’s ‘Diplodocus’ and its awkward half step rhythm and a brilliant remix of Enter Shikari’s ‘juggernauts’ that I really recommend you to go out and find immediately. Some of the other highlight tracks are from High Contrast and Nero’s ‘Act like you know.’ Up next on selecta duties is Danny G and within minutes things start getting a lot heavier, gone are the smooth liquid mixes and soon the aim is just to withstand the slabs of bass being aimed at your face.
Danny G’s set is a long way from subtle and contrasts nicely with the previous effort sending the crowd into a frenzy and getting almost constant demands to rewind and repeat almost every track he plays, including the brilliant ‘Vinyl’s dead’. Throughout his set Danny is joined by Furious MC and a return from Shox and soon the two MC’s start passing the mic back and forward after each verse and hyping each other up so you can directly hear the contrasting styles between Furious and Shox, with Furious taking a lot more time over each of his flows generating more hooks and delivering them purposefully in contrast to Shox’s focus on rhythm and speed. Skeptical takes to the stage as the last act of the evening with a much slower, forceful sound that reminds me of Marcus Intalex and features a lot of industrial drum sounds and heady sub bas. I’m not sure why Sceptical played last as his set was a bit of an anticlimax to the jump up sounds of Danny G, which almost clears the dance floor at first, but soon everyone is drawn back to the sticky rhythms and Skeptical gets his fair share of shouts for reloads from the crowd. Other highlights of the night include projections of the infamous Ghost Rider videos over the back wall and the insane dancing that can only be generated from listening to drum and bass. If I have any criticism of the night at all its simply that after a couple of hours the MC’s begin to wear incredibly thin indeed, with a lot of people who just want to hear the music. Although the variety is nice and the MC’s are much more than just hype men, the constant babble over the tunes and the inevitable repetition, drives many from the dance floor. Being in attendance for the first of these shows you can see a confident and focused crew of DJ’s and MC’s who are all about having fun, Hitchin really needs something like this going on for all the dub heads and bass lovers of this town (of which there are many) and I can predict a lot of success in the future for these guys and their night. Hopefully, we’ll get together again on Christmas Eve for more bass heavy sound clashes, courtesy of Mutual Party Sessions !
Written by Matt Turner
This was only the third live gig for Lily and given this and the fact she was pulled in as the ‘to be confirmed’ act at the last moment, she did very well indeed. Lily has a pleasant melodic voice and is very easy on the ear. This, I am sure, is not the kind of accollade she will eventually be aiming for. However, it is apparent that she has not yet develped an individuality of her own and from her performance here I am guessing she has not made much attempt at writing very much of her own stuff either. As a result she manages to sound like every other female solo artist around at the moment, in this area generally there is a definite dirge of originality. Lily did covers mostly, one of Fun at The Fairs tunes and a Bob Dylan. In between the tunes her chatter was a little nervy and drawn out, this is nothing a bit of live gig experience won’t cure, but it is a bad habit to get into and annoying for those listening. Lily’s brother is a member of Fun At The Fair and the guitarist and drummer of said band accompanied her on stage. I suspect this young lady is very much under the wing of the boys of this band and if that’s true her style development and career will be handled expertly. We will watch her progress closely, as I suspect we are going to see lots more of this young lady. Lily has great talent and a great support and advice network, she cannot go wrong ! No My Space for her yet, but I’ll let you know.
Ryan on vocal, Dorney on guitar, Jack on guitar/vocal, Joe on bass and James on drums, a veritable cornucopia of beauty and talent. They remind me of American teen movies, where the boys are all lovely, considerate, caring, rich and talented, but I digress. These guys are the real deal, if you don’t like this there is something wrong with you ! Their music is pop/rock and in the same genre as bands like Busted or McFly, or possibly My Chemical Romance, why not give them a listen and make your own mind up ! In any event, they are a band with great potential and deserve your attention. If I say this band is like when you hear a new tune for the first time and instantly you know it’s a good tune and you want to hear it again ? and when you do hear it again, you recognise it straight away ? That’s how this band is. This is definitely a chart topping band, who should be scooped up, signed, sealed and delivered to us as soon as possible. Anyone reading this who has the power, don’t miss the opportunity, if I could do it myself, I certainly would ! You can listen to them on their My Space. of course, their latest single ’I’ll always keep my feet on the ground’ is up at the moment, go to Myspace.com/therelieshistory and hear a little history in the making. You can see them at Battle of The Bands in St Albans on October 2nd, check the times on their My Space page, we wish them the best of luck, though they don’t need it !
Tom on guitar/vocal, Daniel on guitar/synths, Matty on guitar/screams and Rob on drums/vocals, make up 13 Riots, a very robust and talented band of men, who are obviously dedicated to their art. Everything is dished out in equal quantities from this outfit, there are no individuals, only a very tight team game going on, which produces music of a very high quality, although perhaps it is lacking a little in imagination. A great performance from the guys, lots of showmanship from everyone, but it was all a bit “so what ?” They never seemed to lift their music, it all felt like it was the same monotone tune, no matter what they did with it. If you listen to their My Space tunes, you’ll see what I mean. You never get a thrill from them, they seem to be going through the motions and not really enjoying what they are playing, there’s no pizzazz ! That is not of course to say that they cannot play, indeed no, technically they are very good indeed, but they need gee-ing up a bit, let’s see a variation on the theme. Check them out on
Myspace.com/13riots
Dear Sexy Nanna
Dear Sexy Nanna
My boyfriend is fine in every other way except in the bedroom, where he is a selfish, male chauvinist pig ! Our sex life is great for him, but for me it is all over in a matter of seconds and I am sick of it. I tell him how I feel, but he just laughs and tells me I should learn to keep up with the programme ! He says that sex is mostly for men anyway and he does not see why he should ruin his enjoyment of it simply because I cannot climax as quickly as him. I am going out of my mind over this and I desperately need some help. Monica
I am a bloke of 24 and I have a lovely girlfriend of 23. I love her very much and everything is great, but our sex life is so frustrating for me I don’t know what to do. The fact is, she says she just does not like having sex, not just with me, she says, but anyone at all. She says she has never had sex and I believe her. She has never had any trauma in her life to instigate these feelings and she says she loves me, just not physically. I don’t know what to do to solve this problem. Please help me, if you can. Paul
Dear Monica You do not say how old you are, but I’m guessing fairly young, because no experienced woman would put up with this, at least I hope not ! Forgive me for being blunt, but at no point in your letter do you mention that you love this man, only that he is OK. To me that is a strong indication that there are other issues in this relationship and my advice to you would be to bin him immediately. How dare he say your feelings do not matter ? That kind of attitude to women went out with the stone age ! I am furious for you and I strongly urge you to find a man who will treat you with more love and affection, but more importantly, some respect ! No-one needs to put up with being treated in this ignorant and disrespectful fashion. Move on my dear, better opportunities are out there waiting for you.
Dear Paul It is a little acknowledged fact of life that not everyone is driven by the need to have sex and as you are realising, this is a very real situation for some people. Just because she does not want sex, does not mean that there is something abnormal about your girlfriend ! The fact is you say you love her, but if you don’t love her without sex, will this relationship ever be full enough for you. It would not be for the majority of men ! You can seek counselling for you both to try and resolve this issue, but first of all you need to discuss this with your girlfriend to establish whether or not she feels she has a problem. If she is not concerned, you may have to think of finding a more suitable partner. I would be curious to know if she wants children, if so, what then ? First step is to talk to her, because there is always the possibility she is gay and has not realised it. Good Luck.
Virgo You are doing a lot of deep thinking lately and this is perhaps stunting your ability to act. Stop mulling over everything quite so much and go with your instincts. A young person close to you is relying on your intuition to guide them through a situation.
Capricorn Too much of a good thing is a waste, but to rule something out of your life because you consider it indulgent is just silliness ! You are having to make choices now, but do not deprive yourself of the things you love just for the sake of economy.
Taurus You feel that there is so much to do and there are just not enough hours in the day for youto get it all done. You can delegate, people will help if you ask. There is no glory in working yourself into the ground and you are more loved than you know.
Libra You are in danger of looking at situations from the wrong perspective and this could lead to a bad decision. Things are not always as they seem on the surface, dig deep, ask questions, you must avoid the dire consequences you could bring on yourself.
Aquarius You need to be very wary of the dangers life can present and keep your wits about you for the next few weeks. It is not always obvious to us where the danger lies, in this case it could be physical or emotional. Be wary of strangers.
Gemini You are really enjoying life at the moment, living a young lifestyle suits your character and why not. You only live once and now is a good time for having fun, meeting new people, getting out and having a good time.
Scorpio If people do well they deserve to be rewarded and you are missing this very important point with someone very close to you. There is a very real danger that you are taking someone for granted and if you are not careful you will suffer a great loss.
Pisces There are lots of worries going round in your head, but don’t worry, you are very resilient and all things will be resolved in the end. It’s only a matter of carrying on with what you are doing and your hard work will start to see results very soon.
Cancer You fear that the next thing to go wrong will be the straw that breaks the camels back, nut fear not, camels are strong beasts of burden and it would take a lot to break them and you ! Cheer up, not long now before all things start to get better.
Sagittarius You cannot please all the people all the time, so stop trying. Choose your battles and your projects carefully at the moment, your talents need to be targeted towards a specific area. It will make itself plain to you, do not dismiss it.
Aries Do you set out to make your life more stressful ? Sometimes it appears that you do and really there is nothing to be gained from it. You are intelligent enough to know this, so take some time off, maybe it’s time for that holiday.
Leo You are bothering with Issues that really do not need your attention. Concentrate on the things in your life you can actually resolve, rather than poking your nose where it’s not wanted. Go shopping, treat yourself.
Warning, warnng, this is not a boy band ! This is an honest to God rock/punk band who make you want to get off your booty and shake it unashamedly round the room ! Introducing Henry on drums, who I instantly fell in love with, he ticks all the drumming boxes, bless him. He looks a bit scary with all his tattoos, but I’m assured he is only an animal when on stage (and maybe other places we can’t write about here!) Whyman takes the vocals and very nicely indeed, his tone is perfect for this genre of music, but he is the punk element, in that we get what he is saying and his melodic and superbly controlled vocal adds the finishing touches. The lead guitar/vocal is taken by Dom and seriously this is one of the best punk guitars I’ve heard, he does not mind ! Believe me. The bass guitar superbly taken by Neil was an absolute joy, bass always such an integral part of a band such as this. This band is kicking ass all over the room and you cannot help but be inspired to move your body and shake your head till it falls off ! Fun at The Fair are just that. They are tight, disciplined and so of one mind it’s incredible. They never miss a beat, ably supplied by Henry, of course. The tempos are many and varied, their writing is just perfect. I’ve given you a little picture of Henry, just a little peek at the man behind the great drums ! But really, do give them a listen on their My Space. Usual address Myspace.com/funatthefair and see for yourself. There’s lots to look at.
Due to the drummer suffering a back injury, Hekz are currently doing acoustic sessions to relieve the stress a heavy metal gig would put on him. In my view, they are so superb acoustically, they should never return to heavy metal. An electric guitar. a mandolin, acoustic guitar and drums form the line up for this excellent display of blue grass rock and soul. A lyrical and vocal style reminiscent of Iron Maiden, where the lyrics are pronounced with a Shakespearian style of accuracy. It was obvious the vocals were held back, one felt he wanted to start screaming and growling, but his performance was perfect for the sound they were achieving. To my mind the best band of the evening and definitely a headline act. You can listen to them on their My Space page and they have lots of great photos for you to see too. Hekz are a truly talented band of men and fair play to them for adapting their style to support their fellow member. Their heavy stuff is equally brilliant, but this performance was so new and original it would be a pity if they did not pursue it. They will be playing an acoustic set at Rhythms of The World 2010, don’t miss it !
Photos by Mangakamaiden@yahoo.co.uk
This is a duo, Mark Astronaut from The Otters and Alan Cowley, bass player with Redmaxx. The music is folksy, with a great guitar background. The lyrics are intelligent and story like and are not sung, per say, but rather they are spoken. The audience loved them and were rapturous in their applause, but quite honestly, I didn’t get it. For me it was two old friends getting together for a jam session. It was the kind of music you hear at college or university, between friends who know each other really well and have similar music tastes. I suspect that is exactly what it was, but nonetheless they were appreciated by their very substantial and very much older than usual audience. It was different and entertaining, but this was targeted to the older and more hippy section of the live gig attendees. There is nothing wrong with that, because this was one of the best attended gigs we have seen !
The headline act of the evening, Magick Brothers play a variety of instruments between them, a didgeridoo, keyboards, two guitars and a violin. All this from only three men. Daevid Allen, previously of Gong, Mark Robson, formerly Kangaroo Moon and Graham Clarke of 808 State. The guys come together to produce what can only be described as a session of seventies experimental psychedelic musing. The first song lasted almost ten minutes and finished to rapturous applause from an audience who had receded into some sort of hippy comatose state. They lay all over the floor, clearly transported to days of yore by by the ‘music’. The band continued with a series of haunting melodies, reminiscent of Floyd in parts and Clannad in others. They suited the atmosphere of the night perfectly, but when they sang ‘Oh, herbaceous border, you know you’re out of order’ I had to leave !
My dear readers, let me introduce you to the bravest band in the world ! Tonight we had two bands drop out at the last moment and at very short notice Mindcore stepped in. Unfortunately, their bass player did not make it in time, but they very bravely and selflessly went on and played regardless. Their guitar player Khari took the bass, completely unrehearsed and on they went ! It would be totally unfair of me to make any comment of these guys based on this performance, particularly as this was also the first gig for their drummer, Connor. Suffice to say, they played a great set under the circumstances and absolutely win the award for the most generous and fearless band of the year ! It was fun, but I look forward to seeing them in the future, where they will be reviewed with my customary ruthlessness ! Well done guys, thanks.
I have reviewed Shakey Jake in the previous two issues of this magazine, watching their progress with great interest and anticipation. When I saw them for the first time back in the early summer at The Kings Arms, I have to say I could see the potential, but I was not impressed with the performance. The next time was at Breastival and they had improved, but not so much as to raise the crowd excitement to any significant level. Tonight, I think I dared to dream ! We have Alex fronting on guitar and vocal, Tim making bass guitaring look like a piece of cake. A superb and much inspired lead guitar from Rob and so much improved I can’t believe it drums from Dan. Shakey Jake are now officially one of the best live gig bands on the Hitchin circuit and deservedly headlining this gig.
Alex, as always, the leader. His enthusiasm is tangible and his lovely appeal stretches over the audience. His vocal is clear, soulful and the tunes are delivered expertly. Tim, always so laid back and cool in real life, brings his persona to the stage with a bass that finds your heart and brings it’s beat along with the music. The lead guitar is now exactly that, no more standing in the background for young Rob. He has put himself in the limelight with a style and talent on lead guitar that will never be second to anyone. The drums, once just a rhythm beat, are now played with individuality and imagination. Dan is no longer just the beat in the background, he takes the tunes and guides them with his unique skill. Louder, faster, slower, softer, what do you want ? This man can give you it all. Shakey Jake are a blues/rock band, reminiscent of Clapton, to my mind, but they have a style which is all their own. Their fresh approach and exiting delivery make for first class entertainment. I am so proud of these guys, they have worked so hard and have emerged triumphant. Well done to them, long may it continue.
that s t e adg the art g e s o f all th re state o er that t a back hey we rememb ll be k o e o gic l t sale . T good to t may w l a t s a no car boo at… its orrow i f o more sold at a ig so wh day, tom s i e issu g since ld be a b thing to s i h T me lon y wou o e s v t a n we h now the h we wa Track , then ver muc l as an 8 e u how as usef When I look back at all the gadgets I have bought and which in the end I inevitably threw away, I wonder if the next big thing I really really want is going to have any longevity.
I was about 9 when I received
For those of you who are long enough in the tooth to remember the ZX80, 81 or Spectrum will remember that for what was then £200 , in real terms probably about £300, you could own a computer that had less power than even the most basic mobile phone.
For those who have been deprived of the simple pleasure of playing Simon, it worked something like this.
I couldn’t wait for mine to arrive, a great machine with unlimited possibilities, the first affordable programmable computer. This was the future, well actually it wasn't, since nowadays no one except professionals bother programming.
Simon, the first in a generation of electronic games. The silicon chip had made it into the realms of entertainment.
The computer would flash a light, and you pressed it, it would then flash the same light followed by another, which you repeated, then it would incrementally increase the number of flashes in the sequence and the speed at which they were shown to you. It was less versatile than a pack of cards and I don’t think would receive any great welcome in any ones stocking this Christmas !
The BBC Acorn computer was the mainstay of every computer science lab in every school in Britain, Too expensive for most homes, it was considered to be the standard to which all other machines aspired. It was the first machine available that was able to access PRESTEL, a sort of interactive teletext. Some people refer to Prestel as the grandfather of the Internet but this is a major exaggeration, the red button on your remote control, has more functionality. I was once demonstrated Prestel in action, where a teacher attempted to book a flight, having entered all his details into a DOS based screen, the travel operator had to phone him to complete the order. It would be akin to going to You Tube and being told to switch on your TV set.
I am very ashamed to say that I really wanted one of these. A hand held computer, with the ability to store all your phone numbers, save all your appointments, set alarms and even do a bit of word processing. With a QWERTY keyboard and state of the art black and white LCD screen this was the yuppies status symbol. You could even synchronise it with your computer if you were rich enough to own an IBM compatible machine. At a cost of over ÂŁ500 it was sadly out of my reach at the time, however I managed to get by with a diary and an alarm clock. The Sinclair C5 was doomed to failure from its point of concept. Half bike half electric scooter this vehicle had a top speed of 15 MPH and a total range of around 30 miles if assisted by the rider and at just under ÂŁ400 it would appear that this would be a great clean form of private transport.
Maybe it was before its time, as no-one had at that point heard of Global warming or were concerned with the environment to any great degree. However, this was not the cause of its demise. Sitting just 6 inches off the ground these machines were almost completely invisible to drivers in larger vehicles. Thankfully, to my Knowledge, there were no C5 fatalities, however this was probably due to just a handful being sold. I truly believe that if this product had really taken off it would soon have been outlawed. So the last 30 years have given us great gains in the technology that is now available, but now I keep wondering whether that next toy I want to buy is really a Betamax in disguise !
Another fine example of how important it is to get to the venue in time for your sound check ! This was also in my view, a fine example of a band trying to do so much they actually achieve nothing. It was atrocious, a pure cacophony of instruments, none coming through, I hope this was purely down to the sound check, otherwise these guys are in trouble. I cannot say they can’t play, because obviously there is talent and some skill there, but really it was just impossible to discern it. I will need to see this band again to make a fair assessment, I’ll be looking out for their next gig.
This is a wannabe cult band. It was the most depressing, boring, badly sung load of dirge I have heard for a long while. This was a poor effort at the Morrisey thing and was enough to make you want to slash your wrists — for real ! They have a great drummer, Rob, who works hard to make this interesting and Joe (very cute) on bass who plays well, but neither of them have anything to work with. It was weird and some members of the audiences were actually sniggering. Not good.
I would never want to be one to discourage young talent, but it has to be said that these boys have a little way to go before they can be appreciated. As with all the young bands we see, Kids With Fireworks have all the basics in place, but their sound has no fullness and they give the impression that they play as individuals, rather than as a band. There was far too much immature messing around on the stage with their equipment and this did not go down well with the twenty to thirty something crowd. The line up includes keyboards, which were basically a waste of time and served only to detract the guitarists from their prime objective. The vocal was steady enough, but again, could do with being stronger. Perhaps consideration could be given to all three guitarists and the drummer for that matter, taking part. Rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal is the thing for these guys. They have put their collective first foot on the ladder, but it’s a long climb. They need to discipline themselves in their individual skills, but more importantly, stop messing around and listen to each other.
When I first saw this band back in the summer I knew they were destined for great things. They have spent the time since then being the support act for bands such as Inspiral Carpets, gaining massive recognition on the live gig circuit and improving their skills beyond any expectations. They now have a My Space page where you can hear them for yourselves and really you should, because these guys are the next big commercial band we will see. This Empire are Craig on drums, Paul A on bass and backing vocal, Paul B on lead guitar and vocals and Dan on guitar and backing vocals. Their performance tonight was inspired, far from being the boy band they appeared to be at first sight, these guys have all matured to men of talent and pure worth every penny entertainment. When listening to them it is hard to believe that they have been together for only a short time. The music is full and developed. They are tight and well rehearsed, but I suspect their edge comes from so many live gigs played in such illustrious company. There is no substitute for experience and these guys now have that in shed loads. This Empire can now only go from strength to greater strength and we mere mortals can only watch in sincere admiration. Hopefully we will see them again soon, they will be playing at ArcFest In December, we will keep you advised. If you have not heard them yet, you really are missing out, put it on your ‘to do’ list !
I had visited this restaurant about a year ago and found everything to be really very nice indeed. This time, however, something was amiss. Nothing was right and just didn’t match up to my expectations, nor my memory of the first visit. Twice during the meal ingredients were missing from the plate, but only once were they hurried to the table later. The wood pigeon I ordered was variable, with one piece beautifully cooked and tender the other over cooked and tough, the risotto it was served on was too flavoursome, heavy on mustard, which overpowered the rest of the dish. It’s not every day you would choose to pay just shy of £20 for a steak and when you do you expect it to be the best, but this was not. Although cooked just as requested, it was tough. This is a poor show from whoever organises the meat purchase. My friends’ Moroccan Lamb was poor and served with, I am almost positive, packet vegetable cous cous. The dessert was tiny and stale. The staff and service were acceptable, although I fail to see why we were pushed into a far corner table upstairs, the worst in the house, when the restaurant was entirely empty downstairs when we arrived and also when we left ! At nearly £40 per head for this poor quality, we will not be going there again, this did Include £19 for a bottle of red wine.
New Tunes Up now on their My Space.com/rebellionofgennaro Death Disco Ten Sovereigns Please Mate Plastic Soul The Girl With No Name Their music is punk/rock, with a great beat and very interesting lyrics. Death Disco is an instrumental track and the only thing I could think to say about it was Why ? It really didn’t work for me, it sounds tinny and really just a waste of time. I have to say this is not the best band you will have heard, although they are good they offer nothing new. Every track has the same drum beat foundation, the guitars strum along in a very non inventive fashion and the vocals are bland for most of the time. There are sections where there is more than one vocal and this gives a fuller sound. There are places where they appear to be out of synch and possibly out of tune and this would be bad enough at a live performance, but on a recording it’s just sloppy. Give them a listen and see what you think. I really would like to know your views on this one, because this band are generally quite well regarded on the circuit. Was this merely a bad day at the studio ?
We have Aaron on lead guitar/vocals, George also on guitar and vocals, Joe on drums and Jak on bass. This is a very young punk/ska type band, who really give it all they have. They are rude, loud, energetic, cocky, everything you could possibly want from punk. Their style is reflected by their youth, they don’t care and they don’t care who knows it ! However, I think these guys really do care, because their efforts at translating their talent through their music is obvious and they are successful. The writing is second to none. Underground Heroes have achieved much in their career so far and I predict that they will go even further. The joy of young and in places raw, talent like this, is it can only grow to bigger, better and more stylish things. Look out for them, they have already done some TV, Lily Allen and Friends and you can listen to them on their My Space and if you particularly liked the punk/ska sounds of Jam then this is the band for you. They have an excellent My Space page, with lots of tracks for you to listen to and gig dates booked all over the country, if you want to catch them. This is exactly the kind of band we want to see on the live circuit, they play live with passion and determination and you are forced to enjoy yourself !
Some of the most celebrated women in the world are either of African or Asian descent and have their own beauty secrets. So, here are some tips from the world of ethnic beauty that will help you when choosing the products that will suit you best.
In the past, it’s been difficult finding make-up for black skin tones, but with carefully selected ranges of foundations, concealers, powders, bronzers and blushers from leading brand,s who are constantly researching and developing innovative beauty products for black skin, you can be sure of finding a formulation that suits your skin tone... I hope the following tips will be useful and effective in helping you enhance your own natural look and beauty. If you have darker skin you can generally pull off much stronger make-up looks than those with white skin. You can get away with wearing deeper shades on your lips and cheeks, as well as the bright or dark eye make-up that tends to make pale skin look even paler. Bronze, olive green, emerald green, sapphire blue, grey, plum and even pastel shades, can be good looks for eye make-up. Make the most of the fact that you’re not so restricted in your choice of colours by experimenting with bold eye make-up or lip colour, but keep in mind the golden rule of wearing eye-catching make-up it's either the eyes or the lips — not both ! If you have paler black skin, try caramel, coffee, toffee, chocolate brown, wine, deep plum gold, bronze, emerald green, violet and navy blue shades for eye make-up. Berry shades will work well on your lips, as will coral, bronze, terracotta, dark apricot and most deep warm pink colours. For blusher, pick a shimmery golden-pink shade to emphasise the golden undertone of your skin.
If you don't feel confident enough to wear dramatic eye make-up, take a leaf out of Halle Berry's book instead. The actress is rarely seen wearing strong eye make-up, and instead prefers to stick to the neutral shades that let her natural beauty shine through. The emphasis is usually on the lips, with a healthy glow and subtle eye make-up completing the look. An apricot or deep rose blusher will complete the look. Darker skin tones can carry off richer lip colours, so you can experiment with coral, rose, light brown and dark plum shades of lipstick and lip-gloss. Shimmery lip-gloss in one of these colours will look particularly good, and will show off the natural fullness of your lips. Lip liner usually isn't necessary as many women with black skin have full enough lips to forgo this. It's the same story with mascara. As your lashes are likely to be naturally dark in the first place, a coat of clear mascara is all you need to separate and emphasise the natural colour of your lashes. If you still feel that you need to wear mascara, a touch of light brown mascara will usually do the trick. For more glamorous occasions, metallic eyeshadow in shades such as silver and plum will create a great eye-catching look. The eyes are the focus of this look, so keep your lips simple with a slick of lip-gloss in a deep red shade such as wine or burgundy. Look beyond your skin color and examine its undertones. Rich ebony complexions usually have cool, almost blue undertones, while brown and caramel complexions have warm golden undertones. Choose foundation from shades that appear to be in your color range and may complement your complexion's undertones. Remember that foundation will look very different on your skin than it does in a bottle or on a thumbnail palette. Always test on your inner arm, this will give you some idea of how the product will look on your face. Set your makeup with a loose translucent powder. If you're blessed with a flawless even complexion, skip the foundation and opt for a tinted moisturiser or tinted powder. Contour your cheekbones with a sweep of blush. Plums, currants and mauves will flatter a medium to dark complexion. Caramel, honey and apricot will complement a medium to light complexion.
If this were a boy band, you would immediately write them off as being absolutely not good enough. The fact of the matter is, they are good, but they have the “aawwww� Factor, which makes you look at them in a different light because they are girlies. I don’t think they would like that, so I am going to speak as I found. I liked them, the drummer is very talented and one of the most creative and imaginative I have seen, the lead guitar was awesome and the bass dead on. The reality is though, their performance comes across as weak, because they do not play hard or fast enough, the drums are not hit hard enough, the vocal is too soft and does not carry any angst or emotion. The overall result is monotonous, repetitive and just short of the mark. Sorry ladies, I liked it in essence, but in reality it just was not tough enough.
ne of o u o , are y evenue, e v a ogle W vertising R o G New .V. in ad , , k 0 r £2 ertakes T et!!!! o f a andm ternet ov for the N r G r t e sell h and The In g fortnigh d ’ e Sh A bi ,000 0 0 1 th e
The Old fogies can be a bit annoying, always nagging and asking for chores to be done, but most of us shrug our shoulders and begrudgingly carry on. Zoe Pemberton however, took matters into her own hands when her Grandmother, Marian Goodall returned from hospital recovering from an operation to a knee injury. Annoyed by being asked to continually make and fetch her grandmother’s drinks, Zoe listed her on the ebay auction site. The Sale began on Sunday 27th September and a brutally honest sales pitch including ‘moans a lot and annoying’ expectations were not high for much over the 99p reserve.
However the bids started rolling in and in 24 hrs bids exceeded £1,000, then £2,000 and prior to the auction being closed the price had reached £20,451.
Wednesday of last week Google launched its Beta of the new Wave platform to 100,000 trialists. Zoe’s father said he was The service offers a surprised his mum was worth so much, however combination of email, instant messaging, she wasn’t, she thought social networking and she was worth millions. E-Bay stopped the auction remote document sharing. Launched to be on Tuesday stating that competitor to MSN and while they believed Mrs Facebook, users can Goodall would have create a ‘Wave’. Every raised a substantial sum, one within the wave can they do not allow the see what every other listings of human beings member is doing, and on the site each can actually edit the same document at the same time. Now that sound s great but could lead to complete meltdown of corporate relationships if not managed in a
professional and efficient way. Google are promoting it as ‘How email would look if it was invented today’ ‘ there would be no barriers between live instant messaging, emails and documents’ ‘Google Wave is email for the 21st Century’ 100,000 people are currently trialling it, and it will become available to everyone in 2010. Are you one of the 100,000? Let us know what you think of Wave. Hitchingigs@live.co.uk
Deal or No Deal? Pick your Box. Well if the box your left with is the T.V. Box then I’m afraid you’ve lost. For several years now on line advertising revenue has been charging up the charts as a percentage of advertising revenue and for the past 3 years has been ahead of Radio and Newspapers, but still trailing TV.
The box containing your computer is now the winner in winning advertising spend, outstripping television advertising spend for the first time. Spending nearly 30 hours a week on line, we spend more time at a computer terminal than in front of the T.V, with over 95% of us having access to broadband speeds in our home and 83% at work, the numbers of us available to advertisers is very attractive. However this is only half the story. If 5 million people watch Coronation Street, then that’s quite a large audience. When you look closely, Mum Dad, teenage daughter and 11 year old son, in one house and Grandma and Granddad in another, it’s very difficult to target the audience that will buy your brand of T-bags or latest Laptop. Whereas on line through social network sites and other demographic markers you can identify customers by age , sex, geographical area and interests. Meaning you only pay for the advert reaching the people likely to buy your product.
Google is now the largest revenue earner in Britain for advertising. The first half of this year saw a staggering £1.75 billion being spent on online advertising , up 4.6% against a back drop of an industry otherwise in deep recession. TV advertising fell by 17% and overall advertising spend fell by 16%. Guy Phillipson of the Internet Advertising Bureau stated that he believed Internet advertising still had some way to go to reach its full potential. With the convergence of the two technologies, and our ability to watch programmes on line and with On Demand Viewing, are we about to see the end of scheduled programming from commercial channels? Well, In my opinion not quite yet, but watch this space. Your view? hitchingigs@live.co.uk
Raj Swamy is a really nice young man, with a guitar, which he plays very well and some tunes, which he sings very well indeed. However, I felt this was absolutely not the right venue for Raj, he needs to be singing his songs in a much closer, friendlier atmosphere. Club 85 is much too large, the audience too distant, it was all wrong geographically for this type of acoustic performance, although he had loads of friends there who loved him and so did we. Raj would be ideally suited for somewhere like The Ivory or Molly Malones, but in Club 85 he looked exposed and vulnerable. Don’t get me wrong, he is very confident and has the heart of a lion, but a solo performer needs contact with his audience and such intimacy is not found so much on the 85 stage. Raj Swamy will appeal to all age groups, he covers a lot of popular songs and does it really well. I will be watching out for him to see how his career progresses.
An occasional article for those who are brave enough to step out of the North Herts region. This week our globetrotting photographer Michelle reports on her recent visit to Dublin. Ever since my first trip as a teenager, I have always loved Dublin. I have preferred it more to London, since Dublin is smaller and everything is within walking distance. When I returned last year and this year, not a huge amount has changed apart from tourism and the population. The city has one underground train called DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit), which runs along the coast of Dublin, from Malahide and Howth southwards as far as Greystones, Co Wicklow. I went on it once to
go to Wicklow to visit the Powerscourt Estate, which has the biggest waterfall in the Republic of Ireland. One thing that fascinates me is the Millennium Spire (also known as Monument of Light or the Spike), which sticks up at 390ft from O Connell Street and can be seen for miles. It is placed where Nelson’s Pillar (destroyed by a bomb in 1966) once was. It is made of stainless steel and has a light on the tip, seen at night. For accommodtion, the nicest spot would be near
O’Connell Street. Last year I stayed at Avalon House, which is at the back of the city on the south end on Aungier Street, which was okay, only I didn’t sleep very well. It only has private or mixed dorms and you can hear everything in the dorm like banging, people running, shouting, snoring. It was awful. The wifi was only good first thing in the morning. The only good thing was that it isn’t too far from St Stephen’s green shopping centre and Grafton Street and only up the road from Temple Bar.
whereas mine was only €15. They were only sitting next to me. The waitress did realize their mistake since their computer till was acting up and I had to remind them of what I ordered. I had a laugh over it.
This year, I stayed at Isaac’s Hostel, which is smaller and cosy. Only problem I guess is no elevators and lots of stairs. But the place is under renovations, so perhaps it will have elevators installed soon. It has more variety of rooms and better sound proofed. There is excellent wifi in reception and in the basement. The basement has an activities room, vending machines, a TV, reading area, pool table and a sauna. The hostel is very near O’ Connell Street and Talbot Street in a little alley called Frenchman’s Lane. . I was told to be careful and not go towards the right of the hostel, as it is a bad area, always exit to the left. The city has a few good cinemas. One I am most familiar with the Savoy, which always shows the latest great movies.
Apart from that, I thought it was good I first went in there service as they ask back in 1999 to see you if everything is Notting Hill then last year I saw Quantum of okay and make sure their customers are Solace and then this year I saw Dorian Grey satisfied. You are and Surrogates. There given the option to sit in or out. is a huge cinema on Parnell Street, I think its fairly new and part My favourite place of the shopping centre. for breakfast and lunch would be There is also a small Kylemore. There is one towards the college, but it doesn’t one by the Spire and another in St seem to show many Stephen’s Green good films. shopping centre. The Places to eat, there are food is gorgeous hot and cold. They had a lots of pizza and burspecial offer on. If ger places, Chinese you spend over €10, restaurants, and pubs you get a free cup of that serve food. This year I went to a burger tea or coffee with your next meal restaurant in Temple Bar called BFK. Very friendly service and their burgers are huge. They are held together with a stick with any kind of burger you like. I had chicken and it wasn’t the usual burger shape, was more like a fillet. I ordered a medium coke, they served me a large, but said they would charge for the size I asked for. One small problem I had was I nearly paid for
someone else’s order which was €43
Temple Bar sadly wasn’t the place to go at night anymore since it closed down and re-opened as a nightclub instead of a music venue for metal bands. The best place is probably Fibber Magee’s on Parnell Street is top for metal bands in Dublin and a lot for more
Eamonn Doran’s is for young people. Great Irish band called Old Season headlined and were excited I was there to photograph their performance. I bought their latest CD ‘Archaic Creation’, which is amazing. Their best track is ‘At the Hollow’; I also met with a younger band, Valediction who is similar style to Old Season. They asked me about getting gigs in London. I don’t see why that shouldn’t try it. Gigs at Fibbers range from €3 - €10. This gig was €8, which I think was due to it being Old Season’s album launch and they are huge in Dublin and most parts of Ireland, including Belfast. As a whole, Dublin is a great city to visit. There are lots of friendly people. Cab drivers are very friendly and helpful, but in some bars, drinks are quite expensive.
Do You Click All The Boxes ?
On the 27 th of November, Club 85 plays host to The Arusha Accord, Text Book Tradegy (sic) and Ghosts on Pegasus Bridge. With 19 tour dates, including Brighton and Aberdeen, between the 10th and 29th of the month, these guys are really working hard for their dues. Arusha Accord Headline, and have been described as the elite of their kind, and Britain's finest young progressive metal band. Praise indeed when you consider the immense talent in this field, even if just locally. The comments continue “ Their angulared and spazzy post-hardcore style is a unique jump from done before melodies, and the contrast of beautiful clear vocal and agonized yelps, make The Arusha Accord one of the most exhilarating acts around.” I’m not sure what angulared and spazzy sound like, but for sure we will be there to find out. I strongly urge you to be there too, if you are a heavy metal fan or if you just want your own ‘Spazzy’ reference point. A Textbook Tradegy in support have been described as having spent too many hours indoors perfecting the guitar due to the result of bitter encounters. All the way from Canada, these ‘Tech Wizards’ may well be worth a view in their own right. All in all a night I am looking forward to, let your friends know, and make sure you come down. The truth is if these guys are half as good as the hype, this may well be the only chance you get to see them without paying Wembley Prices.
Appearing at Club 85 November 27th 2009
Blonde Louis - Hitchin 14 + Town Hall Oct 9th 19.00 to 23.00 Snakbite+Tonne+Seethe +More ThanDust Club 85 Oct 10th 19.30 to 23.00 Presented by Bloodline Scallywags Massive Molly Malones Party Molly Malones Oct 10th 8.30 to 11.45 Paul David Ex Guys and Dolls
Www.hitchingigs.co.uk
Sir John Barleycorn Oct 16th 21.00 to 23.15 My Passion -
All ages matinee (featuring Chaos Baby, Kate is The Decoy, Angeni)
Remix Bar and Nightclub 17th December 17.00 to 21.30
Do You Click All The Boxes ?
The Smoking Hearts + Kunt and The Gang Club 85
October 24th 19.30 to 23.00 The Holloways + Vaults + City Kings + Rebellion of Gennero Remix Banr and Nightclub
24th October 19.30 to 02.00 Base in The Place presents House/Dance/Break Beats Hitchin Foorball Club
October 29th 8.00 till October 30th midnight The Otters, Never Means Maybe and Co Also this part is Js and Wooden Casi8no Club 85 October 30th 19.45 to 23.30
Stanton Wamors,Altem-8, Andy Theakstone
Find out by signing up to our New Free Weekly Newesletter At www.hitchingigs.co.uk
Rivernoat Georgina/Remix
October 31st 16.00 till October 31st 04.00 D J Fee-line Halloween and I’m DJ’ing Get In !!!!! The Venue (formerly The Phoenix) October 31st 20.00 to 00.00
Do You Click All The Boxes ?
Rogue Radio Red Dollar 3rd Law 9 Yards Up Angels Standing By
Brinante The Rock Factor The Broadcast
Burn My Enemies Kilto Take Optimist Pig TV In Remission Spiked Wooden Casino BetaBoy
Suzuka Agile Beast
Scream! Shout! Say Nothing
The Scallywags Tinker Jack The Billy Hunts The October Game This Empire
ArcFest A three day festival organised and promoted by Sound Arc Studios Shefford More than thirty five bands playing over three days at Club 85, Whinbush Road
December 4th, 5th and 6th For all current updates please check ArcFest on Facebook More information in Issue Nine of Hitchin Gigs and Gadgets