The Skinny Northwest December 2015 by The Skinny

BOOK NOW: 0161 832 1111 MANchesteracademy.net NEW MODEL ARMY

+ GUN + DUB PISTOLS + TV SMITH SATURDAY 5TH DECEMBER

THE DARKNESS - BLAST OF OUR KIND TOUR THESE RAVEN SKIES + THE RIVER 68’S THURSDAY 10TH DECEMBER

NECK DEEP

+ STATE CHAMPS + CREEPER + LIGHT YEARS THURSDAY 4TH FEBRUARY

BLOC PARTY, DRENGE, RAT BOY AND BUGZY MALONE

FORMERLY THE MDH

LISSIE

SATURDAY 5TH DECEMBER

SIKTH

+ HACKTIVIST SUNDAY 6TH DECEMBER

NME AWARDS TOUR 2016 WITH AUSTIN TEXAS

ONE OK ROCK

BOWLING FOR SOUP

HOPE FOR CHRISTMAS II WITH PAUL HEATON & JACQUI ABBOTT

SATURDAY 6TH FEBRUARY

+ THE DOLLY ROTS + LACEY + MC LARS FRIDAY 5TH FEBRUARY

HURTS FRIDAY 12TH FEBRUARY

MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS THURSDAY 18TH FEBRUARY

SOUL II SOUL FT. JAZZIE B & CARON WHEELER

+ JAMES TAYLOR QUARTET + AFTER SHOW DJ SET FROM NORMAN JAY MBE SATURDAY 20TH FEBRUARY

SABATON / ALESTORM

MONDAY 7TH DECEMBER

SATURDAY 12TH DECEMBER

CHAMELEONS VOX

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS… 2015 THE FAN AND THE BELLOWS & EARLY RECORDINGS + EVI VINE + FROM CARBON FRIDAY 18TH DECEMBER

CHAMELEONS VOX

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS… 2015

P.S. GOODBYE – A MAD JACK JUKEBOX SELECTED BY THE AUDIENCE + SPECIAL GUESTS OSKARS DRUM – PATRICK FITZGERALD & YVES ALTANA (KITCHENS OF DISTINCTION / CHAMELEONS VOX) SATURDAY 19TH DECEMBER

NAHKO AND MEDICINE FOR THE PEOPLE

FORMERLY THE HOP & GRAPE

NOTHING MORE

TUESDAY 8TH DECEMBER

THE DEAD DAISES THURSDAY 10TH DECEMBER

ROXY MUSIQUE

WOLF ALICE

THURSDAY 10TH MARCH

GRIMES

+ HANA SATURDAY 12TH MARCH

BOYCE AVENUE

SUNDAY 13TH MARCH

BEN HAENOW FRIDAY 15TH APRIL

HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD FRIDAY 22ND APRIL

LUSH SATURDAY 30TH APRIL

IMPERICON FESTIVAL 2016 MONDAY 2ND MAY

GIGANTIC VOL 3 FT: THE WONDER STUFF + HOUSE OF LOVE + THE DARLING BUDS, THE FRANK AND WALTERS, BMX BANDITS, CUD, S*M*A*S*H, THE TELESCOPES, MENSWE@R, BIVOUAC & JACK ADAPTOR (THE FAMILY CAT) SATURDAY 28TH MAY

THE CADILLAC THREE SUNDAY 31ST JANUARY

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS MONDAY 1ST FEBRUARY

TESSERACT BASEMENT

+ TIGERS JAW + ALEX G WEDNESDAY 10TH FEBRUARY

THE ARISTOCRATS

SATURDAY 12TH DECEMBER

+ THE CREATURE COMFORT + THE CAPITAL SATURDAY 19TH DECEMBER

THE HIGH

THERION

+ MY IGLOO + STILL CITY SOUND + DJ TIN TIN (NEW ORDER TOUR) SUNDAY 13TH DECEMBER

HOWIE DAY

SATURDAY 16TH JANUARY

ESCAPE THE FATE

THURSDAY 28TH JANUARY

THE GHOST INSIDE

KALIN & MYLES

THURSDAY 11TH FEBRUARY

RON POPE & THE NIGHTHAWKS

SYMPHONY X

SATURDAY 13TH FEBRUARY

+ TREVOR HALL + TRUETT

SATURDAY 16TH JANUARY

SHUGGIE OTIS

CANCER BATS

FRIDAY 19TH FEBRUARY

SATURDAY 23RD JANUARY

PEARL JAM UK

FRIDAY 29TH JANUARY

BOY & BEAR

THE JADE ASSEMBLY

SUNDAY 21ST FEBRUARY

SATURDAY 13TH FEBRUARY

+ NORDIC GIANTS FRIDAY 5TH FEBRUARY

SATURDAY 12TH DECEMBER

EVIL BLIZZARD’S BLIZZMAS BALL

BIG COUNTRY

FRIDAY 15TH JANUARY

WEDNESDAY 11TH MARCH

MANC FLOYD

TUESDAY 15TH DECEMBER

FRIDAY 11TH DECEMBER

BAABA MAAL

+ THE SHEEPDOGS SUNDAY 24TH JANUARY

WEDNESDAY 9TH DECEMBER

THURSDAY 10TH DECEMBER

WEDNESDAY 9TH DECEMBER

AN EVENING WITH MACHINE HEAD

CHRIS RAMSEY: ALL GROWED UP

THE ZOMBIES

THE LOX

THE RUTLES

TUESDAY 15TH DECEMBER

THE TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT

SATURDAY 5TH DECEMBER

MAXI JAZZ & THE E-TYPE BOYS

+ KIM CHURCHILL FRIDAY 22ND JANUARY

SATURDAY 23RD JANUARY

UK FOO FIGHTERS

MONDAY 7TH DECEMBER

SATURDAY 27TH FEBRUARY TUESDAY 8TH MARCH

FORMERLY THE CELLAR

TRAGEDY: ALL METAL TRIBUTE TO THE BEE GEES AND BEYOND

RHINO’S REVENGE TUESDAY 17TH FEBRUARY

SATURDAY 12TH MARCH

SNUFF

DAN REED NETWORK + TYKETTO

THURSDAY 18TH FEBRUARY

THERAPY?

LIMEHOUSE LIZZY

SUNDAY 13TH MARCH

THE RIFLES

DECAPITATED

THURSDAY 17TH MARCH

FRIDAY 4TH MARCH SATURDAY 12TH MARCH

REEF

THURSDAY 17TH MARCH

CROSSFAITH

SATURDAY 26TH MARCH

LOGIC

SATURDAY 23RD APRIL

KING KING

+ DAN PATLANSKY THURSDAY 12TH MAY

G-EAZY

MONDAY 23RD MAY

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@manchesteracademy

SATURDAY 27TH FEBRUARY

TONY MORTIMER & HIS BAND

+ SYLOSIS SATURDAY 15TH MARCH

LIFE OF AGONY

SATURDAY 19TH MARCH

ROACHFORD

FRIDAY 18TH MARCH

ROMEO’S DAUGHTER SATURDAY 2ND APRIL

ALIAS KID FRIDAY 30TH APRIL

MATT & KIM

MONDAY 4TH APRIL

CASH (THE UK’S NO.1 JOHNNY CASH TRIBUTE) SATURDAY 30TH APRIL

MANCHESTER ACADEMY PRESENTS PETER HOOK & THE LIGHT

FRIDAY 16TH SEPTEMBER

FOR UP TO DATE LISTINGS VISIT MANChesteracademy.net

DECEMBER LIVE LISTINGS ——————————————————————————————————— THU 03 SHURA ——————————————————————————————————— FRI 04 ANE BRUN ——————————————————————————————————— SAT 05 GROUP THERAPY COMEDY CLUB

JOHN KEARNS

——————————————————————————————————— WED 09 THE MAGIC NUMBERS ——————————————————————————————————— THU 10 THE TWILIGHT SAD ——————————————————————————————————— FRI 11 NETSKY ——————————————————————————————————— SOLD OUT SAT 12 EL VY ——————————————————————————————————— WED 16 AMATEUR TRANSPLANTS

ADAM KAY’S SLUTTY XMAS SONGS

——————————————————————————————————— SUN 20 DAVID FORD ——————————————————————————————————— DECEMBER CLUB LISTINGS

december listings live

03.DEC

BLOC PARTY

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

04.DEC

GUY GARVEY

FRI 04 BLUEBIRD KID CLARK £8/7PM

SAT 12 THE ORIELLES £5/7PM SUN 13 JOHN BRAMWELL SOLD OUT/7PM

SAT 05 MUMIY TROLL £15/7PM TUE 08 THE COMPUTERS £8/7PM WED 09 JEFFREY LEWIS & LOS BOLTS £11/7:30PM

MON 14 JOHN BRAMWELL £17/7PM FRIDAY 18 RIVET CITY £6/7:30PM

05.DEC

GUY GARVEY

06.DEC

DJANGO DJANGO

07. DEC

THE KOOKS

09.DEC

SAINT ETIENNE

11.DEC

LIANNE LA HAVAS

13.DEC

THE MANCHESTER FESTIVE HAPPENING

19.DEC

MAXIMO PARK 10TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW

SAT 19 CUPIDS £7.50/7PM

THU 10 FEDERAL CHARM £TBC/7:30PM

18.JAN

THE MACCABEES

19.JAN

THE MACCABEES

21.JAN

DAUGHTER

28.JAN

GABREILLE APLIN

04.FEB

club listings

SKUNK ANANSIE

08.FEB

JOHN GRANT

——————————————————————————————————— FRI 04

LUV DANCIN’ — KENNY DOPE

(house/ disco)

——————————————————————————————————— SAT 05 KALUKI PRESENTS ACID MONDAYS,

CITIZENN, PIRATE COPY, SOLARDO (house)

——————————————————————————————————— FRI 11 JUICY XMAS PARTY! (RnB/Hip Hop)

——————————————————————————————————— SAT 12 TIME BANDITS — MARK FANCIULLI (house)

——————————————————————————————————— FRI 18 FAUX BASEMENT — AUDIOWHORES,

JON FITZ, ADAM GUY

(house)

——————————————————————————————————— SAT 26 RETRO — DAVOS, JIMI POLO,

ROB TISERRA, PAUL TAYLOR

(house / old skool)

——————————————————————————————————— DENNIS FERRER, JOSH BUTLER, NYE

FRI 04 HIGHER GROUND

SAT 19 GIRLS ON FILM

£3/11PM

FREE B4 11PM/£4.50 10PM

COME AND PARTY TO THE SOUNDS OF THE 60S

SAT 05 GIRLS ON FILM

80S DANCE POP OF THE HIGHEST ORDER

FREE B4 11PM/£4.50 10PM FRI 11 POP CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

80S DANCE POP OF THE HIGHEST ORDER

THU 31 NYE GIRLS ON FILM HIGHER GROUND GOO £10/£12/9PM

£4.50/10PM

EVERY TUESDAY GOLD TEETH

SAT 12 GIRLS ON FILM

80S DANCE POP OF THE HIGHEST ORDER

FREE B4 11PM/£4.50 10PM FRI 18 GOO

FREE B4 11PM/£4.50 10PM

EVERY WEDNESDAY TNT: TACOS N TEQUILA EVERY THURSDAY ELLIOT EASTWICK’S WORLD FAMOUS PUB QUIZ

THE KERRANG! TOUR: SUM 41

20.FEB

CITY AND COLOUR

22.FEB

SAVAGES

27.FEB

12.MAR

BLOSSOMS SCOTT BRADLEE’S POSTMODERN JUKEBOX THE CORAL

18.MAR

HALF MOON RUN

19.MAR

VIDEO GAMES LIVE

30.MAR

NEWTON FAULKNER

09. APR

JACK GARRATT

22.APR

EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY

05.MAY

ANASTACIA

13.MAY

FATHER JOHN MISTY

10.JUN

DR JOHN COOPER CLARKE

OPENING HOURS MON — SUN : 4PM — LATE BURGERS, CRAFT BEER & COCKTAILS HAPPY HOUR 4PM — 7PM THE DEAF INSTITUTE 135 GROSVENOR STREET. MANCHESTER. M1 7HE

WWW.THISISGORILLA.COM

18.FEB

(house / techhouse)

———————————————————————————————————

BEIRUT

04.MAR

——————————————————————————————————— KALUKI — RICHY AHMED, NYD

PIRATE COPY, PETE ZORBA, SOLARDO

13.FEB

POP CLASSICS + GUILTY PLEASURES

INDIE, BRITPOP & GRUNGE

SUEDE

COVERT, EXPLOIT, PIRATE COPY, DILLA

(house)

09.FEB

WWW.THEDEAFINSTITUTE.CO.UK

29.OCT

JOHN CARPENTER

18.NOV

WILCO

ALBERTHALLMANCHESTER.COM INFO@ALBERTHALLMANCHESTER.COM f: /ALBERTHALLMANCHESTER t: /ALBERTHALLMCR

December 2015

I N D E P E N D E N T

C U LT U R A L

J O U R N A L I S M

Issue 33, December 2015 ÂŠ Radge Media Ltd. Get in touch: E: hiya@theskinny.co.uk T: 0161 833 3124 P: The Skinny, Second Floor, Swan Buildings, 20 Swan Street, Manchester, M4 5JW The Skinny is distributing 22,710 copies across Liverpool and Manchester, a wide range of advertising packages and affordable ways to promote your business are available. Get in touch to find out more.

E: sales@theskinny.co.uk All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without the explicit permission of the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within this publication do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the printer or the publisher.

Printed by Mortons Print Limited, Horncastle ABC verified Jan â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Dec 2014: 22,710

Editorial Northwest Editor Film & Deputy Editor Events Editor Music Editor Art Editor Books Editor Clubs Editor Comedy Editor Deviance Editor Fashion Editor Food Editor Tech Editor Theatre Editor Travel Editor

Lauren Strain Jamie Dunn Simon Jay Catling Dave Kerr Sacha Waldron Holly Rimmer-Tagoe Daniel Jones John Stansfield Kate Pasola Alexandra Fiddes Lauren Phillips John Donaghy Jennifer Chamberlain Paul Mitchell

Production Production Manager Designer Sub Editor Editorial Assistant

Amy Minto Thom Isom Kristian Doyle Will Fitzpatrick

Sales Commercial Director Sales & Digital Marketing Analyst Sales Executive

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Lead Designer

Sigrid Schmeisser

General Manager

Kyla Hall

Editor-in-Chief Chief Operating Officer Publisher

Rosamund West Lara Moloney Sophie Kyle

Printed on 100% recycled paper

Contents

THE SKINNY

Photo: Daniel Harris

Photo: Stuart Moulding

P.47 Matthew Darbyshire - CAPTCHA No. 40 - Doryphoros (2015)

Photo: Michael Pollard

P.36 Christmas Cards

P.25 Jenny Lee Lindberg

Illustration: Josie Sommer

P.18 Stealing Sheep

Contents

Up Front

06 Chat & Opinion: Welcome to the

magazine! Get yr news fix with Stop the Presses, Spot the Difference to win a book, admire our Shot of the Month and despair of your future with BALLS.

Gift Guide: What to buy those film buffs and arts-and-crafts lovers in your life this Christmas.

Gift Guide: Some Xmas gift ideas for bookworms, taken from the best of indie publishing in 2015.

08 Heads Up: Our Christmas gift to you all: a two-page guide to this month’s mustattend cultural events. (Please note: do not re-gift this to a loved one, you cheapskate.)

Features 10

An epic rundown of the best Albums of 2015.

Our writers and local artists, including Outfit, Kepla and ILL, get together to discuss some of the best noise from the Northwest over the past 12 months.

Did our film writers lose their minds and award Adam Sandler joint Pixels as 2015’s best film? Turn to our Films of the Year to find out.

Misfit director Guy Maddin tells us how he brought cinema's past to life in new film The Forbidden Room.

Gothic horror: a great alternative to the horror of panto! We speak to Melly Still, director of Liverpool Playhouse’s unusual Christmas production, The Haunting of Hill House.

Ahead of Rachel Holmes’ discussion on the fading legacy of feminist literary translator Eleanor Marx at The Portico Library, we trace a familiar pattern of forgotten women in literature. Sleater-Kinney's Carrie Brownstein explains why her new book, Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl, isn’t your run-of-themill musical memoir. Jennylee takes time out from Warpaint to move to her own rhythms with her first solo record, right on! Gavin Cross of Funny Looking Podcast tells us about his new live comedy venture, Funny Looking Presents.

Deviance: We wish a very kinky Christmas to all you Chrimbophiles out there, and a “terrible feminist” confesses her three uncomfortable feminism flaws. Gift Guide: Our games team chalk up the Games of the Year that kept them indoors and out of what little sunlight there was in 2015.

December 2015

Showcase: Once again we’ve invited The Skinny’s beloved illustrators and Showcase artists to come up with some alternative Christmas Cards. Food and Drink: No need to scoff junk food while on your Chrimbo shopping, thanks to our guides to the best eats at Liverpool and Manchester’s Christmas Markets. Plus food news and reviews.

Review 41

Music: We steal time with Tame Impala’s creative mastermind, Kevin Parker; report from the latest live shows from Joanna Newsom and The Mountain Goats; plus run down yr new records, including albums from jennylee, Blanck Mass and Band of Gold.

Clubs: We catch up with Cerrone at Red Bull Music Academy's recent event in Paris.

Art: Reviews of HOME’s new group exhibition, Safe, and Matthew Darbyshire’s show at Manchester Art Gallery.

Danny Sutcliffe, the most Christmassy of standups, gives you a spider-filled advent calendar. Who needs chocolates?

Lifestyle 28

Gift Guide: Not sure what to get your fashionable loved ones this Christmas? Our blogger correspondents have some handy hints.

Film: Terence Davies’ long-awaited Sunset Song finally makes it to the screen and we review a new doc investigating the underground scene of chemsex. DVD: Amy Schumer’s Trainwreck and NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton come to DVD, plus we hear from the team behind Glasgow Film Festival. Comedy: Tayo Cousins becomes the latest standup to go under our Comedy Spotlight. Plus, win tickets to The Haunting of Hill House at Liverpool Playhouse in Competitions. Listings: As if your life wasn’t hectic enough this month, we’ve compiled these listings to make you even busier. Thank us later. Out back: Keeping it unreal as per usual, Mr Scruff delivers his sack full of Xmas hits.

The Skinny_December 2015.qxp_Layout 1 24/11/2015 15:56 Page 1

NEW GIGS The Rails

Sunday 24 January 8pm, Music Room £12 –

John Grant

Sunday 7 February 7.30pm from £22 –

Ryley Walker & Danny Thompson Thursday 25 February 8pm, Music Room £16 –

Cast with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Saturday 27 February 7.30pm from £25 –

Mawkin

Sunday 6 March 8pm, Music Room £12 –

Gregory Porter

Sunday 17 April 7.30pm from £30 –

Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman Saturday 23 April 8pm, Music Room £14

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall Box Office 0151 709 3789 liverpoolphil.com Image Gregory Porter

Contents

Editorial

s a magazine cataloguing the local cultural landscape, we’re almost contractually obliged to acknowledge – nay, celebrate – Christmas, but if you don’t happen to find this time of year the most wonderful, we hope there’s still plenty of material in this ’ere Skinny to find diverting. Example! Ahead of an event celebrating the life and work of Eleanor Marx, our Books editor considers why so many key women and their literary, political and historical impact are not only overlooked but wilfully diminished in a stirring piece on page 22. Example! Film speaks to odd-one-out filmmaker Guy Maddin about The Forbidden Room, a strange cinematic séance that conjures the ghosts of lost movies (p20). Example! As a theatrical adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s novel The Haunting of Hill House comes to Liverpool Playhouse, director Melly Still tells us about the challenges of creating effective horror on stage (p21). Example! Comedian Danny Sutcliffe wrestles his way into the editor’s chair and sets fire to The Skinny style guide to create a Frankenstein’s monster of an advent calendar... oh wait, that doesn’t count. Well; depends how Christmassy you find George Clooney and a plague of spiders, I guess. (All is explained – or not – on p27.) On to that unavoidable end-of-year feeling. 2015. Where did it go? What was it like? Can anyone remember what we... did? As life speeds queasily by, we can at least take comfort in the continuing production of marvellous works of artistic merit, some of which have been compiled into lists within this very magazine. As ever, our Music, Film and Games teams nominate the releases that impressed them, moved them, or at the very least achieved a surprisingly pleasing combination of abs and aplomb (hello, Magic Mike XXL) this year. With Gift Guides (from p29) surveying the year’s best independent publishing, the region’s Christmas markets and fashion bloggers’ style picks, you’ll hopefully be able to check a couple of folk off your present list; and we’re even treated to a Mariah-free zone on the back page, courtesy of a Christmas playlist from

one of Manchester’s finest selectors, Mr. Scruff. Meanwhile, on p36, many of the fantastic illustrators and artists who make The Skinny look amazing every month have created a Christmas card just for us (i.e. for you!) Finally, we’re pleased to say we’re supporting a great night of live poetry and music in Liverpool next month – and we’d love you to come join the party. Edinburgh-based performance collective and promoters Neu! Reekie! have been pulling together jamboree-style lineups of poets, performers and musicians for five years now, and attracting the likes of Irvine Welsh, Young Fathers, Jackie Kay and Liverpool favourites Bill Ryder-Jones and Bird in the process – and they head down to the Northwest for the first time for a showcase at LEAF on Bold Street on 28 January. On the bill are spoken word sensation Hollie McNish, Eugene Kelly of The Vaselines, Pete Wylie of The Mighty Wah!, Forward Prize-nominated poet Eleanor Rees, and loads more – plus, the night is the totes offish launch of new label, Triassic Tusk. Tickets are just £5 earlybirds from Brown Paper Tickets and it’s sure to be an infectiously energetic affair. We hope to see you there! Thank you for picking up, reading and supporting The Skinny in 2015. From everyone here in the Northwest and at our sister paper in Scotland, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. ON THE COVER: Joachim Sperl was born in a small town and grew up in a village somewhere in the Odenwald, Germany. He studied (after an aborted Architectural studies) Graphic Design in Hamburg, Germany and at the Buckinghamshire New University, UK, under Paul Plowman. Based in Hamburg, Joachim works as a freelance graphic designer and illustrator. He wants to drink more tea instead of coffee in the future. joachimsperl.com Creative Commons Pictures Credits: Ben Loomis, Alan Light, World Economic Forum, Soli, Ralph Arvesen, Slackerwood, JViejo, State Farm, Frank Vassen

The January Issue: Out 5 Jan

Illustration: Mica Warren

The results of our third annual Food & Drink Survey are in! Pick up The Skinny when it hits the streets to be the first to see where, who and what you voted for, from yr favourite spots for a date to the best local beer. Plus: we’ve

interviews with the magisterial Daughter, legendary wordsmith Saul Williams and pillars of post-rock Tortoise to look forward to. Happy ruddy Christmas.

Online Only Eyes to the website Your guide to the best options for New Year’s Eve in Liverpool and Manchester: theskinny.co.uk/clubs A report from the launch of FACT’s new exhibition, Follow, featuring new work by LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner hot on the heels of #ALLMYMOVIES: theskinny.co.uk/art Critic and former Granta editor John Freeman tells us about his starry new literary journal, Freeman’s; Claire-Louise Bennett and Helen McClory discuss their utterly unique short story collections; we’ve reviews of Kevin Barry’s Goldsmiths Prize-winning Beatlebone and Charles Bukowski’s Cats; plus, tips on getting your first novel published. theskinny.co.uk/books

We speak to Agyness Deyn and Kevin Guthrie, the stars of Terence Davies’ long-awaited adaptation of Sunset Song. We also hear from the director, writer and star of Swung, a surprisingly mature comedy about the swinging scene in Glasgow. Plus, as an addendum to our Films of the Year, we give a nod to the overlooked films that fell through the critical cracks in 2015. theskinny.co.uk/film The rest of our Christmas Gift Guides: Food & Drink (theskinny.co.uk/food), board games (theskinny.co.uk/tech/gaming) and experiential gifts (theskinny.co.uk/art). Loads more Christmas cards from our amazing illustrators! theskinny.co.uk/art

Spot the Difference

Illustration: Sophie Heywood

Awwww. This image of the internet's favourite creature wrapped up in Christmas lights should be familiar to you all. But if you look at these two pictures really carefully you’ll notice something is amiss and they aren’t quite identical. Yes, you want to take them both home and cuddle them, but what sets them apart?

Shot of the Month

Wavves, Sound Control, 16 Nov, by Richard Manning

Chat

If you can’t spot it straight away, don’t worry, just grab your notebook, take a drive down to the lost river or that lovely place beyond the pines and have a think. If you still can’t get it, what can I say? You’re clearly both crazy and stupid, love.

If you have worked out the difference between the two, head to theskinny.co.uk/competitions and share your thoughts. The funniest and most inventive findings win Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon courtesy of our pals at Canongate. Competition closes midnight Sun 3 Jan. Winners will be notified via email within two working days of closing and will be required to respond within 24 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Our Ts&Cs can be found at theskinny.co.uk/about/terms

THE SKINNY

displayed includes poetry from The Coral's Nick Power and two monologues from Powerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s forthcoming book Holy Nowhere. Go to coneysloft. com to find out more.

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re delighted to be supporting kickass spoken word, music and poetry night Neu! Reekie! as it heads to Liverpoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s LEAF on 28 January with an exciting show. On the bill: spoken word star Hollie McNish, Eugene Kelly of the Vaselines, Liverpool mainstay Pete Wylie and Forward Prize-shortlisted poet Eleanor Rees. Neu! Reekie's events are a fixture on the Edinburgh lit scene â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re sure spoken word fans in Liverpool will take a similar shine to the night led by poets Michael Pedersen and Kevin Williamson. Tickets are ÂŁ5 from Brown Paper Tickets. This spring, FACT in Liverpool will be unveiling unfold, a new cross-media work from Japanese visual artist and electronic composer Ryoichi Kurokowa. The artwork will explore the birth and evolution of stars and offer viewers an artistic, yet scientific, representation of how the solar system was born, and how our galaxy might evolve. Unfold will be Kurokowaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first UK solo show, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still looking for its last bit of funding, which is where you come in. FACT will be crowdfunding for the final 10% in order to realise this artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision, which FACT claims will â&#x20AC;&#x153;transport audiences into space through beautifully visual and sonic environments.â&#x20AC;? You can support this unique artist at kickstarter. com/projects/factliverpool/world-premiere-ofryoichi-kurokawas-new-commission New website Coney's Loft â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which will curate work by local writers, artists and musicians â&#x20AC;&#x201C; launched last month. Founded by analogue collage artist Low Coney, the website will feature band sessions, a culture publication, and shop selling carefully curated art and premium vintage clothing. Among the first work to be

Ace music mag Bido Lito! have launched #GuestlistGiving, a new fundraising campaign aiming to raise money for The Whitechapel Centre, the leading homeless and housing charity in Liverpool. Running until 28 Jan, the campaign aims to raise money by asking anyone on the guest list at any affiliated gig during this period to make a small donation (say, ÂŁ1) to the charity. Promoters EVOL, Harvest Sun, Circus, Chibuku, Mellowtone, Ceremony Concerts and Abandon Silence, and venues The Kazimier, Buyers Club and Constellations, are among those already signed up to support the campaign. So, next gig youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re at, dig deep! Head to bidolito. co.uk for a full list of affiliated shows and find out more information about the work of The Whitechapel Centre a whitechapelcentre.co.uk One Fine Night are putting on their first exhibition in January and have just released an open call for artworks of all disciplines relating to â&#x20AC;&#x153;the surveillance of women, new technologies and the dichotomy of women being observed, yet not seen.â&#x20AC;? To find out more and how to submit work, head to onefinenight.wordpress.com Liverpool-based art and record label PRODUCT have launched their new website. Head to product.uk.com for info on its forthcoming releases from IMMIX Ensemble, Simon Jones and Lexington. The label, which describes itself as â&#x20AC;&#x153;exploring the physicality of performance and experience, the artefact, consumerism, celebrity, documentation and collecting whilst navigating financial disaster,â&#x20AC;? will also be launching a new bar/shop/social/event space at Static Gallery in early 2016. Watch this space for more details.

www.jockmooney.com

Maguireâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pizza Bar in Liverpool are running a shoebox appeal on 5 Dec for homeless and less fortunate people around Merseyside. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how it works: you can swap a shoebox full of little presents for a pizza for a pound! To find out more, head to Maguireâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pizza Barâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Facebook page.

JINGLE BALLS. with Mystic Mark ARIES You get a job at the new Madame Tussauds brothel, helping punters select which wax celebrity to bang, presenting them afterwards with their souvenir photograph and balloon. Your job also involves giving the groins and faces of each model a quick once-over with an antibacterial wipe a few times a day.

TAURUS In an act of incredibly stupid generosity, this month you leave all your organs in a plastic bag outside the charity shop. GEMINI Encrypt all your messages by changing them into Zapf Dingbats before sending.

CANCER The police finally arrest Prince Charming for a spate of offences including kissing one sleeping teen princess and stealing the coffin of another. Prosecutors allege that Charmingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s obsession with inanimate women make him a clear and present danger to the public. Other princesses have since come forward following the arrest, with allegations going back hundreds of years.

LEO Christmas is postponed this year after Santa has to have all his presents scanned for explosives prior to being allowed to take to the skies. Put your tree up late February and expect the backlog of presents to be cleared around March.

LIBRA Beginning the autopsy, your father takes a deep breath making the first incision below the breast, peeling back the flesh and laying it in a dish. The subject has been dismembered, a string tied around the ankles post-mortem, but there are no signs of a struggle before the culprit tried to burn the

Holy Nowhere by Low Coney (2015)

December 2015

VIRGO Blaming your farts on the dog is one thing, but blaming it for the used condoms your partner finds down the side of the bed is a bridge too far.

cadaver. Examining the rear he finds it to have been violently violated by the insertion of a pricked lemon and Paxoâ&#x201E;˘ stuffing. This ties it to previous cases, suggesting we could be looking at a serial killer. Taking off the gloves and mask, Dad solemnly announces to everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s horror that he has reason to believe the murderer is in this very room.

SCORPIO This month your cat pushes its head so far up its bum that its head comes out of its own mouth.

SAGITTARIUS As you slip yet another thick wad of cash into his top pocket, your vet begs you to please start using lube or heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have to report you to the authorities the next time he has to stitch your pet lizard back together. Or at least buy a bigger lizard.

CAPRICORN This Christmas everyone gets together to give Jesus a surprise birthday bash, no one puts up any decorations and everyone pretends that theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not doing anything special this year. But then, on Christmas eve, the entire planet hides in the living room all night waiting for Jesus to turn up, until they remember he doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t exist.

AQUARIUS On your deathbed you ask the nurse if itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not too much trouble could she text your mum and tell her youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re dead.

PISCES Santa cantankerously refuses to renege on his climate change denial in a press conference, claiming the science is bunkum and he has evidence the melting of the North Pole is actually caused by kids getting naughtier. He has also announced the delivery of coal to naughty children will continue despite the Climate Commissionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s insistence that it will only make the problem worse.

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Benjamin Clementine

Polar Bear

Sun 6 Dec

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We're not going to apologise for banging on about The Kazimier closing its doors – it's going to be hugely missed, after all. Today, Arkade hosts a retrospective of the venue's artwork, artefacts and history from the last eight years plus stalls from a host of carefully picked collaborators. The Kazimier, Liverpool, noon, Free

Expect all manner of strange, funny stuff in a mega massive multimedia laughstravaganza, brought to you by the good people at Quippodrome – returning for their final Gullivers slot of the year, having established themselves as one of the best cult comedy nights in the city. Gullivers, Manchester, 7.30pm, £4

New film Music in Leeds, Vol. 1 gets its premiere tonight, spanning the recent history of popular alternative music in Leeds, from The Bridewell Taxis to ¡Forward, Russia!. Made by magazine The City Talking, the documentary looks set to uncover some of Leeds' music scene's most intriguing characters and stories. Belgrave Music Hall, Leeds, details TBC

Jeffrey Lewis returns to Manchester with his seventh album in tow. The charismatic rock'n'roller also has a new band with him, Los Bolts, who'll join him as he plays tracks from Manhattan, Lewis's first record in four years (although he's squeezed 550-odd shows in since then, mind). The Deaf Institute, Manchester, 7.30pm, £11

Quippodrome

Music in Leeds, Vol. 1

Arkade

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Nearly four years since their last Greater Manchester show, and enjoying a raft of acclaim not just from recent LP Atomos but also a slot supporting Nils Frahm at the Royal Albert Hall, A Winged Victory for the Sullen bring their wistful, brooding ambience to a comparatively intimate setting. St Philip's Church, Salford, 7.30pm, £Returns

Now becoming one of the veterans of the contemporary British folk scene, Seth Lakeman has done more than most to push the country's singer-songwriters into the public's line of vision. The former Mercury Prize nominee is winding down a mammoth run in support of 2014's superb seventh solo LP Word of Mouth. Leeds Town Hall, 7.30pm, £22.50

Right before Christmas is a bold time to launch a new comedy night, but that hasn't deterred Château le Bomb, who take the standup stars of tomorrow and get them to work on new material against the clock. Skinny favourite Liam Pickford is among the first batch trying their luck. The Castle Hotel, Manchester, 7.30pm, £3

A Winged Victory for the Sullen

Photo: Nick & Chloé

Mon 14 Dec

Jeffrey Lewis

Seth Lakeman

Liam Pickford

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Those who missed out on Chester yesterday can join the stampede at the Manchester Christmas Markets today, as Mancunians fight over the last bratwurst, Dutch pancake thing and novelty vinyl clock before they all pack up for good. Until next year, you Christmas colossus. Various locations, Manchester, 10am, Free

For those fed up of festive merriment, a screening of Aleksei German's Hard to be a God provides respite. A phantasmagoric adaptation of the revered sci-fi novel by the Strugatsky brothers, the film follows a group of scientists who are allowed to observe another planet as long as they don't interfere in its historical or political development. FACT, Liverpool, 6pm, prices vary

Roald Dahl's lovable The BFG comes to the stage this festive season, with today seeming like as good a time as any to catch the tale of a giant's unlikely friendship with a small child, who he subsequently takes to his weird giant otherworld. Her parents seem remarkably cool about it all. Octagon Theatre, Bolton, until 9 Jan, prices vary

The Manchester Chorale and the Manchester Concert Orchestra team up for an evening of Christmas carols on the eve of the big day itself. Expect all your favourites here, from older classics like O Come, All Ye Faithful to pop hits like I Wish It Could Be Christmas. Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, 3pm, from £16.50

Manchester Christmas Markets

Hard to be a God

The BFG

Photo: Ian Tilton

Tue 22 Dec

Photo: Mark Waugh

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We're dropping in a lot at Bridgewater Hall this winter but, to be honest, nowhere else is making more of an effort to fill us with festive glow. The Sound of Musicals is another easygoing, joyful afternoon spent in the concert hall, singing along to some of your favourite musical staples. Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, 3pm, from £16.50

Directed by Tom Browne and starring Daniel Cerqueira, Gemma Jones and Richard Johnson, Radiator plays today at FACT cinema. It focuses on the relationship between a son and his elderly parents, whose marriage begins to unravel as an infirm and incontinent father refuses to move from the sofa. FACT, Liverpool, 6pm, prices vary

Showing as part of the exhibition Safe: Alienation, Fear, Paranoia and Film Form, Todd Haynes' Safe tells the story of southern Californian Carol White, an alienated housewife who develops a debilitating allergy to the 20th century. HOME, Manchester, 6pm, prices vary

They're keeping the lid on details of this one, but there can hardly be any doubt that Escape to Planet Kronos, the final event ever to be held at The Kazimier, is going to be spectacular, bringing an end to seven years of vibrant and eclectic programming in true Kaz style. We'll miss thee. The Kazimier, Liverpool, 8pm, from £35

The Sound of Musicals

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Radiator

Safe

Escape to Planet Kronos

THE SKINNY

Photo: Jacek Zmarz

Talking of Mercury nominees, previous shortlisters Polar Bear play plush new Leeds venue Headrow House as one of a number of shows hosted by The Leaf Label to celebrate 20 years of putting out outsider music across all forms. Among the label's successes is helping to break the careers of Caribou and Efterklang. Headrow House, Leeds, 8pm, £14

Photo: Kelley Clayton

Christmas! Where did that come from? No time to ask now, there’s eggnog and the like to be making! All the usual festive fun – plus a notable (and sad) end of an era at The Kazimier – are our final picks of 2015.

Announced just as we go to print, Benjamin Clementine has won this year's Mercury Prize for his album of spiritually evocative ballads, At Least for Now – but you should go see the British-French solo artist regardless. Clementine has a rare knack of bringing even the most bustling of rooms to silence. The Lowry Quays Theatre, Salford, 8pm, £Returns

Illustration: Camille Smithwick

Compiled by: Simon Jay Catling

Wed 2 Dec

Photo: Micky Clement

Heads Up

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Two gifted composers come to the Everyman Bistro as the Deep Hedonia collective continue their residency. Dialect, better known as Outfit's Andrew Hunt, has released two wildly contrasting and equally arresting LPs this year, while Vitalija Glovackyte is a Lithuaniaborn composer whose work ranges from solo pieces to opera. Everyman Bistro, Liverpool, 8pm, £5

Finally, the good people of Liverpool have the chance to see Berlin-based techno mainstay Jimmy Edgar (this gig having previously been rescheduled). Having released work via everyone from Warp to !K7 and Hotflush, Edgar is one of the most respected producers in Europe. 24 Kitchen Street, Liverpool, 10pm, from £8

If you're in doubt that the festive season has begun, then the Winter Arts Market is always a handy indicator that it's time to get merry. More than 200 regional artists will be selling their wares at St George's Hall, with live performances, workshops and more also going on across two days. St George's Hall, Liverpool, until 6 Dec, £2

Jimmy Edgar

Winter Arts Market

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Rachel Holmes on Eleanor Marx says it all, really: biographer Holmes takes on the subject of Eleanor Marx, pioneering trade leader, feminist and internationalist – and the daughter of Karl Marx. Eleanor's little-known literary history will be explored, as will several tragedies in her life, in conversation with journalist Anita Sethi. Portico Library, Manchester, 7pm, from £6

Warehouse party specialists PlayitDown make their long-awaited Hidden debut with a stunning lineup headed by Poker Flat imprint founder Steve Bug. He's joined by the legendary Ghostly International co-founder Matthew Dear, who'll be making his first appearance in Manchester for several years. Hidden, Manchester, 10pm, £15

Reaching their first birthday, STATK celebrate by continuing to bring some of the newest names in European techno to Liverpool. For their anniversary bash they've enlisted the talents of Parisian DJ and producer Lazare Hoche, who recently put out his first full length, Access. 24 Kitchen Street , Liverpool, 10pm, £7

Benjamin Christensen's 1922 silent film Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages is paired with a brand new live electronic/acoustic score from singer-songwriter Josephine Oniyama, and musicians from the University of Salford. The ensemble promises synthesisers, drum machines and samplers, alongside Oniyama's distinctive voice. HOME, Manchester, 6pm, prices vary

Hidden

Rachel Holmes

Photo: Gemma Parker

Thu 10 Dec

Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages

Lazare Hoche

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Tonight, it's the biggest home headline show to date for the wistful melancholy of Ryan Kennedy and his band Horsebeach. Taking their cues from the likes of Real Estate, the group have steadily been gaining plaudits for their warm melodies and woozy soundscapes, showcased on their recent second LP II. Band on the Wall, Manchester, 7.30pm, £9

One of the very few Warehouse Project nights not to sell out instantly, Jungle's curated bill also looks like one of the season's best, with John Talabot, Leon Vynehall, LA Priest, Koreless and Lone among those bringing the din under Piccadilly Station tonight. Store Street, Manchester, 8pm, £29.50

Residents of the Islington Mill venue space, Fat Out host a Christmas party featuring loads of local Manchester brilliance. The night features a much-anticipated return by Naked (on Drugs), as well as improv noise rockers Locean. Melting Hand – featuring members of Gum Takes Tooth, Terminal Cheesecake and more – also play. Islington Mill, Salford, details TBC

People of Chester! It's your last chance to get yourself down to the Chester Christmas Market, with 70 wooden chalets selling seasonal food, arts and crafts, all surrounding a sparkling Christmas tree in the heart of the city. What a picturesque scene. Various locations, Chester, 10am, Free

The Warehouse Project

Locean

Chester Christmas Market

Horsebeach

Photo: Gwen Riley

Thu 17 Dec

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We're obliged to wish you a Happy Christmas here, but if you're not necessarily down with all that weird shoving-a-hulking-greattree-from-outdoors-inside-your-house business, then we heartily hope you manage to use this day for some much-needed rest however you best feel accustomed. All the very best from us here at The Skinny.

Although Cream itself isn't dead, its final event at traditional home Nation will be an end of an era indeed, the Wolstenholme Square venue being a pioneer of the superclubs of the 90s. Fittingly, some of its biggest guests will be on hand to say a final farewell before it closes at the end of this year. Nation, Liverpool, 9pm, £Returns

Reputable Liverpool party starters Circus are in no mood to put their feet up after Christmas, and urge you to get dancing again too with the Circus Christmas Special, which features names like Jamie Jones, Loco Dice, Citizenn and more. Camp and Furnace, Liverpool, 5pm, £35

Illustration: Alice Chandler

Cream

Photo: Anthony Mooney

Fri 25 Dec

Loco Dice

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Zutekh aren't going to let the small matter of New Year's Eve the night before disrupt their party plans, and the Soup Kitchen favourites have announced a doozy of a headliner for tonight, with Night Moves' Jane Fitz dropping by, now 20 years in the game. Soup Kitchen, Manchester, 10pm, from £10

A Hallé tradition, A Viennese Celebration sees the orchestra's annual waltz (and march and polka!) around the ballrooms of Vienna return to the Bridgewater Hall, with classic waltzes including The Blue Danube set to warm the winter cockles. Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, 3pm, from £11

We've all seen Home Alone, but has anyone seen it with a live orchestra? If you haven't, then today is the day for you, as the Liverpool Philharmonic play along with the Macauley Culkin-starring family classic. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, 3pm, from £14

With things quiet on the first Monday of the year, it's time to catch up on some of the region's exhibitions, including Matthew Darbyshire's An Exhibition for Modern Living, which enters its final week today. It's the largest exhibition of the British contemporary artist's work to date. Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester, until 12 Jan, Free

Jane Fitz

December 2015

A Viennese Celebration

Home Alone

Matthew Darbyshire An Exhibition for Modern Living

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Photo: Michael Pollard

Dialect

Photo: Vitali Gelwich

Fri 4 Dec

Image: Thom Isom

Thu 3 Dec

Albums of the Year ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.’ As ever, there was music to steer us through the darkness; we speak to some of the players on our democratically elected LPs of the year

All Neon Like

#10 Photo: Carsten Windhorst

Vulnicura: cure for wounds. An exercise in fearless open-heart surgery, Björk’s best album in years fused close-up confessionals, microbeats and chamber strings to overwhelming, uplifting effect Words: Gary Kaill

f often Björk feels like little more than our own ephemeral construct, an alien encounter given shape partly by our own wild imaginings, with Vulnicura she sought a connection with the listener that grounded her in head-spinning fashion. Throughout 2015, that connection gained hold and as her ninth solo album (a raw documenting of the break-up with her long term partner) wove its dark magic, Björk and her audience seemed to edge ever closer to each other. Time passed and the songs bloomed. Vulnicura came stumbling into the world, its release hiked to January after an unexpected leak. Nearly 12 months on, it stands as one of the year’s most well-regarded and essential releases. As appears to be her preference these days, Björk kept touring to an absolute minimum: eight debut dates in New York and a handful in Europe before cancelling all remaining shows partly to work on her next project. An eye ever on the future, Björk tosses the map and we love her for it. We trust even her wildest fancies. By now, nothing she could do could cause confusion or objection. “Saw that Björk the other night, mate. Yeah,

well weird. Came on dressed as a bee or a moth or something.” At the tour’s single UK show in Manchester, where she took a sprawling outdoor crowd and came close to pulling every outlying audience member into the chamber intimacies of her extraordinary performance, she did indeed perform dressed as a moth, complete with wings, face mask and head dress. On one level, madness; on another, the most perfect sense. But Björk doesn’t do normal, and while some of her more left-field wanderings prompt admiration rather than ardour, she certainly doesn’t do boring. She wouldn’t know how. But with Vulnicura, she was very nearly human. If ‘relatable’ means being able to feel and hear the artist’s heartbeat, then this was Björk’s most relatable album by some distance. Co-produced by The Haxan Cloak and Venezuelan DJ and producer Arca, Vulnicura largely abandoned the beats that had characterised much of her recent work and returned to the strings of 1997’s Homogenic. It takes repeated listens for the songs to emerge. The album’s gentle relief (sonic and emotional) is drawn with subtlety and care: there is no

After the Gold Rush

dramatic ebb and flow. Songs clock in at three minutes, some at ten minutes. The casual listener should look elsewhere, as should the audiophile or the bluffer: even the sturdiest coffee table would crack under Vulnicura’s weight.

“An eye ever on the future, Björk tosses the map and we love her for it” She toys with the sacred on Family, an eightminute conflagration of voice and barely-there strings: “How will I sing us out of this sorrow? I raise a monument of love.” On the opening Stonemilker – a title alone that makes language feel new, brimming with narrative – she sings, “I

wish to synchronise our feelings,” and the tone is unflinching and accusatory. The formality of the language, a feature throughout, creates an uneasy drama. Beyond rage, Björk explores the awful complexities of love with a steady eye. The skitter of Mouth Mantra: beats hesitant and staccato – amid snap-pulses, whirrs and bleeps she finds traction, a way forward. “I have followed a path that took sacrifices / Now I sacrifice this scar.” Still, it’s perhaps too tempting to read Vulnicura as a journeying, a fearless tackling of the unthinkable. Come its end, is there peace or even understanding? Perhaps. But the closing Quicksand has more questions than answers and the outcome is largely left to the listener. “Hackle this darkness up to the light,” sings Björk: bravura wordplay, courage under fire, unfettered ambition. Vulnicura may yet turn out to be her finest work yet. Björk – Vulnicura (One Little Indian) bjork.com

Kurt Vile’s self-described “night-time record” finds the young Philadelphian at ease

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hings just aren’t as exciting as the 70s,” quipped the languid, long-haired Kurt Vile when chatting with The Skinny back in 2013. Jokes aside, this sentiment appears to have held fast for the Philadelphia native. Two years on, the singer/songwriter’s sixth and most recent studio album, b’lieve I’m goin down (recorded with his band of Violators at the revered Rancho de la Luna studios in Joshua Tree, California) still trades in the previous pedal-tinted grunge of his previous releases, but emotes a distinct Americana folk-rock tone that barely sequesters its Neil Young influences. It’s not all Young-esque finger-picked folkery though; on b’lieve, Vile’s self described night-time record, country blues riffs sit comfortably alongside jazzy piano and moody Wurlitzer organ. The droll Life Like This or saloon melody of Lost My Head There mimic Randy Newman in a particularly Gen Y moment of selfreflection, while the wobbling chords of Dust

Photo: Rita Azevedo

Words: Claire Francis Bunnies form a tongue-in-cheek love song that evokes Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers at their acerbic best.

“Pretty Pimpin has Vile at his shouldershrugging, whimsical best” Along with keys, there’s finger-picked banjo, which weaves an Appalachian warmth throughout I’m an Outlaw, while the bended-note riff of Wheelhouse, a track Vile has claimed may

be the best song he has ever recorded, creates a meandering, meditative epic under a desert sky. Despite the pervading Americana reverie, though, b’lieve is the first of Vile’s albums to crack the UK top 40 chart – so beyond the man’s adept guitar work and harmonic hooks, what is it about this album that resonates with a nation acclimatised more to persistent rain than California skies? In all of the wry navel-gazing that preoccupies Vile’s lyrics, it’s easy to miss the fact that our frontman is one rather funny guy. “There ain’t no manual to our minds,” he sings, and b’lieve i’m goin’ down indeed reads as a demotic, discursive and unapologetic journal of selfexploration. That’s Life, Tho (Almost Hate to Say) is a sparse spoken word ballad that melds

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soul-searching with self-mockery (“When I go out, I take pills to take the edge off / Just a certified badass out for a night on the town”) but it’s Pretty Pimpin that has Vile at his shouldershrugging, whimsical best. Atop a chugging, pedal-heavy guitar riff, Vile laments: “I woke up this morning / Didn’t recognise the man in the mirror,” while at the same time noting that he “was sporting all my clothes / I gotta say pretty pimpin.” He’s the loveable king of lackadaisical ruminations, and with b’lieve I’m goin down, KV proves that existentialism can sometimes be quite a laugh. Kurt Vile – b’lieve I’m goin down (Matador) kurtvile.com

THE SKINNY

Bored in the USA

Although Father John Misty’s biting sarcasm and unflinching honesty could make him seem larger than life, I Love You, Honeybear is irrefutably autobiographical, as its author explains

The Changingmen

Interview: Katie Hawthorne

Young Fathers have spent most of 2015 touring the world on the back of their second album. But they’ve still found time to plan a new base of operations back in Edinburgh Interview: Chris McCall

Photo: Derek Key

F he Skinny phones Josh Tillman – AKA Father John Misty – in a hotel room in Iceland to ask him how he feels about the second record under his holy moniker, some ten months on. In his own words, Tillman’s enduring “the most tone deaf week” of his life, having inadvertently told the “echo chamber” of online media that he hates “all men’s fashion” and “all pop music.” “My lack of media training is maybe... refreshing?” he sighs. “But I worry that I’ve lost my sense of humour. You do enough press and you start to take yourself really seriously.” Yet, on record, he does take himself very seriously. Or, to put it better, he takes sending

“You open the door to madness and you make a choice” Josh Tillman

himself up very, very seriously. Acutely selfaware – so much so, he used a built-in laughtrack on the album’s first single – Honeybear chronicles Tillman’s highs and lows. But mostly his lows. Over 13 tracks of hilarious, horrible analysis, Honeybear offers a mirror to your deepest, darkest suspicions that you are, in fact, a piece of human garbage. And as it turns out, we’re all gluttons for self-punishment. Since the record’s release in February, Father John Misty’s played to full capacity venues the world over, and his UK tour next May has already sold out. While you’re indulging in delicious egotistical self-pity, though, it bears remembering that these stories belong to Tillman. “You walk this line; I want to be honest… as long as no one ever sees that I’m capable of being an asshole.“ He laughs... It doesn’t sound like he’s joking. “But that’s actually what my art is about; people seeing me for what I really am.” The record’s regularly pegged as Tillman’s “love album” – something he easily dismisses: “I’ve only been married two years… I haven’t come anywhere close to writing about love.” Instead, he describes Honeybear as a record about intimacy and weakness: “I had to confront my neediness and my jealousy,” he explains. “I don’t identify as a mean person, but I have this propensity for using my sense of humour in very petulant, self-sabotaging ways. You know, now that I can step back and look at this album… it’s about ignorance. It’s about thinking that I know myself, and not knowing myself at all.” He pauses. “And

December 2015

thinking that I know anything about love, and realising that I don’t know anything about love at all.”” We discuss The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apartment. The song’s got a silly title and an even sillier video, but when you pay due attention you’ll find a savage takedown of a certain type of person. It’s witty, brutal and painfully enjoyable. And, when you recognise the gross behaviour patterns as something you might do yourself, it’s cathartic. But can laughing at lines like “She says like, literally, music is the air she breathes” help cure a Father John Misty fan of behaving in a similar fashion? “No! No.” He laughs. “I wrote that song within hours of the thing happening. In a fit of impotent rage. You can put ‘laughs bitterly’ in brackets.” Tillman laughs again, bitterly. “The bridge where I’m saying, ‘Oh my god, I swear this never happens,’ that is – literally – impotence. So in what ways does someone like that lash out? In these petty judgements of this other person. And really, she’s fine. The real question is why am I there, in her bed, if I don’t like her so much? What is it that I’m looking for?” He continues: “It’s like the song Nothing Good Ever Happens at the Goddamn Thirsty Crow. That’s another song about this impotence, this powerlessness. In the moment I was writing it, I was like yeah, I’m gonna slap this guy in the dick. Some blustery, chest-pumping thing. But looking at it a year later... JESUS. It’s pathetic. But I think that, if anything, it’s what makes the album sort of timeless for me.” Does Tillman worry that he’ll be taken… not too seriously, but too literally? “I am asking a lot of the listener in terms of unpacking all of that, but I’m willing to live with the consequences. Creativity… you open the door to madness and you make a choice, whether to let the messiness into your music or not. And that was the whole point approaching this album, that I was going to include everything. Including the ugly.”The result of all this ugliness is a singularly self-confrontational record – for Tillman as much as any listener who seeks refuge within Honeybear’s sarcastic, sardonic walls. But in recognition of writing a record based upon human (in)decency, he sighs, “I’m walking a very fine line, and I understand why there are a lot of decent people who don’t like what I do. Any decent person should be like, ‘Look, this guy’s an asshole.’” He’s right, Josh Tillman is an asshole – sometimes. But we all are, and that’s the point. Father John Misty – I Love You, Honeybear (Bella Union) Playing Manchester Albert Hall on 13 May fatherjohnmisty.com

That ‘strange’ pop music was to the fore in the trio’s second LP, White Men Are Black Men Too, which was released to considerable acclaim in April. Buoyed by energetic floorshakers like Rain or Shine, the album maintained the momentum built by their Mercury Prize victory the previous November. It was an assured follow-up to DEAD, which had announced their arrival on the global stage, but was recorded at breakneck speed. “As soon as we recorded the album we had confidence in it,” G says. Young Fathers will take more time on their next release. Having secured a lease on a former rehearsal studio in Edinburgh, they plan to convert it to a hub of operations once they come off tour. “We’ve got a bunch of rooms we can use for a bunch of different things; shooting video, rehearsal, making t-shirts, we’re thinking of even having a darkroom for photos. It’s a wee centre for us to go to every day and be creative.” Young Fathers – White Men Are Black Men Too (Big Dada) young-fathers.com

Karaoke Queen #6 One of 2015’s most striking social commentaries came from Jenny Hval singing into her hairbrush as a youngster

Photo: Michael Barrow

ollowing gigs this year in Malawi and China, Young Fathers are used to performing to audiences that may be unfamiliar with their unique brand of alt-pop music. So the invitation to support Paul Weller on his current UK tour was eagerly accepted by the Edinburgh-based trio. At first glance, the former Jam frontman, still most associated with the Mod revival of the late 1970s, does not seem a natural fit with Young Fathers. But the group view the Modfather’s invitation as a welcome confirmation of their pop credentials. “We’ve had a couple of boos from typical Mod guys, but I enjoy that,” explains Graham ‘G’ Hastings. “It kind of makes sense that Paul would be into it. He’s always been a guy who’s looking for the latest thing. It’s great to be asked to come on tour with him. A lot of people want to paint us as this weirdo, left-field kind of group. It’s good when people like him give you the seal of approval. Having spoken with Paul briefly over the last couple of days, I think it’s the melodic, pop side that he loves. I think that’s a side of us that sometimes people dinnae want to talk about – the strange pop music that we make.”

Interview: Simon Jay Catling

he achievement of Jenny Hval’s fifth album Apocalypse, girl didn’t come just in its startling sonic immersion – panoramic drones that come from gentle prods and pushes, electronic pulses that barely feel there and yet everywhere, Hval’s singularly angelic vocal – but also the ability of the Norwegian artist to arrange the overwhelming complexities of the western world in 2015 into something intelligent without being impenetrable, dark without being overbearing and eschewing an academic slant on issues relating to religion, femininity and media propaganda for something that attempts to connect through a more directly emotional channel. “I was in this kind of head space where I didn’t want to be feeling like I was an artist,” Hval told us in the summer, alluding to a level of snobbishness she felt existed in an increasingly standardised artist’s environment; so it was that her Sacred Bones debut came from an attempt to escape those constraints, as she opted to draw influence from moments of the most shallow surface-level performance she could find:

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karaoke YouTube videos, the memory of miming to songs in her bedroom as a youngster. “It was really liberating,” she admitted at the time, and those touchstones have since manifested themselves on stage: a summer tour saw Hval break up her set to perform karaoke to Toni Braxton’s Un-Break My Heart, while autumn found her miming through opening numbers, taking her back to those “miming competitions we’d have as small children in Norway.” This vantage point allowed Hval to approach Apocalypse, girl with a fresh approach; and tracks like That Battle Is Over, which questions capitalism and her own focus on mortality, and Sabbath’s examination of gender roles, are counterbalanced with an instantaneousness far from expected, given a supporting cast that includes, among others, noise scene veteran Lasse Marhaug and Swans’ Thor Harris. Jenny Hval – Apocalypse, girl (Sacred Bones) jennyhval.com

Feature

Wild at Heart

LA’s eccentric poet laureate Julia Holter has made the year’s most intelligent pop record – just don’t over-analyse it

“O

h, they’re out there. I’ve found them, occasionally.” Much as she might try not to read her reviews, Julia Holter insists that she’s still managed to come across a few stinkers. That, in itself, is impressive; in the run-up to our chat, The Skinny’s own search for appraisals that were anything less than glowing was largely unsuccessful, despite the much larger sample size. The Los Angeles native has turned out four fulllengths in the past five years, and what began as a general consensus among the music press that she had huge promise as a songwriter, with 2011’s Tragedy, has given way to a veritable avalanche of praise for September’s fourth LP, Have You in My Wilderness. It is, again, a reinvention. To Holter, repetition is anathema, and the latest part of the arms race of progressiveness that she’s entered into with her own back catalogue sees her ditch the tightly-woven intricacy of her last album, Loud City Song, for something brighter, sharper and – whisper it – accessible to the casual as well as the committed. It’s a record that’s grown organically out of her love of classic songwriting; the three songs that form its nucleus were, to begin with, as straightforward as Holter’s ever really gotten. “They were piano ballads,” she laughs from a tour stop in Brussels. “Betsy on the Roof, Sea Calls Me Home, and Have You in My Wilderness; I’d had them for a little while, and

I’d been playing them solo on the road, just me and a keyboard. Because they were written in such a classic way, I knew they could be different if I fleshed them out and made them into something that a band could play. Once I did that, and once it seemed to work, I had the basis for the record – I would build the rest of it around these three tracks.”

“I just work with whatever comes to me” Julia Holter

It’s not just that that style of songwriting appeals to Holter; she genuinely believes that she does do things the old-fashioned way. Much of what is written about her focuses on just how complex her songs can seem – instrumentally diverse, riddled with highbrow cultural references and sometimes structurally unusual – but she’s quick to shoot down the idea that she crafts her albums with the endgame always in mind, meticulously making sure that the songs always work as part of a bigger picture. “People are always saying that there’s overarching themes, and then

Digital Bath

Photo: Nick Bojdo

Interview: Joe Goggins

I have to talk about it. But there’s never really a trajectory. To me, it’s always been more about stories; Tragedy and Loud City Song were both inspired by stories, but it was really loose, really vague. At the same time, there’s no overall theme to Ekstasis or Have You in My Wilderness, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t this intangible thing that links the songs together. Everybody thinks I need some kind of through-line, but I just work with whatever comes to me.” You get the impression that there’s an ambition and intelligence to Holter’s work that tends to overawe, or even intimidate writers; Have You in My Wilderness doesn’t wander as far from convention as her previous LPs, but that hasn’t stopped it from being described, almost invariably, as ‘avant garde.’ It’s a term that Holter herself finds reductive. “It’s basically hierarchical – that’s why people use that phrase,” she says. “I really dislike it. I realise that most artists are probably always going to find the tags that people apply to their music distasteful – I can’t ever imagine going, ‘Oh yeah! That’s totally right!’ – but I don’t want to make music that’s inaccessible, or that’s supposed to come across like

it’s ahead of other people. I put a lot of love and care into my music, but that expression is really vague and complicated. I think it’s just supposed to make people fearful of something. That’s not what I’m trying to do!” Holter’s appetite for weaving literary references into her work – often in abstruse fashion – has provided commentators with another point of discussion; Loud City Song, for instance, was by her own admission an abstract take on the 1958 musical Gigi. That she’s relaxed that approach on Have You in My Wilderness has not been lost on the critics, but she’s also laid-back about the importance of cultural concepts to her songwriting. “There’s never really been some high literary ambition to my music. You know, most musicians who make music, they’re not just writing journal entries.”

a point of no return. How Dead Format resembles a house anthem from a Clive Barker movie. The epic ten minutes of No Lite, stewing in a cauldron of kinky, electro-pop motif. “I don’t like to box myself into a corner by saying, ‘This is going to be a techno album,’ or, ‘this is going to be a purely ambient album,’ the artist responsible explains. “I like to keep the whole writing process a whole lot freer; I think that manifests itself in bodies of work that sound diverse from one track to the next.” That diversity is very much one of the album’s strengths. “I’m constantly interested in broadening the palette; a library of sound that you can utilise. I do enjoy buying new equipment, and more often than not I will try and use it in ways that weren’t intended, so that I’m not replicating ideas of signature upon the instrumentation.” “That’s one ideology that I’ve always stuck to ever since I first started writing music. When I was young and playing in a punk band I wasn’t necessarily using instruments in the way they were supposed to be used. And that’s why artists like Genesis P-Orridge and Throbbing Gristle, that’s why I see those guys as pretty

inspirational characters when it comes to the tools of their trade; they never used them in the way they were intended and ultimately the sound is so much more unique.” Indeed, Genesis P-Orridge has remixed No Lite, a version included on the new EP. “I was lucky when I found out that Caleb and Taylor, who run Sacred Bones, are good friends with Genesis,” Power recalls. “The remix happened, and it sounded great.” And with Sacred Bones responsible for releasing some of the year’s truly fascinating albums, from Föllakzoid through to Jenny Hval, you get the sense that the label is an appropriate home for Dumb Flesh. “I’m sure most record labels will say they do a similar thing, but I know for a fact how much they care about every release that they put out; they’re not looking to put out something they think is going to be the next big thing. It is a label that definitely celebrates beauty in a darker place – I think I fit in quite well.”

Julia Holter – Have You in My Wilderness (Domino) Playing Manchester Gorilla on 16 Feb juliashammasholter.com

He may be responsible for one of 2015’s defining albums, but don’t expect Benjamin John Power – AKA Blanck Mass – to have his feet up

et’s see; there’s been remix duty. Production duty. Soundtrack duty… it’s fair to say that Ben Power doesn’t do procrastination. “It’s been a very busy year,” he tells The Skinny in the brief window between dropping The Great Confuso – the new Blanck Mass EP – and heading out back on the road for his latest slew of UK dates. “I’m not one to sit around; it’s in my make-up to be doing as much stuff as possible. “I feel that in 2015 Blanck Mass has maybe become something with limbs a little more than before,” he adds. “The things that I have released prior to Dumb Flesh haven’t necessarily been a flash in pan, but I do like to keep everything moving along, to evolve between each album.” Oh, yeah – Dumb Flesh; that also happened. To use that tired adage; a great record is one that never quits posing questions. One that continues to reveal itself, incrementally, listen by listen, texture by texture. And while it may be a little too soon to slot Dumb Flesh alongside other keystones of cerebral, challenging electronica (come back to us in five years or so for that verdict), it is an experience that constantly challenges the listener – on its terms, not yours. Fans of Fuck Buttons will be familiar with the strands of elusive, subversive, gloriously confrontational electro-mindfuck that Power and Andrew Hung have meshed and moulded, both separately and together; indeed, more than one commentator has described Dumb Flesh

Photo: Kate Johnston

Interview: Duncan Harman

as the missing link between the wide-angled cosmological drone of the first (eponymous) Blanck Mass album and Slow Focus, Fuck Buttons’ delightfully bruising 2013 LP.

“I’m constantly interested in broadening the palette; a library of sound” Ben Power

Stylistically, there’s a degree of truth in such a view. But thematically – from the enigmatic artwork and album/track titles out – there’s a sense of confusion that has Dumb Flesh hanging from its own unique meat hook. Explorations of mental and physical fallibility permeate its eight tracks (as well as the ambient Life Science piece included on the vinyl edition), and a seam of flux mirrors Power’s own experiences during the disc’s genesis. It’s the way that opening track Loam straddles a witch doctor vocal loop that’s degraded to

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Blanck Mass – Dumb Flesh (Sacred Bones) blanckmass.co.uk

THE SKINNY

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December 2015

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THE SKINNY

The Man of Metropolis Steals #2 Our Hearts Equal measures of heartache and prettiness shaped Sufjan Stevens’ photo box of memories into his most compelling album thus far

Ready to Fly

With savage creativity, Kendrick Lamar’s hi-def close-ups examine the warts on us all Words: Katie Hawthorne

ffering a retrospective on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly is a terrifying prospect. For lyrical analysis, genius has us beat. In terms of cultural impact, you’ll have to look outside. In the last few weeks, think-pieces have ranged from ‘I Feel Sorry for Kendrick Lamar’ to ‘Kendrick Lamar Imbues a Root Vegetable With Literary Meaning’ – and by the time this December issue rolls around, it’s guaranteed there’ll have been at least ten hot new takes. It’s far more important to note that in 2015, Kendrick Lamar Duckworth has won two Grammys, shared a #1 single with Taylor Swift, received the California State Senate’s Generational Icon award, and seen his powerful, complicated third studio album, To Pimp a Butterfly, debut right on top of the US Billboard chart. Plus, according to Twitter at least, he’s been enthusiastically incorporated into school syllabuses across America. By any account, that’s a hell of a year.

“The staggering power of Lamar’s complex narratives make for a record no-one can quite get on top of” But the list continues. To Pimp a Butterfly has been called the Great American hip-hop album, credited with the popular return of lyrical rap (wildly debatable, as even Lamar recognises – ’cause “then Killer Mike’d be platinum”), and the “we gon’ be alright” of chart-bothering single

December 2015

Alright publicly soundtracked Cleveland students’ Black Lives Matter protest against racist police brutality. Moreover, Lamar’s follow-up to the runaway success of 2012’s good kid, m.A.A.d city is far from a safe bet. An agitated, agitating record, the jazz inflections, cinematic interludes, unexpected samples (Sufjan, anyone?) and the staggering power of Lamar’s complex narratives make for a record that no-one can quite get on top of – and not for want of trying. With singular, savage creativity, Kendrick’s hi-def close-ups examine the warts on us all, while carving sharp incisions into hip-hop history. From King Kunta to How Much a Dollar Cost?, Lamar meditates the true price of wealth (cultural and financial) within an uneven landscape of selfish, soulless “I need all of mines” – showering warnings “from Compton to Congress” of the real-world value of violence and corruption. To Pimp a Butterfly started life as a caterpillar – with the original title to be abbreviated as TuPAC. It’s hard to misunderstand the tribute to Tupac Shakur. Mortal Man, the record’s closer, flows through “the ghost of Mandela,” namechecking leaders from Martin Luther King to JFK. Finishing with a cut-and-paste conversation with the man himself; Kendrick ‘interviews’ 2Pac through excerpts from a 1994 interview: “I wanted to ask you what you think is the future for me and my generation?” Pac ‘replies’, “We ain’t even really rappin’, we just letting our dead homies tell stories for us.” And it’s with this sense of cyclical history, vital heritage and uncertain future that TuPAB wraps up – Lamar calling “Pac...? Pac?” unanswered, into the nether. Once Kendrick Lamar had a bone to pick, but now he’s more than proved his point.

nonetheless, Sufjan’s lyrics are tantamount to living these experiences first-hand. His inspired, eloquent turns of phrase are often as bareboned as the music itself but, simply, you don’t just hear these words, you see them as fiery recollections in his eyes.

“The strength of any story lies in the way it’s told” Perhaps then, the most pressing question regarding Carrie & Lowell, now that the dust has settled somewhat, is to ask why it affects as greatly as it does. For some it will simply be the story itself, the troubled telling of a mother and son with the most sorrowful of endings. Others might well be moved by the way in which his narrative unfurls, the seismic impact of Sufjan’s words that still bring a silent gasp even when you know their place here as well as the lines on your brow, like some kind of learned wisdom passed down. Despite the brevity of the substance, Carrie & Lowell is delivered with such melancholic fondness for its subjects, for the simple belief in life and love, that it only ever feels resoundingly welcoming and homely and, given that every inch of this record is scripted from the very fibre of his own unique story, that remains a quite remarkable achievement. Sufjan Stevens – Carrie & Lowell (Asthmatic Kitty) music.sufjan.com

Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly (Aftermath / Interscope)

Photo: Ross Gilmore

arrie & Lowell was announced in the opening weeks of 2015 with the simple caveat that the album would see a “return to Sufjan Steven’ folk roots.” Even with this information, nothing quite prepared listeners for the sheer deftness and melancholy that sat buried in his first record since 2010’s opulent Age of Adz LP. To give some context, Carrie and Lowell, the two central characters here alongside the creator himself, are Sufjan’s real life mum and stepdad. They married during Sufjan’s childhood only to divorce a few years later. After a complicated and distant relationship with her son, Carrie died of stomach cancer in 2012, while Lowell continues to run Sufjan’s record label Asthmatic Kitty. Those are the facts from an outsider’s point of view; what this record does so crushingly well, however, is to drag the listener into the very heart of these complex relationships and the fallout from them. So while we’re presented with in-jokes and obscure, personal references throughout the record, the sheer skill of Stevens’ songwriting means that these never feel abstract. Put simply, Carrie & Lowell is Sufjan’s best record. Where previously we had magnificent, sprawling bluster, with individual moments of sonic invention, here he crafted something quietly, magically succinct. The instrumentation too is soft and plaintive, Sufjan’s plucking adorned sparingly and considerately with warm splashes of percussion, piano, organ and vocals that appear sporadically like rays of sunshine in otherwise shaded surroundings. The strength of any story lies in the way it’s told and never has that been truer than on Carrie & Lowell. As with any personal memories, small moments of apparent vagueness will always mean more to those directly involved but,

Words: Tom Johnson

kendricklamar.com

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Feature

Out of the Woods

Sleater-Kinney’s long-awaited return re-cast an often grubby exercise as something dignified and heroic. Carrie Brownstein reflects on a special year and sets her sights on the band’s future

Interview: Gary Kaill revealing – that’s a really beautiful part of art to me, this element of awe and wonder.” For the fan base, it added something special: the sense that this much-anticipated return deserved a presentation outside the workaday norm. “Well, yes – I like to appreciate that as much as a fan as I do as someone who performs it, so I was really glad I was able to do that because it did feel like there was an element of magic to it, and that was really special.”

“Our worst fear was that we would return and would be viewed only through a lens of nostalgia” Carrie Brownstein

Photo: Alexander Bell

The clue that somehow Sleater-Kinney were back emerged last October as fans tore open the vinyl box set retrospective Start Together // 1996-2004, only to find an unexpected addition: that one-sided 7” etched with “1/20/2015”. It contained Bury Our Friends, the band’s first new material in a decade. It was a clue, but to what? The official announcement came shortly afterwards. Cue rave reviews across the board and a tour requiring extra dates and larger venues. No surprise then that, in a year enlivened by new and emerging artists but also by established voices testing their energy and creativity, No Cities to Love is The Skinny’s album of 2015. Speaking from her hotel room in Glasgow, where she’s completing a short reading tour of her memoir Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl, Brownstein is genuinely surprised: “Oh wow. Well that’s so flattering. Thank you. That’s very flattering.” In the book, Brownstein talks of her love of performance in its various forms, of gaining validation through that performance. With the 2015 version of her band attracting a new and larger audience – roughly one half old guard, one half clued-up youth – surely that sense of validation has only been confirmed? “Yeah. For sure,” she agrees. “And more than anything, I’m grateful for it because I think our worst fear was that we would return and would be viewed only through a lens of nostalgia. You know, I wrote about nostalgia in the book as something that I’m sceptical of, despite knowing how warm and comfortable nostalgia can be. I think, certainly as a creator of music, you want to feel a sense of relevance and to be judged in the present tense, and so I without anyone knowing about it. We didn’t go think we felt overwhelming gratitude and relief through any of the legal channels or anything too when we realised that many people who came to restrictive. I think there was just a sense of trust our shows had discovered us through No Cities amongst our friends and colleagues. to Love. That just breathes life into the audience. “I was very surprised, actually, that nothing We, as artists, felt very alive and very driven and about it leaked because… I wouldn’t call it careI wanted the audience to not be peering backless, but we were certainly not strict – we weren’t wards; I wanted them viewing us in the here and strict about it at all. But I’m relieved that it renow and we found it very exhilarating to have, as mained a surprise because I think people, includ- you said, the older fans bolstered and buoyed by ing myself, are so fond of being surprised or hav- younger fans. It made for really wonderful shows, ing their expectations surpassed and exceeded, I think, and it felt like such a shared experience.” or even just not having those expectations met in Brownstein talks in the book of how the a certain way, and so when we put the unmarked dismantling of their established sound with The single in the box set and people started to realise Woods confused sections of their fanbase but that it was a new song, that sense of unveiling and not in the UK, where their audiences grew.

arrie Brownstein laughs as we discuss the hush-hush release of No Cities to Love, the Sleater-Kinney comeback album that ended the ‘indefinite hiatus’ announced by the band as they completed their 2006 world tour in support of the opinion-dividing (but audience-expanding) The Woods. How they kept a lid on it in the interim is almost an artistic statement in itself. “Well…” begins Brownstein, and laughs again. “It’s still mysterious to me that we did, because we were not as tight-lipped about it as you might have thought. No-one was signing non-disclosure agreements or contracts, you know? We didn’t do any of the formalities that people sometimes do when they want to release these secret albums

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Sleater-Kinney’s return to these shores this year saw them play just a three-date tour but to even bigger crowds; comprising sell-out dates at Glasgow’s ABC, London’s Roundhouse and Manchester’s current venue of choice, the 2000-capacity Albert Hall. She recalls her last visit with no prompting and real fondness: “Manchester, actually, was one of our favourite shows of the entire touring cycle. Our manager, from the US, was there for that show and he said to us afterwards, ‘That’s one of the best rock shows I’ve ever seen.’ That was really pleasing to hear. You feel like, if only for one night, you’ve delivered on a promise.” Brownstein is once more due onstage in Glasgow, so it’s time to end the call and revisit a theme: two years ago, when drummer Janet Weiss talked to The Skinny as she toured the latest Quasi album, it seemed right to – whisper it – ask The Question. She laughs at the notion: “What did she say?” Weiss’s response was, of course, true to the band’s collective silence (“Oh, you know, yeah, I wouldn’t rule it out. I don’t think we’ll be able to stay away from each other forever!”) but only after the fact does it take on a deeper resonance: Weiss, Brownstein and singer Corin Tucker had been playing together in secret for over a year at that point. With Brownstein still in the promotion cycle for her book, the band due to play in Australia in January, and filming for the next series of Portlandia – for which Brownstein writes – starting in May, it’s perhaps a little previous to roll out The “Next” Question. But, you don’t ask, you really don’t get. Brownstein’s answer is, in its own way, as generous and honourable as that of her band mate’s. “I certainly think so,” she says. “I feel like there will be a continuation of what we reignited with this album. I would like to do more writing and I have a feeling that Janet and Corin would too. So, even though everything feels logistically tenuous, I still manage to do everything else, so I assume that I’ll still be able to do Sleater-Kinney as well.” Sleater-Kinney – No Cities to Love (Sub Pop) sleater-kinney.com

And the runnersup were... 11. Faith No More – Sol Invictus [Ipecac / Reclamation] 12. Django Django – Born Under Saturn [Because] 13. Waxahatchee – Ivy Tripp [Merge] 14. Titus Andronicus – The Most Lamentable Tragedy [Merge] 15. Dr Dre – Compton [Aftermath / Interscope] 16. Courtney Barnett – Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit [Milk!] 17. Deerhunter – Faded Frontier [4AD] 18. Dutch Uncles – O Shudder [Memphis Industries] 19. Viet Cong – Viet Cong [Jagjaguwar / Flemish Eye] 20. Sleaford Mods – Key Markets [Harbinger Sound]

THE SKINNY

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Our writers – and artists including Outfit, Kepla and ILL – get together to discuss some of the best noise from the Northwest over the past 12 months Interview: Simon Jay Catling

eanwhile in the Northwest, the place 50% of The Skinny calls home, things have bubbled on as much as they ever have, with a fertile swell of new music across all genres. The doom and gloom has focused on the closing of established venues like The Kazimier in Liverpool and Roadhouse in Manchester, but the people who frequent the bricks and mortar have still shown a remarkable aptitude for ‘getting shit done’ – and as long as that desire to create, promote and participate remains, the region looks set to be alright, at least musically, for a good while yet. Together with thoughts from some of our favourite artists of the past 12 months, below lies a selection of tracks from our writers that remained with them when the hundreds of other YouTube links and SoundCloud streams had long since left their inbox....

Frequently featured in our online regional music column, Liverpool-based producer Kepla has made some of our favourite outsider music this year. Here he runs the rule on what’s piqued his ears in 2015... Germanager – Egg Drum Germanager’s Smiles has been one of the most curious, playful records I’ve heard in a long time. What I’m mostly inspired by is his concentration on a sonic mise-en-scene, especially on Egg Drum, and the longform melody as the centrepiece of the album’s title piece that meanders with real purpose. It really deserves a video to go with it. Dialect – Ghost of Red Hook Dialect’s second album, Gowanus Drifts, is similarly cinematic, although much more meditative. The album’s single Ghost of Red Hook feels like a slow-motion gaze across a dock, or landlocked water reserve, watching unrecycled waste ducking and floating, interfered with by human activity. Best heard through headphones for sure. Selected by our writers for both his solo material and the arresting art-pop of his band Outfit , Andrew Hunt talks us through one of the latter’s most pivotal tracks on their breathtaking second

LP Slowness, their second breathtaking record. Genderless started out as more of a concept than a song, an unrelenting pulse carrying a disembodied vocal. I wanted to try and write about the feeling of cutting off your body or feeling like your sexuality has become remote. It was important for the accompaniment to reveal itself slowly and remain ambiguous for as long as possible until the tension split the song in two. Unlike a lot of the other songs on Slowness this was mostly built in the studio and not something we played together much. It was an important song for us as it stretched our band’s vocabulary and allowed us to explore forms which were new for us. It remains one of my favourites and I think the recording has a kind of weathered elegance which I love.

Writers’ Picks Doctrines – Melt This noisy quartet have been one of the best live acts in Manchester for several years now; a glorious throwback to Archers of Loaf’s gruff, collegiate bluster with hints of 90s emo knotted into their ragged intricacies. Melt (from the Dog Knights label’s superb split 12”, also featuring Playlounge, Johnny Foreigner and the remarkable Doe) might just be their best track yet, a bruising catharsis wrapped up in hooks and heartfelt yelps. Making a gleeful singalong from the phrase “We fall into familiar patterns,” it eventually grinds to a halt, collapsing into the sound of a vinyl record cutting out very suddenly. The relief that your turntable isn’t broken is matched only by the disappointment of realising the track’s come to an end. [Will Fitzpatrick]

Paul Rafferty, from Merseyside noise rock trio Bad Meds, on his band’s snarling Hoax Apocalypse, from their self-titled EP on Maple Death Records: Imagine turning on a TV and the footage being a live feed of a time traveller’s lost GoPro, misplaced in an empty, blizzard-buried Alaska sometime in the mid-1830s. Hoax Apocalypse is about science fact, science fiction and living a life at the edge of the end times in the noughteens.

False Advertising – Something Better These Manchester-based nu-grungers caught the eye early in the year, and singles Wasted Away and Dozer marked them out as savvy tunesmiths. Sure, they had the chops, but it was starting to look like they had the songs, too. September’s self-produced and self-released debut erased all doubts – heavy on the hooks, it’s the spiky, leftfield detours that really grab. Something Better is a dozen songs in one. A tempo-switching thrill ride, the chorus wrestles with the twitchy, counterpoint guitars before a racing coda slams you to the mat. They’re this good already? Staggering. [Gary Kaill]

Manchester’s fearsome art-rock four-piece ILL on their ten-minute behemoth, Slithering Lizards: Slithering Lizards has been about for most of ILL’s existence. Most of our songs evolve into their definite forms over time, but Lizards never co-operated and is still largely improvised live. Including our current artist and former band member Rosanne Robertson, and producer John Tatlock (think Tesla lightning machines and maniacal cackling), six of us put it together. Rosanne’s lyrics are about the nightmares of a guilty capitalist, fears of terrorism and war. Our keyboardist, Harri, wrote about the government’s persecution of the poor over bedroom tax, and bassist Whitney heard the lizards slithering in the music. The lizards represent fear itself, 21st-century paranoia, equally ridiculous and terrifying.

Lonelady

Feature

Gnod – Control Systems Everything about Gnod’s past, present and future is encapsulated in Control Systems, a 17-minute track that takes in contributions from various residents at the group’s home and collective arts space, Islington Mill, drifting in and out of an ever-shifting landscape. With the band having spent the previous five years traversing from North African folk music to crunching industrial mechanics via fried space rock, Control Systems heralds an album – Infinity Machines – that sees Gnod throw the sum of it all at the wall and then some. [Simon Jay Catling] Hartheim – When Did Your Last Rose Die? This was supposed to be Hartheim’s gateway into 2015. During the winter, their fiery live show saw them build a loyal local following. Their hunger and desire were colossal. When Did Your Last Rose Die? – a searing document of love among the ruins, an ersatz anthem, a vehicle for singer Mike Emerson’s unflinching observations – was a stately masterpiece. But the story is soured: guitarist Gaz Devreede died in June, a shattering and irreplaceable loss for the band. Quite how Hartheim will continue is still, it seems, undecided. But this, in many ways, is Devreede’s song, coloured by his clean and lyrical playing. [Gary Kaill] Photo: Kate Johnston

Gnod

Lonelady – Groove It Out Groove It Out was the triumphant comeback single after five years away for Manchester singersongwriter Julie Campbell, exemplifying the new funky, playful outlook to her post-punk model

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that would frame second album Hinterland. With a robotic, production-line drum beat, a two-note guitar riff and a bit of cowbell, Campbell gradually assembles Groove It Out’s components, weaving woozy synths and joyous acoustics to create a jubilant 1980s dance stomp brimming with life. The song even lurches into a brilliantly burbling bass solo midway. It’s Campbell’s paean to self-rejuvenation through industry, and a celebration of Manchester’s musical heritage, in six minutes. [Chris Ogden]

“The lyrics are about the nightmares of a guilty capitalist; the lizards represent fear itself, 21st-century paranoia” ILL on their track Slithering Lizards

Peaness – Fortune Favours the Bold It’s difficult to narrow it down to a single song from Chester trio Peaness’s immaculate debut EP, No Fun: each song contains more than enough subtle surprises to keep you guessing, both in their lyrical smarts and their smooth melodic effortlessness. Still, the joyous pop glitter bomb of Fortune Favours the Bold just about takes the prize, with wily power-trio interplay keeping the melody on an even keel, while pristine harmonies call to mind the classicist sensibilities of La Sera and Veronica Falls. Just to set your mind at ease, they’re a giddy thrill live to boot. [Will Fitzpatrick] Stealing Sheep – Greed “What is this pilgrimage you’re on?” ask Liverpudlian psych-pop trio Stealing Sheep at the start of Greed, the adventurous centrepiece of their second LP, Not Real. We found ourselves asking the same question. With its probing lyrics and droning vocals, Greed travels on a continent-hopping journey of discovery, as Easterntinged synths cascade over a clunking tribal rhythm that dumps you in the desert on the back of a camel. “Sometimes the truth is hard to find/But it’s always there, maybe disguised,” the trio tease, before a reality-bending finale – with flecks of horn and flute – leaves us thinking that, maybe, we have found it. [Chris Ogden] Read more from The Skinny on the Northwest music scene at theskinny.co.uk/music

THE SKINNY

Photo: Alexander Bell

A Fine Feast

Films of 2015: Hippies, Road Warriors and STD Hauntings

1. Inherent Vice (Paul Thomas Anderson)

2. 45 Years (Andrew Haigh)

Once again our writers choose the years’s essential films. Our top ten has a curious gender divide: the male protagonists (The Lobster, Eden) are shambolic while the females (Mad Max, Inside Out) are kickass

Adapting a Thomas Pynchon novel, even one that harkens to Chandler and film noir, would never have been an easy commercial sell, despite Joaquin Phoenix’s tragicomic turn as ‘Doc,’ a stoner PI in 1970 SoCal experiencing first hand the hangover from 60s utopianism. Detractors and admirers alike agree on the film’s incoherence. An incoherence of narrative; an incoherence of dialogue, an inaudible mumbling that renders some exchanges a musical, abstract quality; and an incoherence of period, with a gentle surrealism replacing faux realism. Inherent Vice thus captures Pynchon’s grimy, lived-in nostalgia, rejecting the millennial need to turn the past into kitsch. The result is a dense rabbit hole of a movie that begs repeat viewings. With a movie this rich in expressive details, those revisits will be a pleasure. [Rachel Bowles]

3. Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller)

4. It Follows (David Robert Mitchell)

5. Carol (Todd Haynes)

6. Whiplash (Damien Chazelle)

7. Inside Out (Pete Docter, Ronaldo Del Carmen)

8. The Duke of Burgundy (Peter Strickland)

9. The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos)

10. Eden (Mia Hansen-Løve)

The Next Ten:

Mad Max: Fury Road exploded out of the summer moviegoing desert with an artistry and sense of purpose that showed up the rest of the studios’ blockbuster offerings for the timid, compromised and soulless corporate products that they are. George Miller’s return to the series that made his name favours action over exposition and images over words, with traces of silent cinema masters like Keaton, Murnau and Dreyer evident in its brilliant construction. On a level of pure cinematic spectacle Mad Max: Fury Road is a sensational achievement, but it also possesses a core of tangible emotion and intelligence, and in Charlize Theron’s Furiosa it has created an iconic heroine for the ages. An alternative title? Woman is the Future of Man. [Philip Concannon]

With the application of enough pressure, can brilliance be achieved? Shot in just 19 days, Whiplash proves through both form and content that it can. Flinching, we accompany a student drummer (Miles Teller) as he is piloted through humiliation, threat and abuse by the flying fists of his revered conductor (J K Simmons). With each visceral beat some mental, personal or physical toll is expended in his self-flagellating quest for approval. Simmons and Teller render in punishing dimension this violent, mesmerising and pure investigation of control and devotion between teacher and protégé. Even after its vindicating encore, Whiplash leaves behind rhythm bruises that will take much longer than the applause to fade. [Kirsty Leckie-Palmer]

Greek provocateur Yorgos Lanthimos’s English-language debut is scathing social satire, but The Lobster isn’t merely an exercise in dark-hearted misanthropy à la the filmmaker’s cult favourite Dogtooth (2009). In its depiction of an individuality-crushing modernist dystopia and the lost souls trapped within – so inept at interpersonal connection they’re literally in danger of losing their humanity altogether – the film asks difficult questions: What is it to be human? How can we truly know others if we are incapable of knowing ourselves? It’s brutal, yes. But it’s surprisingly humane in its brutality, in addition to being the most brutally funny film of the year. [Michelle Devereaux]

December 2015

As horror premises go, this one was delicious – a sexually transmitted curse that causes a monster to follow its victims to the death, assuming any form, visible only to the victim, coming for them day or night. David Robert Mitchell’s script and direction ponder the inevitability of mortality and work with themes of youth and sexuality, allusions to class and collective national guilt, and codified references to disparate works of literature, cinema and TV, making It Follows ripe for intellectual dissection. But more directly, the film just plain delivers as a bold, terrifying attack of cinema. [Ian Mantgani]

Pixar’s latest masterwork is a beautiful and imaginative exploration of the subconscious that recalls Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in its playful evocation of memory and loss. However, it’s the film’s distinctly melancholy streak that elevates it into the territory of year’s best. Moving beyond the surface storyline of a girl’s emotions spiralling out of control as her family relocates to a new city, lies a deeper exploration of what it means to grow up – to learn to see new sides to old memories, to let go of old feelings and attempt to embrace the future. One for all ages, for the ages. [Sam Lewis]

Mia Hansen-Løve’s Eden is, on the surface, a telling of the rise and fall of one fleetingly successful fellow in the ‘French touch’ music scene, but there’s so much more going on behind every fine-tuned but restrained detail, every brief but lingering little gesture. Spanning 20-plus years, one might be inclined to read the film as an alternate-universe spin on the formula of Boyhood, except with the theme of yearning for one’s youth that seems to have gone as quickly as it came; where doing what you love sees you lose the people you love. Few seemingly bare-bones films are as dense as this intimate epic. [Josh Slater-Williams]

Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay excel in Andrew Haigh’s 45 Years, a domestic ghost story heavy with the weight of memory and regret. A letter, arriving a week before the 45th wedding anniversary of Geoff (Courtenay) and Kate (Rampling), is the catalyst behind Haigh’s tale about the damage secrets can have on a relationship. The letter, informing Geoff that his first love’s frozen remains have been discovered, forces the couple to reflect on their marriage. What transpires is a film so graceful and restrained that the insidious resentment Haigh cultivates becomes all-consuming. A beautiful drama of quiet confrontations, the real demons in 45 Years aren’t the ghosts of Geoff’s past, but the inauspicious forces silently tearing them apart. [Patrick Gamble]

A paean to burning passion and restraint, Carol is the year’s most heartbreaking love story. Over the course of two swooningly beautiful hours, the tentative romance between two women (played by Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara) in 50s New York is told through fleeting glances and the electrifying intimacy of apparently innocent contact; a hand placed on a shoulder is imbued with such deep and poignant longing as to enrapture even the stoniest viewer. Carol exists as an enigmatic tear withheld on an eyelash, refusing to fall and reveal its nature. Todd Haynes’ command of his canvas is impeccable, the rich Super 16 compositions allowing perfect room for the luminescent performances of Blanchett and Mara. Exquisite. [Ben Nicholson]

A stark contrast to this year’s more notorious film about sadomasochism, the third film from British auteur Peter Strickland details a particularly intense relationship between two women living in near isolation in a grand old house enclosed by lush forestry. More Angela Carter than Brothers Grimm, the fairytale atmosphere of the film slowly morphs as the fantasy rigorously re-enacted by the couple takes on the ethereal qualities of an eerie, reoccurring dream. Relentlessly stylish though it may be, Strickland nevertheless eschews empty artifice to show that whatever else this relationship may be it is still, very much, a relationship. [Michael Jaconelli]

The Look of Silence (Joshua Oppenheimer) A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (Roy Andersson) Birdman (Alejandro González Iñárritu) Magic Mike XXL (Gregory Jacobs) Ex Machina (Alex Garland) Mistress America (Noah Baumbach) Macbeth (Justin Kurzel) Girlhood (Céline Sciamma) Listen Up Philip (Alex Ross Perry) Sicario (Denis Villeneuve) Read about our most underrated films of 2015 and check out our writers’ individual top tens over at theskinny.co.uk/film

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Cinema Séance Misfit director Guy Maddin brings cinema’s past to life in new film The Forbidden Room. He tells us about trying to create a sense of disinhibited wonder on set while his actors avoided falling saliva

uy Maddin has just arrived in London and the jet lag is starting to kick in. “I’m delirious, I’m in a trance,” sighs the 59-year-old Canadian as he slumps into his chair. “I’m spilling id all over the place. I’m sorry, I’ll mop up the mess for you afterwards.” We are meeting a couple of hours before his new film, The Forbidden Room, receives its UK premiere, but this will be no ordinary screening. The film is being shown at BFI IMAX, the largest screen in the UK, and it’s hard to imagine what the Guy Maddin experience writ large will feel like, particularly for a viewer still feeling the effects of a transatlantic flight. “I’ve been warned that the IMAX experience can be almost physically overwhelming at first,” he says, “so I will watch the first few minutes just to see what the heck it looks like. I’ll probably puke.” Still, The Forbidden Room is an experience worth having on the biggest screen you can find, as this is a film designed to overwhelm. When we suggest to Maddin that a second viewing is required because there’s almost too much to take in on one sitting, he’s delighted: “I’m glad you said ‘too much’ because I wanted the movie to be too much. You know, I have regrets about my ten other feature films because I always wish they were shorter; I feel I just called them finished a bit too soon and often a few months later I wished I could go back into the editing room and trim them, tighten the screws. The director’s cuts of all my movies would ironically be much shorter rather than longer. But this one, editing it was a counter-intuitive experience because I really wanted viewers to feel at the end that they had been washed up, panting on a far shore having just barely survived drowning in a narrative tempest.” The phrase “narrative tempest” is probably the neatest summary of The Forbidden Room that you’re likely to find. (Although the director also offers a pithy tagline: “It’s packed with crap!”)

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Interview: Philip Concannon

Maddin layers stories within stories within stories, pulling us ever deeper into a labyrinthine world that encompasses flapjacks, vampires, volcanoes, skeletons, moustaches, advice on the correct method for having a bath, and Udo Kier pinching buttocks.

“I really wanted viewers to feel at the end that they had just barely survived drowning in a narrative tempest” Guy Maddin

All of this could be described as very Maddin-esque, but the roots of each story contained within The Forbidden Room actually lie in lost artefacts from cinema’s past. For the past couple of years, Maddin has been working on interactive work Seances. The project has seen the filmmaker collecting the titles and sometimes the plot synopses from films that are no longer extant and re-enacting them in his trademark frantic, surreal, hyper-stylised fashion. The circumstances in which Maddin shot these films, however, was unusual, even for him. “Film sets are really boring, you’ve probably been to a few, you can’t even tell who the director is, who the stars are, it’s just a bunch of crew members sitting around scratching themselves

and texting,” he says. “They work hard too, but not often and it’s boring to watch.” You could probably use a lot of words to describe Maddin’s set, but boring is not one of them. He and his actors filmed in the lobby of the Pompidou Centre in Paris, with the French public milling around, observing from the sidelines and occasionally strolling right through the set, past some of the most acclaimed actors in contemporary French cinema. “You know, Charlotte Rampling and Mathieu Amalric are amazing naturalistic performers, but you’re asking them to improvise, there’s an atmosphere around, people are watching, in the Pompidou Centre people can watch from above so you have half-chewed baguettes falling out of mouth-breathers on to the performers below... and we just kept rolling!” Maddin laughs as he recalls the kind of instructions he’d shout at his cast: “Just wipe the saliva off Mathieu’s cheek, keep going!” The director admits to being something of a showman, having delivered live narrations and orchestral scores for films such as My Winnipeg and Brand Upon the Brain! in the past, and it seems he was in his element in this bizarre environment. “It helped create a sense of disinhibited wonder on the set, which was fun,” he recalls. “I didn’t direct anybody. Everybody showed up, there was no time for rehearsals, and I put them in a trance at the start of each day, supposedly, invoked the spirit of a lost film and invited it to possess my actors, to compel them to retrace the long-forgotten plotlines of this lost picture.” This idea of bringing lost films back to life is a tantalising one for cinephiles. How often have we dreamed of stumbling across some dusty old film cans that just happen to contain a classic from cinema’s earliest days? We wondered how Maddin would react if one of the films he has resurrected suddenly turned up out of the blue, and he admits that his immersion in this project led to some very selfish thoughts:

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“I became very ghoulish. When I was in Paris, we had planned to shoot a lost Three Stooges movie called Hello Pop! but it was found the day before we went to shoot it!” he recalls with horror. “Whenever I’d hear about movies being found people would say, ‘I guess you’re pretty happy that movie got found.’ No! I didn’t want that movie found, I don’t want any movies found! I wanted more things to be lost. Whenever I found something interesting online I was heartbroken if it turned out not to be lost because I couldn’t shoot it.” Nevertheless, the sheer volume of films that have disappeared over the years suggests that Maddin’s Seances project is the kind of thing that could have continued indefinitely. “There are a couple of movies I wish I’d shot,” he says, “and the project at one time was going to be much larger. But I had to mercifully euthanise it in the end – it was killing me.” The full interactive project will appear online sometime in 2016, but perhaps inevitably, Maddin still frequently finds himself musing on the ones that got away. He talks about an American exploitation film from the 70s called Never the Twain, which is the story of a man possessed by the spirit of Mark Twain who visits the 1974 Miss Nude World pageant. Maddin’s idea was to combine this ingenious premise with a Euripides play called Hypsipyle, concerning a group of women who decide to slaughter all the men in their lives, and film it with the automated camera that Michael Snow used for La région centrale. Obvious, really. “I wanted to install it at MoMA,” he says with a laugh, “to just let naked women slaughter men for the day while the camera shot in the other direction.” Maddin briefly falls silent as he contemplates this image, and then a broad grin breaks out across his face: “That’s actually still got to be done, let’s face it.” The Forbidden Room is released 11 Dec by Soda Pictures

THE SKINNY

Staging Horror The ghost story is a Christmas tradition – but how about a Hammer horror-influenced stage show? As The Haunting of Hill House opens at Liverpool Playhouse just in time for the festive season, director Melly Still makes the case for an alternative to panto

n the world of theatre, Christmas can only mean one thing: panto. There’s no escaping it. As advent arrives, theatre snobs grimace as curtains rise for another year of festive frivolities, and the hangover of ‘he’s behind you’ lingers until the New Year. But if a pantomime dame in a frilly frock isn’t your idea of quality yuletide entertainment, fear not – an alternative theatrical experience awaits you. The Haunting of Hill House is a psychological thriller that plays on our deepest and darkest human fears. An early critique of the American ideal of the pursuit of happiness, the play – based on the 1959 novel by Shirley Jackson – tells the story of a woman who feels completely excluded from a world in which finding the right husband and having 2.4 children is absolutely everything to live for. A social misfit who is desperate to fit the mould of 1950s America, the more she tries, the less she succeeds. “On the surface, it’s about four people living in a house together. There’s the old horror trope of cosy fires and ghost stories,” explains Olivier and Tony award nominee, director Melly Still – who brings this new adaptation by Anthony Neilson to the stage. “But central to it, and underlying it, is the story of one person’s breakdown and how she becomes increasingly fractured. It’s a horror story, but it is also a tragedy.” With scare attractions popping up across the Northwest, it seems our fascination with horror is more potent than ever before – the genre’s apparent genius lying in its ability to provoke terror while still attracting an enormous following. Indeed, its popularity grows year on year, and not just for Halloween. From horror films to immersive experiences, the macabre has a deeply profound impact on us: we are either

December 2015

Interview: Jennifer Chamberlain Illustration: Sean Biggs

obsessed with it or avoid it completely. Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that horror is slowly making its way to the stage, branching out from its cinematic roots to occupy a new, live space. But what does it take to bring a genre that’s so closely associated with the big screen alive on stage? How does a director go about recreating the effect of multiple camera angles within a single theatre space? Can a cinematic score be transferred to an auditorium with the same level of intimacy? “With theatre, the advantage is that it’s live; you’re all in the same room feeling the same tension and the same fear that is being manifested in the shared space,” Still says. “Certainly in film you always have the point of view of the cameraman, which can really freak you out. Psychologically you can do almost anything with that because the viewer can be made to feel like they are being watched. In the theatre, it’s harder to control because there’s only a certain amount you can focus on for an audience. If we’re comparing it to film, it’s like having one camera.” The Haunting of Hill House is Still’s first venture into horror – her background is in directing folk tales – and although she looks to the techniques used in horror films for inspiration, she does not explicitly borrow them for the theatre. Rather, she is driven by one recurring question: What is it about horror films that keeps people watching them? “It’s the fear of the unknown that really spooks us out,” she decides. “We’re hardwired to be afraid of the dark because if we’ve got no light, we don’t know what’s around the corner. With this in mind, we’ve adopted the conceit of darkness as a friend for this particular production.”

“A human commonality is a fear of being unloved and that’s central to the story; it’s about the desperate fear of being alone” Melly Still

Though darkness is intrinsic to the desired effect, Still is quick to point out that the play does not use a multitude of scares merely for the sake of it. More important to her is that the play retains the elements of delicacy and intricacy located in Shirley Jackson’s original novel. “While there are some jump scares it’s not written to do that. It couldn’t be compared to [Susan Hill’s] The Woman in Black in that sense because that was intentionally formulaic in order to scare audiences. The Haunting of Hill House is a psychological thriller and the menace within it is lingering; it’s more likely to leave you with an aftertaste. Ultimately, the horror element is not gratuitous – it’s there because it’s led by the narrative.”

THEATRE

All human beings share the emotion and experience of fear and very often it’s the things we most fear in ourselves that come to light in horror movies, which is why they’re so effective. Pointing to the ways in which The Haunting of Hill House taps into our primal fears rather than drawing upon the supernatural, Still remarks that “a human commonality is a fear of being unloved and that’s central to the story; it’s about the desperate fear of being alone.” So in a play concerned with human fear, what’s the relevance of the haunted house? “In the end, the house serves as a manifestation of all that the central character fears and dreads,” Still says, going on to explain how the house itself becomes one of the characters. Although we never see it, it becomes an extremely vivid element of the play; its creaks and groans create a voice that is present throughout, which comes to life within a complex and detailed sound score. And it’s not just the play’s content that creates an eerie atmosphere, but the theatre itself. Built in 1866, the Playhouse is the perfect setting for a production of this kind, which simply wouldn’t work in its modern counterpart, the Everyman. “It feels like there are a lot of dead people there somehow, a lot of lives,” Still says. “So many people have sat in the theatre over the decades, and there’s something about the fact it’s got this history. History still has a presence, and people who have lived before still have a presence. You can feel it, but it’s not really a tangible, explicable thing. It’s the uncanny.” The Haunting of Hill House opens at Liverpool Playhouse on 7 Dec and runs until 16 Jan everymanplayhouse.com/whats-on/haunting-hill-house

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Forgotten Women This month biographer Rachel Holmes will be discussing Eleanor Marx, a feminist literary translator whose legacy quickly diminished. We trace a familiar pattern of female writers linked to male prestige, and wonder why so many have been lost in history

ry to conjure up an image of the Romantic poets, poetry’s answer to the new wave movement. A picture of William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge – strolling across rugged moors, discussing philosophy and language – unavoidably springs to mind. And yet, the image is incomplete, it’s been doctored; one of the principal players remains off stage. Seen by offbeat critics as an excessively emotional – and possibly even incestuous – sister, Dorothy Wordsworth is best described as William’s creative counterpart. Her Grasmere journals provide a vital underpinning to the events surrounding the Romantics; William relied heavily on her constant support and sharp eye for description (some argue that he ‘borrowed’ descriptions of nature from her work). She frequently accompanied the two poets on their numerous ramblings, but Dorothy, like so many others, has been relegated to a mere footnote in her brother’s literary career. Literary tradition comes in many different guises: it’s an age-old adage that an author’s fame will increase tenfold after death; writers have a tendency for brooding melancholy á la Hemingway and Poe; and, perhaps most oddly of all, the writing of sisters, wives and daughters of male luminaries often goes unread and unacknowledged, until chance rediscovery and celebration many years after their death. The Orwellesque erasure of Dorothy Wordsworth is not an exception, but a single case in a list full of female writers whose work has been lost and forgotten. Eleanor Marx. Sara Coleridge. Christina Rossetti. Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Sylvia Plath. Why were all these women buried by the surge of history? Clearly, the expectation of women to marry, reproduce, and primly

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homemake feeds into the amnesia of literary critics across the centuries. Cultural and intellectual pursuits have traditionally been confined to men, while women have often been relegated to the child-rearing domestic sphere. As Jane Austen describes in Persuasion, ‘I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives.’ These ‘calm waters’ of corseted silence led many to think that women simply couldn’t create works of literature worthy of acclaim.

“Again and again, the successes of women have been diminished by those of their male relations” Sylvia Plath spent most of her life in the towering shadow of her poet laureate husband, Ted Hughes, but a posthumous Pulitzer Prize win has brought her fame at Hughes’ expense. She is now credited with a shift to confessional poetry, although her work is still looked at through the lens of a tyrannical husband. A century earlier, Ada Lovelace was engaged in writing of an altogether different sort, the small matter of code for the first computer algorithm. Lovelace is now held up as a leading figure for

women in science and girl geeks everywhere, but after death, her achievements were quickly smothered by her father Lord Byron’s poetic career and dodgy reputation for debauchery. The pattern is easy to trace; again and again, the successes of women have been diminished by those of their male relations, whether fathers, sons or husbands. Though the social position of women through the ages explains some part of their neglect, it doesn’t completely resolve this cultural bypass. There are female writers who gained renown on their own terms in a completely masculine world. While her brother Dante was busy painting the Virgin Mary and imagined angelic lovers, Christina Rossetti was writing verses about fallen women, lesbians and those put in a metaphorical straitjacket by the constraints of Victorian England. In the masculine domain of artistic genius, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Christina forged a path for herself; her poem Goblin Market glided into the pop culture vein. Rossetti’s poetry shrewdly combines the religious fervour of the time with hidden references and symbols of female agency. In Goblin Market she concocts the story of sisters Laura and Lizzie and their frenzied taste of the ‘forbidden fruit.’ Feminine solidarity is at the core of the poem and prevents Laura’s untimely death: ‘For there is no friend like a sister… To cheer one on the tedious way, To fetch one if one goes astray, To lift one if one totters down, To strengthen whilst one stands.’ Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s popularity managed to surpass even Christina Rossetti. Her work was widely read in Britain and the US, and the critical reception was likewise exalting; writers across the Atlantic dubbed her as a poet of the highest order. But, to continue a cloying

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Words: Holly Rimmer-Tagoe Illustration: Josie Sommer theme, it’s her husband, poet Robert Browning, whose work has made it onto school syllabuses, while Elizabeth’s poetry has slipped, Josh Hartnett-like, from public memory. There are those who see the idea of literary history being deliberately recorded in a very selective way as something only a David Icke would think. However, Browning and Rossetti show that it’s not just women in general whose talent remained under the radar, but that women who enjoyed great acclaim and celebrity were also afforded a fate similar to the lost city of Z. The slump in the careers of these female writers is too identikit to be a simple coincidence. The phrase ‘History is written by the victors’ is often used as a trite soundbite, but, in this case, it couldn’t be more apt. It took a raft of determined feminist academics and readers to uncover the forgotten poets, playwrights and novelists after years spent in the shade. Of course, there is a strange enigma about how literature is passed down and how it relates to future generations. There has been much debate about why Shakespeare’s plays have been treading the boards since their first production and been reinvented in myriad ways. A cocktail of unknowable forces makes a piece of literature linger in the ether; the problem with the erasure of female writers in favour of their male counterparts is that it’s traceable, knowable and deeply predictable. We are constantly told that there are no women to put on bank notes, build statues of or hold up as national figureheads, but if you simply take the time to look, you’ll see they are all around us. Rachel Holmes on Eleanor Marx, The Portico Library, 10 Dec, 7pm. Holmes will be in conversation with Anita Sethi manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk

THE SKINNY

Thoroughly Modern Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein goes beyond everyday musical memoir in Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl – as a biographical lyricist and writer on Portlandia she already has form in the art of storytelling. She talks to The Skinny about her literary intent Interview: Gary Kaill

he return of Sleater-Kinney at the start of 2015 succeeded on so many levels, it gained near-mythical status. Released back in March, comeback album No Cities to Love squared up to the band’s fearsome back catalogue and confirmed that, should anyone even consider doubting it, time away was no barrier to continuing the artful ambition and switched-on watchfulness that had defined the output of a band propelled from the launch pad of Riot Grrrl into the wider public consciousness. Out-running a scene that had built a much-needed platform for agit feminism and literate, politicised debate was the natural consequence of that scene’s most accomplished act. Sleater-Kinney were never a niche band and their talismanic guitarist operated from a manifesto far removed from rabble-rousing and workaday polemic. Two decades since her band tore up a good chunk of the alt-rock rulebook, Carrie Brownstein’s own back pages represent a healthy and divergent body of work: the musical side road that was Wild Flag, five series of the acclaimed sketch show Portlandia (with Saturday Night Live alumnus Fred Armisen) and a host of online and print work including three years of the Monitor Mix comment piece for NPR. That she’d been simultaneously working on her memoirs for several years was no secret, but this is no ordinary rock star biog. Eschewing a neat A-B linear methodology in favour of a more thematic process, Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl is a fearless exercise in self-assessment and asks big questions about the challenges of family life, the notion of creativity and life in a band. It’s easy to cast the memoir as something built on a foundation of well-kept journals, unearthed and dusted down as the writer retreats to the garret and dips the quill. But the clue to Brownstein’s methods are perhaps revealed in the book early on; she writes: ‘Sometimes the dull detritus of our pasts become glaring strands once you realise they form a pattern, a lighted path to the present.’ All you need to do, Brownstein seems to say, is look for and recognise the signs when you see them: your story is always there, always waiting to be re-assembled. And perhaps how you choose to see it and tell it is more valid and affirming than a hopeless quest in which the teller of the story assembles those strands searching for truth, an empirical defining of ‘you’. “Yeah, I think I wanted to write about the story of finding yourself,” begins Brownstein

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when talking to The Skinny, “but more finding yourself through creativity, and I think much of that story, in terms of that being a substitute for family or constituting a place of belonging, was best told via Sleater-Kinney and also my youth. So I think I set out with that in mind, which was one of the reasons why the narrative has the shape that is does. It’s a story of the first steps towards confidence via music and art. So, that decided the shape of things in many ways.” Brownstein, of course, has been indirectly writing about herself for a long time – through her contribution to the band’s lyrics or her sidelong swipes in Portlandia (always sharp, never cruel) at the crazed characters who colour and shape her worldview. Was it a leap to now shift fully to the ultimate in first-person narrative? “Yes and no,” she says. “The process of writing long form and also not collaborating on something is very different from the other forms of writing I’ve done. So many of my projects are partnerships or collaborations and I’m reliant on other people and inspired by other people to augment and bolster my ideas, or challenge my ideas. And so I think the main difference was that even though the book is a continuation of writing I had already done or already begun in other mediums, I only really had myself to reply upon. You can be your own worst enemy in terms of procrastination and so I think the methodology, the rigour, was a lot different.”

“I wanted to write about the story of finding yourself through creativity” Carrie Brownstein

Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl might not follow a clinical dot-to-dot trajectory but it does largely cover Brownstein’s childhood through to the present (a powerful and overwhelming recount of the band’s re-grouping in singer Corin Tucker’s basement). Focusing on key events, and slim at just over 200 pages, the book is dense and rich with detail. It deals in gripping, low-key drama: Tucker is playing with her band Heavens to Betsy when the pair first meet. And when

Brownstein shifts the narrative with no reference to how events later pan out, and Tucker is for the moment forgotten, it’s like the best genre foreshadowing. You could see how long-form fiction could be on the Brownstein to-do list. She appreciates the connection: “I certainly think, in terms of writing for television, or even film, that I would like to explore new ideas and stories, yes – it’s definitely an interest of mine. I think that in writing for Portlandia, which is such succinct and truncated writing, and even though we have started to expand the writing in the show to make longer arcs instead of just sketches, it’s still very short form. I do think I relish the idea of writing more long form so that the ideas have more breathing room and the characters have more space. So yeah, I think I would do that at some point.” At the Manchester date of her short reading tour, an audience member had asked her what she had been reading of late. Brownstein’s answer was lengthy and impassioned. She was part way through Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life (“Though I’m taking a little break from it right now to recover a little”) and also cited American writer Lorrie Moore as an ongoing inspiration. Much of the early section of the book draws parallels with Moore’s work, in particular her unerring eye for detailing the minutiae of home and family life with elegant poetics and unflinching candour. “Well thanks for the confidence! I’ll try to keep it in mind,” she says today. “I definitely just want to keep improving. One thing I’m proud of with this book is that people’s take on it seems to be that it works as a piece of writing; it works as a book and it doesn’t necessarily incline towards one’s pre-conceived notions of a music memoir and so, yes, I’d like to keep challenging myself as a writer for sure.” “Since the book has come out,” says Brownstein, expanding upon the theme, “or even when it was only available in galley form and

BOOKS

advance copies, there were people, including those at my publisher Riverhead in the US, who read it having no idea about Sleater-Kinney. And those people thought that it really functioned well and, in some ways, that was the greatest compliment. It’s like when you’re watching a documentary about a subject you thought you didn’t care about, and yet you find yourself suddenly invested in the detail and the telling of it. I think achieving something like that is a challenge and, of course, the biggest challenge is writing about something as specific as music – you don’t want it to be wholly dependent on somebody’s interest in, or liking of, your band.” Ultimately, Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl delivers as a survivor’s tale. From Brownstein’s confession of her own part in the band’s original demise (‘I had dragged Sleater-Kinney into oblivion’) to the family dysfunction that sees her father ask her 16-year-old sister to take their dog to be put down, darkness all but prevails. It’s kept at arm’s length by a humour equally black, and it’s those moments that give the book life, body, heart. It needs the laughs. “Yeah, you’re right,” says Brownstein. “I actually did have that intention, both stylistically and tonally. I think in some ways that mirrors my thoughts about Portlandia and why that part of my life has been very important to me in that so much of how I view the world, as someone who is quite sensitive to external influence, is through comedy. Sometimes the only way to view any of that is through the absurd. I wanted definitely to elucidate that in the book. But also for it to act, yes, as a form of relief in the prose. I think it adds to the tension: you take somebody to the edge of a cliff and then they realise that you’re not going to actually push them off and there’s somebody there to help them.” Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl is out now, published by Little, Brown Book Group, RRP £16.99 carriebrownstein.com

THE SKINNY

Right On, Thumbs Up Bassist Jenny Lee Lindberg has taken time out from Warpaint to move to her own rhythms. She explains the all-important attitude behind her debut record, right on! Interview: Katie Hawthorne

“Y

ou say it like, ‘Right on! Right on!’ I say it all the time. Good, groovy, right on, thumbs up… go for it. That’s why I put the exclamation point, to make sure people are saying it with some positivity, some enthusiasm!” Jenny Lee Lindberg takes attitude very seriously; the making of her first solo record right on! (titled with vital punctuation) is born of spirited risktaking, of “Fuck it! Why not?” If you’ve read The Skinny at least once in the last few years, there’s high odds you’ll have come across Lindberg’s work. As one quarter of LA indie band Warpaint, in previous years Jenny Lee has graced our front cover and taken the top spot on our end-of-year album lists. But now, in the closing months of 2015 (“It’s a strange time to release an album, isn’t it?”), she’s stepped away from her duties as a bassist, and as a founding member of the group, and taken some time to explore her own ideas. When we invited Warpaint’s drummer Stella Mozgawa to predict the band’s future, roughly this time last year, she hinted at there being some surprises in store… could this be what she had in mind? “Oh really?!” Lindberg laughs. “She did? Well yeah, I was working on this record then. I’d started writing before, when we’d come home from tour and had some time off… and some of the songs were even written a couple of summers ago. One year ago? Maybe two? Yeah, I would say that this has been in the making maybe two years, tops. It’s definitely time for me to share… to share music with the world! And it’s fun, because I’ve not really ever shared anything like this before.” Under the lowercased moniker jennylee, Lindberg’s been posting fragments of tracks and split seconds of experimental video via her individual Twitter and Instagram accounts for several months – encouraging speculation of solo work with a trail of breadcrumbs, right up until the album’s official announcement. She’s clearly enjoying life in the driver’s seat, but given Warpaint’s heavy schedule and their immersive approach to record writing, surely it felt a little strange for Lindberg to split herself between two such demanding projects? And, moreover, how does she distinguish between ideas for Warpaint, and ideas for jennylee? “Hmmm. It’s funny.” Lindberg pauses. “It’s funny because I get asked that question often. Like, how do I know if it’s a jennylee song? Basically… and I think it kind of goes the same for all of us [in Warpaint]… but if I write a song and I’ve got the bass line and a couple other ideas then cool, this is something for the band. Because then we can all take it somewhere, without it just being mine. If I write a song, and I’ve got the bass, the guitar lines, the vocals, the harmonies… then that’s mine to keep.” It is funny – because it seems very likely that anyone who’s previously asked that question of Lindberg has had expectations of a floatier, more

December 2015

ethereal answer. Lindberg laughs again: “It’s how it goes with the rest of the girls, as well. Pretty basic stuff.” As far as expectations go, right on! – on first listen – goes some way to fulfilling them. Opening track Blind begins with typically breathy, shadowed bass and the sense of space and ceremony we know as characteristically Lindberg’s, consistent throughout Warpaint’s discography thus far. A similarly architectural approach runs through eerie, sexy slow-burners Long Lonely Winter and He Fresh... but then you run up against the record’s surprisingly sharp, antagonistic tracks, like Bully and Boom Boom.

“I wasn’t going to play shows… but fuck that. I wanna tour” Jenny Lee Lindberg

And that’s when you start to realise this record’s not so easy to pin down. Single Never – a woozy, new-wave act of affirmation – offers further excellent example of right on!’s reluctance to stay still. Drawn up by grunge measurements and tinted with New Order-reminiscent hooks, it’s a moody, self-absorbed anthem of self-empowerment. Or, at least, it sounds that way – but even Lindberg’s not sure. “I mean… and I feel this with any song… it’s totally open to interpretation. I think I write like that… sort of cryptic. A lot of it is metaphor. But what it means to me? I will offer money to whoever can actually figure that out, or even what it’s about.” The record is heavily, broodingly atmospheric, romantic in a goth-tinged, frosted way. When we point out what sounds like a straight-up nod to Nirvana (the first verse of Offerings repeats “something in the way…. you move me”) – she’s delighted. “Oh my god! Yeah! I mean… yeah, but also no. It’s a weird homage to Paul McCartney and Nirvana at the same time. It’s funny… we don’t mean to, but Warpaint – we do a lot of Nirvana homages and it’s not really intentional. Beside Undertow. Undertow was definitely intentional.” The influence of Undertow – one of the band’s first truly big singles – can certainly be felt beneath the bones of right on!, but in no straightforward sense. This is definitely no Warpaint release. As Lindberg continues to explain, “I feel that this record has got a little bit of everything. There’s a bit of new wave, sure. But I wouldn’t say that the whole record is goth. I feel like there’s five compartments, five genres of music going in. I didn’t have any prerequisites for how I wanted it to sound.”

We agree that the record’s a shapeshifter – over time, after several listens, it feels a little different... depending on your frame of mind, or perhaps even the weather outside. But whatever it is, “it’s how I’d imagined it”, Lindberg enthuses. “How I had it in my head; it totally came to life how I wanted it to.” One of the record’s biggest surprises comes in the form of White Devil. Tucked in just before the record wraps up, it’s a truly eerie, prophetic-feeling ballad which suddenly accelerates, exploding in yelps and howls. Assisted in vocals by Lindberg’s friend Kris Byerly, the savage male voice feels a shock – an intrusion, almost – into the world the record’s created so far. “I wanted a bit more of a masculine feel,” Lindberg explains. “I knew exactly who I was going to call. Obviously there’s tonnnnnes of musicians here to pool from in Los Angeles. Like with my friend Dan [Elkan], too… I was like, I’m not exactly sure what to do guitar-wise on this, do you have any ideas? It was nice for me to wear a different hat. To direct… and still let people bring their own flavours to it.” Wearing her new directorial hat, Lindberg’s built up a team in a very natural, “organic” way, calling upon friends like Warpaint drummer Mozgawa, producer Norm Block and visual artist and regular collaborator Mia for the record’s moody video accompaniments. Her substantial touring band includes Tony Bevilacqua, once of the Distillers, and allows

MUSIC

Lindberg to focus solely on vocal duties while on stage. For someone who’s spent all their life behind a bass, though, surely it was difficult to abdicate responsibility? “I mean, no-one’s going to play it like me. It’s just not going to happen like that,” she admits. “It became a different thing, I had to let go of wanting the live show to sound exactly how the record sounds. What’s cool about the record, anyways, is that it is pretty elemental and raw… so it’s not the hardest thing to translate live.” Having played two small US shows (“they were more like hangs, really”) in LA and NYC, Lindberg’s first proper venture as jennylee is a short, wintery circuit of the UK – with Manchester included. She talks, excitedly, of a much longer tour to come next year, too… but all this has far surpassed her initial intentions. “Originally, I was going to just make a record of demos, and do it all by myself. Then I decided I wanted to step it up a little bit… I was like, ‘Nah... you know what? Just go for it. Fully realise your vision. Make an album. Put it out.’ I wasn’t going to go on tour, I wasn’t going to play shows… but fuck that. I wanna tour. I wanna do shows. I wanna do it.” If you’re gonna do it, do it hard? “Exactly.” Right on. Playing Manchester Band on the Wall on 8 Dec. right on! is released on 11 Dec via Rough Trade jennyleelindberg.com

Feature

Funny Looking Interview Comedy superfan Gav Cross tells us why he wants to bring a more obscure type of comedy to the streets of Liverpool, with new comedy night Funny Looking Presents Interview: John Stansfield

“I

t’s not about money,” claims Liverpoolbased podcaster and now promoter Gav Cross. “I want to see the people I want to see and have those people go away saying that was a lovely gig, and the people who watched it having really enjoyed it.” Though new to the game of promoting, Gav Cross has had a long and fruitful comedic education. With this new venture he aims to put on five gigs in the back room of 81 Renshaw Street, a recent success at the Liverpool Comedy Festival for its avant-garde selection of left-field acts. With a roster of alternative and obscure performers, Cross has programmed a “season one,” as he calls it, of Funny Looking Presents, an off-shoot of his popular Funny Looking Podcast, which he co-runs with Manchester-based comedy enthusiast Pete Jones. “I do a lot of work in Manchester and there are great gigs over there,” says Cross. “I’d celebrate that XS Malarkey and Group Therapy are bringing the people that I want to see, but it’s at the wrong end of the M62 for me.” So rather than rack up the miles travelling to and from Manchester, Cross thought he’d bring the mountain to him. “The idea is that there’s a really interesting strand of comedians and artists who don’t come to Liverpool, and I want to see the people that I want to see at the end of the 86 bus.” It may come across as self-centred but one second in Cross’s gregarious company and you can see that all he wants is to show off the comedy he loves. It’s not something that just happened, though. The London-born Cross has a rich history steeped in the alternative end of British comedy. “I’m a south-east London kid and my local club was Malcolm Hardee’s. So in a sense I had sort of a mythical alternative comedy upbringing. So I was going to see comedy where you would turn up and you would see Punt or Dennis being bottled off. Everyone was bottled off.” He has had near misses too, but of the more rueful kind. Upon learning that he was a comedy nerd, the science technician at his school mentioned that he and a few of his mates were putting on a gig above a pub in London. A young Gav couldn’t make it that night, but the gig turned out to be Vic Reeves’ Big Night Out, the science technician being Fred Aylward, who played the bald-headed stooge, Les, in the show. As he got older he would see as much comedy as he could, and at college – being, as he describes it, a “typical drama-degree wanker” – he began compering and curating gigs. It was a case of right time, right place. “It was when [comedy promoters] Avalon were starting and they were touring. I remember Simon Munnery had to do two gigs because Mark Lamarr had another, bigger gig.” Cross did standup as an angry poet (“I was copying off people back then and people are still doing it now!”), was in a double act called

Feature

Beth Vyse will perform at the first Funny Looking Presents night in Liverpool

the Moira Stewart Brothers and hosted a night in Chester. “And then life takes over and I stopped. But it was always there.” It wasn’t until a thoughtful birthday present of a trip to Arthur Smith’s writing workshop on the isle of Skyros that the comedy spark was reignited. “It was amazing,” he recalls. “Everyone else there seemed to want to write a book, whereas I was just there as a fanboy. I dropped a couple of south-east London comedy references in there and we just got chatting.” Smith and Cross have kept in touch since and Smith is one of the five that will appear at 81 Renshaw in Funny Looking Presents’ first season. “He doesn’t do gigs for 50 people in the back of a garage very often,” says Cross, “but he does if you ask nicely.’ This reawakening of Cross’s love for comedy and “playing out,” as he loves to call it, spawned the Funny Looking Podcast, where he would geek-out talking to comedians he loved. The success of the podcast led to its becoming the ‘official’ podcast of the Liverpool Comedy Festival, which meant Cross had his pick of the litter for interviews. The next year he got braver still with Funny Looking Live, in which he would broadcast a live podcast from 81 Renshaw on a Sunday night. “The first one was a technical failure; second one we had a blast. There was nothing earnest. Alastair Clark played out, who I really rate. People called in, Skyped in. Top Joe, too, was my roving reporter, Periscoping and FaceTiming in from the street.” This anarchic spirit of the 80s will be incorporated to the live shows, with people paying for

the longform standup, and then encouraged to stay around for the madness of Funny Looking Live. “We’ll have a break and some cake, lovely cake in 81, and then I’m going to fire up Funny Looking Live and they’ve all agreed to do that.” This easygoing attitude has even extended to what the acts are actually planning on doing. There’s a level of trust in Cross’s comedic tastes that is also extended to the acts: “Not sure what Holly Burn is going to do but I love that.”

“There’s a really interesting strand of comedians who don’t come to Liverpool, and I want to see them” Gav Cross

Booking acts that he wants to see in his adopted hometown is an interesting business model but to hear Cross enthuse about the comedians he’s already ensnared is enough to make you want to buy tickets. “Chris Coltrane is just the most honest, sharpest satirical comic around. He’s amazing. Michael J Dolan, well, I just kneel at the Church of Dolan.”

COMEDY

The series kicks off on 3 December, and then continues on the first Thursday of the month. First up is Beth Vyse with her show As Serious as Cancer (a favourite of our Scottish Comedy editor, Ben Venables, at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe). Of the five acts that feature in season one of Funny Looking Presents, Vyse is almost certainly the least known. Cross tells me it was a conscious decision to open with a more obscure act: “It’s a line in the sand that says, ‘Come on, trust me on this one.’ I love her as a loon, and then this year she’s gone in a different direction – a really personal direction. I find that really interesting.” The Liverpool Comedy Festival has opened up a window for acts such as Vyse to find an audience in the city, something Cross hopes to open further. “This strand of comedy is out there. It doesn’t often come into Liverpool, but it’s there. Kate Smurthwaite was great, and she’s someone who I’ve followed for ages. I immediately want to get her back in. Maybe season two,” he laughs. Provided the first lot go well, Cross is hopeful of getting “recommissioned” for another season, and since he’s doing this for the love of the game, rather than monetary gain, it’s almost certainly worth taking a punt on someone so passionate about the art form that he loves. “I don’t follow football, I don’t gamble, my kids are starting to have a go at me because we’ve only got a Wii; my biggest monthly investment is probably Netflix. So I’m doing this for fun.” Funny Looking Presents at 81 Renshaw, Liverpool, season one: Beth Vyse, 3 Dec; Arthur Smith, 7 Jan; Holly Burn, 4 Feb; Chris Coltrane, 3 Mar; Michael J Dolan, 7 Apr

THE SKINNY

Danny Sutcliffe’s Advent(ure) Calendar Last Christmas we asked some of our favourite comedians to submit festive gags. Danny Sutcliffe submitted approximately 1000 jokes and proved himself the most Christmassy standup out there. Here’s his stab at an advent calendar. We have no idea either...

MESSAGE FROM THE DESK OF DANNY SUTCLIFFE, CHRISTMAS LABRADOR & EDITOR IN CHIEF: Ah it’s you! Come in! Sit down! Cigar? No... I wouldn’t either. I don’t think it’s a cigar, to be honest. Right. To business. I suppose you’re here about THE CHRISTMAS. Well, as you DAMN WELL KNOW, Christmas will soon be sponsored by a gambling website and/or a loan company. Imagine Skynet, but with free spins and bonus points when you sign up a friend! So before all advent calendars become repossessed in a special festive episode of Can’t Pay? We’ll Take It Away!, I’ve broken into The Skinny offices to personally create my own brilliant version with Christmas tips, including emergency council contact numbers and a free mystery cigar. I hope you like it. NOW GET OUT THERE AND GET ME A PICTURE OF SPIDERMAN. CHRISTMAS TIP: If you can’t afford Cards Against Humanity, simply write all of your favourite insults and swearwords on a piece of paper, cut them out and pop them into a hat. After Christmas dinner, get your relatives to pick one out of the hat! (“Fartprick?”)

GEORGE CLOONEY FROM THE FILMS ON HIS PERFECT CHRISTMAS: “WURGH! Every Christmas, me and ‘Witness the Pitness’ (my best pal Brad Pitt) charter a private jet to Lake Garda, get right on it, then stalk old people’s homes at night and terrify the locals. We just go round rattling a few doors and posting dogshit and fireworks through the letterboxes, it’s a cracking day. CLOON-AAY!”

CHRISTMAS CRACKER JOKE: “My dog has no nose, and I have a mild concussion!” “How does he smell?” “Spiders!”

CHRISTMAS RECIPE: Traditional turkey is so outdated now isn’t it? Traditional Christmas turkey dinner can fuck off then come back so you can tell it to fuck off again. Turkey is Ken Barlow. Now that we have trade ships bringing in delicacies and spices from as far as exotic sounding places like ‘Rhyl’ and ‘Warrington’ there are literally at least five different things to choose from other than that cheating bastard homewrecking cardiganwearing turkey. Fuck him and fuck his crossword. Choices are: Fish. Other meats, e.g. beef or beef sausage. Big chicken. Chippy. Greggs Christmas pasty. Note: replace any of the above dishes with cider for those with food allergies.

PRESENT SUGGESTION: Q: How does Bob Marley like his donuts? A: Why not find out, with this Christmas ouija board!

FANCY DRESS OUTFIT IDEA: There’s only one outfit you need this Christmas. It might be cliched, but it gets the job done every time. Everyone knows it. It

December 2015

is, of course, that famous outfit from that film with John Travolta in it. CELEBRITY CHRISTMAS TIP: Richard Madeley on his perfect Christmas: “Me and Judy always spend Christmas at home, somewhere in London. I have a driver that takes me straight from the studios most days. I’ll drive myself if I feel like it though. It’s a Jag. Sometimes, when I’ve got the driver, and I’m out and I’ve had a few sherbets, I’ll nip into an off-licence and shoplift a bottle of wine.”

PRESENT SUGGESTION: Why not take a loved one on a romantic winter walk in the countryside? Better yet, find a nice field, get there ahead of time and set up a romantic winter picnic hamper, filled with romantic winter Christmas delights such as Greggs Christmas pasties and SUPERFUCKINGBAILEYS (see 13 Dec). Before you quickly ‘nip back to the car to pick up your cigarettes,’ present your loved one with a Christmas card with a romantic personal message made by you, just for them.

PRESENT SUGGESTION: A stapler head removed and replaced with a staple remover (ooh the irony!). Makes a brilliant Alien/Predator head for the kids. “MERRY CHRISTMAAAAAGH NOT MY EYES...”

BARRY SCOTT FROM THEM ADVERTS ON HIS PERFECT CHRISTMAS: “HI! I’M... oh god I can’t keep this up anymore. I used to live in a swanky apartment opposite the Go Compare bloke and one of the Marks from Eastenders. Once the adverts packed up I just went haywire. Fame’s a bug. I’d sneak into B&Q at night, then pop up from behind one of the display kitchens in the morning to unsuspecting families, wiping down the counter with my trademark catchphrase and trusty bottle of Cillit Bang. It got so bad that the Samaritans introduced call barring to my phone. So now I just ring those ‘How’s my driving?’ lines off the back of vans and change the subject really quickly. I’m spending Christmas with Orville and a bloke from the Halifax adverts. Not Howard.”

11 12

PRESENT SUGGESTION: Create a number of fake Twitter accounts and follow your loved ones and wish them all a brilliant Christmas. FLYING CHRISTMAS TIGER MOTHERFUCKERS!

DRINK: There’s only one drink you’ll need this Christmas. It’s called water. It’s good for you, and, according to an article I read on a night bus home, if you have seven glasses in a day, you’re one away from an orgasm, apparently. Water’s great! Also, lions drink it. But if lions could, they would definitely drink what I like to call a SUPERFUCKINGBAILEYS. YOU WILL NEED: 1 bottle of Baileys. 1 bottle of chocolate Baileys. 1 bottle of Jack Daniel’s whisky. 1 bottle

of Jack Daniel’s honey whisky. The day off work afterwards. Mix it however you want pal, there’s four spirits in the bastard all topping near 40 proof each. Take a hipflask of it out with you on Black Friday. You won’t get any bargains! But neither will anyone near you after you collapse, laughing and crying into a wall of HD tellies, you fucking Christmas champion, you! CELEBRITY CHRISTMAS TIP: Gift(ed) (w)rapper Kanye West on his perfect Christmas: “GOOD MORNING FROM THE MOON! I flipping love Christmas, it’s flipping brilliant! I get up really early and open all my presents, then we go round to my nanna and grandad’s and there’s EVEN MORE presents for me there! It’s brilliant! Once, right, I was jumping on my nanna’s settee in wellies and no socks, and I landed on a cup of scalding hot tea and knocked it over and my nanna had to ring my Uncle Terry because he had a car and we had to go to the hospital and the nurse gave me a Danger Mouse certificate for being dead brave.”

15 16 17

COMEDY

ISN’T LIFE FUNNY?! I woke up this morning, and, in the night, I’d scrawled notes about black holes and particle theory. I think I’ve been SLEEP HAWKING.

CHRISTMAS DINNER TIP: Too many guests and not enough chairs? Did they arrive in a car? They’ve brought their own chairs then:

CHARITY: TEXT SANTA should have been called RUDOLF’S RED NOSE DAY.

OFFICE FUN: Forced to do this year’s office Secret Santa? Fuck getting them a present, TELL THEM A SECRET ABOUT SANTA! AAAGH! CHRISTMAS SPIDERSAAAAAAGHHH!!! THESE WEREN’T SUPPOSED TO BE OPENED UNTIL CHRISTMAS! Get back to the start of Christmas and do it all over again. CHRISTMAS CRACKER JOKE: Q: What do you call a boxer with a warm head? A: Ricky Hat - on!

“HEY PAL. PAL! IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT FILM THIS IMAGE IS FROM THEN YOU’RE DOING CHRISTMAS WRONG. GET BACK TO THE START WITH THE SPIDERS.”

DANNY’S FUNNY CHRISTMAS STORY: “Every year for the past few Christmases I’ve jokingly wrapped up a housebrick as a present for my brother. Imagine his surprise three years ago, when he opened up all of his presents and there was no housebrick to be found! He asked me where it was; barely able to contain my laughter, I took him outside onto the front, then pulled out a housebrick (giftwrapped, I might add!) and put it straight through his car windscreen! He hasn’t spoken to me since!”

OVERHEARD: “Just after Christmas this year, Derren Brown said on Twitter that his iKettle had broken. I tweeted him and suggested he contact someone who works in iTea. iTea! Haha! Hahahahahaaa! He never responded. Shame. Anyway, we’re having a bit of trouble with engine number two and will be making an emergency landing shortly. Cabin crew doors to manual.”

CHRISTMAS EVE ADVICE: If you have to venture out on Christmas Eve to do a last minute bit of shopping, if it gets a bit too stressful, try to take pleasure in the little things amongst the chaos. Last year I had to pop to my local ASDA on Christmas Eve. I don’t do well with crowds. Half an hour after walking in the store I had covered one aisle. I panicked and fled (nipped out for a cigarette). Sweating and stressed, I lifted a shaky hand and lit an emergency Christmas smoke. As I looked across the busy car park, it was madness – horns blaring, people – when I glanced across the shopping trolley shelter. It was covered with hundreds of sparrows huddled on top of the trollies, sheltering from the rain. They were hopping from trolley to trolley and tweeting like mad bastards. It echoed around the shelter and sounded lovely. It provided a brief moment of tranquillity and calm, and it made me smile. Others saw it too, and I saw them walk towards the shelter flustered and stressed, see and hear the gang of sparrows, then carefully try to remove a shopping trolley without disturbing them too much. They would then walk away with their trollies towards ASDA with an extra spring in their step and a smile on their face, ready to face the crowds. Then they’d realise they’d got birdshit all over their hands.

“HE’S BEEN*!” *released from prison

@dannysutcliffes

Feature

LE LI

Chrimbophilia Christmas time, mistletoe and wine. And Santa fetishes, apparently?

Words: Kate Pasola Illustration: Jacky Sheridan

t was in middle school that I found out about ‘Rule 34’. In case you need to be brought up to speed on urban legends spawned by a generation of pubescent internet natives, I’ll explain. Rule 34 stipulates that if X exists, there too will exist a porn pertaining to that subject. My classmates found this either hilarious or repulsive. I thought it was magnificently philosophical. There exist, on Earth, billions and billions of sexually active human beings. We’re all a sum of our respectively bizarre childhoods, and each and every one of us experience potential triggers for all kinds of attractions, arousals, fetishes... and porn storylines. Sure, not everyone has porn scriptwriters and GoPros at their disposal, but I’m gonna put this out there – I buy Rule 34. And want to propose my own rule. Rule 35: If it exists, someone definitely has a fetish for it. With the most bizarre and sensuous of holidays, Christmas, just around the corner, I got to thinking that this was the perfect time to put Rule 35 to the test. I took to the internet, turned off my SafeSearch and went on a grand quest for Christmassy kink. Here’s a handful of fetishes I discovered, likely to be brought to the boil this Yuletide season.

Chrysophilia

sense of wrongdoing that’s been instilled over a lifetime.

about betrayal. I trusted these women to speak for me, to fight for me, and by their own admission they don’t want to. To me, they are terrible feminists, because their feminism isn’t for all women, it’s for a privileged few.

This word comes from the Ancient Greek khrusós, meaning ‘gold’, and of course philia, meaning ‘love’. There aren’t a lot of recorded case studies relating to this on the old internet, but it’s included in just about every list of philias I could find, so there’s something in it. Something sparkly.

Dendrophilia AKA an attraction to trees. This fetish can stem (heh) further than the trope of tree-hugging, and refers to an actual romantic or sexual attraction to trees. Combined with Chrysophilia, who knows what sort of seasonal sexiness might break loose?

Santaphilia Most commonly referred to as ‘Santa Fetish’. This one hasn’t yet been assigned a fancy -philia suffix, so I took matters into my own hands. Santaphilia can manifest itself in a variety of different ways, however: it’s not all figgy pudding bellies and sprawling beards. In fact, it’s a pretty common fetishisation – we’re just somehow more comfortable with it when it’s Regina George and Cady Heron dressed in red latex and black knee-high boots. Or, put more simply, “Sexy Santa, size 8, £12.99.” Funny, that.

Terrible Feminism From feeling validated by catcallers to burning Germaine Greer at the stake (figuratively), one writer admits to three uncomfortable flaws she’s noticed in her feminism Words: Rianna Walcott Illustration: Jacky Sheridan

’ve taken extra care with my face today. I’ve been feeling low lately, so today there is facial contouring, there is mascara, there is purple lipstick. These things all lighten my mood, and I do my best not to closely examine why. Mostly, I look nice today for myself. About 75% of this flawless face is for me, no doubt about that. But there is that last 25% to contend with, maybe just the lipstick, that I have certainly put on for you. That feels like a failing. A flaw in my feminism, like a splinter in my finger. But we’ve all got those splinters, and really, it’s probably best to tease them out and release the unnecessary self-loathing that lurks beneath, one wince at a time. Deep breath…

1. Craving validation It seems taboo to say (or even acknowledge), but I sometimes find validation in catcalling. An appreciative look from an irrelevant stranger can brighten my afternoon, in spite of all the scoffing I do about how misogynistic and gross it is. The validation I get conflicts with everything I consciously think. About how my beauty and self-worth shouldn’t be defined by other people; how men don’t have an intrinsic right to my time and attention; how I have the right as a human being to go about my day unmolested. I’m perfectly indignant whenever I hear of anyone having to deal with unwelcome attention. But it’s not always so easy to apply that to your own life.

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In practice, this means going through a tiresome cycle of looking nice, having it commented on, then enduring paroxysms of guilt as I wrestle with an opposition of irrational flattery and righteous rage.

2. Self-slut-shaming As a staunch feminist, I’ve been holding myself to some idealistic standards that are difficult to meet. Those standards, for me, can be distilled to a single tenet: “Don’t hold women to the same sexist standards society holds them to. Do what you want so long as it doesn’t infringe on anyone else’s personal liberty.” This should be very, very easy to do; I’m very good at not judging other women, that isn’t where the problem lies. It’s refraining from judging myself that’s a lot trickier. Take slut-shaming, which is abhorrent to me in a very obvious way. When a friend of mine tells me that they had good sex, we high five, maybe eat some cake to celebrate. So why do I still feel a compulsion to lie about my own sex life? I find myself gingerly opening the front door, sheepishly shuffling into the kitchen with an abashed little smile when my actual mental attitude demands that I sashay in to rapturous applause. Thank goodness those around me do applaud: my circle of friends is very much clued in. It seems like the only slut-shaming round here is me-on-me; I can’t seem to shake the

3. Burning my mascots As with any movement, the feminist movement has spokespeople. Aside from myself, these are the people I demand perfection from. To quote Roxanne Gay’s book Bad Feminism, and TED Talk of the same name: “As a feminist, I feel a lot of pressure. We have this tendency to put visible feminists on a pedestal. We expect them to pose perfectly. When they disappoint us, we gleefully knock them from the very pedestal we put them on.” I’m guilty of this, and I don’t feel guilty about it. I don’t need Germaine Greer’s brand of transexclusionary feminism. When Lena Dunham and Caitlin Moran showed their contempt for the issues of women of colour, I was happy to kick them to the curb. My anger towards these former icons is more than a simple ideological difference: it’s

DEVIANCE

So what makes a good feminist? How do I find the balance between loving myself as a sexual being, but not limiting myself to being a sexual object? How can I lead a happy little liberal life, behaving the way I want to without fear of retribution – from myself, of all people? I am a product of a patriarchal society and it takes time to unlearn a lifetime’s teachings. My mind is there – I’m ‘woke’, but I’m still waiting for the rest of me to catch up. The important thing is that I’m reading and learning and doing my very best. And so, probably, are you. After all, as Gay herself said: “I would rather be a bad feminist than no feminist at all.”

THE SKINNY

Games of 2015: Snake, Splatter Guns and Space Exploration

1. Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture merits its place on this list for the sheer quality of its visuals alone. Yet it wasn’t just the technical quality that impressed so much as the developers’ ability to create a distinctly post-apocalyptic aesthetic without resorting to the

scorched earth cliché so common to the genre. On top of that there was a magnificent soundtrack and flashes of top-notch writing. The final result is an original and moving example of how to tell stories through the medium of games. However, it seems likely that these kinds of titles will always have their detractors – those who say they’re not even games at all. They are missing out. [Liam Patrick Hainey]

2. Bloodborne (From Software)

3. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (CD Projekt RED)

4. Fallout 4 (Bethesda)

In a surprisingly quiet year for Sony’s first-party studios, From Software’s Bloodborne was one of only a handful of exclusive titles on PlayStation 4 to distinguish itself. Much more than a gothic horror reworking of the studio’s Dark Souls games, Bloodborne retained the series’ infamous level of challenge but upped the ante with faster-paced, more aggressive combat and a bestiary of truly horrific foes. More impressive still was the cursed city of Yarnham, its dense atmosphere, sprawling districts and lofty spires ingeniously woven together in a masterclass of level design. Combine that with the game’s superlative plot – a twisted, HP Lovecraft-influenced tale of madness and betrayal – and you’ve got one of the most memorable games in recent memory. [Jodi Mullen]

There are few games that have caught people’s attention as much as Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It captivated gamers and critics alike upon release, on account of its satisfying design, sensational writing and awe-inspiring visuals. Controlling Geralt, you explore the Northern Kingdoms searching for your lover while earning additional coin slaying monsters. Putting an equal emphasis on fighting and dialogue, you’re given the freedom to decide how to proceed with each individual mission; settle quests peacefully or use brute strength, scold your target or let them go, the choice is entirely yours. Better yet, every decision you make influences the world and your future interactions within it. In the realm of open-world gaming you can hardly ask for more. [Jack Yarwood]

Fallout 4 is Bethesda’s biggest game to date, and is quite simply an utter joy to experience. Giving the protagonist a voice really drives home the story this time around, while all of the objects in the world mean something because of the new crafting system. Meanwhile, the new base-building actually turned our self-professed Minecraft hater into someone who spent two hours gleefully building the perfect gatehouse and there are so many rich stories to find by simply exploring the wasteland. Even if Fallout 4 did a bait-and-switch halfway through, turning into a moss-growing simulator, we’d wager that you’d still be satisfied with your time spent in the Commonwealth. On your way, citizen… [Tom Hillman]

5. Kerbal Space Program (Squad)

6. Elite: Dangerous (Frontier Developments)

7. The Beginner’s Guide (Everything Unlimited Ltd)

Fun, silly and yet surprisingly deep, Kerbal Space Program has the makings of a classic and promises to be a benchmark for sandbox gaming in years to come. Its detailed spaceship construction makes the creation of probes, space planes and enormous space stations engaging and exciting. The game’s excellent and detailed physics engine brings the world to life, and makes launching ships into orbit or to distant planets so rewarding you can almost imagine you’ve really just put a man on the moon (or Kerbal on the Mun). Furthermore, Squad’s welcoming approach to modding the game has nurtured a lively community around it, one which ensures creative new content for the game will continue to emerge. [Stewart McIver]

Elite: Dangerous stands as one of the most ambitious games ever developed, completely in keeping with a series that stretches back 30 years. The technological heft of those three decades has helped produce a game that players back in 1984 could only have dreamt about. Vast, uncompromising, complex and intensely detailed, it’s not a title for the faint-hearted. Plough in 50 hours and you’ll just be getting your thrusters warmed up, be you pirate, trader or bounty hunter. Niche it may be, but Frontier Development’s numbers add up to a whole lot of players populating their dense universe and for these plucky adventurers, Elite: Dangerous isn’t so much a game as a way of life. [Darren Carle]

In his breakout hit The Stanley Parable, Davey Wreden deployed voice-over narration to break the fourth wall and make some clever but fairly tame jokes about free will. Here he uses it to implicate the player in the violation of another person’s privacy before implicitly chastising them for being so wilfully strung along, an act of provocation that could come across as manipulative and smug if it wasn’t handled with such searing sincerity. Initially presented as a tour of a fictional game designer’s secret unfinished works, The Beginner’s Guide soon morphs into an uncomfortably personal tale about battling one’s inner demons and selfishly seeking validation. A brave and unique experience, it’ll have you feeling infuriated, guilty, sympathetic, sometimes even scared, but most of all, utterly captivated. [Andrew Gordon]

8. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

9. Rocket League (Psyonix)

10. Splatoon (Nintendo)

(Kojima Productions)

If there was a separate list for ‘surprise hits of the year’ then Rocket League would no doubt sit proudly at the top. Rocket League is the successor to the little-known Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars and while many will mourn the loss of that beautifully inelegant title, it’s not just the name that’s been streamlined. Rocket League found success thanks, in no small part, to its extraordinary simplicity. You and your teammates take control of a rocket-powered car and must attempt to force the ball into the opposing goal. There are no weapons or power-ups – just simple, elegant chaos. Falling squarely into the ‘easy to learn, hard to master’ sweet spot, Rocket League’s frantic and exciting multiplayer makes it more than worthy of its paltry 15 quid investment. [Liam Patrick Hainey]

Only Nintendo could create a shooter that doesn’t care if you can’t shoot straight. In fact, Splatoon practically encourages wanton aiming as every splash of neon paint counts towards your team’s score. In a genre where map domination can seem a little abstract, Nintendo repainted the rule book and made the signs clear for all to see. For the more advanced player, there are layers of tactics to scrape under; figuring out your loadout, map points and special weapons will all help you in the battle. Yet at the same time, gleefully lobbing gallons of paint around will often win the day. For a company often criticised for sticking to what they know, Splatoon is an embarrassingly confident leap into new territories for Nintendo. [Darren Carle]

From a sprawling, mega-budget wasteland to an intimate peek-behind-the-curtains of indie development, videogames covered it all this year. We chalked up the top ten titles that kept our games team indoors this year

Expectations for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain were sky high after 2014 prologue Ground Zeroes and Hideo Kojima’s swansong for Konami surpassed them all. Perhaps one of the most immersive titles of the year in terms of pure gameplay, MGSV’s open world stealth hijinks schooled other studios in how sneaking and sandbox games should be made. Though a bit thinner in terms of plot than earlier MGS games, The Phantom Pain retained all of the series’ trademark quirky humour. From airlifting shrieking enemy soldiers out of the combat zone by hot air balloon to calling down an attack helicopter blaring Europe’s The Final Countdown from its speakers, few games are as fun or silly as Metal Gear Solid V. [Jodi Mullen]

December 2015

(The Chinese Room)

GIFT GUIDES

theskinny.co.uk/tech/gaming

Lifestyle

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Making a Mark Christmas at Chinese restaurant Tattu is set to be an opulent affair. And what would the festive season be without a tipple or two? Bar manager Craig Dean tells us more about his revamped drinks menu

ven if you’ve yet to visit, there’s a likely chance you’ve heard of Tattu, Manchester’s ode to fine Asian cuisine. But it’s not all about the food – beyond the dim sum, flash-covered walls and that cherry blossom tree, there’s a luxury, authentic drinking experience waiting to be discovered. We met Tattu’s bar manager, Craig Dean, to discover more about the unique inspiration behind the drinks menu, its award-winning whiskies and the importance of substance over style. The Skinny: Tattu has taken Chinese cuisine in Manchester to a totally new level – but can you tell us more about the drinks menu? Craig Dean: The drinks menu is going through a big change at the minute, one which will deliver drinks to the same standard and quality as the rest of the menu. We’ve given the bar an identity again, rather than it being the little sister of our incredible food. We see Tattu as a destination for quality drinks and quality bar service, just as much as the food. There’s a lot of buzz around the look and feel of Tattu, the blossom tree being a major highlight! Is the visual impact of a drink something you think about? Absolutely, but only if it’s relevant and practical. If you have a garnish that takes you ten minutes and is impossible to do when you’re four-deep

on a Saturday night, it just isn’t happening. Don’t get me wrong, though – there are some absolute show-stoppers on the new menu. We got a magician to show us a couple of things! Whisky and sake are a big part of Asian cuisine. Tell us more about what’s on offer at Tattu? We have completely redesigned our sake menu to ensure it’s more authentic and in line with the brand. By working with a new supplier and stocking exclusively from Akashi-Tai brewing company, we can guarantee its origin and that the quality is consistent. Plus, Akashi-Tai is a family owned company, just like Tattu. Whisky is one of my favourite things in the world and I was ecstatic to see Japanese whisky brought to the attention of the masses with our Yamazaki Sherry cask winning Whisky of the Year this year. The new menu has 12 different whiskies from across Asia, as well as some of the world’s best bourbons, including my personal favourite, W.L. Weller. We’ve got some incredible Scottish whisky, too, like the world’s most heavily peated whisky, Octomore. We have a saying among the bar team: “if you have an Octomore, you clock off for the day.”

part of what the bar at Tattu is going to become. The cocktails and drinks should not mirror the food, but complement it and stand up in their own right. We’ve made the cocktails fit the theme of the venue, with a few drinks dedicated to famous inkers [Tattu’s decor is inspired by body art] and the bold and beautiful flavours that China has to offer. Talk us through some of the highlights? The High Voltage is an ode to Kat Von D with vanilla vodka, elderflower, kiwi and basil, garnished with a spark of electricity. Then there’s Smoke without Fire; a smoked blend of whisky, kahlua, frangelico and verna branca with a star anise smoke. And finally, the History of Violets; a refreshing blend of gin, violet and lavender. You’re celebrating. What drink do you go for? Bourbon. Elmer T. Lee or the W.L. Weller is my favourite thing. To book your Christmas party at Tattu, email hello@tattu.co.uk or call 0161 819 2060 Instagram and Twitter: @tattumcr tattu.co.uk

And what about cocktails? Can we expect Asian flavours there too? In some instances, yes, but that’s just a small

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Northern Greats: James Martin

Tucked away in the Great Northern Warehouse, Manchester’s James Martin restaurant is back in the headlines thanks to a recent appearance on a certain Top 100 list. We find out what head chef Doug Crampton has in store for Christmas

ne of only two Manchester restaurants in the Sunday Times’ Top 100 Restaurants 2015, James Martin Manchester is turning heads all over the city. Founded by the BBC Saturday Kitchen celebrity chef James Martin, the restaurant – located inside the Manchester235 casino – is already one of the most high profile residents of the Great Northern Warehouse, known for putting a modern twist on classic British cuisine in James’ signature style. But the best is yet to come this Christmas. To find out what diners can look forward to this festive season, we had a chat with head chef Doug Crampton – who also let us in on some Christmas dinner cooking tips... The Skinny: Hi Doug, let’s get a quick introduction to James Martin Manchester. What can diners expect? Doug Crampton: James Martin Manchester serves modern British food using only the best quality produce and we source our ingredients from all over the country. We’re extremely proud of this.

You describe your menu as modern British cuisine. What are your most interesting twists on classic dishes? Our menu includes classic British dishes made with the best of British produce. Take our Sunday lunch – it’s served with cuts of our speciality Yorkshire Wagyu that’s taken from a small herd based in Yorkshire. And all desserts are reworks of British classics: James’ signature dish of white chocolate and whiskey croissant butter pudding with caramelised white chocolate ice cream is always a winner. But it’s also a fact that we have the best sticky toffee pudding in Manchester!

With the festive season is fast approaching, can you tell us a little bit about your Christmas menu? Our Christmas menu is served Monday to Saturday and consists of smoked tea and vanilla cured salmon, pressing of Goosnargh chicken and, of course, turkey with all the trimmings! But if you’re after something a little different, we’ve also got Lancashire ale braised ox cheek. Then if you’ve got any room for something sweet, there’s homemade chocolate and fig Christmas pudding or sticky toffee pudding!

Finally, congratulations on being featured in the Sunday Times Top 100 Restaurants 2015. What do you think made James Martin Manchester stand out from the crowd? We produce good quality food and cook it really well; plus we pay a huge amount of attention to consistency! The fact that this award is voted for by customers makes it even more rewarding for us as they are the people who are eating with us every day. It’s a great honour to be included in the guide and only pushes us on to move higher up in the list next year.

We’ve heard your menu changes seasonally – what can diners look forward to this winter? Our current autumn/winter menu uses the best seasonal produce around at the moment. We’ve got wood pigeons from North Yorkshire served with seasonal berries; Cumbrian lamb belly served with a yuzu mayonnaise, and venison from the Scottish Highlands crusted with coffee and served with macerated cherries. As for dessert, a new addition to our autumn menu is an apple crumble soufflé with bramble sorbet.

As a professional chef, have you got any expert cooking tips to share with anyone tackling their own Christmas dinner this year? Preparation! Make sure all the preparation is done before and laid out on individual trays. This makes it much less stressful on the day and means you won’t miss out by spending the day in the kitchen. As for roasting the perfect turkey, brining it overnight in a spiced solution will add great flavour and help it say moist. Say goodbye to dry turkey!

Find James Martin Manchester on Twitter at @JamesMartinMCR thegreatnorthern.com | @gnwarehouse

THE SKINNY

Gift Guide: Art Looking for a unique gift for that notoriously hard-tobuy-for friend or relative? Then check out several of the Northwest’s best independent arts and crafts markets Words: Laura Maclean

hristmas shopping can be hard work. Like, really hard work. That’s why we’ve scoured Liverpool and Manchester’s independent shops, craft fairs and markets to bring you a roundup of the best places to buy truly individual presents this Christmas.

Best Christmas Craft Fairs in Manchester Start your Christmas gift hunt at The Little Northern Contemporary Craft Fair at Altrincham Town Hall on Sunday 6 December. With more than 40 carefully selected designermakers and artists, it’s the perfect place to find unique gifts for Christmas. And with a huge selection of homemade jewellery, fashion accessories and beautiful things for the home, you’ll find everything you need for a truly bespoke Christmas. Homemade gifts are always the most thoughtful, and if you head over to MadLab’s Crafty Christmas Workshop at Bolton Central Library on Friday 11 December, you’ll be taught how to make your own Christmas tree decoration that twinkles with LED lights. There’s a morning and afternoon session available, and children are welcome but they must be accompanied by an adult. Head over to Eventbrite to buy your ticket.

Liverpool's Winter Arts Market

As Christmas fast approaches, head out of the city centre to The Vintage Village in Stockport for The No Sleep Til Christmas Fair on Sunday 13 December. Expect festive fun with a vintage twist along with dozens of independent traders selling vintage clothing, jewellery, vinyl and other unique trinkets. Entry is £2 and if you walk through the door when the egg timer goes off, you’ll win a random gift! Alternatively, pop into the Off the High Street Christmas market in Radcliffe for a range of unique artisan gifts, arts and crafts and the best of local food and drink. It’s held in a big marquee to protect visitors from the winter weather and takes place every Thursday, Friday and Saturday for the last three weekends before Christmas, so even the most last-minute of lastminute shoppers needn’t miss out! If you’re on the lookout for unique Christmas presents in Manchester city centre, pay a visit to SWAG, a brand new pop-up shop on the corner of Oldham Street and Hilton Street in the Northern Quarter. SWAG stands for ‘Shop Workspace Art Gallery’ and all the clothing, artworks and gifts are handmade by local creatives. The shop’s open Tuesday to Sunday up until Christmas but if it does well, there’s a good chance it’ll be sticking around much longer. And don’t forget the Manchester Craft and Design Centre, home to two floors of studio boutiques selling contemporary jewellery,

ceramics and art. Just a stone’s throw from the hustle and bustle of Market Street and the Arndale Centre, it’s the perfect place for an altogether different shopping experience.

Best Christmas Craft Fairs in Liverpool If you’re based in Liverpool, don’t miss the Winter Arts Market in one of Liverpool’s most iconic buildings – St George’s Hall. Taking place on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December, it’s Merseyside’s largest arts and crafts market and the perfect place to pick up unique handmade gifts for hard-to-buy-for family and friends. Featuring work from over 200 artists, designers and makers, you’ll find everything from homemade jewellery and vintage clothing to paintings, decorations and cards in a stunning setting. Constellations is Liverpool’s go-to place for independent fare, and you’ll find Capstan’s Bazaar’s Free Pop-Up Festive Arts and Crafts Market there on Sunday 13 December. This family-friendly winter market will play host to a wide selection of intriguing and artistic stalls with a diverse selection of makers selling creative clothing, creative crafts and seasonal gifts, making it the perfect opportunity to find a Christmas present like no other. Or perhaps you’re looking for unique gift for a bookworm close to your heart; head to

Reid of Liverpool, an old-fashioned bookshop in Liverpool city centre, for old books on a variety of subjects and a lovely selection of Christmas treats laid out for the customers. If the Baltic Triangle is one of your regular hangouts, don’t miss the Winter Wonderland event at the Great Baltic Warehouse. Run by Independent Liverpool, it takes place on 11-13 December and will be a haven of festivities from the city’s best mince pie bakers and fake snow to Christmas hampers and unique gifts made by local artists and makers. Some final shouts: in this time of consumption and waste, why not make your present ecofriendly? BeeCycle on Albert Dock offers a great selection of beautifully designed green gifts, from the educational (a Wiggo Composting Pod, perfect for kids curious about what happens to their leftovers) to the decorative (undeniably cute Mr Turf grass-hair-growing figurines) and the clever (if you've a friend who loves to garden but lives in a pokey flat, the Grote Wall Garden Pouch is a neat and tidy compromise). And as a last suggestion, pop into the Bluecoat Display Centre while you’re shopping in the city centre for homemade jewellery and ceramics by local artists. More gift ideas at theskinny.co.uk/art

Gift Guide: DVD Nothing says “I’m apathetic towards your existence” more that an Amazon Gift Card. Show that cinephile in your life that you care by popping some of these movies into their Christmas stocking Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation & Spy (For those with James Bond fatigue) The 007 series felt a bit tired with latest instalment Spectre, but it looks dead on its feet when compared to these two espionage offshoots. In the latest Mission: Impossible movie, Tom Cruise elevates the stunt to the kind of death-defying art form that Buster Keaton used to specialise in, but we also get Hitchcockian suspense (a dizzying assassination attempt at the Vienna Opera), a heart-in-mouth motorbike chase and a female love interest more badass than our hero. Similarly, Spy suggests that Moneypenny might be the match for Bond as Melissa McCarthy plays a CIA desk jockey thrown into a deadly field assignment. And anyone disappointed with Christoph Waltz’s limp baddie in Spectre should get a kick out of Rose Byrne as a catty Bulgarian super-villain with an Amy Winehouse barnet and a bag full of bitchy putdowns. Released on DVD and Blu-ray by Universal Pictures and 20th Century Fox respectively

The Shôhei Imamura Masterpiece Collection (For lovers of debauched cinema) Shôhei Imamura is Japan’s greatest post-war director but his films

December 2015

Words: Jamie Dunn

are too seldom seen. This eight-film box set is a perfect introduction. Far removed from the serenity of Ozu and Mizoguchi, Imamura’s films are rambunctious and dazzling, concerned with sex, violence and the lives of Japan’s underclass of hookers and hustlers. Imamura summarised his career more succinctly: “I am interested in the relationship of the lower part of the human body and the lower part of the social structure.” Released on DVD and Blu-ray by Eureka Entertainment

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension & Zardoz (For cultists) What is a cult movie? Judging from rep cinema screenings and Netflix’s search function, just about anything that’s off-beat from the mainstream. True cult movies, however, aren’t just left-field, they’re playing a whole different ballgame on a patch of dirt two fields over. In Buckaroo Banzai, as the title suggests, we follow a sci-fi polymath (speed racer, physicist, brain surgeon, jazz-funk star) across another dimension, while Zardoz (the crazy passion project John Boorman was allowed to make after the success of Deliverance) sees Sean Connery’s Zed, a barbarian in a proto-mankini, upend a society of immortals. The joy of both films is immersing yourself in the myth and lore of the batshit-crazy

worlds in which they take place. Both released on DVD and Blu-ray by Arrow Films

Mad Max: Fury Road & John Wick (For old-school action fans) Seeing real people fight or fly through the air is more rousing than watching pixels do the same. But experiencing a modern-day action film (say a Marvel movie or enduring Peter Jackson’s Hobbit series) feels less like cinema and more like looking over the shoulder of someone else playing a video game. The genre got a shot in the arm in 2015, however, with these two action movie masterworks. In Fury Road, George Miller seamlessly and thrillingly marries 21st-century digital filmmaking with the stunt work he mastered on Mad Max and The Road Warrior. Assassin revenge yarn John Wick, meanwhile, is a gorgeous martial arts ballet that doesn’t hide its choreography with cut-up editing. Both released on DVD and Blu-ray by Warner Home Video

GIFT GUIDES

La Grande Bouffe (For those looking for the true Christmas spirit) Forget It’s a Wonderful Life – Marco Ferreri’s debauched black comedy is the ultimate Christmas

movie. Think about it: four men hole themselves up in a Parisian villa and gorge themselves to death on gourmet delights. Its consumerist excess has more in common with Christmas than Jimmy Stewart’s humble altruism. Turn it on after you’ve polished off your tenth mince pie and enjoy two hours of the kind of gluttony that would have Dionysus reaching for the Alka-Seltzer. Released on DVD and Blu-ray by Arrow Films

The DUFF & Dope (For fans of coming-of-age films with bite) Two fresh and joyous teen movies came and went at UK cinemas with little fanfare this year, but both deserve an audience on DVD. The DUFF seems to hit every teen movie cliche before subverting each with wit and verve, while Dope chronicles a geeky, middle-class black teen’s attempt to reinvent himself as a gangster when he comes into the possession of a bag of narcotics. What makes both films sing is their knockout casts. Arrested Development’s Mae Whitman exudes charm and screwball smarts in the former while the performances by the ensemble of newcomers in the latter are as colourful as their characters’ 90s hip-hop-fetishising apparel. Released on DVD and Blu-ray by E1 Ent and Sony Pictures Home Ent respectively

Lifestyle

A Literary Christmas Gift Guide Books are the ideal gift, reflecting a certain intelligence upon the giver, and alluding with a sly wink that the recipient is the same. We look at the output of local publishers from the Northwest and Scotland to suggest the ideal literary Xmas gifts

ocal is best. The laws of probability mean that even clichéd platitudes have to ring true every once in a while. You can see it in those weird supermarket campaigns labelling your grapes with the name of the farmer whose hands picked them from the not-so-distant vine, and in the ever-so-long waiting list to plant bluebells and Pink Ladies a-plenty at the nearest allotment patch. Foodies and musos have been preaching the virtues of localism to the choir for a long time; it’s time bookish folk got in on the act. The Christmas season can be a disheartening time for literary bods: presents usually come down to a selection of the year’s releases from big names that have already been purchased and read, or a gift from a family member who mistakenly equates the latest autobiography from a reality TV star with the word ‘book.’ Such blunders are avoidable, and to help you choose wisely, The Skinny’s Books editors have compiled a list of literary wonders from their local publishing houses; a cultural cross-pollination between our Scotland and Northwest issues, you might say. The book lists of small, independent publishers are more vibrant and diverse than ever, so we invite you to be that canny outlier of a present-purchaser and opt for writing that’s a little closer to home.

Holly’s Northwest picks: Carcanet Press has continued this year to live up to its reputation as one of the finest poetry presses around. Les Murray’s latest collection, Waiting for the Past, looks at the bumps in the geographical and linguistic terrain in the process of growing up. This one’s a perfect match for your tree-hugging aunt, who spends weekends wandering among forests and lakes, or the friend refusing to be separated from their alienzapping computer games to help them reconnect with, well, greenery and that. For a walk on the magic side, or a step into the maze of hidden history, we advise you to turn to Manchester-dwelling poet Grevel Lindop. Luna Park is best read at night, preferably with a mindset ready to be reframed by haunted libraries and derelict funfairs. And if all this hasn’t

Lifestyle

managed to convince you that the Shakespeare sonnets you read circa your sixth-form years isn’t all that poetry has to offer, Sophie Hannah’s Marrying the Ugly Millionaire is worth a crack, if only to read about following the Dalai Lama on Twitter. What’s not to like? (carcanet.co.uk) Cornering the short-story market and adding in a slapdash of tech, we have a lot to thank the folk at Comma Press for – namely, an assortment of some of the best short-story fiction and new writing around. First up is David Constantine, whose woefully underrated work has reached a wider readership this year because of Oscar buzz about Andrew Haigh’s film 45 Years, an adaptation of Constantine’s short story In Another Country. You can double up on his novel The Life-Writer and collection In Another Country: Selected Stories; curl up with a bucket of roast potatoes and immerse yourself in the unspoken tension and quiet emotional shattering that Constantine is such a master of. Alternatively, those with a fondness for transgressing national and language barriers (surely everyone’s favourite pastime) could do worse than opting for the translations of Sema Kaygusuz’s The Well of Trapped Words and Diao Dou’s Points of Origin. Both have a touch of the surreal and allow readers to dip their toes in the literary tradition of another country. (commapress.co.uk) Elsewhere, Liverpool University Press’s new imprint, Pavilion Poetry, has burst onto the scene all pages blazing. Mona Arshi’s debut collection, Small Hands, won the 2015 Forward Prize for best first collection. Exploring themes of grief, hardship and tradition, it may not be your top choice for getting into the Christmas spirit, but Arshi’s startling voice will stay in your head long after the seasonal tinsel begins to wilt. She’s a poet tipped for big things; hop on the wagon early and impress the culture vulture in your life. Eleanor Rees’s Blood Child and Sarah Corbett’s And She Was make up the rest of the Pavilion Poetry trio. Rees meshes barren concrete and creatures of a more wild kind, while Corbett returns to her partialness for night-time

Words: Holly Rimmer-Tagoe and Alan Bett Illustration: Eve Somerville

wanderings and noir. Warning: winter nights will never feel the same. (liverpooluniversitypress. co.uk) Alan’s Scotland Picks: It is impossible to extract the work of certain writers from the cities they call home. Irvine Welsh’s Edinburgh, the uptown New York of Tom Wolfe or the downtown Harlem of Chester Himes – they explain just what it means to belong to a place, to be one of its people. With his outstanding new paperback retrospective, Glaswegians (@Hogsbackpress), artist Stuart Murray is more economical – he gets right to the core of (a certain section of) the city’s culture and character through simple, monochrome caricatures, coupled with the odd sparse line of broguish dialogue. He has been drawing the Glaswegians he meets for many years, the everyday characters roaming its streets and more often docking themselves in its pubs. This is razor-sharp social commentary; hard, truthful yet, most importantly, empathetic. For another view of Scotland, try the poetic take on the country in words and pictures that is This is Scotland (luath.co.uk), by author Daniel Gray and photographer Alan McCredie. With this travelogue of sorts, the contributors look into those seemingly less notable, but notably worthy corners of the country, from Govan in Glasgow to the further highlands and islands. This is a social history from the bottom up – real people, chip shops and bingo halls. The unexpected beauty of the everyday. An alternative cultural map of the country for both those living within its borders or those simply planning a visit. For fiction, what about A Book of Death and Fish (saraband.net), the debut novel from acclaimed poet and storyteller Ian Stephen and the history of an individual life alongside that of the Scottish islands. The book was nominated by Robert Macfarlane in the Guardian as his book of the year and highlighted as both a major landmark in Scottish literature and, more broadly, in contemporary fiction. These rare occurrences should not be overlooked. Then, of course, there’s the mystifying

GIFT GUIDES

trend for adult colouring books – which I can only equate with a long prison stretch, narcotic overindulgence or a serious head injury. But then what do I know? Create and Colour Scotland (blackandwhitepublishing.com) is by its own claims ‘Relaxing – Inspiring – Calming.’ Perfect for those three aforementioned conditions, or simply the stress of the Xmas period. For a far cheaper gift option than all of these, why not go for poetry? Simply write a poem yourself, for loved ones, friends or family – to recite drunkenly around the Xmas dinner table. It’s absolutely free and so, so easy. Just place words that rhyme at the end of each line. Or maybe not. Harry Giles shows just how complex and meaningful the process is with his debut collection, Tonguit (freightbooks.co.uk). The spoken word scene is going strong, but printedform poetry seems still to elude or intimidate. Giles uses black letters on white paper to hugely creative effect: leaving spaces between them, forming them into shapes, creating a Leaning Tower of Pisa – yes, honestly. His argot is a form of Scots he describes as mongrel and magpie – allowing all readers to revel in the discovery of a language, and of course of a fine poet. Or as an alternative you could pick up a copy of Edinburgh avant-garde rabble rousers Neu! Reekie!’s #UntitledOne (birlinn.co.uk), a collection featuring everyone from Jenni Fagan and Kirsty Logan to Hollie McNish and Frightened Rabbit’s Scott Hutchison. It is already a collector’s item. Explain that your gift will be worth multiples of its cover price in years to come, and demand an instant upgrade to those being offered back to you. An honourable mention must go to Ryan Van Winkle’s The Good Dark (pennedinthemargins. co.uk), a collection our Skinny review suggested moved between “stabbing pain, deep melancholy and cautious optimism.” Sounds, relevantly enough, like Boxing Day morning to me; minus the optimism, of course. All titles mentioned in the article are available from good bookshops or their publishers’ websites

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Gift Guide: Fashion

Not sure what to get your loved ones this Christmas? Our style blogger friends have some handy hints...

Betty and Bee Betty and Bee are long-time fashion soulmates who opened their creative consultancy supporting independent brands a little over two years ago. From running their own fashion and lifestyle blogs – Forever Yours Betty (foreveryoursbetty.com) and Bee Waits For No One (beewaits.com) – they met at Social Media Week Glasgow, little to know that a few short years later they would unite to spread their Shop Local message wherever they roamed. Find them over at @foreveryoursbetty and @beewaits or find out more at bettyandbee.com

Clockwise from top:

Kochibha – LARO, £90, kochibanation.com Helen Ruth – Blood Moon Scarf, £190, helenruth.co.uk Pip Jolley – Kirby Grip Earrings, £30, pipjolley.com Catherine Aitken – Toiletry Bag (gents), £45, catherineaitken.com IOLLA – Bell Glasses with Prescription, £65, iolla.com Rebel Rebel Beard Brand – Urban Garden Oil, £14.99, Rebel Rebel Barbers, 101 Union Street, Glasgow Silken Favours – Alina Oversized Cat Cushion, £95, silkenfavours.bigcartel.com Sara Sboul x Forever Yours Betty – I Am Bru Bag, £105, sarasboul.com Bonnie Bling – Ginger Mirror Badge, £10, bonniebling.co.uk Dick Winters – Clever Dick, £28, House of Fraser Glasgow or dickwinters.co.uk beewaits.com foreveryoursbetty.com bettyandbee.com

Lifestyle

FASHION

THE SKINNY

Sophie Benson Sophie Benson is a freelance stylist, producer and writer with an enthusiasm for independent designers and all things bright and colourful. After starting her career as editor and fashion director of a print publication, she now specialises in working with bold, innovative designers. She also lectures at a handful of universities, crochets, and hangs out with her cat, Vashka. You can find her work at sophiebenson.blogspot.co.uk and sophiebenson.com Clockwise from top:

Amy Victoria Marsh – Fried Egg Wall Clock, £30, yayvm.com Annabel Perrin – Prism Print Cushion Cover, £40, annabelperrin.com LOELA – Colour Block Necklace, £22, loela.co.uk Beaumont Organic – Knitted Wool Jumper, £165, beaumontorganic.co.uk Colours May Vary – Crochet Clutch Bag, £38, etsy.com/uk/shop/coloursmayvaryshop Toolally – Perspex Earrings, £30, toolally.com Dirty Disco – Hand-Painted Leather Jacket, £250, dirtydisco.co.uk Dead Legacy – Camo Print Jumper, £34.99, deadlegacy.com Miriam Griffiths – Lambswool Knitted Socks, £15, miriamgriffiths.co.uk Jim Bag – Turquoise Holdall, £44.99, jimbag.co.uk sophiebenson.com sophiebenson.blogspot.co.uk twitter.com/SophieBenson_ instagram.com/sophiebenson

December 2015

FASHION

Lifestyle

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Nick Boo

Andy Von

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Studio Smok

SHOWCASE

THE SKINNY

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December 2015

SHOWCASE

Food News Come one, come all! This month’s Food News is all about navigating your way through the calorie-laden food orgy that is December. Think of it as a gift from us to you Abel's Dining Room

Words: Lauren Phillips The Northern Quarter Restaurant

Spice Club

s well as the sweet, sweet delights on the facing page, there’s a whole heap of foodie goodness to enjoy across the Northwest’s smaller-scale Christmas markets. GRUB’s Christmas Food Fair is one of them, and promises to keep the focus on fine food and craft ale rather than terrifying Santa figures and ‘Wine O’Clock!’ tote bags. There’s still plenty of fun to be had though, with DJs and live music, gift stalls and Santa’s grotto to get you well and truly in the festive zone. Sadler’s Yard, Manchester, 5 Dec, 12-8pm, free, @grubmcr Liverpool’s Winter Wonderland is another, and aims to turn the city’s Great Baltic Warehouse into a veritable festive fairytale. Led by the folks behind Independent Liverpool, the event will host the best food and drink traders the city has to offer, as well as a secret mulled wine garden and luxury food hampers. Keenos can snap up a full weekend ticket but single day entry is available, too. Greenland St, Liverpool, 11-13 Dec, from £8 (tickets via Eventbrite), @IndpndtLiv December isn’t all about baby Jesus y’know. The 11th marks what would have been Frank Sinatra’s 100th birthday. To celebrate, Liverpool’s Camp & Furnace will be holding one of its legendary Food Slams in honour of Old Blue Eyes himself. Revellers can enjoy the usual street food stalls and hard liquor, while tribute act Perfectly Frank sings the hits. How pleasant. Greenland St, Liverpool, 11 Dec, 6.30pm–2.30am, free, @campandfurnace Those looking for the perfect Friendsmas venue should head to Christmas Supper, the latest do from Manchester’s Spice Club. Heralded as one of the UK’s top five supper clubs by the Guardian, Spice Club is hosting a five-course Indian feast with a Yuletide twist. Snap up tickets early and BYOB. 10 Dec, 7.30-10.30pm, £40, sold out at time of going to press, but it’s worth getting in touch to enquire after any cancellations: spiceclubmanchester.com This time of year is all about thinking of your fellow man, right? So why not think with your stomach too, and help out Manchester’s artisan bakery Trove with their Kickstarter campaign? Anyone who’s made the journey to Levenshulme only to be turned away from its always-crammed doors will be pleased to hear that the place is looking to expand. As well as more seating, there are plans for an outdoor area (heated, for year-round revelry), extended opening hours and an alcohol license to boot. The project will be overseen by a local architect, and looks to be an exciting new chapter in one of the city’s up-andcoming communities. Find out more at www.trovefoods.co.uk

Read more at theskinny.co.uk/food

Lifestyle

Photo: Rebecca Lupton

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This NQ staple is one of those places you might accidentally walk past or stumble upon, but when you do the latter, it becomes an instant favourite Tucked away on High Street, across from the iconic Smithfield Fish Market, TNQ’s racing-green facade reveals a small, double-height restaurant, with black and white photography and a neat open kitchen. Where the majority of Northern Quarter eateries lure you in with flashy neon and the newest variation on pulled pork, TNQ relies solely on its fresh produce and classic cuisine. At the heart lies a small team and intimate atmosphere, and by the end you’re left well-fed, watered and waiting to rave to the next person who hasn’t yet discovered this little green gem. Chef Anthony Fielden’s menu has everything from venison carpaccio to roast monkfish, meaning everyone from the hungriest meat eater to the vegetarian is catered for. His mantra of “decent, honest cooking with little faff” echoes throughout a menu of seasonal ingredients that changes frequently. Truffled cauliflower cheese

The Old Blind School

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Owned by the duo behind Manchester’s popular Beef and Pudding, The Old Blind School opened on Liverpool’s Hardman Street earlier this year and warrants just as much praise Situated in one of the area’s Grade II listed buildings, The Old Blind School (TOBS) blows you away before you even step through the door. Inside, the renovations are classic and sympathetic to a building as grand and old as this one. Plus there’re pictures of dogs in military uniforms on the walls – what more could you want? We booked a table mid-week via the restaurant’s website and arrive slightly ahead of time. We’re seated at the bar while waiting for our table, and, naturally, are drawn to the cocktails. We order a TOBS Collins – their take on the classic made with gin, rhubarb, lemon and rosé soda – and a Three Graces, with bourbon, salted caramel and hazelnut. Both are delicious. After around a 20 minute wait we’re shown upstairs to our table – cue more gasps at the

alongside creamed cabbage and bacon are perfect winter warmers, but it is the chocolate and honeycomb cheesecake that keeps fans coming back for more. We attend on one of TNQ’s iconic gourmet nights, and in fitting with the wintery turn of weather, this menu is all things game. A starter of scotch quail’s egg and chicken liver parfait is arranged on a bed of crunchy veg and truffle mayo – as we are imaginatively told, “think of it as a bird’s nest.” Hunting season is well and truly on as we chomp our way through six courses. The highlight (apart from varying wines that accompany each course) is the roast saddle of rabbit for main and braised rabbit tortellini. Two of the party daren’t devour Peter Rabbit, but thankfully this leaves more for the rest of us. A mixed crowd of regulars, new faces and foodies ensure full capacity as the team quickly buzz around the hardwood floors, not once looking fazed or trying to rush. Staff even find time to stop for a natter. Sadly, this was the last gourmet night of the year, but TNQ will be celebrating all things Scottish in the New Year. It’s on Happy Monday and Thirsty Thursday, though, that TNQ really shines. For £29.50 you get three courses from a set menu and

all-you-can-drink house red or white. This isn’t any old bargain plonk that other places would stick on a set menu, and these aren’t measly setmenu portions. It’s easy to while away the evening and lose track of time, knowing full well that no matter how long you chatter, the staff will look after you. Despite the mountain of restaurants in Manchester, there are relatively few that feel like a special occasion. It’s plain to see why TNQ is frequently nominated for the Michelin guide; proudly displaying the ‘keep it simple, stupid’ rule. Ditch the brioche burger buns and sweet potato fries and go get yourself some proper fare. There is something quintessentially British about this little place and we tip our bowler hats to it. [Tom Chapman]

stunning staircase. The menu offers standard pub classics with a foodie twist; think colossal burgers and British beef and béarnaise cottage pie, nestled among some more unusual dishes, such as vodka-cured sea bass and duck with Vimto gravy. A quick glance is enough to get our stomachs rumbling, so we’re straight off the block with the deep-fried brie with walnut oil and sour grape chutney. We also order the aforementioned sea bass, served with sweet and sour red peppers and a green olive dressing. The food arrives quickly (we’re tucking in within five minutes of ordering), and despite initial doubts about the brie, there’s enough deep-fried, cheesy goodness on the plate to induce a heart attack. It’s complemented perfectly by the tangy chutney, which also helps it from becoming too sickly. The vodka sea bass goes down a treat, too, complete with an olive dressing that makes a great salty side. For mains, it’s a tough choice, but the Vimmy Duck – duck breast, black pudding hash cake and Vimto gravy – has been calling since we clapped eyes on the menu over a week before. We also go for the squash and chestnut crumble, with roast

beetroot and bashed parsnips baked in a pepper cream sauce. Again, the food arrives quickly, and we dive straight in. My crumble is the kind of hearty comfort food that’s perfect for this time of year. The earthy root vegetables smothered in rich, creamy sauce are like a hug in a bowl and leave you feeling fat but insanely happy. The duck is requested pink, and when it arrives with a thick, glossy gravy, it looks the absolute business. The star of the plate is either the black pudding hash cake or the rich Vimto gravy. Definitely something we would order again. Painful as it is, we eat so much that there’s no room for desserts. Not ones to miss out though, we’re booked in again for a second round. [Claire Reid]

FOOD AND DRINK

If you liked The Northern Quarter, try: Spire, Liverpool Bakerie, Manchester Rosylee Tea Rooms, Manchester The Northern Quarter Restaurant, 108 High Street, Manchester, M4 1HQ tnq.co.uk

If you liked The Old Blind School, try: Beef and Pudding, Manchester Marble Arch, Manchester The Pen Factory, Liverpool The Old Blind School, 24 Hardman St, Liverpool, L1 9AX oldblindschool.co.uk

THE SKINNY

Beyond the Bratwurst It’s here, it’s happening. There’s no escaping the C word. As the Christmas markets descend on Liverpool and Manchester for another year, here’s our guide to their hidden food and drink gems Words: Lauren Phillips and Alice Rose Illustration: Nikki Miles

Manchester

Liverpool

Orchard Pigs Who? A Wrexham-based pie stall, whose owner trained under superchef Raymond Blanc. What? Kick off your trail with a signature pork pie from Raymond Blanc-trained baker Robert Didier. Handmade and stuffed with everything from creamy Stilton to mustard and ale, these watercrust babies are the perfect bite to nurse as you make your way around the stalls. Where? Albert Square, in front of the town hall, on the far left (as you’re facing the town hall).

Scouse Who? A local stall for local people. What? If you aren’t local to Liverpool you may have never heard of scouse. Not only is it the fond term for the Liverpudlian accent, it’s also a popular stew dish with beef, potatoes and carrots, served with a red cabbage or beetroot side. This version is thick, chunky and a real winter warmer (just like our thighs by the end of this review). Where? Located on Church Street, just outside Primark.

‘The Strudel Place’ Who? An authentic Austrian bakery where strudel is the raison d’être. What? Good job this insanely popular strudel stand doesn’t need a name, because it doesn’t have one. A go-to for most market-dwellers, this stall is the only one of its kind on offer at this year’s market, and serves up thick, authentic pastries in a host of flavours from classic apple to the more leftfield chocolate and marzipan. Lashings of custard are mandatory. Where? Albert Square, central, next to the Old Windmill bar. De Creperie Who? A Dutch creperie with a PhD in batter. What? Germany may be where Christmas Market dreams are made, but the Dutch are fast becoming contenders to the crown. Among the usual piles of stroopwafels and Nutella, there are the mini pancakes of De Creperie – tiny little butterballs best eaten with powdered sugar and low blood pressure. Where? Albert Square, left-hand edge. Tentazioni Who? A UK-based family company that specialise in importing the best that Italy has to offer. What? A kind of Greatest Hits of Italian treats and pastries that you’d struggle to find in your local Aldi. Cannoli filled with ricotta and pistachios, doorstop wedges of nougat, giostrine biscuits topped with apricot... the list goes on. Not only are their offerings insanely delicious and great to look at, but they’re also often available as gluten or diary free, too. Where? Albert Square, third row in from the town hall, left-hand side. Gingerbread House Confections Who? Another family setup (all the best ones are), aiming to make Willy Wonka dreams a reality. What? Where to begin? This chocolatecrammed stall is a living, breathing fantasy: chocolate waffles topped with, yes, more chocolate; marshmallows and fruit dipped in – shockingly – chocolate, and full head-sized slabs of, wait for it, chocolate, topped with every kind of confectionary you can think of. It’s hard to pick a highlight, so we’d suggest just faceplanting the whole lot. Treat yo’self. Where? Albert Square, in front of the town hall, far right. [Lauren Phillips]

Mongolian Chicken Who? A speciality chicken stall that offers life beyond the bratwurst. What? Not many people would expect to see a Mongolian chicken wrap being served at a Christmas market, but if you want to steer away from the usual ostrich burgers and hot chestnuts, then this is the stall for you. Tender chicken is marinated in a mixture of five spice, Chinese wine, soy sauce and ginger; placed on crisp lettuce and onions; and topped with a choice of garlic or chilli mayonnaise. A good light bite if you’re planning a particularly heavy session. Where? Located on Lord Street, just outside EE. Kohler Kusse Who? A German stall with those “giant chocolate things” – or, to give them their official title, Sweet Milk Chocolate Kisses. What? One of the only stalls on Liverpool’s market with an actual name, Kohler Kusse sells large, bell-shaped chocolate filled with a light, Walnut Whip-style cream and a small wafer bottom. Flavours range from simple milk chocolate to After Eight and an intriguing Toblerone type. Eating more than one is a challenge, but we’ll happily oblige. Where? Located on Church Street, just outside Home Bargains. Traditional Fudge Who? Exactly what it says on the tin. What? A Christmas market stalwart selling a plethora of fudge in every flavour you can think of. Traditionalists can opt for vanilla or rum, but for those wildcards out there, there’s the likes of cherry brandy (one for the nans), liquorice or even Vimto. Pile ’em high! Where? Located on Lord Street, opposite Thomas Cook. [Alice Rose] Liverpool Christmas Markets are open until 22 Dec, 10am-8pm geraud.co.uk/market/christmas-markets

Manchester Christmas Markets are open until 21 Dec, 10am-9pm, @MCRMarkets manchestermarkets.com

December 2015

FOOD AND DRINK

RNCM Tues 1st Dec • £15 adv

Courtney Barnett Tues 1st Dec • £13.50 adv

The Rifles (Acoustic) Wed 2nd Dec • £30 adv

Public Enemy

Thurs 3rd Dec • £12.50 adv

Electric Six

Thurs 3rd Dec • £22.50 adv

Scouting For Girls

Wed 02 – Sat 12 Dec

RNCM OPERA KURT WEILL’S STREET SCENE Sun 13 Dec

RNCM CHRISTMAS FAMILY DAY Fri 22 – Fri 29 Jan

NEW MUSIC NORTH WEST Sat 23 Jan

Sat 5th Dec • £20 adv

The Rutles

RNCM BIG BAND WITH RYAN QUIGLEY

Fri 11th Dec • £25 adv Sat 12th Dec • SOLD OUT

Tue 26 Jan

Echo & The Bunnymen

PATTY GRIFFIN

Thurs 17th Dec • £20 adv

Sat 06 Feb

The Farm

performing Pastures Old and New

Sat 19th Dec • £16 adv

The Beat

Sat 19th Dec • £18.50 adv

The Damned

ICARUS AT THE EDGE OF TIME Sun 07 Feb

RNCM DAY OF PERCUSSION Thu 11 Feb

Daughter

WILLE AND THE BANDITS + DIVING STATION

Wed 27th Jan 2016 • £11 adv

Fri 12 Feb

Fri 22nd Jan 2016 • £17.50 adv

Cancer Bats

Fri 29th Jan 2016 • £16.50 adv

Gabrielle Aplin

Wed 10th Feb 2016 • £20 adv

FAY HIELD AND THE HURRICANE PARTY Tue 16 Feb

Public Service Broadcasting

MUSIC THEATRE WALES THE DEVIL INSIDE

Sun 14th Feb 2016 • £12 adv

Thu 18 Feb

Tues 16th Feb 2016 • £7 adv

Sat 20 Feb

Little Comets PINS

HOWARD JONES

Thurs 18th Feb 2016 • £15 adv

STEFAN REDTENBACHER’S FUNKESTRA WITH RNCM SESSION ORCHESTRA

Sat 20th Feb 2016 • £16 adv

Sat 05 Mar

Cage The Elephant Walk The Moon

Sun 28th Feb 2016 • £17.50 adv

Jack Savoretti

Wed 2nd Mar 2016 • £15 adv

Exodus

Tues 8th Mar 2016 • £24 adv

The Stranglers

Wed 9th Mar 2016 • £22 adv

Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox Sat 12th Mar 2016 • £16 adv

Foxes

Mon 21st Mar 2016 • £15 adv

Half Moon Run

Wed 23rd Mar 2016 • £17.50 adv

Battles

BALLAKÉ SISSOKO AND VINCENT SÉGAL Sat 12 Mar

RNCM BIG BAND WITH CLARK TRACEY Wed 16 Mar

JEFF WILLIAMS GROUP Wed 20 Apr

KATHRYN TICKELL AND THE SIDE Sun 15 May

KRONOS QUARTET Sat 21 May

MAX RICHTER ENSEMBLE

Thurs 7th Apr 2016 • £15 adv

Leon Bridges

Wed 20th Apr 2016 • £13.50 adv

Neck Deep

Thurs 28th Apr 2016 • £13 adv

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24/11/2015 11:09

RE V

It’s Yours

IE W

No minor breakthrough success story this year, Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker leaves behind psychedelic metaphor for a more personal take on Currents, genres and the crossing of wires Interview: Katie Hawthorne Photography: Kat Gollock

“I

t’s the more feathers you rustle…” explains Kevin Parker, haltingly. “That’s one of the hidden rewards of putting yourself out there. If you make music or art and you keep it safe, that’s cool but it’ll never be truly exciting. So many times throughout my career, I’ve noticed that risking something, whatever it is, is always more rewarding. Even with writing songs that are more exposing... I used to be quite closed off, using psychedelic metaphors to keep it cryptic. So I’ve started tearing a bit of myself off and putting it in the song. I thought it was kind of risky, like, do I really want to tell people how much of a loser I am? But I think people really respond it to it.” The Skinny steals time with the band’s creative mastermind ahead of Tame Impala’s sold-out show at Glasgow’s Barrowland, where even at 2pm there are tie-dye-T-shirted, acidwashed teens stalking the streets looking for an unguarded entrance to the venue. The group, hailing from Perth, are a long way from home and have been for many, many months. Their oceancrossing summer tour has seen them play venues from beach-side festivals to muddy British fields; a clear indication of their undisputed status as a formidable live act. In fact, since Tame Impala’s debut LP, Innerspeaker, in 2010 and its wildly successful follow-up, Lonerism, in 2012 – a record nominated for a Grammy, amongst other heady accolades – the Australians have taken a decisive step into the mainstream limelight. Labelled psychedelic revivalism by both fans and detractors, it’s certainly true that the band’s woozy, colourful vibe feels purpose-built for sound-tracking a toke or two. But Currents – Tame Impala’s third LP, released back in July – marks a definitive, brave departure from the guitar-focused psych-rock of previous records, and heralds a changing of the tides in more ways than one. Typical Tame Impala practice sees Parker write and record alone, before bringing his finished material to the band for rehearsals and subsequent mammoth tours. On the last two records, he’s had production assistance from Dave Fridmann, a multi-talented producer celebrated for his work with the Flaming Lips, as well as Jay Watson, a regular touring member of Tame Impala. The ensemble nature of Tame as a live force roots the band firmly within Perth’s close-knit music scene, with members past and present belonging to myriad other bands. But Parker’s project remains very much his own – and Currents found him mixing and producing single-handedly for the first time: an important progression both symbolically and practically. Why? Some theories are floated: has collaboration prepared him, technically, for solo production duties? Or is Currents simply a more personal record? “I mean, it’s always going to be yes and no,” Parker explains. “But yes, partially, to both of those. In the early days I used to mix myself, but I guess we got Dave because…” If you can, then do? “Yeah, exactly. He’s an amazing mixing engineer, alongside all else. And mixing I find extremely important, so I guess I just wanted to try and see if

December 2015

I could do it myself? It was quite daunting. About halfway through I was like ‘Ooooshh… shit. Am I really trying this?’ There were many ‘come back Dave, all is forgiven!’ moments. But I pushed through. Sometimes I still lie awake at night and wonder what the album would have sounded like, though...”

“This is the most I’ve ever thought about how prog this album is” Kevin Parker

Currents offers resistance to easy labelling, with Parker’s production techniques instigating that fuzzy, liminal existence. At times blissed out, spacious, the album nods to dance music, electronica – rather than the axe-wielding bell-bottom wearers of decades past – and now, the bass-lines are the driving force. Or at least they seem to be. There’s a clear disparity between what happens during a full-band Tame Impala show and the tracks Parker records and releases; during their raucous Barrowland performance it’s easy to see which instruments are where – but when tracks like The Moment are coming at you through your headphones, suddenly it’s not so straightforward. Parker confesses that this confusion is wholly intentional: “So, I’m in the studio, and I’m picking instruments to use, and I always just feel that they all have the same kind of… emotion and sound to them. I don’t really distinguish between a guitar and a keyboard that much. If I’m writing a song I’ll just grab the nearest thing to me. If it’s a keyboard, I’ll play it on keyboard, and it’ll probably be a keyboard song, you know? For me, that moment is just not important. The most important difference is how you end up playing it… which is why I have such a fetish for confusing the listener as to the origin of the sound.” This time around, Parker had “a few more

tricks” up his sleeve in terms of sonically disguising the instruments he’s used, and Currents sounds all the more confusingly interesting for it. In a strange twist of fate, it seems that the more Tame Impala’s sound becomes alien and experimental, the greater mainstream success the band finds. For comparison purposes, consider Elephant, a thumping and relatively straightforward blues rock single from Lonerism, alongside ’Cause I’m a Man – the first cut from Currents. The low-slung “sexy bass grooves,” as Parker terms them, tongue firmly in cheek, soundtrack a sardonic take on modern masculinity. It’s not an instant floor-filler, nor is it likely to soundtrack things on the telly (as did Elephant), and it’s a world away from ‘classic’ psychedelic rock. Yet, Parker finds himself topping the first Official Progressive Music Chart – besting giants like Muse for the number one spot. The creation of the new top 30 list has sparked a discussion of the genre in full, not least because the titling sees a noticeable absence of ‘rock.’ It seems timely, then, that Currents should be the figurehead for this re-evaluation of the parameters of the genre. Parker is flattered, confused and relieved: “Well, that puts it into perspective! I had this idea that it was the prog purists, prog rock. So I originally felt guilty, like, are there going to be thousands of prog heads out there thinking it’s a travesty this album’s even been called prog, let alone number one? Obviously I’m complimented, but my overall sentiment is, like… if you say so.” He laughs but adds, suddenly serious, “I guess, actually, Let It Happen is prog in its purest form. I stand by that one as decidedly progressive.” Let It Happen, the album’s opening track and second single has, as Parker describes, “a landscape to it, in the way it progresses. Ha, there’s that word. But when I was writing it, I got the sense that… you know, like you’re on a train?” Er. “OK, so, there’s different scenery that you go through. A city, then the middle is some weird tunnel, and you come out the other end and you’re in the country. It has that landscape, you know? That must have something to do with the essence of prog?” Parker laughs loudly, scratching his head. “This is the most I’ve ever thought about how prog this album is.”

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It’s true that the album’s tracks take unpredictable twists and turns, often to end up in vastly different territory from where they began. But alongside refuting genre, Parker’s quick to dispel claims that his music is in any way “retro,” too – a description often applied to his work. “I just find it reductive to say that this whole sound, this whole thing as an overall sound, is a throwback. Or, that it’s futuristic. As a body of work, why does it have to belong to a period of time? I guess it all comes down to us being able to discuss it, which is what we as humans... do. We like to put words on things.” Instead of worrying about hyphenated genres like nostalgic-psych-disco (which Currents has probably been labelled, somewhere on the internet), Parker’s far more concerned that the music he creates gives a good time while remaining challenging, too. His most recent endeavour in this department came in the surprising guise of a very public collaboration with proper pop star Mark Ronson. Writing an unashamedly catchy single, Daffodils, and lending his voice to two further tracks on Ronson’s latest album, Parker got a taste of pure pop – something he’s long been angling for. Some indie purists found this colliding of worlds troublesome, but Parker’s delighted to have sparked confusion. “It sounds so cliché, but when you can challenge someone’s appreciation of something, when you can see in their face that wires are crossing in the brain, neurons are touching, and they’re like… I don’t know how to interpret this? Yeah. It’s something that could happen with psychedelic rock fans listening to the new Tame album, too, which I think, in the end, is a good thing. “You know, the start of the album process is extremely therapeutic, because you’re just getting your shit out, doing things musically you’ve wanted to do, whatever. But when it comes out, I feel like it belongs to the rest of the world. Not like, the rest of the world, but that it belongs to the outside world… it’s not just mine any more. A year or two down the track, I’ll feel like it’s my album again, but for that year it belongs to other people – not to me. Call it what you want, put it in whatever chart you want.” He grins. “It’s yours; do what you want with it.” Playing Manchester Arena on 11 Feb tameimpala.com

Review

Joanna Newsom Albert Hall, 31 Oct

Liverpool Music Week, 28 Oct

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Four years on from his own second coming, Josh T Pearson is launching another resurrection in the unlikely but strangely apt surroundings of Liverpool’s Scandinavian Seamen’s Church. Surrounded by religious iconography and standing in front of an altar bathed in red light, Pearson certainly looks the part, clad all in white from his Stetson to his cowboy boots – but minus the chest-length beard that defined his last visits to these shores. A shave isn’t the only change to have befallen this southern dandy in the intervening years since 2011’s stunning solo debut, Last of the Country Gentlemen – for as Pearson admits, the acclaim and touring that came with that album’s release were something of a shock to the reclusive songwriter. “It’s so nice not to be up here alone,” exclaims Pearson as he introduces fellow Texan, Calvin LeBaron. Dressed identically to Pearson, but all in black, LeBaron appears to act as a convenient crutch for his close friend – but at the same time, he is no mere bit part in proceedings as his and Pearson’s voices soar together on a selection of traditional gospel songs, which form the basis of a new project called ‘Two Witnesses’.

The Mountain Goats Gorilla, 15 Nov

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Most of the best bands tend to be able to shift through different identities in convincing fashion and The Mountain Goats – not to put too fine a point on it – have more faces than the town hall clock. Frontman and founder John Darnielle is a fascinatingly versatile writer, capable of laughout-loud wit one minute and harrowing darkness the next, and he’s showing few signs of slowing down in that respect. It’s not long – just over a year – since he released his first novel, Wolf in White Van, and already he’s back in the Mountain Goats saddle, with their fifteenth LP, the wrestling-inspired Beat the Champ, dropping back in April. Before the band take the stage at a bustling Gorilla tonight, the playing of some classic wrestling commentary over the speakers – and the ringing of a bell to signal the trio’s arrival – suggests that a set heavy on new material is on the cards; sure enough, the lurching drama of Stabbed to Death Outside San Juan joins the lilting Animal Mask and rollicking, guitar-driven Heel Turn 2 in opening proceedings with a smattering of cuts from Beat the Champ. It’s almost instinctive to assume that an album based around Darnielle’s childhood fascination with wrestling’s golden era might be trite or even just outright daft, but the songs carry

The joy and optimism of these beautiful hymns contrasts sharply with the Pearson of old, and the devastating heartbreak of material from Last of the Country Gentleman like Sweetheart I Ain’t Your Christ acts as a caustic reminder of Pearson’s old self when played alongside the likes of What a Day That Will Be, and The Sweet Spirit of the Lord. “I’m embracing the light rather than the darkness for a change,” Pearson jokes in one of his many rambling but highly entertaining introductions, and it’s true that there is much to enjoy in this new direction. The duo’s stunning harmonies fill the church’s celestial dome with tales of Biblical devotion, and best of all is the pair’s cover of The Louvin Brothers’ classic, Satan Is Real, which segues beautifully and rather cleverly into a version of the Velvet Underground’s Jesus. Even more bizarrely uplifting is hearing Pearson utter the words, “here’s a hit song from the soundtrack of Sister Act 2” – before playing I Will Follow Him. That tonight’s ramshackle show is clearly a work in practice (“You’re guinea pigs!” he gleefully tells us on more than one occasion) – and perhaps even a stop-gap before Pearson can summon up the pain to write another set of originals – somehow makes this gig all the more special. Praise the lord. [Jamie Bowman]

Review

Liverpool Music Week, 30 Oct

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Coming of age can be a difficult task when you’ve created the perfect teenage soundtrack but that’s the tricky conundrum facing LA fuzz rockers Best Coast. Five years on from their wonderful reverb-tastic debut Crazy for You, it’s hard not to think that Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno need to bring something more to their frat party than just teenage heartbreak and a nice line in surf-punk about cats and weed. Second album The Only Place saw them dabble with country but the good news is that, as this thrilling live rebirth demonstrates, Best Coast have now found a spot-on cocktail of power-pop and psychedelic maturity, which allows Cosentino to elaborate on more adult concerns while keeping that wonderful naivety of youth that made their debut so special. Beginning with the pop fizz of Heaven Sent, Cosentino is a beguiling presence, her dark fringe covering her face as she ignites each song with both a dreamy sexiness and bleary fragility. The band have recently criticised the sexist tone of some reviewers but it’s hard to deny the glamour she brings to proceedings. While some critics have voiced concern that the new professionalism displayed on their latest album has left the duo ignoring what made

genuine panache and signature Darnielle snark in spades, especially on the trash talk-mocking Foreign Object. Peter Hughes and Jon Wurster, on bass and drums respectively, leave the stage six songs in to allow Darnielle to play some solo acoustic tracks, and in doing so he mines the back catalogue for some serious deep cuts. Billy the Kid’s Dream of the Magic Shoes, plucked from 1993’s Chile de Arbol EP, is a delightfully silly highlight – “I don’t give a rat’s ass!” elicits a ripple of laughter from the crowd – while Thank You Mario but Our Princess Is in Another Castle, from 2008’s collaborative Black Pear Tree EP with Kaki King, proves Darnielle’s willingness to bring in songs from relative obscurity. Not that there isn’t any room for fan favourites; two cuts from the 2002 classic Tallahassee, No Children and Game Shows Touch Our Lives, are rapturously received during the encore, as is The Diaz Brothers in opening the second set. Sometimes the term ‘cult band’ comes off as patronising or as a back-handed compliment, but the position that The Mountain Goats have found themselves in, after more than two decades of carving out a rabid fanbase, is one to be envied; tonight feels like a genuine love-in, and with this kind of support behind him, no wonder Darnielle feels comfortable taking risks – be it diverse setlists or ostensibly niche concept records. [Joe Goggins]

The Mountain Goats

Best Coast

Wavves

Sound Control, 16 Nov

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Photo: Nick Bojdo

Josh T Pearson

At first glance, the Albert Hall’s stage is looking awfully bare tonight. The harp sitting dead centre is enough to remind us who’s in town, but there’s no backdrop – just the wood-paneled wall of the old chapel’s altar. The instrumental lineup, outwith its crown jewel, is sparse, and the lights are turned up unusually bright. So complex, evocative and consistently dramatic are this artist’s songs that it’s a surprise to see that the venue hasn’t been decked out in the kind of visually sumptuous manner that would match them. And then, Joanna Newsom walks on stage, and, to put it bluntly, she looks every inch Joanna Newsom: blonde hair long enough to rival Rapunzel and a Disney-princess dress to go with it. The Californian has long had a reputation for perfectionism, and with Divers – her fourth LP, released last week – she took that to new extremes by reportedly taking two years just to work on the overdubs. As a result, this is her first show since 2013 and the first out-and-out tour she’s been on in quite a bit longer. There’s rust, and it shows, quickly. She opens proceedings by beginning Bridges and Balloons in the wrong key, and stumbles a couple more times before the song’s out. “In case it wasn’t eminently clear,” she says with a grin, “we haven’t played in a while.” Considering, tonight’s show is a revelation. It would be by any standards, really. Divers dominates the setlist; a gamble, given that Newsom’s

In the case of Nathan Williams, it’s considerably easier to work out what it is that the kids look up to in him rather than, say, slacker rock icon du jour Mac DeMarco; he’s a symbol of youthful disaffection and rebellion who wraps up those sentiments in highly melodic scuzz-pop songs that fizz by with real vigour. On Wavves’ latest LP – last month’s V – they veered away from the murky rock posturing of 2013’s Afraid of Heights and back towards the out-and-out pop of their finest full-length to date, King of the Beach; accordingly, it’s the breezier moments of their catalogue that make up tonight’s setlist. Sail to the Sun and Idiot is an opening onetwo to be reckoned with, but despite the fact

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Best Coast

them so special, live they are different proposition. The slew of old material combines perfectly with the newer stuff and there’s a real sense that although this is a band clearly moving on they’re still determined to stay true to their devotees; Joyful renditions of When I’m with You, Crazy for You and The End send nostalgic hearts soaring. As the teenage girls at this all-ages show crowd the front of the stage for a gloriously poptastic Boyfriend, the message is clear: Best Coast are growing up but they’re still teenagers at heart. [Jamie Bowman] that few fan favourites are left out tonight – the abrasive So Bored and Bug both make the cut, while Post Acid, dropped at the midpoint, sparks a frenzy within the crowd – there’s a sense that Williams and co never quite get out of second gear. Everything feels a little one-track, with brute force preferred to nuance; even the more melodic numbers, like Heavy Metal Detox or Demon to Lean On, lose some of their subtlety in being delivered so ferociously. Williams’ army lap it up all the same, but Wavves feel a little stuck, currently, between their pop grounding and their out-and-out rock potential (see March’s excellent collaborative LP with Cloud Nothings, the title track of which is a real highlight tonight). The quicker they can strike the right balance, the better. [Joe Goggins]

THE SKINNY

Photo: Ellie Gillard

Josh T Pearson

Photo: Stuart Moulding

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records usually take months to firmly ingratiate themselves with the listener’s brain. Nobody here is under any illusion that they’ve wrapped their head around the album yet, but that doesn’t mean they can’t revel in how cleverly Newsom has arranged these songs for the stage. Her band, which includes her brother, Peter, for the first time, rotate through instruments as she flits between harp and piano. It might feel premature to say so, but when the undulating Anecdotes sounds this bewitching, when Sapokanikan’s dramatic unravelling has the audience this rapt, and when the processional glimmer of Leaving the City hits this hard, there’s surely a case for Divers’ material standing among her very best. There’s a smattering of older material, too, and as much as Newsom will never be able to please everybody – no Baby Birch, no Sawdust and Diamonds, no Good Intentions Paving Company – the likes of Have One on Me and Emily are welcome inclusions. She (ostensibly) saves the gorgeous Time, As a Symptom, Divers’ standout, for last. The crowd, though, have other ideas; despite the civilised all-seated setup, they’re raucous in their appreciation for both the music and Newsom’s stage banter (“I got this new [on-head] microphone because I saw Britney Spears had one”). A Pin-Light Bent, in all its sweeping, theatrical glory, kicks off the encore with Newsom playing solo; the joyous Peach, Plum, Pear, band behind her, closes it. One of her earliest tracks, it’s eccentric, enlightening and absolutely brilliant. Much like Newsom herself, then. [Joe Goggins]

28-34 HIGH ST, NORTHERN QUARTER, MANCHESTER, M4 1QB

THERUBYLOUNGE.COM H @THERUBYLOUNGE H @CLASSICSLUM H CLASSICSLUM.COM

SHOWS… NOV 27: BBC MANCHESTER INTRODUCING LIVE

featuring MAN MADE + NUDE + LIAM McCLAIR NOV 28: TIGERTAILZ + guests THE RESTLESS VENTURE

DEC 2: LANTERNS ON THE LAKE DEC 4: DOPE D.O.D DEC 5: NOASIS + guests THE RECREATION DEC 10: MARIACHI EL BRONX + guests CRAIG FINN + POUNDED BY THE SURF

DEC 11: THE BRONX + guests FRANK CARTER & THE RATTLESNAKES + POUNDED BY THE SURF

DEC 11: CLASSIC SLUM present THE REN HARVIEU CHRISTMAS CONCERTS - SHOW 1 @ SOUP KITCHEN DEC 12: CLASSIC SLUM present THE REN HARVIEU CHRISTMAS CONCERTS - SHOW 2 @ SOUP KITCHEN DEC 19: GEKO JAN 16: LUCIGENIC JAN 22: ANGALEENA PRESLEY + guest DAVID RAMIREZ JAN 23: CLASSIC SLUM present JASON ISBELL + guest JOHN MORELAND

Courtney Barnett

Photo: Sam Huddleston

@ THE RITZ

Gig Highlights Ho ho ho and a bottle of rum

t’s the most wonderful time of the year for touring musicians, who for the most part get to go home, have a good shower and gift their friends a wealth of unsold merchandise. A few troopers are still sledding about the UK, though, from one of 2015’s breakout stars, Australian slack’n’roller Courtney Barnett, coming to Liverpool O2 Academy on 1 Dec, to Warpaint’s bassist jennylee doing her solo thang at Band on the Wall (8 Dec), and veteran 60s psych-pop band The Zombies dropping in at Manchester Club Academy (9 Dec) and Liverpool Arts Club (10th). December’s a month for creature comforts, though, and there are some real winter warmers on offer this Christmas. Take, for example, a tribute to Smog/Bill Callahan at Strange Brew bar in Chorlton on 2 Dec: what could be a cosier prospect? Excellent local artists including Jo Rose, Irma Vep and Elle Mary & The Bad Men will be covering songs spanning Bill’s back catalogue, all for free. Get your requests in on the Facebook page. At The Kazimier on 12 Dec, there’s a tribute of a rather different kind – as the Liverpool venue prepares to close its doors for the last time this New Year (sob), it celebrates one of its most popular fixtures with a final 10 Bands 10 Minutes blowout, where a cast of ten bands will tear through, yes, a ten-minute set each covering the likes of Bowie, Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac and more. If you can’t make the New Year’s Eve party, this is an equally great way to honour the Kaz’s madcap legacy. Two of Manchester’s prominent DIY figures take it upon themselves to host their own Christmas parties mid-month, with former Wu Lyf fella Francis Lung hosting a bash at Gullivers on 13 Dec, and promoters (and current Islington Mill residents) Fat Out turning the Mill into a grungey grotto on the 19th. A Francis Lung Christmas invites swoonsome girl-boy pop duo Bernard + Edith and youthful storytellers

December 2015

JAN 26: AARON WATSON + guest SAM OUTLAW JAN 30: LINDI ORTEGA FEB 9: LUCERO FEB 10: LUCERO FEB 12: FADERHEAD FEB 18: SANGO FEB 26: ANDERSON PAAK AND THE FREE NATIONALS MARCH 10: TURIN BRAKES MARCH 11: AN EVENING WITH ARTHUR BROWN APRIL 8: GOD MODULE ‘PROPHECY TOUR’ APRIL 14: SHONEN KNIFE 35TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR + guests BRUJA APRIL 15: THE HEADS MAY 21: MISHKA SHUBALY JUNE 23: LOVE REVISITED NOV 19: NINE BELOW ZERO

CLUBS… THE DOG HOUSE @THEDOGHOUSEMCR

EVERY 1ST FRIDAY I 11PM I £4 NUS + CHEAP LIST + FLYER + B4 MIDNIGHT PLAYING THE VERY BEST IN ALTERNATIVE ROCK + SCREAM SCREEN HORROR CINEMA

Words: Laura Swift Blaenavon down for a game of pass the parcel, general merrymaking and presumably, y’know, some songs. The poster has a nice festive scene from Peanuts featuring Snoopy atop the tree, so everything is pointing to this being rather lovely. Fat Out’s Christmas Party, meanwhile, is a bonanza of right royal Manchester rabble, with Naked (on Drugs), Locean, Melting Hand and Salsa Boys. All things you’d be happy to find in your stocking. Though less cockle-warming and more spine-chilling, the special one-offs continue at HOME on 11 and 13 Dec with the latest and final instalment in the multi-arts venue’s ‘Music and Film’ series, which has seen local musicians commissioned to create new scores to silent films and this month pairs powerful singersongwriter Josephine Oniyama with Benjamin Christensen’s 1922 exploration of witchcraft, Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages. Brrr. In Liverpool, don’t miss the latest in art/ sound/video collective Deep Hedonia’s programme of relaxed, composer-led events at the Everyman Bistro on 3 Dec. Andy Hunt of Outfit will be presenting his work as Dialect: meditative material from album Gowanus Drifts (a psychogeographic journey through New York) will be accompanied by visuals from Deep Hedonia A/V artist Thom Isom. They’ll be joined by Vitalija Glovackyte, whose investigations into self-made instruments and lo-fi materials result in stirring modern classical/electronic compositions. And finally, if you’re on a composition bent but the various orchestral Christmas concerts aren’t doing it for you, try The Piano Music of Anthony Burgess at the International Anthony Burgess Foundation on 10 Dec, where pianist Richard Casey – founding member of Manchester’s leading contemporary music ensemble, Psappha – will be performing a number of the novelist’s works for piano, to celebrate the launch of a new recording. There’s free mulled wine. Nuff said.

MUSIC

REMAKE REMODEL @REMAKE_REMODEL1

EVERY 1ST SATURDAY I 11PM I £3 GUESTLIST £5 OTD THE NATION’S SAVING GRACE OF ALTERNATIVE ROCK’N’ROLL. ALL KILLS, NO KILLERS

BREAK STUFF @BREAKSTUFFCLUB

SAT 11 DEC + EVERY 2ND SATURDAY BI-MONTHLY [ FROM FEBRUARY 2016 ] I 11PM I £3 ADV A NIGHT OF NU METAL NOSTALGIA. THE SOUNDTRACK OF A GENERATION. WITH CLASSIC ‘ATTITUDE ERA’ WRESTING CINEMA HOSTED BY HXC WRESTLING + 32 BIT CONSOLE AREA

ULTIMATE ANTHEMS @ULTIMATEANTHEMS

SAT 28 NOV + EVERY 2ND SATURDAY BI-MONTHLY [ FROM JANUARY 2016 ] I 10.30PM I £6 ADV THE UPTEMPO SISTER NIGHT TO ULTIMATE POWER: EVERY SONG YOU CAN PUNCH THE AIR TO RELENTLESSLY, WHILST HUGGING A STRANGER AND SCREAMING THE CHORUS TILL YOUR LUNGS GIVE OUT. NOTHING BUT ANTHEMS ALL NIGHT LONG. MASSIVE TUNES, SINGALONG CHORUSES AND A EUPHORIC ATMOSPHERE

SO FLUTE @SO_FLUTE

EVERY 3RD FRIDAY I 11PM I £2 ADV MUSIC OF MANY COLOURS. FEATURING DANUKA, BOLTS, YADAVA, BALOO + KWASI

HOWLING RHYTHM @HOWLINGRHYTHM

EVERY 3RD SATURDAY I 11PM I £4 OTD THE VERY FINEST IN 60’S SOUL + MOTOWN + GRITTY RHYTHM & BLUES + FUNK

DUB SMUGGLERS SOUND SYSTEM @DUBSMUGGLERS

SAT 12 DEC + EVERY LAST FRIDAY [ FROM JANUARY 2016 ] I 11PM I £5 EARLY BIRD / £7 ADV STRAIGHT FROM THE RED BRICK BRINGING YOU HEAVYWEIGHT SOUNDS // DUB SMUGGLERS SOUND SYSTEM ALL POWERED OFF 8 SCOOPS ACROSS 2 STACKS..!

ABSOLUTE SH**E @ABSOLUTE_SHITE

EVERY LAST SATURDAY I 11PM I £4 ADV OVER 4 HOURS OF NON-STOP GARBAGE. “THE WORST NIGHT OF YOUR LIFE.” A PROPER PARTY - CHEAP ENTRY, CHEAP DRINKS, AND THE MOST WONDERFUL PARTY TUNES EVER PLAYED AT YER AUNTY’S 3RD WEDDING. LEAVE YOUR CREDIBILITY AT HOME, SAY IT PLAIN AND SAY IT PROUD - THIS THING IS ABSOLUTE SH…

SPECIALS… FOREVER MAD FRIDAY SPECIAL @FOREVERMCRCLUB

FRI 18 DEC I 11PM I £3 ADV A CELEBRATION OF MANCHESTER’S MUSICAL HERITAGE, ITS INFLUENCES & MORE… THE CITY’S GREATEST ICONS & THOSE WHO MATTER. THE COURTEENERS PLAY A SOLD OUT HOME TOWN SHOW AT THE APOLLO THE SAME EVENING. TICKETS FOR THIS WILL SHIFT! SECURE ENTRY NOW WITH AN ADVANCE TICKET.

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AND OVER THE COUNTER AT THE SUPERB PICCADILLY RECORDS, OLDHAM ST, MANCHESTER

Review

Album of the Month The Grand Gestures

one of several spoken word contributions that add to the album’s intimacy; a nostalgic sense of huddling together for storytime, which admittedly is rarely borne out by the seasonal but gloomy rrrrr subject matter (loneliness, regret, the passage of time). Close the curtains and light the fire – Christmas with The Grand The brainchild of Jan Burnett (also of Dundonian lo-fi heroes Gestures is a chilly, downbeat business. Utterly devoid of sleigh bells Spare Snare), Happy Holidays is a subtle beast. Not an instant classic, and festive cheer, Happy Holidays’ sombre, ambient electronics are for sure; its pull is softer but no less urgent than that, taking a few more likely to remind you of a budget This Mortal Coil than Slade listens to reveal its intoxicating magic. As Burnett’s tonal pulses cusor Darlene Love, particularly when guests Andrew Howie and Pauline hion the invited cast of vocalists – also including Idlewild’s Andrew Alexander cry hopelessly over Quiet’s grim, icy tundras. Mitchell – this is the perfect accompaniment, rather than antidote, It’s a genuine beauty that they concoct, however; a natural poig- to the darkness of the winter nights. nancy that lingers long after its throbbing electronics fade into [Will Fitzpatrick] Dundee, Scotland, 1998 – solemnly intoned by Ross Thompson, and thegrandgestures.bandcamp.com Happy Holidays [Chute Records, Out now]

Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard

jennylee

Noeth Ac Anoeth [New Heavy Sounds, 4 Dec]

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Possibly the most potent thing to come out of Wrexham since a Mark Hughes volley, the gloriously named Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard present their heavy, heavy monster sound on this three-track, 50-minute ‘mini’-album. Taking its title from an ancient Welsh phrase meaning ‘an abode of existence, or Hades crossed with nothingness,’ this hypnotic slab of doom metal certainly leaves the listening gulping for air amongst its dark, cosmic sludge of riffs and monolithic drums. Offering light in the gloom are the angelic vocals of Jessica Ball, whose mesmorising voice lends MWWB’s cosmic soundscapes the ethereal quality of Cranes or My Bloody Valentine on opener Les Paradis Artificiels. Closing proceedings is the 30-minute-plus space opus Nachthexen, which contains passages so lumbering and prehistoric it’s a wonder the band do not actually become extinct before the track fades out. Dark, spacious and mysterious, Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard are the real deal. [Jamie Bowman]

Hanne Kolstø

right on! [Rough Trade, 11 Dec]

While We Still Have Light [Jansen Plateproduksjon, 18 Dec]

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If you check the liner notes to right on!, you’ll find a Lindberg on bass and a Mozgawa on the drums… but this is no Warpaint record. Jenny Lee Lindberg’s first solo record – as the lowercased jennylee – has been a long time in the making, and it requires an equally dedicated approach to letting it soak in. On first impressions, right on! is a smoky, shadowed cathedral to goth rock – moody and sculptural, quasi-romantic offerings presented in monochrome. But, as with most people once you get to know them, you’ll learn a whole lot more once you’ve moved past the formalities of introduction. Colours emerge. Single Never’s grunge credentials brush up against the almost trip-hop of He Fresh, and the scrawled, vicious landscape of White Devil. Confident and supremely creepy, Lindberg’s proven skill for creating space and manipulating atmosphere means that right on! changes shape so rapidly, there’ll be no way of knowing quite how to feel about it any time soon. [Katie Hawthorne]

Hanne Kolstø’s latest boasts a cracking USP: While We Still Have Light is the Norwegian’s fifth album in five years. In an age where artists routinely disappear for that long while they sniff out their elusive muse and tweak the hedge fund, Kolstø remembers what it is she does for an actual living. An album every year. Oh my. For those of us who’ve been properly asleep, the back-tracking starts here. While We Still Have Light is a breathtaking high gloss spectacle, a showcase of deep songcraft and rich musicality. For once the greats come to mind: Canada’s unsung genius Jane Siberry, for one, and if Kolstø’s countrywoman Susanne Sundfør’s Ten Love Songs has stolen your heart, this is most definitely for you. Soaring hyper-balladry dominates: taut percussion, sumptuous strings, crisp keys. But on This Town, when she swoons, “I feel so weak beside you,” her (genuinely staggering) voice exposed fully for the first time, prepare to cave. A genuinely thrilling discovery. [Gary Kaill]

jennyleelindberg.com

hannekolstoe.com

mammothweedwizardbastard.bandcamp.com

Motopony

Yacht

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Welcome You [eOne Music / Fast Plastic, 4 Dec]

Alex Bleeker & The Freaks

I Thought The Future Would Be Cooler [Downtown, 4 Dec]

Country Agenda [Sinderlyn, 4 Dec]

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If it rains a-plenty in the Pacific North West, Seattle’s Motopony possess enough loose, counter-culture cachet to keep us dry and cosy. Combining psychedelic patterns with slow-burn hues, the sextet’s sound – underpinned by Daniel Blue’s fluid, high register vocals – doesn’t shy away from detail, the harmonies, guitar cues and swirling Hammond organ stanzas of Bridge of Clubs and Livin’ In The Fire awash with subtle experimentation. 1971 and Molly wear their late-era Beatles influences without prejudice – and should Welcome You have a problem, it’s perhaps that many of its eleven tracks arrive as expected; song structures frequently find themselves trapped in a West Coast record store circa… well, 1971. It’s when the band slip further away from convention (such as sitar-driven closer Where It Goes) that the disc’s intelligence falls into sharper focus, and interest is aroused. [Duncan Harman]

YACHT (it stands for Young Americans Challenging High Technology) have punishingly cool credentials: describing themselves variously as an ‘avant-garde karaoke group’ and ‘a no wave broken disco band,’ Claire L. Evans and Jona Brechtolt have roped in renowned producer Jacknife Lee for their sixth album. The result is an ambitious conceptual pop album that seems to attempt to do for the 21st century what the likes of Heaven 17 attempted to do for the 80s. Dystopian references to holograms, phones, police violence, sex and technology give their upbeat electro pop a Ballardian and rather sinister edge: it’s no surprise that one of the catchiest songs here is called I Wanna Fuck You Til I’m Dead. Elsewhere the jittery Don’t Be Rude sees Evans ruminating on the lost mythology of childhood, pleading, ‘Don’t tell me there’s no face on the moon.’ If it all feels rather cold and scary, perhaps that’s the point. Until then, just dance. [Jamie Bowman]

As likable and genuine a fellow as he comes across, Alex Bleeker is a flagrant fibber: “I’m not a fan of looking back,” he sings on Honey, I Don’t Know, atop bluesy guitar licks and autumnal organ swells pulled straight from electric-era Dylan. Indeed, Bleeker and his latest line-up possess an affinity for the rustic jangle of classic rock that eclipses even his main band Real Estate, moving beyond nostalgic homage and into the much less trendy territory of bonafide revivalism. Bleeker’s a proud Deadhead and the evidence abounds – bright harmonies, pastoral lyrics, the odd squelchy keyboard. Late cut Turtle Dove, a chirpy traditional favoured by Jerry Garcia, is admittedly an acquired taste but otherwise Country Agenda is an easy listen and certainly Bleeker’s most refined. Still, as exemplary a jam band as the current Freaks ensemble prove themselves (and likely the one he’s always wanted) this reviewer can’t help but wish Bleeker looked back as fondly on the raw, headier spirit of his debut. [Andrew Gordon]

motoponymusic.com

teamyacht.com

alexbleekerandthefreaks.bandcamp.com

Sudakistan

Caballo Negro [PNKSLM Recordings, 20 Nov]

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Had enough of repetitive tonal washes? Splashed in sufficient puddles of droned-out acid rock? Used words like ‘motorik’ to the point of irritation? Seems fair, and yet there still seems to be more essential psych wizardry out there. Take Swedish-based South Americans Sudakistan and the unrelenting energy of their distinctly doolally grooves: a generous dollop of Latin flavour added to an already-heady brew. A ruckus is raised, and you can hear the sweat drip. See, this is more than another stoned meander around hazily pastoral grooves. Mundo Mamon positively attacks its already-furious rhythms, laying down a gauntlet which Rabia’s savage stomp is only too keen to take up. Sudakistan’s chief reputation is that of live band extraordinaire, a claim which too often sets studio documents up for a fall. Caballo Negro’s closing triumvirate tosses such concerns aside – a dizzying, sashaying series of pulses that command both your hips and your undying adoration. [Will Fitzpatrick]

Review

Lil Bub

Giuda

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Science & Magic [Joyful Noise, 4 Dec]

Speaks Evil [Burning Heart Records, 4 Dec]

Controversially, Science & Magic isn’t performed by the internet’s favourite cat Lil BUB. It’s a concept album, conceived and created by ‘Bubbysitter’ Matt Tobey (aka Matty Pop Chart, also of Bloomington indie-punk wonders Good Luck) to raise money for special needs pets, and according to Andrew WK’s sleeve notes, “listening to these songs is the sonic equivalent to holding Lil BUB in your own arms.” The road to hell, as we’re all aware, is paved with good intentions, but this record just about gets away with ‘em. Perhaps appropriately given his muse, Tobey demonstrates a short attention span with regards to genre, running the gamut from string-laden, Go! Team drama to 8-bit videogame nerdcore; a post-everything popgasm. The sun-flecked, dewdrop synths of A Friend steal the show, alongside GOOD JOB’s nonchalant wonder – ok, there’s little here that’ll get your fingernails dirty, but it should all leave you feline pretty good. [Will Fitzpatrick]

Ah; glam rock. All those builders in chiffon and too much make-up, brightening up the three-day week. It’s a curious niche for a bunch of 21st century Italian punks to be mining; that the quintet are already on to album #3 suggests that there’s mileage yet. Cue stomping beats and fellatio guitar, the football terrace chants (on tracks such as Working Class Man and You Can Do Everything) liberal, and more than a little Suzi Quatro. Elsewhere, Roll the Balls is appropriately ballsy. Mama Got The Blues sounds like Primal Scream’s Rocks performed by Eddie and the Hot Rods, whilst Bonehead Waltz is The Sweet toying with a harder sound, and everything’s delivered straight-up, without recourse to irony, as if Speaks Evil knows where its influences lay, and isn’t particularly bothered that the rest of us know so too (indeed, all the band lack is the requisite amount of make-up and chiffon). [Duncan Harman]

joyfulnoiserecordings.com

giuda.net

RECORDS

THE SKINNY

The Brian Setzer Orchestra

Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings

Rockin’ Rudolph [Surfdog Records, 9 Dec]

Sunturns

It’s a Holiday Soul Party [Daptone Records, Out now]

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Christmas I & II [Fika, 4 Dec]

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This is more like it. As a multitude of half-cocked attempts at festive frivolity pay more attention to the cash till than genuine good cheer, the rockabilly stalwart and his swing band return with their first Christmas album in a decade, and it’s a cracker. Setzer’s big band stylings are perfect for this mix of festive standards and rarely seen oddballs. Thankfully, the former take precedence, so rest easy as Setzer’s guitar and backing horns set about the likes of Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, Here Comes Santa Claus and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. Even non-essentials like, um, Yabba-Dabba Yuletide are dispatched with enough spirit and soul to forgive their inclusion. The ex-Stray Cat is too wily and too long in the tooth to knock out shoddy product: Rockin’ Rudolph features classy arrangements, is beautifully packaged and stands as a timely reminder that this stuff done well can warm even the Grinchiest heart. [Gary Kaill]

Not very Christmassy. There you go, Sharon: one for the advertising campaign right there. And in the spirit of the season, yours for free. It’s not that this festive collection from the esteemed soul singer and her backing troupe doesn’t go about its business with enough zip to at least try to get the party started but ultimately, it wants for glitter and sparkle. Featuring only a handful of bona fide holiday favourites (White Christmas, Silent Night, Please Come Home For Christmas) and populated largely by lesser known tunes and Dap Kings originals, it’s a worthy enough endeavour but nowhere near as much fun as it thinks it is. The retro packaging hints at good times from the golden age but, really, for Christmas done with classic soul, there’s still only one option, and there’s nothing here to offer up even the slightest competition to Phil Spector’s A Christmas Gift For You. [Gary Kaill]

Disliking a Christmas album is like admitting the John Lewis advert didn’t make you cry, or that you secretly think eggnog is vile. But, happily, this time comes round just once a year. Sunturns are a Norwegian supergroup, comprising of members from Making Marks, The Little Hands of Asphalt, Monzano, Moddi and Einar Stray Orchestra – and they’ve linked mittens to make not one, but two sides of supremely twee festivity. This double-sided album features no less than 20 original Christmas songs (and, thankfully, one Ramones cover). A few tracks, like Looks Like Styrofoam and The Axial Tilt, cross rare, uncharted Christmas territory, but for the most part the album reels out like a bluffer’s guide to festive bingo. It’s either adorable or terrifying, depending on how you’d feel imagining Marcus Mumford in a knitted cardi carolling with actual jingle bells and a beard full of hand-crafted snowflakes. You might need that eggnog after all. [Katie Hawthorne]

briansetzer.com

sharonjonesandthedapkings.com

fikerecordings.com

Alan Vega, Alex Chilton, Ben Vaughn

Matt Berry & Maypoles

Second Psychedelic Coming: The Aquarius Tapes [Svart Records, 4 Dec]

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Cubist Blues [Light in the Attic, 4 Dec]

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Jess and the Ancient Ones

Live [Acid Jazz, 3 Dec]

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“At the time, I didn’t fully realise how unique the Cubist Blues experience was,” said Vaughn of his 1994 collaboration with Suicide’s Alan Vega and the late Alex Chilton (Big Star). Now re-released (and deserving of a far larger audience than it originally received), the scuzzy inclinations and solitary lightbulb feel of this transcends any fear that they didn’t make the most obvious of trios. Instead, something murky. Semi-improvised and unpolished... and delightful with it, with Chilton’s guitar and shards of coldedged synth with Vega’s vocals – particularly on tracks as languid as Freedom and Too Late – arriving directly from a 3am street corner on the Bowery. And while references to the protagonists’ respective back catalogues do occasionally skulk closer to the mic (the album closes with a version of Suicide’s Dream Baby Dream, reimagined through the ennui of an empty bottle), there’s something behind this swathe of end-of-evening, New York City blues that never feels forced or phony; a record that makes you wish they’d recorded far more together. [Duncan Harman]

Kooky cultural eccentric Matt Berry’s back. This time, he brings you a live compilation album of his time touring with The Maypoles. Stretching over material from three records released between 2008-13 (Witchazel, Kill The Wolf and Opium), Live reads a little like a greatest hits – particularly as his press release warns that he’ll not be playing many of these songs again. Berry’s known for being silly on TV, so it’s worth stressing that his music is not any kind of Boosh-informed improv. In fact, it’s almost too serious. Overblown country-lore is matched by very, very long, twiddling solos. Blown-out prog meets twee, superstitious folk in a manner that feels like a misdirected conversation with your local homebrew keeno, straight from the script of Hot Fuzz. It must be said, though, that the record avoids the potentially smug nature of a live album with grace; gratuitous edits of audience applause are minimal, and Berry’s occasional “Oooh, thank you very much indeed”s are warm and genuine. There’s no grandstanding here; Live is wellintentioned, but largely unnecessary. [Katie Hawthorne]

Taking the ‘does what it says on the tin’ approach to album titles, the Finnish sextet’s second long player isn’t going to win many awards for striking new ground; the smoky, deepregister vox of Jess herself sits reminiscent of Jefferson Airplane or (perhaps a closer match) early 70s prog rockers Curved Air, but more than that, each musical theme pulses with psych-rock allusion of vaguely mystic proportions, the keyboards and bass lines owing something to The Old Grey Whistle Test. Thankfully, what this particular second coming doesn’t want for is sincerity, the band eager to take it's audience on a journey (and at 20+ minutes in length, closer Goodbye to the Virgin Grounds Forever is certainly that). Stand-out In Levitating Secret Dreams isn’t afraid to display its muscles, while tracks such as The Equinox Death Trip and the sample-driven Samhain grab passing riffs and give them a squeeze. In fact, strip away the magick and the hokum, and this becomes quite a fun record indeed. [Duncan Harman]

lightintheattic.net

themattberry.co.uk

facebook.com/jessandtheancientones

Aucan

LeRoy

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Stelle Fisse [Kowloon Records , 18 Dec] Far from the shy retiring geeks of electro stereotype, Italian trio Aucan have toured incessantly over the last few years, playing over 300 shows supporting the likes of The Chemical Brothers, Matmos and Fuck Buttons. If the sprawling and cosmic Stelle Fisse is anything to go by, Aucan could soon be stepping up to headline status themselves, with their combination of minimalist post-rock and modular techno sure to win over crowds of earnest beard strokers and rave kids alike. Key to Aucan’s brilliance is the emotion they bring to their hypnotic soundscapes. If this initially comes across as a bit moody on opener Disgelo’s ominous drum intro and haunting vocals, it’s soon replaced by the calming ambient rave of Loop/Layers. The best example of the Italians’ melding of live instruments and electronics comes with Disto, while towards the album’s end they successfully set the controls for the heart of the sun on Outer Space and the far-better-than-it-sounds Cosmic Dub. [Jamie Bowman]

Google Translate can’t handle Skläsh; after suggesting that it might possibly be a Swedish word, the engine admitted defeat. No matter, because Skläsh feels a perfect, untranslatable onomatopoeia for the avant-garde workings of Munich music maker Leo Hopfinger. A spiralling, left-field adventure through found sounds, field recordings and other noises totally uncategorisable, Hopfinger offers a walk down a path rarely taken. For a starting point, think kraut, think lo-fi, think house… heck, even techno. But then imagine those genres in the hands of an ensemble of woodland creatures, who’ve got their paws on a couple of cheese graters and a sitar. Completely immersive, you could spend all your time trying to calculate the weird and the wonderful in Skläsh’s soundscape – but, it’s far warmer and more welcoming than that. The bubbling, echoing start to The Beach, or the semiindustrial twinge to Skai help you gain a foothold within Hopfinger’s madness, and once you’re in, you’re in. [Katie Hawthorne]

aucan.aucanism.com

schamoni.de/musik

EP Reviews

Blanck Mass

The Great Confuso EP [Sacred Bones, Out now]

Stargaze & Greg Saunier

Deerhoof Chamber Variations [Transgressive, 4 Dec]

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As though Greg Saunier wasn’t busy enough with his various bands, improv exercises, production projects et al, he drops this nifty piece of work. Working with André de Ridder’s stargaze ensemble (their absence of capitalisation, honest), the Deerhoof polymath has re-composed some of his band’s work as neo-classical sketches, and the effects are dazzling. Stuttering pianos and stabs of violin lend a new sense of danger to Rainbow Silhouette Of The Milky Rain, while two voices alternate syllables on Data’s refrain of ‘Nothing you can do can stop me falling,’ before caressing the ears like sweet, warm breaths.It’s best to put memories of the originals to one side; these beautiful arrangements survive just fine under their own steam. [Will Fitzpatrick] we-are-stargaze.com

Band of Gold

Skläsh [Schamoni, 4 Dec]

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Mere addendum to this year’s Dumb Flesh LP? Well, no; split 50/50 between remix and new material it may be, but The Great Confuso creates its own gravity well. Built upon a fifteen second Korg loop, the three movement title track morphs from mutated synth pop motif, through visceral, industrial workout, then into widescreen, ambient pay-off, each step not only logical progression but revelatory in how the triptych moulds perception. The listener receives a pummelling, but it’s a pummelling that’s as thrilling as it is necessary. Not that the remixes are any less integral to the narrative. Dalhous takes Dead Format and strips it of all skin; Konx-Om-Pax’s revisit to Detritus skilfully deposits ecclesiastical grace on the cusp of atonality. And throughout: the presence of Genesis P-Orridge, providing godhead narration to conclude The Great Confuso, then reinterpreting No Lite as an act of warped, snapping tribalism. Recommended? Bloody essential, more like. [Duncan Harman]

Band of Gold [Jansen Plateproduksjon, 11 Dec]

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Pop music. It’s such the supermarket; given free reign, and it’s tempting to overfill your trolley. Not so Norwegian singer-songwriter Nina Mortvedt, who confidently flits between reference points from the 70s and 80s to the present day. The result is an album of contrasts, by mood and by instrumentation. No Way Around floats across an inviting sea of strings, woodwind and harmonies; Wishes pulls things closer, brushing against (but never aping) Kate Bush’s more intimate moments. Nashville flavours (Ready) mingle with folk-rock Americana (For You), while The Parade carries a hook to warm even cold hearts). Recorded, mixed, and co-composed by Oslo indie-scene mainstay Nikolai Eilertsen, that even the weaker tracks sparkle with touches both retro and modern. A record that’s received rave reviews in its homeland; by rights, it should do so here too. [Duncan Harman] facebook.com/bandofgoldofficial

The Top Five 1 2

The Grand Gestures Happy Holidays

Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard

Noeth Ac Anoeth

Band of Gold

Sudakistan

Hanne Kolstø

Band of Gold

Caballo Negro While We Still Have Light

blanckmass.co.uk

December 2015

RECORDS

Review

Top of the Class We catch up with Cerrone at Red Bull Music Academy’s recent event in Paris

ince its inception in 1998, Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) has delivered a yearly programme of cutting-edge and unexpected musical programming to a host of international cities. Following on from recent trips to Tokyo, NYC and Madrid, this year’s event saw the brand set up camp in Paris, combining the usual range of impressive public events with the core of the Academy itself, where 60 up-and-coming producers develop musical ideas in state-of-the-art studio surroundings. RMBA also hosted a series of afterparties in conjunction with Pitchfork Paris, featuring sets from Galcher Lustwerk, Andre Bratten and Omar S, alongside Academy participants such as K2K and Cosmo. However, for the final night of the Pitchfork festival, the vast Grande Halle Villette’s two stages played host to the afterparty itself, with the vast majority of the attendees remaining ecstatic and involved until 6am. Spiritualized, on visually and musically blinding form, blended seamlessly with Run the Jewels’ self-referencing, jovial hip-hop, mercifully free of the cat memes littering their recent, crowd-funded feline remix project, Meow the Jewels. Dance music dominated the evening, however. Hudson Mohawke may have wisely moved away from the EDM-nudging excesses of TNGHT, but following the comparatively light-footed material from this year’s sophomore LP, Lantern, his band still dutifully reels out and thrashes about to crowd pleasers Bugg’n and Higher Ground. John Talabot and Roman Flugel’s set expertly raised the roof with a more cosmic techno atmosphere, still nonetheless satisfying the vast expanse of the room. Flowing seamlessly, the pair hit upon an emotional collective moment when unexpectedly reaching for Arthur Russell’s This Is How We Walk on the Moon. Laurent Garnier disposed with such whimsy – greeted with a typical hero’s welcome in his home city, he took no prisoners with nearly three hours of house and techno that alternated between pummelling and soaring. Always cutting an enigmatic figure, Garnier was one of the initial subjects of Red Bull Music

Review

Interview: John Thorp

Academy’s lecture series in Paris, having days earlier shared his expertise and experience in the ludicrously comfy surroundings of the academy’s lecture hall. (Two lectures daily feature seriously impressive guests including Air founder Nicolas Godin and affable US production legend Craig Leon, who recorded such seminal outfits as Blondie and The Ramones at their peak.) Meanwhile, in a public lecture halfway up the Eiffel Tower, Ceronne lent his expertise in attempting to define that unique ‘French touch’ in music. And although the undoubtedly legendary 70s pop artist seemed ironically keen to distance himself from the style and attitude of his homeland, he was on affable form earlier in the day, comfortable and jovial in the surroundings of RBMA’s purpose-built studio.

“I explained, it wasn’t for the radio, or even for the club. It was for the discotheque” Cerrone

“There was no calculation at all. I didn’t want to pass my life as a drummer in the studio. I decided to produce my last record, Love in C Minor, at Trident Studios in London, and I used that kick,” he recalls, purposefully rapping his knuckles on the studio desk to recreate the rhythm that helped shift over three million copies in 1976. “What, that? 16-and-a-half minutes? How can we play that on radio?” exclaims Ceronne, recalling the reactions of record executives when the former A&R man and drummer in cult group Kongas first presented what was due to be

the opus signalling his musical retirement. “And I explained, it wasn’t for the radio, or even for the club. It was for the discotheque. The music industry don’t understand why I put the drums on the front, but they were so important to me.” Creating sprawling and unusual house music before it was even a genre, Cerrone became an unlikely best seller, having hustled his own records to the West Coast, and catching eyes with his notoriously saucy and then controversial cover sleeves. By the time he found his way to Atlantic Records’ head office in New York, the label were already searching him out. He became an unlikely pop star, too, gamely appearing on US TV to play up his image as a very French, very talented instrumentalist. Arriving in the city as Studio 54 blossomed in glitter and excess (“It was the first time people really went crazy in the club,” Cerrone remembers), how does one of the forefathers of commercial disco feel about the genre’s recent renaissance? “First of all,” he says, “there are two styles of disco: the real disco, and the pop.” Later, half way up the Eiffel Tower, he will characterise the spirit of disco as ‘an atmosphere’. “Now we can say that it’s still dance music, it’s the music for the groove. I don’t want to say lyrics aren’t important. The lyrics to Supernature were important. It is about ecology.” Supernature, Cerrone’s commercial and creative opus, has arguably aged with a grace and timelessness the producer could never have predicted. Sounding as fresh in a club today as it did soundtracking the opening credits of The Kenny Everett Video Show on British television in 1978, it’s an odd legacy for a satirical disco tale of artificial chemicals enraging subterranean creatures to seek revenge on the human race. Still dedicated to the studio, now a DJ late in his career and surrounded at RBMA by the musical trailblazers of the near future, does Cerrone hope to incorporate any more current social themes into his work? “It’s really difficult to be contemporary today. The importance to me is that my LP is to have fifteen tracks, and just have a record with a

CLUBS

concept, not just two or three tracks,” explains Cerrone. “I have some nice featuring guests like Aloe Blacc, and the bass player of Beyonce. It’s a real funk album.” While Cerrone continues to find meaning and evolution in his studio process decades into his career, many of the participants of Red Bull Music Academy are only beginning to find their feet. Some have already enjoyed celebrated underground releases – like Detroitbased footwork producer Wheez-ie and ethereal Japanese house musician Sapphire Slows – whereas others, such as Toxe and Corey K, are already producing vital and versatile tracks while hardly pushing 20. With studio space, time and a vast range of classic and contemporary equipment to experiment with, there’s also the unusual sight of established artists such as Modeselektor and Just Blaze dipping in and out with hands-on assistance and industry expertise. On the doorstep of Paris’s naturally inspiring cityscape, delicious coffee, ludicrously comfy futons and local Parisian catering (‘Red Bull Meal Academy,’ they half joke) – all this cements the appeal of an expertly constructed creative environment. With all the artists working towards public showcases throughout atmospheric local clubs, the tangible and sometimes audible vibe between the group is supportive, with the eclectic nature of the musicians feeding into an unusually diverse atmosphere. Those critical of the energy drink’s involvement in underground culture will find little reassurance, if not plenty of free Red Bull, but what could easily be a soulless corporate exercise in taste making isn’t afraid to throw challenges and curveballs at those fortunate enough to be involved. “I want to hear what you guys have been making,” concludes Craig Leon at the close of his lecture, and after only a relatively brief foray into this year’s portfolio of talent, we can’t imagine the revolutionary producer would be disappointed. daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/paris-2015

THE SKINNY

Matthew Darbyshire: An Exhibition for Modern Living

Safe

HOME

Matthew Darbyshire - Blades House (2007/14)

Photo: Michael Pollard

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Yoshua Okón - Fridge-Freezer (2015)

An article in the Independent on Sunday, found in a glass-fronted notice board in the entrance to Matthew Darbyshire’s An Exhibition for Modern Living, states that the artist’s work “surveys the way we live – and curate – our lives.” For his largest solo show to date, Darbyshire presents ten room-like installations, variably called ‘sculptures,’ ‘environments’ and ‘curatorial adventures’ in the exhibition catalogue, installed in a grid formation across the two gallery floors for browsing efficiency. In the first of these, Oak Effect, a seemingly arbitrary selection of hand-crafted wooden objects from the gallery’s permanent collection – complete with archival tags – are displayed in a unit constructed from contemporary flat-pack furniture. In others, high-end design items are displayed among high-street commodities, curating and visual merchandising are understood as interchangeable terms and art and non-art are presented as equivalent. How does Darbyshire’s approach to filtering and re-framing objects differ from that of the contemporary pop curator? Firstly, we might say that the latter selects according to subjective criteria – a theme, an ‘aesthetic’ or an aura. This form of curating is a form of branding, of amassing and repackaging. To curate a collection of objects is to impart value beyond the value each object implicitly holds.

While some of the works in the exhibition have been fabricated with a fictional client in mind (Blades House, for example, is a mock-up apartment for “a 30-something first-time buyer and bachelor working for a news agency in London”), Darbyshire selects objects according to objective values – their material, form, colour. The objects are presented in their matterof-factness; the process of collecting and arranging them becomes a kind of visual choreography which in turn strips them of their usefulness or (exchange) value. That the resulting collections might relate to a lifestyle is incidental and reveals the extent to which identity is engrained in the objects we amass. But perhaps the easiest way of answering the question about Darbyshire’s difference from other pop curators is to pass the work off as satire. Certainly, it is difficult to imagine Darbyshire celebrating the array of cheap homewares that make up An Exhibition for Modern Living, but it is also difficult to say that the work amounts to an outright condemnation of them. For what would he be condemning? Poor taste? [Daniel McMillan] Until 10 Jan 2016 manchesterartgallery.org/exhibitions-and-events/ exhibition/matthew-darbyshire-an-exhibition-formodern-living/

The resounding question: “Are you allergic to the 21st century?” HOME has responded to Todd Haynes’ thought-provoking 1995 film, Safe, providing artistic interpretations of the unstable marriage between the psychological and the physical. Safe is the first of many responsive exhibitions HOME aims to promote in the coming months. Taking a traditional or prominent film as inspiration, the concept aims to formulate conversation around principal, ageless subjects. Featuring moving image, sculpture, installation, photography and print, the exhibition includes existing artworks from Jala Wahid, Michael Dean, Sunil Gupta and Laura Morrison combined with new commissions from 2014 Turner Prize nominee James Richards, as well as Camilla Wills, Chris Paul Daniels, Claire Makhlouf Carter and Yoshua Okon – providing nine interpretations of the notions of self-help, sexual politics, alienation and paranoia. The layout in the main gallery allows for the traditional airy atmosphere to house the majority of the work, while the two moving-image pieces are more intimately located. There’s even a sofa to sit on and a carpet comforting your feet while you enjoy Yoshua Okon’s masterful Fridge-Freezer.

You are greeted with Chris Paul Daniels’ An Audio Guide, which I found refreshingly inimitable. It is certainly not what is seems – it’s confusing, unseemly, yet appropriately fitting. A kind of self-help product. Elsewhere, Jala Wahid’s photographic print, titled Mallow, acts as the seductively inviting image at the forefront of the exhibition and as Safe’s promotional force. It is essentially an intentional, alluring response to physical wounds and a personal interpretation of the use of objects – such as food – in order to create an evocative and questionable message. Todd Haynes’ film asks whether Julianne Moore’s character, Carol White, is either simply reluctant or entirely incapable of battling her accumulating state. What appears to be responsible? Is it her mind or her body? However puzzling, wonderful, abstract or disconcerting, this exhibition takes its audience on an immersive journey, similar to that of Carol’s, which digs deeper than the average gallery experience. Because the moving-image pieces are most definitely worth watching, it’s important to visit when you’re not in a mad rush. Also, do not forget to hang your coat in the cloakroom upon entering. Expect the unexpected. [Emma Orgill] Until 3 Jan 2016 homemcr.org/exhibition/safe

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December 2015

ART

toolally

toolallyjewels

Review

Photo: Mark Leeming

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Manchester Art Gallery

Film Event Highlights Yes, Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be dominating cinemas from 18 Dec, but it’s not just droids we’re looking for. There are plenty of other great film events on offer this month – and not just Christmas movies Words: Simon Bland and Jamie Dunn

e’ve been looking forward to the prospect of a James Benning season since it was hinted at by HOME’s artistic director of film, Jason Wood, back when the venue opened in May, and this month we finally get the chance to experience the great American filmmaker’s formally rigorous yet wonderfully graceful cinema on the big screen. Benning sees his role in refreshingly unpretentious terms as “someone who pays attention and reports back.” HOME have three of his missives: Small Roads (12 Dec), Twenty Cigarettes (14 Dec) and Faces (17 Dec). There’s also a chance to hear, first-hand, from one of the UK’s greatest filmmakers this month. Ahead of Terence Davies’ long-in-themaking Sunset Song’s release on 4 Dec, the filmmaker will be in Manchester and his hometown of Liverpool on 3 Dec to present preview screenings. Any opportunity to hear Davies talk about his work should always be snapped up, and we’re pleased to report that his latest is another corker (we called it “a Scottish answer to Gone with the Wind.”) See Davies at HOME from 6pm before he races down the M62 for FACT’s 8pm screening, and read our interview with Sunset Song’s stars, Agyness Deyn and Kevin Guthrie, online at theskinny.co.uk/film. HOME also celebrates the wealth of new filmmaking talent on our doorstep with their regular short-film showcase, Filmed Up (4 Dec), plus there’s the not-to-be-missed final screening in the venue’s specially commissioned Music and Film trilogy. Having seen brand new scores performed by Robin Richards and GoGo Penguin, it’s the turn of Josephine Oniyama to lend her soulful voice and skilful guitar playing for a new live score to Benjamin Christensen’s sadistic silent classic Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages (11 & 13 Dec). We have to talk about Christmas movies, we guess. You’ll find plenty of yuletide favourites on the big screen –The Muppet Christmas Carol (12 Dec, FACT), It’s a Wonderful Life (15 Dec, Printworks, Manchester), Home Alone (19 Dec, FACT) – but it’s not all syrup. Take Grimmfest: they’ll be wishing everyone a very Murray Christmas with their Ghostly Murray Christmas Double Bill (10 Dec) at Salford’s Ordsall Hall. This festive frightener boasts two Bill Murray belters, Scrooged and Ghostbusters, back-to-back in a venue that’s reportedly haunted, so don’t forget to bring your proton pack. If you insist on something truly Christmassy, though, we recommend heading to the Bridgewater Hall, where the Hallé Orchestra will be providing a live score to The Snowman (22 & 23 Dec). Fans of iconic movie music may also want to stick around the same venue for The Best of John Williams (27 Dec), as the legendary composer’s key tracks get the full orchestra treatment. The perfect way to combat the postChristmas blues.

Review

Chemsex

Sunset Song

Director: William Fairman, Max Gogarty Released: 4 Dec Certificate: 18

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Director: Terence Davies Starring: Agyness Deyn, Peter Mullan, Kevin Guthrie Released: 4 Dec Certificate: 15

The term ‘chemsex’ originates from hook-up apps like Grindr, and broadly means the use of drugs to facilitate sex between men. Though sex, drugs and Bacchanalian excess are undeniably involved and explicitly documented in Chemsex, this hard-hitting, timely documentary about London’s underground chemsex scene avoids sensationalist gawking in order to explore in depth a very serious sexual and mental health epidemic among gay and bisexual men. This is not the utopian world of the out and proud, a sexual health worker informs us. A sign in a gay sauna prohibiting chemsex reads ‘Do you really want your friends and family to know you died in a gay sauna?’ This, ironically, conjures up the spectre of worry, shame and internalised homophobia that many are trying to escape through the highs of chemsex. Chemsex is a must-see ‘issues’ film, interesting on its own terms, a definite watch both within and outside the LGBTQA community, which will hopefully serve to increase awareness about those who suffer with the dark side of this sociological phenomenon. [Rachel Bowles]

Terence Davies’ adaptation of Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s classic is so radiant that we hope the Liverpudlian filmmaker will get a crack at adapting the rest of the A Scots Quair trilogy. It’s a sweeping chronicle of land and emotion that could fairly be called Scotland’s answer to Gone with the Wind. The heroine is Chris (Deyn), a village girl whose dreams of being a schoolteacher transform into bearing the burdens of family and farming. In the fictional estate of Kinraddie in the early 20th century, she comes of age to see the beginning of machine ploughing, the cruel discipline of her father (Mullan), the death of her mother, her own sexual awakening and the ravages of war. Partly shot on 70mm, Sunset Song is rich and overwhelming. Deyn is a revelation, showing sensitivity and strength as a character who shoulders the weight of her own growing pains and the force of sometimes tragic historical change. This is a sorrowful and quietly angry film, as well as one of exquisite scope and humanity. [Ian Mantgani]

The Forbidden Room

Hector

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Director: Guy Maddin Starring: Roy Dupuis, Charlotte Rampling, Mathieu Amalric Released: 11 Dec Certificate: 12A

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Director: Jake Gavin Starring: Peter Mullan, Keith Allen, Gina McKee Released: 11 Dec Certificate: 15

You don’t watch The Forbidden Room, you surrender to it. This is Guy Maddin’s first full-length feature since 2011’s Keyhole, and it sometimes feels as if every single idea the Canadian auteur has had in the intervening four years has found its way into this amorphous epic. Each bizarre story only leads us to an even stranger one, with the Russian-doll-like structure pulling us ever deeper into a confounding world of damsels in distress, flapjacks, amnesia, fetishes, zombies and hysterical intertitles (“SQUID THEFT!”). It’s an exhausting and overwhelming film to experience, but there’s also something exhilarating about its mad energy and boundless invention. It’s also an aesthetic wonder to behold, with Maddin’s idiosyncratic adoption of early cinema techniques resulting in a near-constant supply of vivid and beautiful images. The films of Guy Maddin are undoubtedly an acquired taste but adventurous and patient viewers will be rewarded with an overload of original ideas, huge belly-laughs, dazzling visuals and an infuriatingly catchy song about buttocks. Who could ask for anything more? [Philip Concannon]

Jake Gavin’s debut feature is a standard ‘elderly man sets out in search of forgiveness and redemption’ narrative, but with added British indie grit. Colloquialisms abound, families throw fists at each other, bloody-faced women appear during the night and Keith Allen shows up to mutter some trite nonsense about still waters running deep. For a tale concerning a long-time homeless man still coming to terms with a personal tragedy, there’s little sense of empathy, anger or understanding on the filmmaker’s part. Gavin wants to convey both the beauty and cruelty of all human existence, but has only childlike heavy-handedness at his disposal. Despite Peter Mullan’s best efforts, the protagonist is a nondescript cipher to whom a contrived series of events merely happens. Where Hector succeeds is in its mise-en-scène, with location shoots around dismal garage forecourts yielding some truly evocative results. It’s as if Gavin has painstakingly constructed the perfect stage for his drama, but neglected to populate it with compelling or believable personalities. [Lewis Porteous]

Swung

Future Shock! The Story of 2000AD

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Director: Colin Kennedy Starring: Elena Anaya, Owen McDonnell, Elizabeth McGovern Released: 11 Dec Certificate: 18 Colin Kennedy’s adaptation of Ewan Morrison’s novel about a couple’s experience of the Glasgow swingers’ scene opens with a limp joke about erectile dysfunction. But don’t judge it too quickly: this isn’t some ooh-ermissus sex comedy. The reason why out-of-work designer David (McDonnell) and lifestyle journalist Alice (Anaya) enter into this salacious world is twofold: Alice is looking for a juicy magazine story; David, meanwhile, finds that watching other people have sex temporarily abates the medical condition that’s introduced with that opening knob gag. Kennedy manages to create a tone that’s both playful and sexy, a fine balancing act that’s achieved by making his camera as curious and nonjudgmental as his protagonists. There’s a TV cheesiness to some of the supporting roles, but the central pair bring warmth and compassion – and, crucially, sexual chemistry. If there’s a sour note, it’s the conservatism that creeps into the film in its final third, but until then this is a mature and humane peek behind an exotic side of Glasgow that’s rarely seen on screen. [Jamie Dunn]

FILM

Director: Paul Goodwin Starring: Dan Abnett, Geoff Barrow, Emma Beeby, Karen Berger Released: 4 Dec Certificate: 15 Just as the punk rock scene was taking off in the UK, another like-minded movement was occurring in comics. 2000AD – best known for Judge Dredd – came into being in a late-70s Britain pulsating with social unrest and discontent, and quickly became notorious for its anti-establishment tone, graphic violence and political subversion. With a story largely relayed by talking heads – interspersed with striking animations featuring artwork from the comics – Goodwin’s documentary benefits from sharp editing, a driving metal soundtrack and energised interviewees reminiscing frankly about their time at the imprint. It’s not all dewy-eyed nostalgia: many writers express their frustration at a lack of creator rights and editors complain that younger writers used it as a stepping stone to the larger American market. Purely by virtue of its subject matter this entertaining film may not appeal to everyone, but for those with even a passing interest in comic books this is perhaps the best documentary of its kind. [Michael Jaconelli]

THE SKINNY

All My Good Countrymen

Robinson Crusoe on Mars

Belleville Rendez-vous

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Director: Vojtěch Jasný Starring: Radoslav Brzobohatý Released: Out now Certificate: 12 Vojtêch Jasný achieved some measure of international recognition alongside the likes of Miloš Forman and Jirí Menzel as part of the 1960s Czech New Wave. Where he differed from his contemporaries was in having spent the previous decade honing his craft and delighting critics. 1968’s All My Good Countrymen is buoyed by reckless energy and wonder, yet is notably the work of an established master. Its tone and pacing are erratic, but the whole creates an impression of meticulous structure. Set mostly between May 1945 and the summer of 1957, the film charts a changing political climate’s impact upon a small Moravian village. We see post-war idealism give way to communist austerity, itself a precursor to Stalinism, before hope is offered by the Prague Spring. Jasný’s narrative is simple enough, but it’s his affection for corruptible, flawed humanity that captivates. [Lewis Porteous]

Director: Byron Haskin Starring: Paul Mantee, Victor Lundin Released: Out now Certificate: PG It’s hard to watch Byron Haskin’s 1964 space oddity Robinson Crusoe on Mars without comparing it to The Martian – this year’s latest from Ridley Scott. Both films concern themselves with the day-to-day survival of protagonists stranded on Mars as they are forced to adapt to its harsh environment and the demands that it makes of them. But, while The Martian pummels the viewer with detailed process and a fashionable ‘Yeah science!’ sensibility, Haskin’s film takes a much stranger route through the red planet. Marooned astronaut Kit Draper (Mantee) veers between authentically troubling existential loneliness and comic camaraderie with his pet space-monkey as he explores a landscape that’s handsomely crafted from a combination of Death Valley and matte paintings. Things only get weirder when escaped alien-slave Friday (Lundin) shows up to add uncomfortable imperialistic overtones and the opportunity for a charming, yet clumsily staged, chase through underground Martian canals. [Tom Grieve]

Director: Sylvain Chomet Starring: Béatrice Bonifassi, Michel Robin Released: Out now Certificate: 12 A decade on from its initial release, and with traditional 2D animation struggling to survive in most filmmaking territories outside of Japan, the textures and abundance of peculiar designs in Sylvain Chomet’s Belleville Rendez-vous stand out as its most enduring aspects. Art Nouveau illustrations clash with Betty Boop-style musical numbers, crossing paths with Gallic comic books and Jacques Tati homages – a dry run for Chomet’s later The Illusionist, with a Tati film poster even making a cameo in one scene. The actual story Chomet is telling – which is oddly reminiscent of Finding Nemo, except with cyclists, an old lady and an obese dog instead of fish – isn’t all that engaging, with most of the entertainment coming from the little background details. Still, all credit to an animated comedy that knows how to utilise silence and precise sound effects for prime amusement, as opposed to a migraine-inducing Minions movie. [Josh Slater-Willams]

Trainwreck

Straight Outta Compton

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

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Director: Judd Apatow Starring: Amy Schumer, Bill Hader Released: 7 Dec Certificate: 15 Amy Schumer, renowned for her subversive humour, makes her screenwriting debut with a romantic comedy disguised as a takedown of gender constructs. Schumer plays Amy, a promiscuous journalist working at a lads’ mag called S’nuff, where stories like ‘You’re Not Gay, She’s Boring’ are commonplace. Amy’s destructive lifestyle is ripe for director Judd Apatow’s style of redemptive storytelling and her saviour arrives in the form of a sports doctor she’s commissioned to interview. Caught in the schism between Schumer’s feminist humour and Apatow’s conservatism, the film begins as a progressive comedy that plays on social norms but quickly regresses to something more conventional, with Amy forced to accept the responsibilities of adulthood and embrace monogamy. Despite a genuinely hilarious first-half it soon becomes clear Trainwreck is hurtling towards a cliched rom-com finale. It’s a fun ride, it’s just a shame the film mislays its sense of irony along the way. [Patrick Gamble]

Director: F Gary Gray Starring: O’Shea Jackson Jr, Jason Mitchell Released: 11 Jan Certificate: 18 With Ice Cube and Dr Dre as producers, and Cube’s son cast in a starring role, it’s not really surprising that F Gary Gray’s NWA biopic is a fairly unambivalent lionisation of the group, unambiguously asserting their place in the musical and cultural history of America. Straight Outta Compton essentially picks one narrative (NWA’s heroic battle for black rights) and sticks to it, amplifying what it sees as the most important aspect of the group’s story at the expense of its other, less admirable aspects (like the undercurrent of misogyny that ran through many of their songs and exploded out into many of their private lives). Putting the ethics of this kind of artistic licence aside, the story it chooses to tell is undeniably powerful, tapping into the angry energy of the band and the environment that formed them for a film that crackles with a barely repressed rage throughout. [Ross McIndoe]

Director: Guy Ritchie Starring: Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer Released: Dec 7 Certificate: 12 It’s been nearly 20 years since 60s TV spy show Mission: Impossible made the leap to the big screen, largely abandoning the source material’s Cold War trappings for more contemporary concerns. As the fifth M:I film hit cinemas this year, another 60s spy property finally gets a modern adaptation, albeit in period-piece pastiche mode with era contexts firmly intact. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. sees CIA agent Napoleon Solo (Cavill, riffing on a fun Robert Vaughn impression) team up with KGB operative Illya Kuryakin (Hammer) and East Germany escapee Gaby (Alicia Vikander) to stop a fascist socialite (The Great Gatsby scene-stealer Elizabeth Debicki) with a nuclear bomb. The cast charms, the retro-rock soundtrack’s great, but U.N.C.L.E.’s action rarely stirs and the whole thing feels strangely free of incident; Vikander’s mod mini-dresses linger in the memory far more than any of the plot. Despite all this, it’s probably Guy Ritchie’s best film. [Josh Slater-Williams]

Glasgow Film Festival: Meet the Team What does it take to put on a film festival? We meet four of the cogs in the machine that is Glasgow Film Festival, one of our favourite UK film events, and find out how their roles help shape the festival. It’s not just watching movies, you know! Allan Hunter (Festival co-director) “My job mostly involves watching films, shaping the programme, deciding the annual country focus, choosing the retrospectives and being aware that the festival is very much a great big team effort. “The best part of co-directing GFF is probably meeting and spending time with the filmmakers, which is a great privilege, as is the chance to attend some of the bigger world film festivals like Cannes and Toronto. Also, when a film you have chosen is sold out and embraced by the audience. Just the sense of discovery you can have, say, when watching a submission like Patrick Wang’s In the Family a few years back and falling in love with a brand-new filmmaker. “Favourite memory of past festivals? I have a great soft spot for Richard Johnson, star of the 2015 Audience Award winner Radiator, which is now on release. He was such a delight, such a charmer and full of tales from a well-lived life. Sadly he died later in the year. “One film I one day hope to screen at GFF is Orson Welles’ legendary The Other Side of the Wind, because it would mean that it was completed, rescued from the vaults and finally able to see the light of day more than forty years after they began shooting.”

December 2015

Rachel Fiddes (Festival manager) “My job is quite broad: I look after funding applications, financial management, staffing, logistics and all the other bits and pieces that need to be done to deliver the festival. I love working with the team here at GFF – we have such a great group of temporary staff that come back each year. We’re really lucky to have such a clever, skilled and committed bunch of people, who work so hard to put on such a great event. “I have so many great memories from past film festivals – most of these feature some of the great festival guests that I have been lucky enough to meet. One of my top memories is being driven around in a limousine sitting on the back seat between Patrick Stewart and Sean Connery – and they were both wearing kilts! “Film I’d love to see screened at a future GFF? I am a bit into 50s B-movies at the moment – so I would love to drop one of these into the programme some day!” Emma McIntyre (Event manager) “I work to create immersive environments for our audience to reconsider and experience film. This involves selecting films, developing relationships with new venues across the city, creating a programme that caters for our diverse audience

Interview: Jamie Dunn

and then creating the event with unique additions including music, performance and many other experiences! “The best part of the job is that I get to meet new people all the time, and work live and on large scales. I collaborate with musicians, artists, actors and anyone else that will work with me (!) to bring together art forms and create immersive cinematic experiences that suggest new ways to consider what we know and love about cinema. “My favourite memory from working with GFF is definitely our recent screening of Wings of Desire at Paisley Abbey. That was a very ambitious event and a real development for GFF into immersive cinema, which has given us a whole new platform to progress from. “I worked with trapeze performers, musicians and artists. I set things on fire, I learned about the choir in the abbey, and our audience ate German food, drank great coffee whilst being transported into another world to then watch an incredibly beautiful film... Amazing!” Sean Greenhorn (GFF programmer) “I programme the Sound & Vision strand, which is our dedicated programme focusing on music and film. It is a passion of mine, and I am really fortunate to be able to do it. I get to watch a lot

DVD / FILM

of the latest films in the genre, and decide what should get shown at the festival. I also work with some interesting musicians for some great Sonic Cinema events. “The GFF event I’m most proud of working on is from the year I first started at the festival (as a programming assistant): I organised the Admiral Fallow: We Are Ten event, which was a huge success and it was great to work collaboratively with the musicians and filmmaker. “If I could show any film to a GFF audience, I would love to screen the entire The Decline of Western Civilization trilogy by Penelope Spheeris, which is a series of films charting 80s and 90s punk and metal music scenes in LA. Actually... to be honest, the films were just released on DVD this year and I probably will find an excuse to screen them at some point, so I have just given that surprise away.” Glasgow Film Festival 2016 takes place 17-28 Feb

Review

Spotlight: Tayo Cousins The bright new standup talent explains the importance of warming up a crowd before dropping some swears Interview: John Stansfield

hough he was raised in Manchester, it’s in the comedy clubs of New York that Tayo Cousins found his feet as a performer. It’s there that his Nigerian-born father resides, and though his paternal relationship may be somewhat frayed, his biological link to the Big Apple has helped mould his effortless, confident style. At just 20 years of age Cousins recently took home the panel prize from the coveted ‘Beat the Frog World Series’ at The Frog and Bucket, a prize chosen by industry insiders. It’s not hard to see why. Though he may still be a little rough around the edges (he’s been at it less than a year) there is a tremendous star quality to Cousins you can’t take your eyes off. And he does a killer Morgan Freeman impression. Influences: “Robin Williams is my biggest influence. He was amazing to me because of his ability to convey a situation to the point you could see it and then bring it to life with the characters and voices. Also, he is what I want to be: a great comedian that can shock people by being an outstanding

actor as well. Another would be Louis CK, just solely because of the way he thinks adjacent to the public and makes it so funny.” First gig: “My first gig was in The Comedy Store, Manchester – the King Gong competition, which was as terrifying as I had heard. I got on and my mind went over each line I had written for it and for the next 1 minute 36 seconds (a number I can’t forget) I went into overdrive, reworking and testing out jokes that I didn’t think would work but were getting massive reactions from the crowd. Which was great until I said a joke that can’t and has never been said since that showed me a crowd needs to be warmed up if you’re gonna get crude. But it was the best learning experience for me and it hooked me – every time I’ve had money since I’ve used it to get to a gig and make someone laugh.” Best gig: “My best gig was in New York, where I have done the majority of my standup. It was in Manhattan,

Win tickets to see The Haunting of Hill House at Liverpool Playhouse

The brand new stage adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s chilling ghost story The Haunting of Hill House opens at Liverpool Playhouse this December. When three strangers are invited to join the mysterious Dr Montague at the eerie house on the hill, not even their darkest dreams could prepare them for what awaits. As their stay unfolds, they are plagued by a series of inexplicable events that propel them to the very edge of their existence. This Christmas watch as Hill House stirs into life on stage, in a new adaptation by Anthony Neilson and directed by Olivier and Tony Award nominee Melly Still. For your chance to win a pair of tickets to see this frightening festive treat, simply head along

Review

in a bar called the Karma Lounge. What’s great about that place is that all of the people there are so accepting and friendly, but what made it so good was it was the first time I did my Morgan Freeman impression and it just killed the room! It was a night where every one of my new jokes hit and that one just hit home, and I remember how clean my set was. It just felt amazing.” Favourite venue: “My favourite venue is probably The Frog and Bucket, Manchester. The stage might be small but the crowds are always big and always welcoming. It’s rare I feel at home somewhere so quickly, but that place especially makes me feel cool, calm and collected.” Best heckle: “The best heckle I’ve ever had was when an elderly gentleman wanted to know why we comedians swore so much. He was kind enough to wait ’til I got off stage to ask, ‘Hey Coco Pop, why do

you have to swear on stage?’ He didn’t wait for a reply before saying, “Ahhhh you wouldn’t know.” I didn’t realise he called me ‘Coco Pop’ ’til he left and sat down.” What would you be doing if you weren’t doing standup? “I would be doing what I’m doing now; working at Nando’s, which is fulfilling (literally they give me free food). I would also be in some kind of theatre school on the side.” If you lived in medieval times what would you do for a living? “Blacksmith (sorry, African-American Smith).” Question from past Spotlighter Sophie Willan: What’s the worst joke you’ve ever written? “The one about my mum that lost me the King Gong – and a friend in the process…” Follow Cousins’ misadventures on Twitter: @TayoCousins

Win a Christmas book hamper from Canongate!

to theskinny.co.uk/competitions and correctly answer the following question: Which 1963 cult horror film was adapted from Shirley Jackson's novel The Haunting of Hill House?: A) The Shining B) The Haunting C) The Innocents Competition closes midnight Sun 3 Jan. Entrants must be 16 or over. Tickets to be collected at Liverpool Playhouse box office on the day. Winners will be notified via email within two working days of closing and will be required to respond within 24 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Our Ts&Cs can be found at theskinny.co.uk/about/terms

Christmas shopping getting you down? Still struggling to decide what to get for that literature-loving family member, but can’t face another trawl through that there ‘information superhighway’, let alone trudge the crowded high streets in the hope of locating that perfect gift? Never fear, The Skinny’s here. We’ve teamed up with your pals and ours at Canongate to offer one lucky reader the chance to win a pretty snazzy book hamper containing The Peanuts Guide to Christmas, Tails from the Booth by Lynn Terry, Snowflake, Seashell, Star by Alex Bellos, Redeployment by Phil Klay and Things We Have in Common by Tasha Kavanagh. ‘Dope’, as we’re assured the kids say.

COMEDY / COMPETITIONS

For your chance to win, just head to theskinny. co.uk/competitions and test your brains with the following head-wrecker: Which Charles was the creator of Peanuts? a) Dickens b) Schulz c) Manson Competition closes midnight Sun 3 Jan. Winners will be notified via email within two working days of closing and will be required to respond within 24 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Our Ts&Cs can be found at theskinny.co.uk/about/terms

THE SKINNY

Manchester Music Tue 01 Dec

BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE

THE LOWRY: QUAYS THEATRE, 19:00–22:30, FROM £14.50

London-born singer/songwriter and recent Mercury Prize winner, of Ghanaian origin, who honed his craft while busking on the Paris metro. TUESDAY LIVE (PACIFIC + MAYFLOWER + MORE)

JOSHUA BROOKS, 20:00–23:00, £4

A host of local talent take to the stage for Joshua Brooks new music night. YAK

GULLIVERS, 19:30–23:00, £7

Psych pop types, one of whom used to play in Peace for a bit. SONS OF KEMET

BAND ON THE WALL, 19:30–22:30, FROM £10

2013 MOBO winners return to Band on the Wall, now well established as one of UK jazz’ most diverse bands. HEY VIOLET

MANCHESTER ACADEMY 3, 19:30–23:00, £10.50

Los Angeles rockers head out on the road.

Wed 02 Dec LANTERNS ON THE LAKE

THE RUBY LOUNGE, 19:30–22:30, £10

More fragile and cinematic folk soundscapes from the Newcastlebased sextet. GO WEST (NIK KERSHAW)

PALACE THEATRE MANCHESTER, 19:30–22:00, FROM £33.40

Go West together in concert with Nik Kershaw and very special guest Carol Decker from T’Pau are united for one night only. WILLIS EARL BEAL

NIGHT AND DAY CAFE, 20:00–23:00, £9

Chicago-born musician and artist whose debut album consisted of lo-fi demos recorded while homeless. THE HALLÉ

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 14:15–16:45, FROM £11

The Hall&eacute; gear up for Christmas with a special festive programme of events, with their Xmas Family Concert (Dec 6), Handel's Messiah (12), Xmas Singalong (18), Carol Concerts (19 and 20) and The Snowman (22 and 23). MATT BERRY AND THE MAYPOLES

MANCHESTER CLUB ACADEMY, 19:30–23:00, £17.50

The ever-talented Matt Berry – yes, the funnyman from The IT Crowd and The Mighty Boosh etc. – doing a full band set, laden with deep vocals and his usual cheeky charm. RADIO X ROAD TRIP (NOEL GALLAGHER’S HIGH FLYING BIRDS + JOHNNY MARR + NEON WALTZ + PRETTY VICIOUS) O2 APOLLO MANCHESTER, 18:00–23:00, £SOLD OUT

A load of lads celebrate Christmas in a proper laddy way. Loads of banter, probably. TAX THE HEAT

SOUND CONTROL, 19:00–22:00, £7

The rising Bristol stars end their year on tour, bringing their blues rock’n’roll sound our way. SMOG / BILL CALLAHAN TRIBUTE

STRANGE BREW, 20:00–00:00, FREE

THE HALLÉ

FRIDAY CHAMBER SERIES

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £11

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 13:15–15:15, FREE

The Hallé gear up for Christmas with a special festive programme of events, with their Xmas Family Concert (Dec 6), Handel's Messiah (12), Xmas Sing-along (18), Carol Concerts (19 and 20) and The Snowman (22 and 23). THE DRIFTERS

PALACE THEATRE MANCHESTER, 19:30–22:00, FROM £28.90

American doo-wop vocal group, currently in their 60-somethingth year of making music. PEN:CHANT

CONTACT THEATRE, 19:30–22:00, £7 (£4)

Ben Mellor hosts the very best local, national and international acts from the worlds of spoken word, live music, comedy, cabaret and performance. BUGZY MALONE

MANCHESTER ACADEMY 2, 19:00–23:00, £12

The 24 year-old rapper continues his rise as one of the UK’s most promising new artists. SHURA

AUTUMN RUIN

Alternative metal bunch from Manchester, influenced by the likes of Bullet For My Valentine and Killswitch Engage.

December 2015

THE CASTLE HOTEL, 19:30–23:00, £7

Indie-pop group from the north of England. GUY GARVEY

ALBERT HALL, 19:00–23:00, £SOLD OUT

The Elbow frontman goes it alone for the first time. Nevertheless, expect plenty of arm waving. TROUBADOUR

THE KING’S ARMS, 19:30–23:30, £6

After the departure of their long standing drummer earlier this year, Troubadour return after a year locked in the rehearsal room. DOPE D.O.D

THE RUBY LOUNGE, 19:00–22:00, £10

Ascendant hip-hop group finishing their break out year that’s seen them support Wu-Tang and play Readings and Leeds.

FLO MORRISSEY

THE CASTLE HOTEL, 19:30–23:00, £7

The young songwriter tours in support of her debut LP Tomorrow Will Be Beautiful. She’ll learn. PEACHES

ISLINGTON MILL, 19:00–23:00, £SOLD OUT

Sold out in 15 minutes, Islington Mill represents an incredibly intimate venue for the electro legend Peaches. DIANE SHAW

BAND ON THE WALL, 19:30–22:30, FROM £8

The singer who’s shared the stage with Tito Jackson, The Stylistics, Martha Reeves and more comes to Manchester. RNCM STRING AND WIND ORCHESTRAS

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:30, £8

Sat 05 Dec NEW MODEL ARMY

MANCHESTER ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £22

Post-punk five-piece from Bradford, named after the English revolutionary army of Oliver Cromwell. KODALINE

O2 APOLLO MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, £18.50

Sun 06 Dec DJANGO DJANGO

ALBERT HALL, 19:00–23:00, £16.50

Everybody’s favourite ScotsAnglo-Irish (keep up, folks) artrockers come to Manchester. SUPERFOOD

SOUND CONTROL, 19:00–22:30, £SOLD OUT

Energetic Birmingham troupe riding along on youthful vocals and surging guitars. THE HALLÉ (CHRISTMAS FAMILY CONCERT)

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 15:00–17:30, FROM £11

The Hall&eacute; gear up for Christmas with a special festive programme of events, with their Xmas Family Concert (Dec 6), Handel&rsquo;s Messiah (12), Xmas Sing-along (18), Carol Concerts (19 and 20) and The Snowman (22 and 23).

MANCHESTER ACADEMY 2, 19:00–23:00, £15

The six-piece metal group hit the road again. MUMFORD & SONS

MANCHESTER ARENA, 18:00–23:00, £42

The love ‘em/hate ‘em folkrockers do their thing. TRAFFORD MUSIC

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 13:00–14:00, £9

Showcasing the talents of some of the youth groups from across the district. Morning performances also available.

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:30, £15

GULLIVERS, 19:30–23:00, £5

MATT WILLS

Serious looking new solo artist who smokes moodily in his press images an’ everything.

LISSIE

Mon 07 Dec

MANCHESTER ACADEMY 2, 19:00–23:00, £17

ALBERT HALL, 19:00–23:00, £SOLD OUT

Special Virtuosi musicians perform orchestral and solo pieces in this Autumn term concert.

Fri 04 Dec ANE BRUN

GORILLA, 19:00–22:00, £13

Scandinavian singer/songwriter riding along on her mid-Southern vocal twang, backed by delicatelyplucked acoustic guitars, piano and strings. AYNSLEY LISTER

MANCHESTER ACADEMY 3, 19:30–23:00, £14

The Leicester-born blues guitar legend does his thing. THE SELECTER (THE TUTS)

MANCHESTER ACADEMY 2, 19:00–23:00, £17.50

2-tone ska revival band formed in Coventry back in 1979, now back on’t live circuit celebrating 35+ years of being. STEREOPHONICS

MANCHESTER ARENA, 18:00–23:00, £35.75

BBC PHILHARMONIC (BRAHM’S THIRD SYMPHONY)

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £10

The BBC Philharmonic gear up for festive season. NIGHT AND DAY CAFE, 20:00–23:00, £10

The Twisted Wheel front man goes it alone. ANY TROUBLE

BAND ON THE WALL, 19:00–22:30, FROM £12

Any Trouble were the great white hope for Stiff Records in the 1980s and the tight guitar jangle and razor sharp hooks still sound fresh and fiery three decades on.

The Rock Island folk-rock songstress (aka Elisabeth Corrin Maurus) hits town. MR SCRUFF KEEP IT UNREAL

BAND ON THE WALL, 22:00–03:00, £12

Keep it Unreal with Mr Scruff at the controls all night long.

SEX SWING (GROVES + BREAKING COLTS)

SOUP KITCHEN, 19:00–22:00, £6.50

Featuring members of Part Chimp, Mugstar and Dethscalator, Sex Swing make a much-anticipated return to Manchester. INTERNATIONAL CONCERT SERIES (JOHN RUTTER’S CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL) BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £15

John Rutter hosts an evening of some the classical canon’s favourite Christmas songs. FAITHLESS

MANCHESTER ARENA, 18:00–23:00, £38.50

The 90’s trance and big beats veterans showing no sign of waning in popularity. MOSS LIME (WITCHING WAVES + RATTLE)

FUEL, 20:00–00:00, £5

The Montreal post-punk group tour the UK, with support from London DIY heroes Witching Waves and Nottingham minimalists Rattle. GUY GARVEY

ALBERT HALL, 19:00–23:00, £SOLD OUT

The Elbow frontman goes it alone for the first time. Nevertheless, expect plenty of arm waving. THE REVEURS

NIGHT AND DAY CAFE, 20:00–23:00, £6

THE KOOKS

Tousled-haired Brighton scamps with a kit-bag of guitar-based pop offerings, if anyone’s still listening?

Maxi Jazz returns with his fearsome live band The E-Type Boys. JENNYLEE

BAND ON THE WALL, 19:30–22:30, FROM £12

The Warpaint bassist hits the road lonesome for a rare solo set. CHUNK! NO, CAPTAIN CHUNK!

SOUND CONTROL, 19:00–22:30, £10

French pop/easycore band formed in 2007 in Paris. MANCHESTER2CALAIS WITH LOVE (TWISTED LULLABY + CASCADES + THE PRIONS) NIGHT AND DAY CAFE, 20:00–23:00, £6

WILL JOHNSON

Austin folk singer swapping the warmth of his home state for a tour around the wintry UK. Fool.

Wed 09 Dec THE ZOMBIES

MANCHESTER CLUB ACADEMY, 19:30–23:00, £20

The 1961-formed rock band still rocking out with original members Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent still going strong. SAINT ETIENNE

ALBERT HALL, 19:00–23:00, £21.50

The 1990-formed English synthpopsters return on the back of their first album in seven years. THE COURTEENERS

O2 APOLLO MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, £25

The popular hometown lads play a string of dates at the Apollo. THE STORY SO FAR

MANCHESTER ACADEMY 2, 19:00–23:00, £14

The five-piece pop punk group finish their year in the UK. THE MAGIC NUMBERS

GORILLA, 19:30–23:00, £16

The sibling four-piece roll on with their inoffensive brand of indie-pop. GRIMETHORPE COLLIERY BAND

THE LOWRY: LYRIC THEATRE, 20:00–22:30, FROM £24

THE OVERTONES

THE LOWRY: LYRIC THEATRE, 19:30–22:00, FROM £29.50

O2 RITZ MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, £17.50

Vocal harmony quintet based in London, where they were discovered whilst working as decorators. Obviously. GARETH MALONE

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £25

The popular choirmaster comes to the Bridgewater. NOTHING MORE

MANCHESTER ACADEMY 3, 19:30–23:00, £9

San Antonio rock band touring their latest album of the same name. CARNIFEX

SOUND CONTROL, 18:00–22:00, £11

San Diego death metallers hit the UK to celebrate a Decade of Despair. ONE OK ROCK

MANCHESTER ACADEMY 2, 19:00–23:00, £25

Japanese rock band influeced by Good Charlotte and Ellegarden.

NICHOLAS DANIEL AND THE BRITTEN OBOE QUARTET

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 19:30–22:00, £25

The Quartet perform works by Britten, Berkeley, Moeran and more.

Tue 08 Dec THE COMPUTERS

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:30, £8

Swooning anthemic indie rock from the heart of Manchester. ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 19:30–22:00, £5

O2 RITZ MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, £17.50

An evening of classic carols presented by The Christian Unions of Manchester Carol Service.

MAXI JAZZ AND THE E-TYPE BOYS

MANCHESTER CLUB ACADEMY, 19:30–23:00, £12.50

The real stars of the hit movie Brassed Off return to Manchester in no-less demand than they were nearly 20 years ago.

Rock ‘n’ rollers touring a new EP with an album to follow in spring 2016.

THE CHRISTIAN UNIONS OF MANCHESTER CAROL SERVICE

A host of local talent take to the stage for Joshua Brooks new music night.

GULLIVERS, 19:30–23:00, £9

SPECIAL VIRTUOSI AUTUMN CONCERT

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 19:30–22:00, £7

JOSHUA BROOKS, 20:00–23:00, £4

THE HALLÉ

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 13:15–15:15, FREE

The in-house orchestra team up to perform some classical selections.

TUESDAY LIVE (WHITE SUGAR + YOLANDA RIBAS + MORE)

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:00–21:00, FROM £11

Dublin-based indie-rock quartet who use their music predominantly as a form of therapy (i.e. they write about being dumped an’ that). MUMIY TROLL

THE COURTEENERS O2 APOLLO MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, £25

The popular hometown lads play a string of dates at the Apollo.

Fundraising gig for the Calais refugees.

Longstanding Russian art rockers founded in 1983 in Vladivostok by vocalist and songwriter Ilya Lagutenko.

Thu 03 Dec

NIGHT AND DAY CAFE, 20:00–23:00, £6

ASH BEFORE OAK

Back for the first time in three years, the local blues five-piece return with new material.

Pop producer and singer/songwriter, aka Aleksandra Denton when she’s off stage.

JONNY BROWN

The Kele Okereke-fronted ensemble embark on their return to the live stage after a two year hiatus.

GULLIVERS, 19:30–23:00, £7

The garage rockers return for another taste of UK life.

BLUEBIRD KID CLARK

The Welsh rockers play the biggie dates of their arena tour.

ALBERT HALL, 19:00–23:00, £SOLD OUT

DEMOB HAPPY

GORILLA, 19:30–23:00, £11

A night that’s assembled some of the finest songwriting talents within Manchester to pay homage to American folk singer Bill Callahan. Artists include Jo Rose, Songs For Walter, Tekla, Irma Vep and Elle Mary and The Bad Men. BLOC PARTY

Performances of work by Berstein, Bates and Shostakovich.

WEDDING EAGLE INN, 19:30–23:00, £6.50

Manchester via Berlin based songwriter Thomas Craig plays his final show of the year.

ASH (ASYLUMS)

The Irish Britpopsters play all the usual hits and live favourites of a 20+ year career. And none of them have even reached 40 yet.

FEAR FACTORY

The veteran rockers head out on a Demanufacture 20th anniversary tour. THE MAGIC GANG

SOUND CONTROL, 19:00–22:00, £6

Indie-pop four-piece closing out their year on tour. JEFFREY LEWIS AND LOS BOLTS

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:30, £11

The folktale-telling punk returns with new band Los Bolts. H09909

SOUP KITCHEN, 19:00–22:00, £8

American hip-hop group founded by theOGM and Eaddy. RNCM BIG BAND WITH MATT FORD

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 19:30–22:00, FROM £15

The in-house big band play some classic selections from Frank Sinatra’s career, joined by Matt Ford.

MR B THE GENTLEMAN RHYMER GULLIVERS, 19:30–23:00, £11

Mighty fusion of gypsy-jazz, swing and high-octane electronica from the raggle-taggle French natives.

GORILLA, 19:00–22:00, £15

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £11

The Hospital Records man drops in for a live set.

O2 APOLLO MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, £25

THE HALLÉ

The Hallé gear up for Christmas with a special festive programme of events, with their Xmas Family Concert (Dec 6), Handel&rsquo;s Messiah (12), Xmas Sing-along (18), Carol Concerts (19 and 20) and The Snowman (22 and 23). THE TWILIGHT SAD

GORILLA, 19:00–23:00, £12.50

The Sad boys play their largest Manchester headlining show to-date, well-known for their synth-driven, gloomy gems that unfurl with each listen. GNARWOLVES

SOUND CONTROL, 18:30–22:00, £10

The hard rock trio head out on their biggest headline tour to-date, after a summer hitting some of Europe’s biggest festivals. THE PIANO MUSIC OF ANTHONY BURGESS

INTERNATIONAL ANTHONY BURGESS FOUNDATION, 19:30–22:00, £5

An intimate live performance by pianist Richard Casey, who will perform pieces from his new album of Anthony Burgess songs, played on Burgess’ own grand piano. KLEZMER

MANCHESTER JEWISH MUSEUM, 19:30–21:30, £8

MJM's annual Chanukah concert returns with a feast of klezmer with over 20 musicians performing inside the museum's historic synagogue. THE DEAD DAISIES

MANCHESTER ACADEMY 3, 19:30–23:00, £12.50

Sydney formed six-piece who’ve enjoyed something of a who’s who of past rock stalwarts, including members of Roling Stones, Thin Lizzy, Nine Inch Nails and more. THE LOX

MANCHESTER CLUB ACADEMY, 19:30–23:00, £25

Rap veterans return to the UK.

SHOT THRU SESSIONS #01 (THE JADE ASSEMBLY + THE JAKOBINS + THE 48KS + DONNA AND THE CADILLACS) NIGHT AND DAY CAFE, 20:00–23:00, £5

Shot Thru Records present their debut session just in time for Christmas. FEDERAL CHARM

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:30, £7

Manchester quartet spanning all your favourite classic rock ‘n’ roll influences. YUKON BLONDE

THE CASTLE HOTEL, 19:30–23:00, £TBC

The five-piece tour in support of their third album On Blonde.

MICHAEL JANISCH’S PARADIGM SHIFT + CHETHAM’S JAZZ ENSEMBLE

BAND ON THE WALL, 19:30–22:30, FROM £13

The American bassist, composer, producer and record label owner tours with his new band. TUMMOR & ORGEL (BARBEROS + MOTHERS)

ISLINGTON MILL, 19:00–23:00, £5

Tummor & Orgal is a Swedish musical duo from Uppsala, consisting of brothers Anders and Staffan Ljunggren on Hammond organ and percussion. RNCM BAROQUE ENSEMBLE

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 13:15–15:15, FREE

The Ensemble play works by Corelli and Scarlatti.

MANCHESTER ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £25

Fri 11 Dec

Histrionic hair metal group continue to enjoy their unlikely rejuvenation.

MARIACHI EL BRONX (CRAIG FINN)

THE RUBY LOUNGE, 19:30–22:30, £15

The mariachi alter-egos of LA punks The Bronx, taking to a live setting armed with third LP, Mariachi El Bronx III, and bedecked in dapper charro suits, as per. THE COURTEENERS

O2 APOLLO MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, £25

The popular hometown lads play a string of dates at the Apollo. CLUTCH

O2 RITZ MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, £18

Incendiary southern hard rock ensemble formed in 1990, fronted by Neil Fallon.

CARAVAN PALACE O2 RITZ MANCHESTER, 18:30–22:00, £19

London-born folk and soul singer/ songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.

Thu 10 Dec THE DARKNESS

LIANNE LA HAVAS ALBERT HALL, 19:00–23:00, £SOLD OUT

Bringing his unique brand of chap hop (hip hop meets the Queen’s English) to the Northwest specially for Christmas.

SHED SEVEN

MANCHESTER ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £22.50

The Britpop also-rans revisit their glory days. FISH

MANCHESTER ACADEMY 2, 19:00–23:00, £25

The group head out on their farewell to childhood tour. REN HARVIEU

SOUP KITCHEN, 19:00–22:00, £17.50

The local songwriter returns for her traditional Christmas show, this time performing over two nights.

NETSKY

THE COURTEENERS

O2 APOLLO MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, £25

The popular hometown lads play a string of dates at the Apollo. DON BROCO

O2 RITZ MANCHESTER, 18:00–22:00, £15

Bedford-based rock quartet continuing their ascent through the UK’s venues. THE MADDING CROWD

EAGLE INN, 19:30–23:00, £TBC

Singing songs that spanning the emotional spectrum, from passion to despair, the Manchester-based four-piece make a go of it with what they call ‘melodramatic popular song’. KEY 103 CHRISTMAS LIVE

THE COURTEENERS

The popular hometown lads play a string of dates at the Apollo. WIRED

SOUND CONTROL, 23:00–04:00, £4

Christmas party for the drum ‘n’ bass night special, featuring DJ Broke, DJ Break and more. THE HALLÉ

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £11

THE LOWRY: LYRIC THEATRE, 19:30–22:30, FROM £27.50

MANCHESTER ARENA, 18:00–23:00, FROM £29.90

Mississippi-hailing r’n’b singer, drawing comparisons to the likes of Otis Redding.

CHRISTMAS IS COMING!

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:30, £5

A host of pop, um, talent combine to celebrate the festive season.

THE ORIELLES

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £18

Bright young things from Halifax offering their take on the 60s surf pop genre.

RNCM CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

MANCHESTER ARENA, 18:00–23:00, FROM £52

Classical renditions of festive favourites. ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 19:30–22:00, £15

The in-house chamber orchestra perform some classical selections. THE UNDERCOVER HIPPY

GULLIVERS, 19:30–23:00, £7

SIMPLY RED

Mick Hucknell once claimed he’d slept with more than 1000 women. Keep your wits about you tonight. EL VY

GORILLA, 19:00–22:00, £SOLD OUT

Singer/songwriter Billy Rowan, (aka The Undercover Hippy), blending together elements of folk, reggae and hip-hop.

The collaborative vehicle of The National’s Matt Berninger and Menomena’s Brent Knopf comes to the UK.

THE CASTLE HOTEL, 19:30–23:00, £10 (£5)

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:30, FREE

MAWKIN

New Brit-folk group fusing folk, blues and rock. THE BRONX (FRANK CARTER AND THE RATTLESNAKES)

THE RUBY LOUNGE, 19:30–22:30, £15

The hard rock stalwarts get back to their ‘dayjobs’ after the previous evening’s mariachi. ANTICS CLUBNIGHT (SHOPPING + HAUS + CHURCH PARTY)

NIGHT AND DAY CAFE, 20:00–03:00, £5

Special Antics in collaboration with Now Wave, bringing FatCat Records signings Shopping to Night and Day. MANCHESTER’S CHRISTMAS GOSPEL

BAND ON THE WALL, 19:00–22:30, £10

A festive offering featuring the UK’s gospel community. HÄXAN: WITCHCRAFT THROUGH THE AGES WITH LIVE SCORE BY JOSEPHINE ONIYAMA

HOME, 20:15–22:00, PRICES VARY

Benjamin Christensen’s 1922 silent film is paired with a brand new live electronic/acoustic score from singer-songwriter Josephine Oniyama, and musicians from the University of Salford.

MAHALIA

The voice behind Rudimental track We The Generation. SECRET AFFAIR + THE ELECTRIC STARS + DJ MARTIN THE MOD

BAND ON THE WALL, 20:00–22:30, FROM £16

Rock, soul and Mod revival act formed way back in 1978 from their previous incarnation as New Hearts.

IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY AT BLAK HAND (CHAIKA + TURF + BEACH SKULLS + LAVENDER + MORE) THE OLD PINT POT, 15:00–23:00, £4 (£3)

All-dayer at the rejuvenated Old Pint Pot courtesy of Sunny Manchester and Blak Hands Records, featuring the scuzzy sounds of Chaika, turf, Beach Skulls and more.

JUNIOR RNCM PERFORMANCE DAY

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 10:15–22:00, FREE

Performance Day profiles the work of the full range of Junior RNCM ensembles, from the Symphony Orchestra and Vocal Ensemble to the Foundation Section and Brass Band.

Sat 12 Dec

HUMAN HAIR (DENIM AND LEATHER + XAM + GAME _PROGRAM)

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 19:30–22:00, FROM £21

Grey Lantern and Bad Uncle end their year with the raucous punk of London troupe Human Hair, made up of members of Lovvers and Throats.

STREET SCENE

Vibrant opera-cum-musical set in a 1940s New York City tenement one hot summer’s day. THE TAPESTRY

ISLINGTON MILL, 19:30–23:00, £6

The local indie rockers play their final gig of 2015. GORGOROTH

FALLOW CAFE, 20:00–00:00, £5

Sun 13 Dec THE COURTEENERS

O2 APOLLO MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, £25

SOUND CONTROL, 18:00–22:00, £18

The popular hometown lads play a string of dates at the Apollo.

SHED SEVEN

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:30, £SOLD OUT

Norwegian black metallers formed back in 1992. MANCHESTER ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £22.50

The Britpop also-rans revisit their glory days. BIG COUNTRY

MANCHESTER ACADEMY 3, 19:30–23:00, £20

Mark Brzezicki and Bruce Watson continue to tour as Big Country, with new vocalist Simon Hough replacing Stuart Adamson. REN HARVIEU

SOUP KITCHEN, 19:00–22:00, £17.50

The local songwriter returns for her traditional Christmas show, this time performing over two nights.

JOHN BRAMWELL

The I Am Kloot singer/songwriter and frontman hits the road solo.

TREMONTI (MAN THE MIGHTY + THE RAVEN AGE + WEARING SCARS)

O2 RITZ MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, £17.50

American singer/songwriter (aka Mark Tremonti) best known as the lead guitarist of rock units Creed and Alter Bridge. THE BIG ISSUE IN THE NORTH FUNDRAISER (GUY CONNOR + SAM KIRKPATRICK + PATCHWORK RATTLEBAG + GORDON ZOLA + MORE)

THE KING’S ARMS, 19:30–23:30, £5

Music and spoken word in aid of The Big Issue.

Listings

Manchester Music THE HIGH MANCHESTER ACADEMY 3, 19:30–23:00, £15

Manchester based band formed in 1989 and including original Stone Roses member Andy Couzens. SON LITTLE

NIGHT AND DAY CAFE, 20:00–23:00, £9

The artist formerly known as Aaron Livingston whose collaborated with the likes of The Roots and RJD2. THE MANCHESTER FESTIVE HAPPENING

ALBERT HALL, 19:00–23:00, FROM £14

The Manchester Camerata play a festive selection, including pieces by Handel, Vivaldi and Gabrieli. RNCM CHRISTMAS FAMILY DAY

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 11:00–16:00, £5

A day of magical festive activities, interactive workshops and musical treats. A FRANCIS LUNG CHRISTMAS

GULLIVERS, 19:30–23:00, £6

The former Wu Lyf man hosts what’s becoming an annual affair, with guests including Bernard and Edith and Blaenavon. HÄXAN: WITCHCRAFT THROUGH THE AGES WITH LIVE SCORE BY JOSEPHINE ONIYAMA

HOME, 18:00–21:45, PRICES VARY

Benjamin Christensen’s 1922 silent film is paired with a brand new live electronic/acoustic score from singer-songwriter Josephine Oniyama, and musicians from the University of Salford.

Mon 14 Dec KATE RUSBY

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–22:00, £25 (£15)

The vocalist delivers song from her two Christmas albums of Yorkshire-inspired carols.

A WINGED VICTORY FOR THE SULLEN

ST PHILIP’S CHURCH, 19:30–22:30, £SOLD OUT

Enjoying a raft of acclaim not just from recent LP Atmos but also a slot supporting Nils Frahm at the Royal Albert Hall, A Winged Victory for the Sullen bring their wistful, brooding ambience to an intimate setting. THE COURTEENERS

O2 APOLLO MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, £25

The popular hometown lads play a string of dates at the Apollo. JOHN BRAMWELL

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:30, £SOLD OUT

The I Am Kloot singer/songwriter and frontman hits the road solo. RAE SREMMURD

O2 RITZ MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, £17.50

Hip-hop sibling duo who’ve been raising the roof with cuts from their latest record Sremm Life. MADONNA

MANCHESTER ARENA, 18:00–23:00, FROM £45

We don’t really need to explain this one, do we? It’s freakin’ MADONNA.

Tue 15 Dec

LOWER THAN ATLANTIS

O2 RITZ MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, £14

Hard-rockin’ foursome hailing from Hertfordshire. CARO EMERALD

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:00–22:00, FROM £22.50

Dutch singer/songwriter specialising in lyrical tales of romance set over a blend of Samba, jazz, bossa nova, mambo and crackling vinyl.

Wed 16 Dec ORANGE GOBLIN

SOUND CONTROL, 18:30–22:00, £15

London-based heavy metal quartet who’ve made the genre a way of life; balls-out and booze-fuelled in their approach. TEXAS

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:00–22:00, FROM £28.50

The Scottish pop veterans return for their final run of shows before Christmas, celebrating 25 years together. AMATEUR TRANSPLANTS (ADAM KAY’S SMUTTY XMAS SONGS)

GORILLA, 19:30–23:00, £15 (£13)

Amateur Transplants front man Adam Key presents an evening of seasonal smut for the seventh year running. CHRISTMAS CHAMBER CONCERT

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 15:00–17:00, £10

Celebrate the festive season with a chamber concert of light music performed by an ensemble from the BBC Philharmonic.

Thu 17 Dec DAVE MCPHERSON

THE CASTLE HOTEL, 19:30–23:00, £8

The ex-InMe rock frontman takes to the road solo. ONLY MEN ALOUD

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 19:30–22:00, £27.50

Welsh all-male voice choir who won BBC One’s Last Choir Standing in 2008. HORSEBEACH

BAND ON THE WALL, 19:30–22:30, £9

The hazy lo-fi dream pop locals finish up their year with their biggest home headlining show to-date. NELLY

O2 RITZ MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, FROM £28

The quintessential early 00’s-era rapper gets back on the road to see how his Thicke-level sleaze gets on in 2015. QUEEN KWONG

SOUND CONTROL, 19:00–22:00, £8

LA Queen Kwong makes a return to the UK building on her early hype with a debut LP in tow. THE SUGARSTONES

NIGHT AND DAY CAFE, 20:00–23:00, £5

Christmas special from the local band. PEACE AND LOVE BARBERSHOP MUHAMMAD ALI

SOUP KITCHEN, 19:00–22:00, £5

New garage rock troupe celebrating the launch of their new EP.

Fri 18 Dec THE MOUSE OUTFIT

BAND ON THE WALL, 20:00–22:30, FROM £8

Nine-piece Manc hip-hop juggernaut led by MCs Dr Syntax and Sparkz, fusing funk, soul and jazz into their mix.

HALLÉ YOUTH ORCHESTRA

BAKED A LA SKA

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–22:00, £10.50 (£7.50)

BAND ON THE WALL, 20:00–22:30, FROM £10

The Hallé gear up for Christmas with a special festive programme of events. CHAMELEONS VOX

MANCHESTER ACADEMY 2, 19:00–23:00, £18

Mark Burgess plays a host of Chameleons tunes as he winds down the group’s cult career. MANCHESTER PRIDE CHAMBER MUSIC RECITAL

INTERNATIONAL ANTHONY BURGESS FOUNDATION, 19:30–22:00, £5

Manchester Pride Chamber Music returns for an eighth season of concerts devoted to LGBT composers and performers. GEKO

BRAHMA-LOKA (ENEMIES EYES + CONTROL OF THE GOING)

NIGHT AND DAY CAFE, 20:00–23:00, £6

Mad Friday party courtesy of Interstellar Overdrive. RIVET CITY

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:30–22:30, £6

Alternative five-piece who combine the Red Hot Chili Peppers with Maroon 5. Hmm.

MANCHESTER CLUB ACADEMY, 19:30–23:00, £7

Mask-wearing noise rockers Evil Blizzard are joined by The Creature Comfort and The Capital for a festive show. THE PLIMP SOULS

SOUP KITCHEN, 19:00–22:00, £4

Raw funk and heavy soul vibes. THE HALLÉ CAROL CONCERT

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 15:00–17:00, FROM £18

The Hallé gear up for Christmas with a special festive programme of events.

FAT OUT CHRISTMAS PARTY (MELTING HAND + NAKED (ON DRUGS) + SALSA BABES + DENIM & LEATHER + LOCEAN) ISLINGTON MILL, 19:30–02:00, FROM £7

A host of local acts descend on the Mill for Fat Out’s inaugural Christmas party. SALFORD CHORAL SOCIETY: MESSIAH

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 19:30–22:00, £17

Start your Christmas celebrations with Salford Choral and Handel’s much-loved masterpiece.

Sun 20 Dec DAVID FORD

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:30, £12

East Sussex singer/songwriter and former Easyworld frontman, touring to celebrate ten years of going it solo. CRUEL KINGDOM (LYCEUM)

THE KING’S ARMS, 19:30–23:30, £4

Local funk rockers.

JOOLS AND HIS RHYTHM AND BLUES ORCHESTRA

O2 APOLLO MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, FROM £29.50

Jools gets his boogie woogie on. THE HALLÉ CAROL CONCERT

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 15:00–17:00, FROM £11

MISTY’S BIG ADVENTURE

GULLIVERS, 19:30–23:00, £9

Eight-piece Birmingham-based mix of pop, ska, jazz, indie and even more. CHRISTMAS WITH ALED JONES

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £16.50

The Walking In The Air crooner pops up just in time for the festive season.

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 16:00–18:00, £22 (£14)

The North Eastern indie lot celebrate their 10th anniversary for a second time, having sold out Albert Hall so quickly first time round. GHOST (DEAD SOUL)

O2 RITZ MANCHESTER, 18:00–22:00, £16.50

The mysterious mask-wearing Swedish rockers return to the UK.

Tue 29 Dec BAY CITY ROLLERS

O2 APOLLO MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, FROM £29.50

Les McKeown returns to header some Rollermania.

THE HALLÉ (SUPERHEROES OF THE SILVER SCREEN)

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £18

Wed 30 Dec

THE HALLÉ (ABBA SYMPHONICA)

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £18

Thu 31 Dec

MANCHESTER CAMERATA (NEW YEAR’S EVE BOND SPECTACULAR)

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 20:00–23:00, FROM £33

The annual Viennese celebration.

Fri 01 Jan

MANCHESTER CAMERATA (THE NYD VIENNESE)

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 15:00–17:00, FROM £18

The annual Viennese celebration.

Sat 02 Jan THE HALLÉ

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 15:00–17:00, FROM £11

The US hip-hop pioneers delve into their rag-bag of greatest hits, fierce polemic and incendiary rhythmic patterns still very much at their core. All hail. THE BLUESWATER (IAN JANCO)

MAGUIRE’S PIZZA BAR, 19:45–23:00, £5

Rockin’ Edinburgh 11-piece, resplendent with an old-school R’n’B vibe and a three-horn brass section. DORJE

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £10

The UK-based progressive hard rockers head out on tour. MOLECULAR + BONNACOONS OF DOOM

LIVERPOOL JOHN MOORES UNIVERSITY, 19:00–22:00, FREE

A free evening of art and music at the Liverpool Art School sees local psych collective Bonnacoons of Doom play alongside Molecular, side project of Enablers vocalist Pete Simonelli.

Thu 03 Dec ELECTRIC SIX

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £12.50

Detroit underdogs with enough joyful hooks, mischievous wordplay and unexpected pathos to worm their way into your heart. SCOUTING FOR GIRLS

THE HALLÉ (THE SNOWMAN)

Sat 05 Dec

IAN PROWSE AND AMSTERDAM

ARTS CLUB, 19:00–23:00, £14

The Cheshire singer/songwriter reunites with his group Amsterdam after a stretch solo.

JC AND THE 2 STEPS (PAUL DUNBAR)

CAST

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 19:30–22:00, £35

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of their album All Change, Liverpool band Cast unites with musicians of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra for a unique live performance. JOHN BRAMWELL

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 20:00–22:00, £16

John Bramwell, songwriter and singer with I Am Kloot, performs songs from all of the Kloot albums, throwing in a few bizarre anecdotes along the way.

Sun 06 Dec VICTORIA SHARPE

NYL, 14:00–18:00, FREE

Local music and entertainment showcase courtesy of NYL. STRINGS AND THINGS XMAS SPECIAL

EVERYMAN THEATRE, 20:00–22:30, £5

Two gifted Northwest composers come to the Everyman Bistro as Deep Hedonia continue their residency at the Everyman’s Bistro. WHITE SCENERIES (ALESSANDRO STELLA)

THE CAPSTONE, 19:30–22:30, £11.50

Italian concert pianist Alessandro Stella presents a concert of contemporary music for solo piano.

Fri 04 Dec TURIN BRAKES

THE KAZIMIER, 19:30–23:00, £20

The London folk rock ensemble hit the road again with their sleepy laidback sound. SPACE

EPSTEIN THEATRE, 19:00–22:30, £15.50

THE LANCASHIRE HOTPOTS

Five northern blokes in flat caps singing songs about the wonders of modern day life. THE ORIELLES

THE SHIPPING FORECAST, 19:30–23:00, £3

Bright young things from Halifax offering their take on the 60s surf pop genre. HANDS LIKE HOUSES

ARTS CLUB, 19:00–23:00, £10

Australian six-piece utilising an array of tecnhical effects, post-hardcore charm and lively stage antics. TOM ROBINSON

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 20:00–22:00, £19.50

The British singer/songwriter and broadcaster dips into his justreleased new LP. GEORGE TWIGG (THE PLANS)

NYL, 20:00–01:00, FREE

HENRY PRIESTMAN

Mon 07 Dec MUMFORD & SONS

ECHO ARENA, 19:30–23:00, FROM £25

The love ‘em/hate ‘em folkrockers do their thing.

R.A. THE RUGGED MAN (A-F-R-O)

THE KAZIMIER, 19:30–23:00, £14

HOOTON TENNIS CLUB

THE KAZIMIER, 19:30–23:00, £7

The ascendant Liverpudlians and recent Heavenly signings sign off their year. THE MAGIC GANG

STUDIO 2, 19:00–23:45, £6

Indie-pop four-piece closing out their year on tour.

Wed 09 Dec DEAF SCHOOL

THE KAZIMIER, 19:30–23:00, £17.50

The 1973 Liverpool rock band, Deaf School, get back together for a couple of shows. RADIO CITY CHRISTMAS LIVE

ECHO ARENA, 19:30–23:00, FROM £25

A load of much-hyped pop fodder get together for a pre-Christmas shindig. RAH RAH

Still fronted by original member Ian McCulloch, the longstanding Liverpudlian rockers continue to do their thing. XANDER AND PEACE PIRATES (ROB VINCENT)

NYL, 20:00–01:00, FREE

Local music and entertainment showcase courtesy of NYL. SIMPLY RED

ECHO ARENA, 19:30–23:00, FROM £45

Mick Hucknell once claimed he’d slept with more than 1000 women. Keep your wits about you tonight.

Sat 12 Dec DURAN DURAN

ECHO ARENA, 19:30–23:00, FROM £35

HENRY PRIESTMAN

The singer-songwriter plays through cuts from latest album The Last Mad Surge of Youth. ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £SOLD OUT

Still fronted by original member Ian McCulloch, the longstanding Liverpudlian rockers continue to do their thing. ANDY WILLIAMS (ROB VINCENT)

NYL, 20:00–01:00, FREE

Local music and entertainment showcase courtesy of NYL. 10 BANDS 10 MINUTES

THE KAZIMIER, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

Ten bands take to the Kaz stage to deliver ten breakneck sets for the final time. KEEP IT HEAVY 2015 (BLACK MOTH + LIMB + FOR EYES + SIEGE MENTALITY)

ARTS CLUB, 18:00–22:00, £8

Leeds’ rockers Black Moth head up a night of hard rock and metal. WONK UNIT (THE DEAD CLASS + DEAD BLENDS)

MAGUIRE’S PIZZA BAR, 20:00–00:00, £4

Wonk Unit head up and Antipop Xmas special with punk from Liverpool and beyond. ALLERTON BRASS: CHRISTMAS CRACKERS (ALLERTON BRASS)

THE CAPSTONE, 19:30–22:00, £8 (£6)

Allerton Brass return to The Capstone this December for their third consecutive festive concert.

Sun 13 Dec CONNIE LUSH

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 20:00–22:00, £12

STUDIO 2, 19:00–23:45, £9

British blues songstress who’s won Best Female Vocalist UK no less than five times.

Thu 10 Dec

NYL, 14:00–18:00, FREE

Canadian six-piece closing out their year with a UK tour. THE ZOMBIES

ARTS CLUB, 19:00–23:00, £20

The 1961-formed rock band still rocking out with original members Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent still going strong. DEAF SCHOOL

THE KAZIMIER, 19:30–23:00, £SOLD OUT

The 1973 Liverpool rock band, Deaf School, get back together for a couple of shows. LIFESIGNS

THE ZANZIBAR CLUB, 19:30–23:00, £12

Modern prog rock band indebted to the likes of Focus and King Crimson. AREA 11

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £11

Electronic-tinged hard rockers from Bristol, known for their energised and varied live sets. THE PLANS (DAN ROSS)

NYL, 20:00–01:00, FREE

Local music and entertainment showcase courtesy of NYL.

THE PLANS (PAUL DUNBAR)

NYL, 20:00–01:00, FREE

Local music and entertainment showcase courtesy of NYL. CHRISTMAS AT O2 ACADEMY

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £7

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 20:00–22:00, £15

ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN

THE LANTERN THEATRE, 19:45–22:30, £SOLD OUT

Any Trouble were the great white hope for Stiff Records in the 1980s and the tight guitar jangle and razor sharp hooks still sound fresh and fiery three decades on.

DAVE MCPHERSON

ARTS CLUB, 19:30–23:00, £8

The ex-InMe rock frontman takes to the road solo.

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £25

ANY TROUBLE

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 20:00–22:00, £13

Fri 18 Dec

The O2 Academy’s annual Christmas bash.

The legendary 80s new wavers pump out the hits.

Christmas special of the regular showcase.

Local music and entertainment showcase courtesy of NYL.

The singer-songwriter plays through cuts from latest album The Last Mad Surge of Youth.

STUDIO 2, 19:00–23:45, £DONATIONS

Tue 08 Dec

DIALECT + VITALIJA GLOVACKYTE

CHRISTMAS AT ARTS CLUB

ARTS CLUB, 19:00–23:00, £7

THE LANTERN THEATRE, 19:45–22:30, £SOLD OUT

Local music and entertainment showcase courtesy of NYL.

XANDER AND PEACE PIRATES (DAN ROSS)

Local music and entertainment showcase courtesy of NYL.

Fri 11 Dec

NYL, 20:00–01:00, FREE

The last ever hip-hop show at the Kazimier, courtesy of BamBamBam.

NYL, 20:00–01:00, FREE

LUNACORONA STUDIO 2, 19:00–23:45, FREE

Three-piece local Liverpool band.

The Arts Club host their annual Christmas do.

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £22.50

The English pop trio showcase their fourth LP Still Thinking About You.

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £13

ALBERT HALL, 19:00–23:00, £SOLD OUT

Two of the most legendary purveyors of classic rock’n’roll join forces for twice the noise.

Playing classics from the film composers illustrious canon.

PUBLIC ENEMY

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 16:00–18:00, £22 (£14)

MANCHESTER ARENA, 18:00–23:00, £52

MAXIMO PARK

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £15

The Australian singer/songwriter comes to the UK with her debut LP sending her stratospheric.

THE HALLÉ (THE SNOWMAN)

Tue 22 Dec

Wed 23 Dec

DEF LEPPARD (WHITESNAKE)

The Bridgewater Hall finishes up its Christmas season in style.

COURTNEY BARNETT

Expect the likes of Female of the Species, Neighbourhood and Me & You Against the World and tracks from their new album.

Sat 19 Dec

HOWIE DAY

MANCHESTER ACADEMY 3, 19:30–23:00, £16

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 15:00–17:00, FROM £16.50

Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt continue to tour the Status Quo name (aka prepare yourself for the easiest air guitaring in the world).

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £30

The American singer-songwriter returns to the UK.

Rock fusion three-piece.

HALLÉ CHRISTMAS SING-ALONG

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £18

LAST NIGHT OF THE CHRISTMAS PROMS

STATUS QUO

ECHO ARENA, 19:30–23:00, FROM £39.50

THE BEST OF JOHN WILLIAMS

The Hallé gear up for Christmas with a special festive programme of events.

MANCHESTER CLUB ACADEMY, 19:30–23:00, £19.50

Sat 26 Dec

London landfill indie types do a solo show.

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 15:00–17:00, FROM £16.50

THE ARISTOCRATS

Sing along to all your faves.

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £14

EVIL BLIZZARD’S BLIZZMAS BALL

Mon 21 Dec

Mark Burgess plays a host of Chameleons tunes as he winds down the group’s cult career.

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 15:00–17:00, FROM £16.50

THE RIFLES

Wed 02 Dec

ANDRÉ RIEU

CHAMELEONS VOX

CHRISTMAS CAROL SINGALONG

Tue 01 Dec

Sun 27 Dec

MANCHESTER ARENA, 18:00–23:00, FROM £73.25

MANCHESTER ACADEMY 2, 19:00–23:00, £18

Thu 24 Dec

Liverpool Music

THE RUBY LOUNGE, 19:00–22:00, £8.50

18 year-old rap prodigy, Africanborn, Mancunian raised.

The Hallé gear up for Christmas with a special festive programme of events.

The famous Dutch violinist and conductor comes to Liverpool.

Manchester-based ska 11-piece – best known as the high-energy house band from monthly club night, Shake n Bake.

XANDER AND PEACE PIRATES (DAN ROSS) NYL, 20:00–01:00, FREE

VICTORIA SHARPE

Local music and entertainment showcase courtesy of NYL. BLAKE

THE BRINDLEY, 19:30–22:00, £SOLD OUT

The Brit Award-winning harmonisers hit the road for Christmas.

AT HOME... KATHRYN TICKELL & MIKE TICKELL

Featured soloist in the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra's Spirit of Christmas concerts Kathryn Tickell takes her pipes, violin, voice and her dad into the Music Room an intimate look at the folk music and musicians that have influenced her career.

Sat 19 Dec THE BEAT

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £16

The 80’s ska band now reformed and performing new compositions. THE DAMNED

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £18.50

The seminal punk foursome take to the road again, now rather impressively nearing their 40th year of being. ANDRÉ RIEU

ECHO ARENA, 20:00–23:00, FROM £40

The famous Dutch violinist and conductor comes to Liverpool. POLAR STATES

STUDIO 2, 18:00–22:00, £7

New band straight outta Toxteth who’ve already worked with Grammy Award-winning producers n’ the like. JC AND THE 2 STEPS (ROB VINCENT)

NYL, 20:00–01:00, FREE

Local music and entertainment showcase courtesy of NYL. KLEZMER HOT CLUB

THE KAZIMIER GARDEN, 20:30–23:00, FREE

Two hours of Euopean jazz-folk.

THE GARRISON (LOW WINTER SUN + DANIEL PICKAVANCE + MEET THE ROBOTS + RED WINTER) MAGUIRE’S PIZZA BAR, 19:00–00:00, FREE

Alternative rock types playing their first gig in Liverpool.

Sun 20 Dec VICTORIA SHARPE

NYL, 14:00–18:00, FREE

Local music and entertainment showcase courtesy of NYL.

Tue 22 Dec BAKED A LA SKA

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £6

Manchester-based ska 11-piece – best known as the high-energy house band from monthly club night, Shake n Bake.

Sat 26 Dec THE PLANS

NYL, 20:00–01:00, FREE

Local music and entertainment showcase courtesy of NYL.

Sun 03 Jan

HOME ALONE WITH LIVE ORCHESTRA

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 15:00–17:00, FROM £14

We’ve all seen Home Alone, but has anyone seen it with a live orchestra? If you haven’t, then today is the day for you.

NICOLA HARDMAN (THREE FROM ABOVE + SORROW PALACE + SOME TIME TODAY)

MAGUIRE’S PIZZA BAR, 19:00–23:00, £4

Liverpool artist returns home after a successful year that’s seen her release her debut LP Full Beans.

Wed 16 Dec

PARR STREET ACOUSTIC SESSIONS CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

STUDIO 2, 19:00–23:30, FREE

Christmas edition of the acoustic sessions.

Thu 17 Dec THE FARM

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £20

The All Together Now lot play a festive hometown show.

Local music and entertainment showcase courtesy of NYL.

Listings

THE SKINNY

Manchester Clubs Tue 01 Dec GOLD TEETH

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 23:00–03:00, £4.50

Legendary weekly mixed-bag night, often invites use of the term ‘carnage’.

Thu 03 Dec

THE BASEMENT HUSTLE (HIDDEN SPHERES)

SOUP KITCHEN, 23:00–04:00, FROM £3

Hidden Spheres headlines the latest Euphony night. WEST (ARTWORK)

SOUTH, 23:00–04:00, £7 (FREE FOR STUDENTS)

Numbers and Rinse FM man Artwork plays an extended set.

Fri 04 Dec

PANDEMIK (FIERCE + OVERLOOK)

JOSHUA BROOKS, 23:00–04:00, FROM £6

Pandemik’s last event of 2015 goes out with a bang. SHAKE ‘N’ BAKE (BONDAX)

HIDDEN, 22:00–04:00, £SOLD OUT

The boundary crossing duo Bondax play their inimitable house-meets-garage-meets-pop selections. HIGHER GROUND

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 23:00–03:00, £3

SANKEYS SATURDAYS (SONNY FODERA + BONTAN + SAM HOLT + JOZEF K) SANKEYS, 22:30–05:00, £12

Saturdays at Sankeys always means some of the biggest DJs around dropping to the longrunning club for a spin.

Tue 08 Dec

The last Selective Hearing night of the year at Soup Kitchen sees them team up with Grey Area.

LOVE DOSE X INNERVISIONS

Love Dose bring Dixon and Ame’s Innervisions label to Hidden. GOLD TEETH

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 22:00–03:00, £4.50

Legendary weekly mixed-bag night, often invites use of the term ‘carnage’.

Thu 10 Dec

TROPICAL SESSIONS (SESSION VICTIM)

HIDDEN, 22:00–04:00, £10

Session Victim headline’s Love Array’s latest Tropical Sessions instalment. BEDLAM LAUNCH PARTY (CRISTOPH)

JOSHUA BROOKS, 23:00–04:00, FROM £9

Cristoph takes the helm at Joshua Brooks for Bedlam’s launch party.

ANTWERP MANSION, 21:00–03:00, £7

Ed Solo returns having sold out Manchester weeks in advance last time out.

Club night sweeping the nation, offering up nothing but power ballads. It’s like one big communal karaoke night.

THE RUBY LOUNGE, 23:00–04:00, £4 (£3)

GORILLA, 23:00–04:00, FROM £3

Alternative rock and metal night. SHELTER (KEVIN SAUNDERSON + KYDUS + CRACK THE WHIP)

SANKEYS, 22:30–05:00, £12

The final Shelter of the year. LUV DANCIN’ (KENNY DOPE)

GORILLA, 23:00–04:00, FROM £12

The inspirational Kenny Dope headlines for a one-off night of house and disco. DEADBOLT XMAS SPECIAL

SOUND CONTROL, 23:00–04:00, £4

Christmas special of the night of alternative revelry with a soundtrack of hardcore, pop punk and metal. GESAMTKUNSTWERK 17 (VENDEL + ULTIMATE DILETTANTE + VULJ + MORE) ISLINGTON MILL, 22:00–06:00, £5

Eight hours, four DJs, four decks, no mercy, so underground it’s a corpse. LORD OF THE TINGS LAST PARTY OF 2015

SOUTH, 23:00–04:00, FROM £4

The last party of the year from the best-named clubnight in Manchester.

Sat 05 Dec REMAKE REMODEL

THE RUBY LOUNGE, 23:00–04:00, £5 (£3)

A night of alternative rock’n’roll shenanigans. GIRLS ON FILM

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 22:00–03:00, FREE BEFORE 11PM (£4.50 THEREAFTER)

Pink lady cocktails, disco balls, glitz and glamour – a monthly club night where you’re free to let your inner 80s child loose. PUNX INNA JUNGLE

ANTWERP MANSION, 20:00–03:00, £5 BEFORE 11PM (£7 THEREAFTER)

End of year sozzle-fest featuring everything from punk, ska, drum ‘n’ bass, jungle and more. MR SCRUFF KEEP IT UNREAL

BAND ON THE WALL, 22:00–03:00, £12

ULTIMATE POWER

O2 RITZ MANCHESTER, 22:30–03:30, £8

JUICY

All party, no bullshit night of everything from classic hip-hop to disco and funk. BREAK STUFF

THE RUBY LOUNGE, 23:00–04:00, £3

Playing exactly the sort of music you’d expect from a night named after a Limp Bizkit song. CRASH THE WEDDING

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Where the DJ is set to wedding reception tunes every. Single. Night. CHERRY XMAS PARTY

SOUND CONTROL, 23:00–04:00, £4

Christmas special of the Sound Control pop night staple. JAGUAR SKILLS AND FRIENDS

SANKEYS, 22:30–05:00, £12

Christmas special of Kaluki, bringing Acid Mondays and Citizenn to the decks.

GOOD GATHERINGS (MARK BROOM)

JOSHUA BROOKS, 23:00–04:00, FROM £8

Techno veteran Mark Broom headlines the latest Good Gatherings session.

December 2015

Thu 17 Dec STEVIE WONDERLAND

ANTWERP MANSION, 23:00–04:00, FROM £5

The legendary Futureboogie Recordings come to the mansion, featuring Dave Harvey, Cassio Kohl and more.

Fri 18 Dec GOO

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 22:00–03:00, FREE BEFORE 11PM (£4.50 THEREAFTER)

Monthly club night tribute to 90s indie – expect Pulp, Nirvana, Suede, Smashing Pumpkins, Pixies and more. MAGNA CARTA (LEFTWING AND KODY + EAST END DUBS + ALCI IGLUU)

SANKEYS, 22:30–05:00, £12

Jaguar Skills brings a bunch of his pals along for a late night at Sankeys. FOREVER MAD FRIDAY SPECIAL

THE RUBY LOUNGE, 23:00–04:00, £3

Mad Friday special of the indie, Britpop and soul night.

THE HIDDEN CHRISTMAS FOREST + BANANA HILL

HIDDEN, 22:00–04:00, FROM £10

Relapse and Amented take over both floors of Joshua Brooks for a special Christmas party. TECTONIC 10 YEAR SHOW

ANTWERP MANSION, 22:00–03:00, FROM £5

Massive Tectonic celebration featuring Pinch, Mumdance, Acre and more.

West sign off for 2015 with a night of techno courtesy of Dense and Pika.

STORE STREET, 20:00–04:00, £29.50

GIRLS ON FILM

Pink lady cocktails, disco balls, glitz and glamour – a monthly club night where you’re free to let your inner 80s child loose. VOLK (Ø [PHASE] )

JOSHUA BROOKS, 23:00–04:00, £10

The latest of a series of Berlininfluenced techno nights. APESH*T (MARK FANCIULLI)

GORILLA, 23:00–04:00, FROM £10

Saved Records’ Mark Fanciulli headlines the Apesh*t Christmas special.

SAM MITCHAM

JOSHUA BROOKS, 22:00–04:00, £6

Godskitchen and Driftwood Ibiza resident Sam Mitcham performs a six hour Journey through 18 years of electronic dance music, 1997-2015. LOVE

ANTWERP MANSION, 21:00–04:00, £14

Christmas edition of NG Promotions attempts to recapture the sounds of early house music.

Sat 26 Dec

RETRO (DAVOS LIVE + JIMI POLO + PAUL TAYLOR + ROB TISSERA)

GORILLA, 22:00–05:00, £15

Paul Taylor’s legendary Retro night rolls into town, featuring and all-star cast of friends and family for a night of pure house music classics. SANCTION BOXING DAY (LOW STEPPA + BLONDE + SHIBA SAN)

MELODIC

SOUTH, 23:00–05:00, £5

SANKEYS SATURDAYS (MATT JAM LAMONT + FLAVA D + KRY WOLF)

SANKEYS, 22:30–05:00, £12

Saturdays at Sankeys always means some of the biggest DJs around dropping to the longrunning club for a spin. MOSH TEAM XMAS PARTY

SOUND CONTROL, 19:00–22:30, £5

The Mosh Team celebrate Christmas with a frenzy of the latest hip-hop. THE HOUSE PARTY (YELLOW REUNION)

SOUND CONTROL, 23:00–03:00, £5

Dave Haslam brings his veteran Yellow night to Sound Control.

JOSHUA BROOKS, 22:00–04:00, £7

Crash The Wedding get in on the action to help Pop Bubble Rock! Ring in 2016. JUICY NYE

SOUTH, 23:00–04:00, FROM £5

The legendary hip-hop night hosts one of its typically raucous NYE parties.

Fri 01 Jan ZUTEKH (JANE FITZ)

SOUP KITCHEN, 23:00–04:00, FROM £10

The Soup Kitchen favourites have announced a doozy of a headliner for tonight, with Night Moves’ Jane Fitz dropping by, now 20 years in the game. COVERT (SHADOW CHILD + HUXLEY + ADANA TWINS)

SANKEYS, 22:30–05:00, £20

Covert takeover New Year’s Day for the third year running.

Liverpool Clubs Fri 04 Dec GENERAL LEVY

ARTS CLUB, 23:00–04:00, £10

Thu 31 Dec

The otherworldy impresario makes his Liverpool debut.

NEW YEAR’S EVE (DENNIS FERRER + JOSH BUTLER) GORILLA, 21:00–05:00, FROM £25

THE WONDER POT (JIMMY EDGAR)

24 KITCHEN STREET, 23:00–04:00, FROM £10

Sat 05 Dec

The veteran of soulful house and OBJEKTIUITY label owner Ferrer headlines.

CHIBUKU SHAKE SHAKE (MANO LE TOUGH + LEWIS BOARDMAN + HARRY SHEEHAN + FELIX DICKONSON + MORE)

ANTWERP MANSION, 21:00–05:00, £10

Chibuku returns for its Autumn program of internationally renowned guests.

NYE AT ANTWERP MANSION

NEW YEAR’S EVE (RUDIMENTAL + DAVID RODIGAN)

ALBERT HALL, 21:00–05:00, FROM £29.50

ARTS CLUB, 22:00–04:00, £16 (£14)

FREEZE PRESENT 40 YEARS OF GREG WILSON (GREG WILSON)

THE GARAGE, 21:00–04:00, £10

O2 RITZ MANCHESTER, 21:00–04:00, FROM £6

Starting his career in the local clubs of the region back in the 70s, Greg Wilson is now recognised as one of the most important figures on the UK dance scene and a mainstay of the festival circuit.

ABSOLUTE SH**E ENYE

THE SHIPPING FORECAST, 23:00–03:00, FROM £1

THE ULTIMATE POWER NEW YEAR’S EVE EXTRAVAGANZA

The go-to night for all your power ballad needs host a suitably epic NYE bash.

Tue 08 Dec

THE RUBY LOUNGE, 21:00–04:00, FROM £6

Christmas special of the cheap as chips disco, grime, house and garage night.

SOUND CONTROL, 22:00–04:00, £10

The 60s soul and Motown-centric night returns for another outing, serving up even more Northern soul and funk courtesy of the Howling Rhythm residents.

POP BUBBLE ROCK! NYE HOUSE PARTY

The General of Jungle drops in.

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 23:00–03:00, FREE BEFORE 11PM (£4.50 THEREAFTER)

HOWLING RHYTHM

HIDDEN, 20:00–06:00, FROM £20

Hidden extend their hours for a special NYE bash, featuring a host of top spinners.

Rich Pinder, Marc Leaf and more on the decks to help get rid of that Christmas turkey.

Sat 19 Dec GIRLS ON FILM

HIDDEN NYE (TINI + DEWALTA + JAN KRUEGER + JAMIE TRENCH + MORE)

ALBERT HALL, 20:00–04:00, FROM £20

Big Boxing Day party featuring Low Steppa and Blonde.

The worst New Year’s Eve of your life guaranteed.

THE RUBY LOUNGE, 23:00–04:00, £5

Warehouse party specialists PlayitDown make their longawaited Hidden debut, the night headed by Poker Flat imprint founder Steve Bug and Ghostly International’s Matthew Dear.

Hidden’s final party before Christmas. Expect a load of house.

The legend David Rodigan joins Rudimental on DJ duties to ring in 2016.

WEST XMAS (DENSE AND PIKA)

SOUTH, 23:00–04:00, FREE BEFORE 11.30PM

HIDDEN, 22:00–05:00, £15

THE HIDDEN XMAS HOUSE PARTY

HIDDEN, 22:00–04:00, FROM £11

SOUTH, 23:00–04:00, £10

LIVE WIRE AND FRIENDS (THIRDEYE)

STEVE BUG + MATTHEW DEAR

The Craig Charles Funk and Soul Club returns with the internationally acclaimed Smoove & Turrell playing live! Plus Craig Charles manning the decks ‘till the early hours with the planet’s funkiest tunes.

Antwerp Mansion gear up for 2016 with a big ole bash.

Pink lady cocktails, disco balls, glitz and glamour – a monthly club night where you’re free to let your inner 80s child loose.

The final Live Wire session of the year with the ThirdEye crew in tow.

BAND ON THE WALL, 21:00–03:00, £SOLD OUT

Banana Hill are the latest to get involved at Hidden, with a line-up including Clap! Clap!, Will Tramp, Mr Wilson 2nd Liners and more.

JOSHUA BROOKS, 23:00–04:00, £5

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 23:00–03:00, FREE BEFORE 11PM (£4.50 THEREAFTER)

GORILLA, 23:00–04:00, FROM £10

HIDDEN, 22:00–04:00, FROM £10

Dana Ruh and Marcellus Pittman are the picks of this colossal bill.

One of the very few Warehouse Project nights not to sell out instantly, Jungle’s curated bill also looks like one of the season’s best.

RELAPSE VS AMENTED (THE TEKNOIST + JUNGLORD)

SOUND CONTROL, 23:00–04:00, £10

KALUKI (ACID MONDAYS + CITIZENN)

HIDDENEVENTS X MVSON (DANA RUH + MARCELLUS PITTMAN + MORE)

THE WAREHOUSE PROJECT (JUNGLE + JOHN TALABOT + LEON VYNEHALL + LA PRIEST + MORE)

Sat 12 Dec

The final Lowdown of the year sees the Plump DJs drop in.

SOUP KITCHEN, 23:00–04:00, FROM £6

Jaguar Skills brings a bunch of his pals along for a late night at Sankeys.

Keep it Unreal with Mr Scruff at the controls all night long. LOWDOWN (PLUMPS DJS)

Saturdays at Sankeys always means some of the biggest DJs around dropping to the longrunning club for a spin.

HIDDEN, 22:00–04:00, £15

Fri 11 Dec

THE DOG HOUSE

SANKEYS, 22:30–05:00, £12

SELECTIVE HEARING X GREY AREA (BLUE HOUR + DYAD + REFLECT AND HABGUD)

The sounds of the 60s from Motown to rock ‘n’ roll. THE ASBO DISCO (ED SOLO)

SANKEYS SATURDAYS (DUNGEON MEAT + ADAM SHELTON + MORE)

CRAIG CHARLES FUNK & SOUL CLUB FT. SMOOVE & TURRELL LIVE

NYE! HOWLING RHYTHM V REMAKE REMODEL

Massive New Year’s eve do with Howling Rhythm and Remake Remodel going head to head for the best in 60’s and soul.

NEW YEAR’S EVE: GIRLS ON FILM V HIGHER GROUND V GO

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 21:00–04:00, FROM £10

All of the Deaf Institutes regular club nights come together for a big ole NYE bash.

NYE FUNK ‘N’ SOUL PARTY (BRAND NEW HEAVIES + MIKEY DON + JONNY SHIRE)

BAND ON THE WALL, 21:00–03:00, FROM £20

Band on the Wall helps you groove your way into 2016 with the biggest funk and soul party in town. KEEP IT UNREAL NYE PARTY (MR SCRUFF +QOOL MARV + KELVIN BROWN + MC KWASI)

OLD GRANADA STUDIOS, 21:00–03:00, FROM £15

New Year’s Eve special of Mr Scruff’s long running night, taking place in the Old Granada Studios. SUPERSTAR FUNHOUSE

ISLINGTON MILL, 22:00–05:00, FROM £7

Islington Mill return with an always raucous New Year’s Eve celebration.

THE PAUSE WINTER WARMER

Fri 11 Dec

HOT PLATE (BUGZY MALONE, SLIMZEE, FINN AND JAMMZ)

24 KITCHEN STREET, 22:00–04:00, FROM £10

FREEZE PRESENTS GILLES PETERSON’S WORLDWIDE AT THE GARAGE (GILLES PETERSON) THE GARAGE, 22:00–04:00, £10

Gilles Peterson returns after joining up with Bonobo back in the summer at the Bombed Out Church.

Sat 19 Dec

THE MAGNET XMAS BASH (JOHN MORALES)

THE MAGNET , 21:00–07:00, FROM £7

Veteran Bronx New York spinner John Morales heralds Christmas at the The Magnet’s annual bash.

Sat 26 Dec

THE GUILTY PARTY (WAZE & ODYSSEY + LEWIS BOARDMAN)

THE SHIPPING FORECAST, 22:00–03:00, £10

A mean looking double header to shake off the Christmas turkey early doors.

CREAM GRAND FINALE – PART 3 (DUKE DUMONT + TODD TERRY + NICK WARREN + X-PRESS 2 + MORE) NATION, 21:00–06:00, £SOLD OUT

The final ever Cream to take place at its spiritual home Nation, bringing to a close 25 years of the legendary superclub.

BUYERS CLUB, 22:00–04:00, £5

The inaugural Abandon Silence Christmas Party promising the best in disco, house and UK garage. STATK 1ST BIRTHDAY (LAZARE HOCHE)

24 KITCHEN STREET, 22:00–04:00, £7

Reaching their first birthday, STATK celebrate by continuing to bring some of the newest names in European techno to Liverpool.

Fri 18 Dec

RUBIX CHRISTMAS PARTY

DISTRICT, 21:00–04:00, £6

Residents, friends and special guest Ben Grunnell from Knee Deep in Sound celebrate the festive season.

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 8 DEC AND 2 JAN, TIMES VARY, FROM £20

Musical based on the blockbuster film of the same name, with X-Factor winner Alexandra Burke taking on warbling Whitney duties. Matinee performances also available. SO THIS IS CHRISTMAS

1 DEC, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £18.90

So This Is Christmas! features two hours of seasonal classics such as White Christmas, Let It Snow, The Christmas Song, Jingle Bell Rock, Last Christmas, Merry Christmas Everybody, All I Want for Christmas Is You and Fairytale of New York.

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE

2–3 DEC, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £20

Frank Kapra’s heart-warming Christmas tale gets a stage adaptation, directed by Guy Retallack. HETTY FEATHER

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 9 DEC AND 10 JAN, TIMES VARY, FROM £21

From best-selling author Jacqueline Wilson, the tale of plucky Hetty Feather is brought to life on stage with an original musical score, circus skills and a huge heart. Matinees available. SNOW WHITE

5–6 DEC, TIMES VARY, £15

balletLORENT present what’s become a festive classic, about a fair maiden and her band of dwarfs. Morning performances available.

1–5 DEC, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £12.50

THE KAZIMIER, 20:00–03:00, £TBC

Royal Exchange Theatre

NEW YEAR’S EVE PARTY

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 4 DEC AND 16 JAN, TIMES VARY, FROM £16

Liverpool Theatre

CAMP AND FURNACE, 17:00–02:00, £35

Established party starters Circus drop a huge line-up for their Christmas special, headed up by Jamie Jones and Hot Since 82.

Thu 31 Dec

ESCAPE TO PLANET KRONOS

The final goodbye to the Kazimier. It’s going to be emotional. CONSTELLATIONS, 20:00–04:00, £10 (£8)

303 and Constellations team up for a new year’s party. CHIBUKU SHAKE SHAKE NEW YEAR’S EVE

ARTS CLUB, 22:00–04:00, FROM £14

Chibuku Shake Shake bring a colossal year to a close with a New Year’s Eve bash. The line-up’s being kept close to their chest as of going to print! SIDEWINDER NYE

THE GARAGE, 22:00–06:00, FROM £17.50

The old skool and bassline night hosts a special one-off New Year’s Eve bash. 100TH MONKEY’S NEW YEARS EVE PARTY

SECRET LOCATION, 22:00–06:00, FROM £10

100th Monkey’s New Years Eve party featuring a tonne of drum ‘n’ bass from Mampi Swift, Sappo, Terminal State and many more at a secret venue TBC.

THE BALLAD OF RUDY

In this story Rudy doesn’t have a red nose; rather it’s his talent for exciting new music that sets him apart from all the other Reindeer. Morning performances available.

INTO THE WOODS

On the outskirts of the city lies a fantastical forest where curses are reversed and wishes can come true. In the shadows of the trees something magical, fanciful and strange is happening, but wishes are dangerous beasts to manage. Matinees available.

Royal Northern College of Music RNCM

Manchester Theatre MOTHER’S RUIN

Christmas special of the altcabaret night. PEN:CHANT

3 DEC, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £7 (£4)

Ben Mellor hosts the very best local, national and international acts from the worlds of spoken word, live music, comedy, cabaret and performance.

HOME INKHEART

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 4 DEC AND 9 JAN, TIMES VARY, FROM £20

HOME’s present their inaugural festive offering, adapted from Cornelia Funke’s brilliant, worldwide best-selling fantasy adventure novel for children.

Octagon Theatre THE BFG

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 1 DEC AND 9 JAN, TIMES VARY, FROM £9

Roald Dahl’s classic story is brought to life in all its snozzcumber-y glory for kiddies (and adults) this festive season. Matinee performances also available.

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS

Comedy rock musical written by Alan Menkin and Howard Ashman, telling the tale of a hapless florist as he raises a plant that feeds on human flesh.

Arts Club VOLPONE

7–8 DEC, 7:00PM – 10:00PM, £8 (£6)

The Ben Jonson comedy play gets an update. HENRY IV PART 1

16 DEC, 18 DEC, 6:30PM – 10:00PM, £8 (£6)

A Shakespeare play so epic it’s being performed over two nights. HENRY IV PART 2

17 DEC, 19 DEC, 6:30PM – 10:00PM, £8 (£6)

STREET SCENE

A Shakespeare play so epic it’s being performed over two nights.

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 7 OCT AND 12 DEC, TIMES VARY, FROM £21

Epstein Theatre

Vibrant opera-cum-musical set in a 1940s New York City tenement one hot summer’s day.

The Dancehouse Theatre GISELLE

12 DEC, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £12 (£10)

Classical ballet about love and betrayal, brought to life with mesmerising sets and lavish costumes. Matinees available.

The King’s Arms

11 DEC, 8:30PM – 11:00PM, £12 (£8)

ABANDON SILENCE CHRISTMAS PARTY

THE BODYGUARD

The Lowry: Quays Theatre

12 DEC – 3 JAN, NOT 14 DEC, 21 DEC, 25 DEC, 28 DEC, TIMES VARY, £12 (£10)

CIRCUS CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (JAMIE JONES + HOT SINCE 82 + KINK + SCOTT LEWIS + MORE)

Sat 12 Dec

Melodic Distraction’s winter party brings Dutch duo Fouk made up of Daniel Leseman & Junktion to warehouse space, Constellations.

Palace Theatre Manchester

Waterside Arts Centre

Contact Theatre

CONSTELLATIONS, 22:00–04:00, £7

Manchester

Royal Exchange Studio

Sun 27 Dec

Hot Plate team up with Slimzee and Friends for another grime led scorcher. MELODIC DISTRACTION WINTER PARTY (FOUK)

Theatre

THE SISTERS OF KINVARA

1–2 DEC, 9:00PM – 10:00PM, £10

A play that explains that some secrets are best left untold others have a knack of opening old wounds and complicating the lives of those we love. SCRIPTS ALOUD XMAS SPECIAL

14 DEC, 7:30PM – 9:30PM, £3

An evening of new short plays performed with script in hand. A place to experiment with and develop new scripts. Who knows what could happen after just one rehearsal?

CINDERELLA

10 DEC – 3 JAN, NOT 15 DEC, 25 DEC, 1 JAN, TIMES VARY, £19 (£17)

Cinderella is back starring Calum Best as Prince Charming and Beryl Marsden as the Fairy Godmother! Matinees available.

Everyman Theatre

RAPUNZEL ROCK ‘N’ ROLL PANTO

23 JAN, TIMES VARY, FROM £12.50

Rapunzel Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto.

Liverpool Playhouse

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 7 DEC AND 16 JAN, TIMES VARY, FROM £14

When three strangers are invited to join the mysterious Dr Montague at the eerie house on the hill, not even their darkest dreams could have prepared them for what awaits. Matinees available.

Royal Court Theatre

PHARAOH CROSS THE MERSEY

The Lowry: Lyric Theatre

16 JAN, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £13

1–5 DEC, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £14

The Bluecoat

LORD OF THE FLIES

Stage adaptation of William Golding’s chilling tale about a group of schoolboys trapped on a desert island after a plane crash. As rescue looks increasingly unlikely, their behaviour becomes increasingly savage. Matinee performances also available. THE SOUND OF MUSIC

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 14 DEC AND 2 JAN, TIMES VARY, FROM £10

Classic retelling of the von Trapp family tale, in full singalong glory. Matinee performances also available. DIVERSITY

6 DEC, 7:00PM – 10:00PM, FROM £25

The British street dance troupe and winners of Britain’s Got Talent 2009 take their show on the road.

Royal Court’s annual festive offering based in ancient Egypt. Matinees available. INDUSTRIALISING INTIMACY

3 DEC, 7:30PM – 8:30PM, £8 (£6)

The brainchild of respected vocal artist Elaine Mitchener in collaboration with award-winning choreographer Dam Van Huynh.

The Brindley ALADDIN

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 12 DEC AND 10 JAN, TIMES VARY, £20

The Brindley’s pantomime offering for the season, only featuring ruddy Dean Gaffney! SANTA’S CHRISTMAS CRACKER

18–19 DEC, TIMES VARY, £11

Family Christmas show. Earlier shows available.

Listings

Liverpool Theatre The Kazimier IMPROPRIETY

3 DEC, 7:30PM – 11:00PM, £8

The final Impropriety comes to the Kazimier for the last ever time for some vaguely festive and made up nonsense.

The Lantern Theatre

MERSEYSIDE ACADEMY OF DRAMA MAD SHOWCASE

1–2 DEC, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £5.50

Manchester Comedy THE BEST IN STAND UP

JOSH WIDDICOMBE

BEAT THE FROG

THE COMEDY STORE, 21:30–23:30, £18 (£12)

THE LOWRY: QUAYS THEATRE, 20:00–22:00, £17

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:30, £3

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

CHRISTMAS BARREL OF LAUGHS

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:30, PRICES VARY

The Frog and Bucket prepares for Christmas with a stellar bill primed for festive laughs.

NORTHERN COMEDY CLUB (NICK DOODY + JAMES SHERWOOD + PAUL T EYRES + MC DANNY MCLOUGHLIN)

Merseyside Academy of Drama presents their end of term showcase with work from advanced and intermediate acting and musical theatre students.

Another regular night of assured laughs from the Northern Comedy Club.

4–5 DEC, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £10.50 (£8.50)

ROYAL EXCHANGE THEATRE, 18:00–19:00, FREE

TIS THE SEASON

License To Thrill present an alternative selection of plays for the festive season. Matinee available. BAGGAGE ONE IN TEN

6 DEC, 7:00PM – 9:00PM, £SOLD OUT

Stage Door Theatre Trust presents BAGGAGE! A devised Drama performance that challenges the stigma of teenage mental health issues. Matinee available. NEW DICKENSIEN

10 DEC, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £15.50

In verse and song, New Dickensian writer Dean Johnson asks have we returned to the bleak bedlam of Dickens’ age? THE BASTARD QUEEN + NOT THE HORSE

19 DEC, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £12.50 (£10.50)

A double bill of shows from the award winning Naughty Corner Productions.

Unity Theatre THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEM 4 DEC-9 JAN, TIMES AND PRICES VARY

Kid-friendly Christmas offering courtesy of Action Transport Theatre.

Various venues HOMOTOPIA

29 OCT–4 DEC, 10:00AM – 10:00PM, PRICES VARY

A month long celebration of LGBT theatre and art, as well as tackling issues facing the community today. Full programme at homotopia.net.

Manchester Comedy Tue 01 Dec

XS MALARKEY (ALFIE BROWN + ROB ROUSE + BRENNAN REECE + MARTIN CROSER + MORE)

PUB/ZOO, 19:00–22:00, £5 (£3)

The rather ace comedy night continues with the usual Tuesday night shenanigans.

Wed 02 Dec THE BEST IN STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £12 (£8)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

Thu 03 Dec MITCH BENN

WATERSIDE ARTS CENTRE, 19:30–22:00, £14 (£12)

Musician-cum-comic Mith Benn sings some humourous songs, you do the laughing. THE BEST IN STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £12 (£8)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

CHRISTMAS BARREL OF LAUGHS

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:30, PRICES VARY

The Frog and Bucket prepares for Christmas with a stellar bill primed for festive laughs.

Fri 04 Dec

THE BEST IN STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 19:00–21:00, £18 (£12)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

Listings

CHORLTON IRISH CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £10

COMIX FX (RANDOLPH TEMPEST)

Headlining COMIC FX is Randolph Tempest: actor, writer, director, poet and works part time at Tescos. Compéring the evening will be John Goodfellow.

Sat 05 Dec THE BEST IN STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 19:00–21:00, £22 (£16)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians. THE BEST IN STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 21:30–23:30, £22 (£16)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians. BEST OF BUZZ COMEDY

WATERSIDE ARTS CENTRE, 19:30–22:00, £12 (£10)

The Waterside’s regular comedy night, featuring one of the UK comedy circuit’s up and coming stars. CHRISTMAS BARREL OF LAUGHS

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:30, PRICES VARY

The Frog and Bucket prepares for Christmas with a stellar bill primed for festive laughs.

GROUP THERAPY (JOHN KEARNS)

GORILLA, 19:00–22:00, £12 (£10)

The much-loved comedy promoters round out the year in their usual inimitable style.

Sun 06 Dec KING GONG

THE COMEDY STORE, 19:30–21:30, £6 (£4)

A night of stand-up from some fresh-faced comics trying to break on to the circuit – be nice.

THE DIDSBURY COMEDY CLUB (RUSSELL HICKS + JOHN HASTINGS + HARRY STACCHINI + MC ANDREW RYAN) DIDSBURY CRICKET CLUB, 19:00–22:00, £7

A trio of local rib-ticklers drop into the leafy suburbs of Didsbury.

THE HEATONS COMEDY EVENING (JOHN HASTINGS + RUSSELL HICKS + SOPHIE WILLAN + MC JUSTIN MOORHOUSE) THE HEATON SPORTS CLUB, 19:15–22:00, £7.50

A triple bill of comedy with Justin Moorhouse the man guiding you through all the laughs.

Mon 07 Dec BEAT THE FROG

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:30, £3

A ten-act long heckle-fest inviting a handful of amateurs to take to the stage and try to Beat the Frog, and the audience decides who stays – brutal! QUIPPODROME

GULLIVERS, 19:30–22:00, £4

Expect all manner of strange, funny stuff in a mega massive multimedia laughstravaganza, brought to you by the good people at Quippodrome.

Tue 08 Dec

JASON MANFORD (JOHN BISHOP + DAVE SPIKEY + MICHELLE KEEGAN)

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £25

A host of TV star comedians come together for a special festive show.

Star of Channel 4’s The Last Leg, Live at the Apollo, 8 Out of 10 Cats and Mock the Week, rocks up in Manchester with a new show fresh from the Edinburgh Fringe.

XS MALARKEY (PETE OTWAY + COLIN CHADWICK + JOBY MAGEEAN + MORE) PUB/ZOO, 19:00–22:00, £5 (£3)

The rather ace comedy night continues with the usual Tuesday night shenanigans.

Wed 09 Dec THE BEST IN STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £12 (£8)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

Thu 10 Dec THE BEST IN STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £16 (£11)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians. MR B THE GENTLEMAN RHYMER

GULLIVERS, 19:30–23:00, £11

Bringing his unique brand of chap hop (hip hop meets the Queen’s English) to the Northwest specially for Christmas. NOEL FIELDING

THE LOWRY: LYRIC THEATRE, 20:00–22:00, FROM £26

Former Mighty Boosh dandy attempts to keep his off-the-wall improv comedy going long enough to fill the allotted time. CHRISTMAS BARREL OF LAUGHS

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:30, PRICES VARY

The Frog and Bucket prepares for Christmas with a stellar bill primed for festive laughs.

Fri 11 Dec

THE BEST IN STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 19:00–21:00, £22 (£16)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians. THE BEST IN STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 21:30–23:30, £22 (£16)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

CHRISTMAS BARREL OF LAUGHS

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:30, PRICES VARY

The Frog and Bucket prepares for Christmas with a stellar bill primed for festive laughs. JACK JONES TV

SOUND CONTROL, 19:00–22:00, £11

Youtube comedy sensation who’s gained more than 500 million views on his videos worldwide.

Sat 12 Dec

THE BEST IN STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 19:00–21:00, £22 (£16)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians. THE BEST IN STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 21:30–23:30, £24 (£17)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

CHRISTMAS BARREL OF LAUGHS

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:30, PRICES VARY

The Frog and Bucket prepares for Christmas with a stellar bill primed for festive laughs.

Sun 13 Dec NEW STUFF

THE COMEDY STORE, 19:30–23:30, £3

A night of stand-up from some fresh-faced comics trying to break on to the circuit – be nice.

Mon 14 Dec THE BEST IN STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £12 (£8)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

A ten-act long heckle-fest inviting a handful of amateurs to take to the stage and try to Beat the Frog, and the audience decides who stays – brutal!

Tue 15 Dec THE BEST IN STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £12 (£8)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

Wed 16 Dec THE BEST IN STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £14 (£10)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

CHRISTMAS BARREL OF LAUGHS

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:30, PRICES VARY

The Frog and Bucket prepares for Christmas with a stellar bill primed for festive laughs. CHATEAU LE BOMB

THE CASTLE HOTEL, 19:30–23:00, £3

New comedy variety night celebrates its launch night.

Thu 17 Dec THE BEST IN STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £18 (£12)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

CHRISTMAS BARREL OF LAUGHS

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:30, PRICES VARY

The Frog and Bucket prepares for Christmas with a stellar bill primed for festive laughs.

Fri 18 Dec

THE BEST IN STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 19:00–21:00, £22 (£16)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians. THE BEST IN STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 21:30–23:30, £22 (£16)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

CHRISTMAS BARREL OF LAUGHS

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:30, PRICES VARY

The Frog and Bucket prepares for Christmas with a stellar bill primed for festive laughs.

Tue 22 Dec THE BEST IN STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £12

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

Wed 23 Dec THE BEST IN STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £14

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

Sat 26 Dec THE BEST IN STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £14

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

CHRISTMAS BARREL OF LAUGHS

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:30, PRICES VARY

The Frog and Bucket prepares for Christmas with a stellar bill primed for festive laughs.

OFF THE RAILS COMEDY CLUB (DALISO CHAPONDA + MARTIN MOR + MC MICK FERRY) ROYAL GEORGE, 19:30–22:30, £8 (£5)

A host of comedians ready to tickle your funny bones.

Mon 28 Dec THE BEST IN STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £12 (£8)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians. BEAT THE FROG

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:30, £3

A ten-act long heckle-fest inviting a handful of amateurs to take to the stage and try to Beat the Frog, and the audience decides who stays – brutal!

Tue 29 Dec THE BEST IN STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £12 (£8)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

Wed 30 Dec THE BEST IN STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £14 (£10)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians. NOT NEW YEAR’S EVE

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:30, PRICES VARY

NEW YEAR’S EVE STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 18:00–20:30, £26 (£18)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians. NEW YEAR’S EVE STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 21:00–23:30, £40 (£30)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

FROG AND BUCKET NEW YEAR’S EVE

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:30, PRICES VARY

Sun 20 Dec

Frog and Bucket’s laugh-filled New Year’s Eve celebrations.

THE COMEDY STORE, 19:30–21:30, £4 (£2)

Fri 01 Jan

NEW COMEDIANS

Regular night of stand up with five world-class comedians. LAFF TILL YOU FART

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:30, PRICES VARY

Trevor Lynch presents the latest in a series of comedy nights, aptly titled Laff ‘til Ya Fart.

Mon 21 Dec THE BEST IN STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £20

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians. BEAT THE FROG

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:30, £3

A ten-act long heckle-fest inviting a handful of amateurs to take to the stage and try to Beat the Frog, and the audience decides who stays – brutal!

Regular triple headline show, with three comics lined up to tickle your funny bone.

Fri 04 Dec MICHAEL MCINTYRE

ECHO ARENA, 20:00–23:00, £35

The English comic (of the Michael McIntyre Comedy Roadshow) takes to the road bringing his floppy fringe to the masses. LIVERPOOL COMEDY CENTRAL

COMEDY CENTRAL AT BABY BLUE, 18:00–22:00, PRICES VARY

Sat 05 Dec

NEW STUFF

Thu 31 Dec

THE BEST IN STAND UP

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CENTRAL

COMEDY CENTRAL AT BABY BLUE, 18:00–22:00, PRICES VARY

THE COMEDY STORE, 19:30–23:30, £3

A night of stand-up from some fresh-faced comics trying to break on to the circuit – be nice.

THE COMEDY STORE, 19:00–21:00, £24 (£17)

THE COMEDY STORE, 21:30–23:30, £24 (£17)

Thu 03 Dec

Sun 27 Dec

For those who can’t celebrate on New Year’s Eve itself.

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

Liverpool

Regular triple headline show, with three comics lined up to tickle your funny bone.

Sat 19 Dec

THE BEST IN STAND UP

Comedy

THE BEST IN STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £18 (£12)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

Sat 02 Jan

THE BEST IN STAND UP

THE COMEDY STORE, 19:30–21:30, £22 (£16)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

Sun 03 Jan KING GONG

THE COMEDY STORE, 19:30–21:30, £6 (£4)

A night of stand-up from some fresh-faced comics trying to break on to the circuit – be nice.

MICHAEL MCINTYRE

ECHO ARENA, 20:00–23:00, £35

The English comic (of the Michael McIntyre Comedy Roadshow) takes to the road bringing his floppy fringe to the masses.

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CELLAR (JUNIOR SIMPSON + STE PORTER)

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CELLAR, 19:30–22:30, £13.50

The Liverpool Comedy Cellar features the cream of the International Comedy Circuit & up close and personal&rdquo; every Saturday and this week is no different. HOT WATER COMEDY CLUB AT CHRISTMAS

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CENTRAL COMEDY CENTRAL AT BABY BLUE, 18:00–22:00, PRICES VARY

Regular triple headline show, with three comics lined up to tickle your funny bone.

Sat 12 Dec

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CELLAR (STEVE GRIBBING + SAM AVERY) LIVERPOOL COMEDY CELLAR, 19:30–22:30, £13.50

COMEDY HAUL (DAN NIGHTINGALE + CHRIS WASHINGTON + MAT RICHARDSON + MC ADAM ROWE) ARTS CLUB, 19:00–22:30, £10

Triple headlining bill of funny men, topped up by Michael McIntyre support Dan Nightingale.

Wed 09 Dec

MATCHBOX COMEDY CLUB (STEPHANIE LAING + JACK EVANS + EDY HURST) THE LANTERN THEATRE, 20:00–22:30, £TBC

A new monthly comedy night at the Lantern Theatre showcasing the finest talent in the Northwest. LIVERPOOL COMEDY CENTRAL

COMEDY CENTRAL AT BABY BLUE, 18:00–22:00, PRICES VARY

Regular triple headline show, with three comics lined up to tickle your funny bone.

Thu 10 Dec

HOT WATER COMEDY CLUB AT CHRISTMAS

UNITY THEATRE, 19:00–22:00, £12

Hot Water begin bubbling up towards Christmas with a triple-headlining rib-tickler of an evening. LIVERPOOL COMEDY CENTRAL

COMEDY CENTRAL AT BABY BLUE, 18:00–22:00, PRICES VARY

Regular triple headline show, with three comics lined up to tickle your funny bone.

Fri 11 Dec

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CELLAR (STEVE GRIBBIN + JIM SMALLMAN) LIVERPOOL COMEDY CELLAR, 19:30–22:30, £13.50

The Liverpool Comedy Cellar features the cream of the International Comedy Circuit & up close and personal&rdquo; every Saturday and this week is no different. HOT WATER COMEDY CLUB AT CHRISTMAS

UNITY THEATRE, 19:00–22:00, £15

Hot Water begin bubbling up towards Christmas with a triple-headlining rib-tickler of an evening.

Regular triple headline show, with three comics lined up to tickle your funny bone.

Manchester Art

UNITY THEATRE, 19:00–22:00, £15

Hot Water begin bubbling up towards Christmas with a triple-headlining rib-tickler of an evening. LIVERPOOL COMEDY CENTRAL

COMEDY CENTRAL AT BABY BLUE, 18:00–22:00, PRICES VARY

Regular triple headline show, with three comics lined up to tickle your funny bone.

Wed 16 Dec

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CENTRAL

COMEDY CENTRAL AT BABY BLUE, 18:00–22:00, PRICES VARY

Regular triple headline show, with three comics lined up to tickle your funny bone.

Thu 17 Dec

HOT WATER COMEDY CLUB AT CHRISTMAS

UNITY THEATRE, 19:00–22:00, £15

COMEDY CENTRAL AT BABY BLUE, 18:00–22:00, PRICES VARY

Sun 06 Dec

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CENTRAL

COMEDY CENTRAL AT BABY BLUE, 18:00–22:00, PRICES VARY

UNTIL 5 DEC, NOT 22 NOV, 23 NOV, 29 NOV, 30 NOV, TIMES VARY, FREE

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CENTRAL

Regular triple headline show, with three comics lined up to tickle your funny bone.

Sat 02 Jan

Artzu Gallery

HOT WATER COMEDY CLUB AT CHRISTMAS

Hot Water begin bubbling up towards Christmas with a triple-headlining rib-tickler of an evening.

COMEDY CENTRAL AT BABY BLUE, 18:00–22:00, PRICES VARY

Regular triple headline show, with three comics lined up to tickle your funny bone.

The Liverpool Comedy Cellar features the cream of the International Comedy Circuit & up close and personal&rdquo; every Saturday and this week is no different.

UNITY THEATRE, 19:00–22:00, £15

Hot Water begin bubbling up towards Christmas with a triple-headlining rib-tickler of an evening.

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CENTRAL COMEDY CENTRAL AT BABY BLUE, 18:00–22:00, PRICES VARY

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CENTRAL

Regular triple headline show, with three comics lined up to tickle your funny bone. MANFORD’S COMEDY CLUB

THE BRINDLEY, 20:00–23:00, £15

Jason Manford has carefully select some of his favourite comedians to give you the best night out you’ve had for a long time!

Fri 18 Dec

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CELLAR (SULLY O’SULLIVAN + ) LIVERPOOL COMEDY CELLAR, 19:30–22:30, £13.50

The Liverpool Comedy Cellar features the cream of the International Comedy Circuit & up close and personal&rdquo; every Saturday and this week is no different. LIVERPOOL COMEDY CENTRAL

COMEDY CENTRAL AT BABY BLUE, 18:00–22:00, PRICES VARY

Regular triple headline show, with three comics lined up to tickle your funny bone.

Sat 19 Dec

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CELLAR

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CELLAR, 19:30–22:30, £13.50

The Liverpool Comedy Cellar features the cream of the International Comedy Circuit & up close and personal&rdquo; every Saturday and this week is no different. HOT WATER COMEDY CLUB AT CHRISTMAS

UNITY THEATRE, 19:00–22:00, £15

Hot Water begin bubbling up towards Christmas with a triple-headlining rib-tickler of an evening. LIVERPOOL COMEDY CENTRAL

COMEDY CENTRAL AT BABY BLUE, 18:00–22:00, PRICES VARY

Regular triple headline show, with three comics lined up to tickle your funny bone.

Thu 31 Dec

NEW YEAR’S EVE SPECIAL

UNITY THEATRE, 19:30–23:00, £23

A New Year’s Eve Hot Water special featuring three of the club’s faves. NEW YEAR’S EVE SPECIAL

HOLIDAY INN, 20:00–23:00, £23

A TASTE OF HONEY

New exhibition from Manchester based artist, Chris Acheson who captures the many facets of everyday city life in the 1960s in a series of contemporary film still style paintings with a modern twist.

Castlefield Gallery

B/Q: ROLAND BARTHES AND MAGNUS QUAIFE

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 4 DEC AND 31 JAN, 1:00PM – 6:00PM, FREE

Coinciding with the centenary of Roland Barthes’ birth, Castlefield Gallery’s annual Head to Head exhibition sees artist Magnus Quaife re-examining the French philosopher and literary theorist’s lasting influence.

Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art BOTH SIDES NOW: IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES, IT WAS THE WORST OF TIMES?

UNTIL 6 DEC, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Artists’ film and video works from the UK, China and Hong Kong spanning a quarter century will be presented in a new exhibition that seeks to draw comparisons between the identity and culture of China and the UK. HEALTH RECORDS

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 11 DEC AND 24 JAN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

A culmination of an ongoing project between CFCCA, Kidneys for Life and Manchester Royal Infirmary. Artists Claire Tindale and Nicky Colclough investigate aspects of medical conditions relating to the kidney and the experience of those being treated. SOUP 15

17–20 DEC, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

To celebrate 15 years of playing, learning and creating, Soup Collective will be hosting Fifteen, a retrospective event, bringing things back to their love of projected light to showcase some old and new works.

Instituto Cervantes SELF EXILE

UNTIL 15 DEC, 9:30AM – 5:30PM, FREE

Work from Raul Loya who, focusing on painting, printmaking and drawing, has since 2002 been taking part in a number of group shows, mainly in Mexico, but also in Chicago and the UK. AUTO EXILO / SELF EXILE

UNTIL 15 DEC, 9:30AM – 5:30PM, FREE

Solo exhibition showing some of Raul Loya’s works from 2008-2015, including painting and prints.

Manchester Art Gallery ABSENT PRESENCE

UNTIL 3 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Inspired by Exposed Painting Green Lake by contemporary artist Callum Innes, this new display of works from the gallery’s collection takes its inspiration from this painting, looking at how art captures a moment in time.

A New Year’s Eve Hot Water special featuring three of the club’s faves.

THE SKINNY

Art

Manchester Museum

Manchester AN EXHIBITION FOR MODERN LIVING UNTIL 10 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Matthew Darbyshire’s largest solo exhibition to date, including ten of his large-scale environments from the last decade and new sculptural works for the Gallery’s grand 19th century entrance hall. THE SEA FULL STOP

UNTIL 25 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

DANCE OF THE BUTTERFLIES

UNTIL 31 DEC, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

New art work by one of Africa’s foremost contemporary artists Romuald Hazoumè. It features swarms of multicoloured ‘butterflies’ which will take over the Museum’s Living Worlds gallery.

Waterside Arts Centre

PITCH TO PIXEL: THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL GAMING

UNTIL 31 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Nexus Art Café

TOBIAS PEARSON PHOTOGRAPHY

Large portraits of Manchester based people who have overcome adversity.

Paper Gallery

SEMIOTIC GUERRILLA WARFARE PART I

UNTIL 12 DEC, 11:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

UNTIL APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Exhibition of glass, metalwork and furniture inspired by the Gallery’s pioneering Industrial Art Collection.

Manchester Craft and Design Centre

EXPLORING WONDERLAND: MANCHESTER JEWELLERS NETWORK CELEBRATES 150 YEARS OF ALICE

UNTIL 13 FEB, NOT SUNDAYS, 10:00AM – 5:30PM, FREE

Curated by Manchester Jewellers Network, Exploring Wonderland is a showcase of work inspired by the imagination of Lewis Carroll. The exhibition features 28 makers, including jewellers, glassmakers, printmakers, paper artists and more.

LIGHTWAVES 2015

UNTIL 27 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

UNTIL 5 JUN, TIMES VARY, FREE

UNTIL 17 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

HOUSE PROUD

UNTIL 28 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

Bringing together artists selected by seven curators at the forefront of digital art, this exhibition promises to challenge audiences’ understanding of what art can be.

National Football Museum

What happens when computer games, meet the beautiful game.

Half-life of a Miracle presents a decade of photography and film by British contemporary artist Pat Flynn from 2005 to 2015 for the most comprehensive survey of his art to date.

RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW

Get lost in a maze of magical illuminations and reflections as Lightwaves 2015 takes over The Quays’ public spaces with a free digital light festival for all to enjoy.

Hondartza Fraga’s imaginary seascapes explore our understanding of the sea, and give the focus of a seascape back to the sea. HALF-LIFE OF A MIRACLE

The Lowry

A new collaboration between Charlie Smith London and PAPER, bringing together artists with connections to both galleries creating a network which links artistic practice between Manchester and London.

The Holden Gallery MODEL BEHAVIOUR

26 OCT – 11 DEC, WEEKDAYS ONLY, TIMES VARY, FREE

The Holden Gallery presents its first exhibition of the season, exploring the impulse, desire and obsession involved in trying to make something visible.

PUPPET MASTERS: CELEBRATING ANIMATION

UNTIL 27 FEB, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

A new exhibition bringing stopmotion animation to life, showcasing the work of world-renowned puppet makers Mackinnon and Saunders.

Whitworth Art Gallery RICHARD FORSTER

UNTIL 3 JAN, NOT 25 DEC, 26 DEC, 1 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

The Bristol artist displays a series of his complex pencil drawings, made with an intense level of skill and a lonely determination over many months, drawing from photographs rather than life. BEDWYR WILLIAMS

UNTIL 10 JAN, NOT 25 DEC, 26 DEC, 1 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

From a tiny pebble caught in a terrazzo floor, to the infinite enormity of the cosmos, acclaimed Welsh artist Bedwyr Williams invites you on a journey through his extraordinary installation, The Starry Messenger.

ART_TEXTILES

CONTINUING THE JOURNEY

FESTIVE PHOTO FAYRE

UNTIL 31 JAN, NOT 25 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

UNTIL 31 DEC, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

16–20 DEC, 10:30AM – 5:30PM, FREE

Including artists such as Magdalena Abakanowicz, Tracey Emin, Grayson Perry, Ghada Amer and Kimsooja who use textiles as a powerful tool for expressing ideas about the social, political and artistic. ABSTRACT LANDSCAPE

UNTIL 10 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Drawn from the Whitworth’s collection, works by artists such as Bryan Wynter, Barbara Hepworth, William Scott, Peter Lanyon, Gillian Ayres and Roger Hilton reflect an extraordinary era in British abstract art.

Liverpool Art FACT FOLLOW

UNTIL 21 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

New group exhibition presenting a variety of experiences and views of identity, sharing, and microcelebrity within the context of a life lived online, exploring how we act when everyone is watching.

International Slavery Museum

A multi media collection of oral histories, photography and film, exploring issues which affect people of African heritage, born, raised or living in Liverpool’s locality.

Lady Lever Art Gallery PUTTING ON THE GLITZ

UNTIL 28 FEB, NOT 25 DEC, 26 DEC, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Dazzling 1930s evening gowns take centre stage in the Putting on the Glitz exhibition, revealing how the glitz and glamour of Hollywood was reflected in the fashions of the period.

Museum of Liverpool IT’S GLAM UP NORTH

UNTIL 6 DEC, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

An exhibition of works by some of the biggest names in art and design, curated by photographer Rankin. POPPIES: WOMEN AND WAR

UNTIL 5 JUN, NOT 25 DEC, 26 DEC, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Exhibition featuring striking portraits of women whose lives have been affected by conflict, from the First World War to present day. GROWING UP IN THE CITY

UNTIL 25 SEP, NOT 25 DEC, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

GEORGE OSODI: OIL BOOM, DELTA BURNS

Photographs of Liverpool childhood over time.

UNTIL 31 DEC, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Open Eye Gallery

Exhibition by internationallyrenowned Nigerian photographer George Osodi, who spent six years documenting the effects of the oil industry in the Niger Delta. Osodi’s aims are not to offend or incite guilt, but to inspire change. BROKEN LIVES

UNTIL 24 APR, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Photographs depicting the slavery that continues to exist in modern day India.

CURIOUS GALLERY: AN EXHIBITION DESIGNED BY CHILDREN

11–13 DEC, 10:30AM – 5:30PM, FREE

Working with four secondary schools from the Wirral and Liverpool, Open Eye Gallery will work to re-imagine a gallery – creating a space and exhibition designed by children.

A festive celebration of creation, replication and deviation! A market of independent book publishers bringing the years finest photobooks, limited editions and artists prints.

St George’s Hall WINTER ARTS MARKET

5 DEC, 6 DEC, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £2

More than 200 regional artists will be selling their wares at St. George’s Hall, with live performances, workshops and more also going on across two days.

Tate Liverpool

WORKS TO KNOW BY HEART: AN IMAGINED MUSEUM

UNTIL 14 FEB, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £8.80 (£6.60)

Works from the Centre Pompidou, Tate and MMK collections sees over 60 major, post 1945 artworks come together from their prestigious galleries. On display will be works by Marcel Duchamp, Claes Oldenburg, Bridget Riley, Dorothea Tanning and more.

The Bluecoat GLASSHOUSE

UNTIL 10 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

The Cornerstone Gallery CONVERSATION

UNTIL 18 DEC, WEEKDAYS ONLY, 9:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

von Bartha artist Andrew Bick presents a new solo show, continuing to work with the singular grid structures that have formed the basis for his drawings and paintings since 2008.

The Gallery Liverpool BLOND SINNER

UNTIL 11 DEC, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

Permanent gallery of wildlife artist and naturalist John James Audubon. EMMA GREGORY

UNTIL 2 APR, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

The former Sir John Cass, Central School of Art and UCLan presents work from her wider collection. CUNARD 175

UNTIL 26 MAR, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Collection of brochures, films and articles from the launch of the Cunard ship.

Walker Art Gallery

The Kazimier

UNTIL 31 DEC 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

ARKADE

6 DEC, 12:00PM – 7:00PM, FREE

Exhibition of posters and other artwork linked to the Kazimier’s rich past.

The Reader Gallery ART FROM THE SQUARE

Work from Art from the Square arts collective, who encompass an eclectic range of prints and textiles to a professional standard by artists active locally and nationally.

3 DEC, 10:30AM – 3:00PM, £3

14–20 DEC, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

A multi-media art work that reflects on the notion of a meaningful life as presented in Dr Atul Gawande’s 2014 Reith Lecture series The Future of Medicine.

THE AUDOBON GALLERY

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN UNTIL 19 DEC, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Curators DuoVision present an exhibition of portraiture which dynamically captures actress Dianna Dors during the 1950’s.

The first major solo show in a UK public gallery by Dublin based artist Niamh O’Malley. Working across video, drawing, painting, print & sculpture, O’Malley’s work is distinctive for her use of reflective surfaces such as mirror and glass. MADE OF WORDS

Victoria Gallery and Museum

UNTIL 13 DEC, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

IMAGINE INDEPENDENCE: MERSEY CARE PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION

TRANSFORMATION: ONE MAN’S CROSS-DRESSING WARDROBE

Sixteen garments of Peter Farrer’s, who was born in 1926 and has been cross-dressing since he was 14. PUG VIRUS

UNTIL 3 JAN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

A sculpture by British artist John Walter, exploring the relationship between visual culture and HIV today. INSPIRED BY LIVERPOOL’S PAST

UNTIL 28 MAR, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Small display showing a new commission by Paul Scott, together with a selection of Liverpool ceramics from our historic collections that inspired him.

A mental health charity, taking a positive approach to mental health and working to promote opportunities for people. Alongside NHS Mersey Care Trust, they present a photography exhibition by Michael, one of their service users.

Yuletide with Mr. Scruff Throw another log on the fire and get down with this irregular Christmas playlist, courtesy of Andy Carthy Interview: Daniel Jones Photography: Elinor Jones

ored of Band Aid? Sick of Shakin’ Stevens? What you need’s a quick fix of alternative Christmas tuneage. Luckily for all, Mr. Scruff’s in the festive spirit early this year, compiling a soundtrack that should keep your nan’s knees shaking right through to the Feast of the Epiphany. In the words of the man himself: “A selection of Christmas tunes that thankfully transcend their novelty value and are also good tunes, although, admittedly, are ones that you may want to avoid for the rest of the year...” Milly & Silly – Gettin’ Down for Xmas Staple breakbeat, complete with sleigh bells, gives way to a fat, wonky Christmas funk jam that sounds like Jingle Bells with a few wrong notes thrown in. Eek-A-Mouse – Christmas A-Come Eek-A-Mouse, in between his trademark vocal tics, gives us

December 2015

a story of Christmas with no money. With Roots Radics on the rhythm and Scientist behind the boards, this is considerably heavier than your average Cliff Richard offering, especially once the second half of the 12” version dubs it out to oblivion. James Brown – Soulful Christmas My favourite tune from JB’s Christmas LP. James tells us that ‘people like you don’t grow on trees’ before thanking everyone who buys his records and comes to his shows, all over a storming, tight-as-you-like uptempo funk backing. If you are going to play one Christmas tune to a packed dancefloor, then it should be this one. The Indo Jazzmen – Oriental Variations on a Christmas Theme Solid, swinging and pretty jolly jazzed-up version of While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks, with the main melody

taken care of by a sitar. The sleeve notes describe it as ‘amusing and stimulating.’ What I like about it is that for most of the tune, it is unrecognisable as a Christmas carol. Houghas Sorowonko – A Groovy Christmas and New Year Perky Ghanaian funk in a James Brown style (bearing more than a passing resemblance to ‘Cold Sweat’). Vocalist Pee Pee Dynamite exhorts all and sundry to have a groovy festive period.

Papa San – Merry Christmas Late 80s dancehall Christmasstyle on this one. Papa San describes Santa’s Jamaican delivery schedule, details some of the gifts (balloons, water guns, etc.), runs through some other notable festivities around the calendar and still manages to fit in three gloriously out of tune versions of O Come, All Ye Faithful, Jingle Bells and Joy to the World, all on one side of a 7” single. Join Mr. Scruff for Keep It Unreal: New Year’s Eve at Old Granada Studios, Manchester, 31 Dec, 9pm, £15 earlybirds mrscruff.com

Out back