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Bundobust
Photo: Giles Smith
Contents
West Yorkshire Playhouse
06
Mark up your calendar with some of the year ahead’s cultural events thanks to our handy little planner
08
Welcome to your new home! How exciting and terrifying in equal measure
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A DIY spirit is central to Leeds’ music scene. Three key figures tell us more
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Cinephile? Hipster? Auteur? Find out what kind of film buff you’ll be come graduation
25
Coming out at university can be a scary thing to do. Our Deviance editor has some advice
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34
Leeds Indie Food Festival
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How do you turn a chicken into a dinner? What should you put on the one shelf of cupboard you’ve been allocated? Let our Food editor be your spirit guide...
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...and once you’ve made that food, put it in a funky lunch box
44
Our Comedy editor considers the, erm, ins and outs of Tinder
46 There are more ways to get involved with
theatre than just bagging the cheap seats – like joining a society!
48 Want to see the world but don’t have sev-
eral grand squirrelled away? Readers tell us their experiences of working while travelling
From grime to techno, check out some of the best sweaty clubs and one-off nights in the UK
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When it seems like everyone else is having more fun than you, remember these ways to conquer FoMO
Student life has inspired loads of novels: but which campus character would you be mates with?
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From gig and club venues to museums, galleries and cafes, let our city guide be your, ahem, guide to Leeds
Be prepared for life after art school with our tips on how to find studios, funding and future best pals 66
And finally: disturbing horoscopes for your academic year. You’re welcome
Presenting: a showcase of work from some of our favourite art school grads!
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Photo: Jessie Leong
The Tetley
Heads Up Read, sleep, weep, repeat. That sounds rubbish, doesn’t it? Here’s our guide to the year’s cultural treats so you can brighten up that academic calendar Compiled by: Edy Hurst Leeds Christmas Market
SEPTEMBER
DECEMBER
With the academic year kicking off, the city offers the requisite mayhem, drinks discounts and themed nights for freshers week. This is the week that most student unions’ budgets go towards, so check out each institution’s calendar for a wide array of high-profile bands, comedians and DJs to start your year in Leeds.
Woo! A month of more rain than snow, followed by more ice than snow. As well as playing ‘guess whether that broken leg was from a night out’ around your local campus, you can check out Millennium Square, which transforms into a German Christmas market (opens 15 Nov) featuring food stalls and suitably seasonal gifts.
Lawrence Abu Hamdan A Convention of Tiny Movements, 2015 British Art Show 8
Photo: Roberto Chamorro
JANUARY
If you haven’t been yet, the Brew-denell Beer & Ale Festival (9-11 Jan) is a perfect excuse to visit the Brudenell Social Club. The event showcases local craft beers and grub with a noticeably trendier aesthetic than your usual food market. January also sees the end of Art Show 8 – a nationally recognised contemporary art exhibition, roosting this year in the Leeds Art Gallery and showcasing some of Britain’s rising art stars until 10 Jan.
OCTOBER
As you begin to find your feet, October is a great month to check out the city’s cultural output. Light Night is a firm fixture, running 50 free arts events across the city centre on 9 October. Also watch out for the opening of British Art Show 8 at Leeds Art Gallery (9 Oct-10 Jan) and loads of Beacons Metro gigs, from Micachu to Son Lux.
NOVEMBER
From 9-15 November the UK’s largest running comic art event, Thought Bubble, returns, with a mind-blowing collection of guests. Kate Beaton of Hark! A Vagrant fame and dark surrealist Joan Cornellà are among the esteemed list of internationally renowned talent. For comic fans this is a must, as is the city’s regular Laydeez Do Comics forum. 6
Bec Hill at Sitting Room Comedy Club
FEBRUARY
It’s a quiet month on the student front, but by no means is February a slower time for the city. This is the ideal time to check out some of Leeds’ varied comedy offerings, from Sitting Room
LISTINGS
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MAY
It’s a month of live shows around the city, as Slam Dunk, one of the country’s best pop-punk and rock festivals, comes to Leeds, and the comedy festival Laugh in Leeds marks the beginning of Edinburgh preview season for some of the country’s best standup and sketch comedians.
Comedy Club at the Belgrave Music Hall to House of Fun at The Wardrobe.
MARCH
As the city blossoms into spring, the Easter weekend is a good time to explore areas further afield from Leeds. A short journey will take you to The Hepworth Wakefield and Yorkshire Sculpture Park, which make up the famous ‘Yorkshire triangle’ along with the Henry Moore Institute, Leeds.
JUNE
As the academic year ends, one of the biggest parties is the University of Leeds’ Leeds Ball, featuring funfair rides and usually a Radio 1 favourite as headliner. With many students leaving for summer break, you can see the city in a different light – and take on the famed Otley Run pub crawl without the fear of bumping into fancy dress patrol.
Annie Mac at Leeds Ball 2015
APRIL
By this point, you’ll be well and truly versed in the Yorkshire art scene, so why not check out the region’s theatrical output? West Yorkshire Playhouse’s Transform festival has been running each April since 2011, bringing cutting-edge contemporary theatre and performance to Leeds. Elsewhere, music festival Live at Leeds (30 Apr) takes over Millennium Square and city venues for its 10th birthday (past acts include Hookworms and The Cribs). 2015-2016
Photo: Jessie Leong
JULY
’Tis the month of graduation, when you can walk around the campuses and photobomb other students’ proudest moments. Alternatively, you could take the train to Whitby and enjoy the height of Yorkshire summer, or head down to Verve bar every Tuesday evening to see some of the North’s rising comedy stars showcase their material before they go to the Edinburgh Fringe.
AUGUST
While May provides festivals a walk from your door, August promises full weekends of camping and music. Leeds Festival is one of the country’s biggest, offering a wide selection of music and comedy a short journey from the city centre and, providing something of a holiday before the academic year begins again. Sign up to The Skinny’s Zap newsletter – our top ten recommended events across Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester in your inbox every Thursday morning: bit.ly/theskinnyzap For more listings and event previews: theskinny.co.uk/events
LISTINGS
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Photo: Ackers72
Photo: Hufton + Crow
The Hepworth Wakefield
Whitby Abbey
The Skinny on Leeds “Leeds! Leeds! Leeds!” and “YOOORKshire, YOOORKshire” are two very helpful chants you will hear a lot over the next few years. Allow us to explore your new home in a little more detail, from cutting-edge art to rivers of booze Words: Edy Hurst Illustration: Raj Dhunna
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eeds is a city in t’North o’ England. People here have Yorkshire accents, occasionally own whippets, and have been spotted with flat caps. During the Industrial Revolution, Leeds was the capital of the North, housing the banks and manufacturing wool; before then, it was a nationally regarded market town for travelling knights and dames of Medieval time. History lesson over – now throw all of that away, as none of it will help you. Especially the flat cap bit – there’s little more tiresome than a cap-toting student. Rather than conforming to the image of a land filled with old man’s pubs and pasties, Leeds is possibly one of the most diverse, vibrant and busy cities that you could have the fortune of studying in. The West Riding capital is a melting pot of further education institutions, with the University of Leeds’ redbrick academia sitting aside the state-of-the-art Leeds Beckett. Both of these campuses rub shoulders with not only a unique conservatoire in the shape of Leeds College of Music, but also a College of Art that’s launched world famous artists such as Damien Hirst. As you can probably imagine, this combination of a transient student population with a city of proud Yorkshire folk can strike a stark contrast, but both sets of residents ground one another. Leeds is a city of many faces; a university town with a reputation for ‘messy’ nights, and, at the same time, a treasure trove of cutting-edge galleries and much-loved indie institutions – all wrapped in a classic Yorkshire landscape. But hey, these are all things you’ll find out.
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One of the best bits of this city is discovering its secrets for yourself – and, conveniently, in your grubby mitts lies a cheeky guide to help you get started. The first thing to know about Leeds is that it is one big hill. In fact, the first thing you’ll realise is that a lot of the areas of the city are divided up by sweeping gradients. Friendships will be built and broken on the determination of hobbling up a few more degrees of incline. From the perspective of a fresh faced adventurer, Leeds could be perceived as three different areas: the main campuses and their ten-minute walk to the city centre; the trademark student haven of Hyde Park, and the greenery of Headingley, haunt of the discerning academic. Each area has its own gems, and all three hold their own distinct character. The compact city centre (only a 20-minute walk from one end to the other) has undergone a great deal of change in recent years – and students West Riding-bound arrive at an interesting time. A seeming knock-on effect from the recession has been that many graduates who might otherwise have headed down to London have instead stayed in this former woollen city. What were once ephemeral passion projects initiated during a student’s course are beginning to flourish into firm city fixtures. Food-wise, Almost Famous, Red’s True Barbecue and many more have helped to establish Leeds as the third corner of the hipster restaurateur’s northern triangle alongside Manchester and Liverpool – not to mention ▶
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the superb selection of curry houses, resulting from the stone’s throw distance of Balti birthplace Bradford. Leeds’ nightlife is often regarded as among the best in the country, with clubs and nights specifically aimed at the studious populace. You’ve got your standard club fodder, of course, all shiny bright lights and sticky floors, but also jazz cafes, punk and rock bars and indie hangouts galore. As for shopping, the city centre has a great deal to offer every delectation. The recently opened Trinity mall hosts an array of designer names and brands, and across from the entrance to Briggate (one of the main streets), the Victoria Quarter showcases high-end arcades with a selection of flagship stores. Just over the road from there and you have the huge Leeds markets: take the time to walk around them and you’ll get an insight into the real city beyond the retail hub.
“Leeds is a complete mess of energy and excitement, a place where everyone thinks they can run the town” Rest assured, amid all the capitalism there’s still ample competition for low priced pastry and pints. The winding main road of Woodhouse Lane meanders from the University of Leeds to the city centre, passing many of the larger clubs on the way – but carry on along The Headrow and down to the end of the consumer corridor and you’ll find a series of more discreet clubs, eateries and vintage shops. Running up that hill, we come to the student nucleus: Hyde Park (not the London one – and try 10
to avoid making that joke). Whereas the centre of Leeds is experiencing something of a refurbishment, Hyde Park’s redbrick terraces maintain their street cred as rough-around-the-edges abodes of choice. Hyde Park is the sort of place where you’ll see a daytime house party next door to a family home, or a hungover student fishing out a football for the kids across the street; there’s a unique blend of students and residents living side by side. It’s in Hyde Park that you’ll also find a number of Leeds institutions, including the legendary Brudenell Social Club and Hyde Park Picture House. Much like the area, from the outside they appear humble and perhaps a little run down, but explore them and you’ll uncover some of the very best gigs, screenings and other arty happenings the city has to offer. Last, but certainly not least, is Headingley. For aspirational students or those who just wish not to live somewhere their parents would call ‘digs,’ Headingley is a leafier and slightly pricier place of part-time residence. It houses a wide range of student halls and campuses a little further from the main centre, and has its own fair share of cafes, bakeries, takeaways and even an American candy shop. All that, and we haven’t even mentioned that it’s the starting place of the renowned Otley Run, a massive pub crawl that runs like a boozy river throughout Leeds, claiming the sobriety of student and visitor alike. When it comes to living arrangements, chances are you’ll have to decide between here or Hyde Park – and while it may be the difference between a bus or a walk to campus, there’s unmistakable beauty and a greener feel to Headingley. Leeds is a complete mess of energy and excitement, a place where everyone thinks they can run the town. A high-minded culture hub with a gonzo sensibility and the sort of hectic, grimy nights out you could only dream of at high school, it is entirely what you make of it. In short, here lies the land where some of your best memories will be grown – and we hope the following pages will help show you where to plant those seeds.
STUDENT HANDBOOK
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Light Installations
Music
Storytelling
Dance
Street Theatre
Film
Performance
29th Leeds International Film Festival 5/19 November 2015 leedsfilm.com Free Launch Event on Light Night
LIFF29 will feature over 300 screenings and events across Leeds in the North’s largest celebration of film, with big discounts for students
Leeds Town Hall 9 October, 6.30pm Pick up a Free LIFF29 Guide Follow us for the latest announcements:
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2015-2016
Birdman received its UK Premiere at LIFF28
19/08/2015 13:35
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THE SKINNY
Doing It for Themselves From putting on gigs to publishing ’zines to establishing inclusive spaces, in Leeds people really get stuck in. We ask three key figures from the DIY music scene why the community is so strong
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eeds isn’t necessarily a city that comes to mind when talking about music: its mainstream reputation has been defined mostly by the likes of Scary Spice and the post-Britpop sounds of Kaiser Chiefs and The Pigeon Detectives. But there’s a lot more to the place than that. With a rich musical heritage, as well as a scene at present that is arguably better than it’s ever been, Leeds has been home to variety of influential bands and continuously spawns new local talent. Bands like Pale Saints, Delta 5, The Mekons, Gang of Four, The Wedding Present, Scritti Politti, Girls at Our Best and many others have helped to shape Leeds’ music landscape, as well as being incredibly influential on many bands that followed, not just in the UK but across the world. While it’s largely informed by Leeds’ punk movement of the late 70s and early 80s, as well as indie, shoegaze and post-punk, today the scene hosts musicians
2015-2016
Interview: Hayley Scott
of various styles and sounds – from the witty, outsider hip-hop of Danopposite to the NYC-inspired disco of Galaxians and the leftfield punk of Beards. No matter what you’re into, there’s something for everyone, and Leeds is also a hotspot for touring bands and musicians. Rivalling the likes of Sheffield, Manchester and London, what separates Leeds’ musical landscape from most large UK music scenes is its vibrant DIY activity – and if you’re looking for a gig to go to, then you’re guaranteed to find something most days of the week. Propped up by an everincreasing amount of DIY bands, promoters and co-operatives such as Chunk and Wharf Chambers (which, alongside the popular Brudenell Social Club, is regularly cited as many a band’s favourite Leeds music venue because of its relaxed, homely atmosphere and safe-space policy), the city is currently buzzing with events of all kinds, from ▶
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Photo: Sam Huddleston
Galaxians
Esper Scout playing at Chunk
Sarah Statham (member, Chunk collective/musician, Esper Scout) The Skinny: When did you first get involved in Leeds’ music scene? Sarah: I moved here in 2007. Having played in bands in Manchester during and since high school, instinct led me to come here to study Cinema and Photography at Leeds University.
Music was the true calling, though, with intentions to start something new inspired by a night spent in Hyde Park watching [Esper Scout bandmate] Kirsty’s performance artist uncle Herb Diamante at the Brudenell Social Club. We soon began booking our own nights after getting our footing locally thanks to a little pub called The Primrose, which is weirdly just across the road from what’s now the Chunk building. Can you tell us about Chunk, how it operates, and your involvement with it? It’s a co-op space, meaning that its members are responsible for paying rent and maintaining events, practices, finances, meetings, ideas and (importantly!) cleaning the toilet. Esper Scout were asked if we wanted to join in November 2014 when the Chunk collective were looking to move to a new, bigger space. Some members have certain roles to help focus activity and efficiency but everyone’s opinion is equal. There’s no hierarchy or cliques. The most important thing is to support inclusivity and positivity and allow a facility for people to be
Pulled Apart by Horses
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Photo: Euan Robertson
music film screenings to all-dayers (see Karma for psych, Gold Sounds for indie) and urban festivals (Live at Leeds, Beacons Metro). Thanks to the likes of Hookworms, Leeds is fast getting the recognition it deserves, but its independence wouldn’t be what it is without the mainstays who help it thrive. To find out about the DIY scene and what Leeds has to offer to prospective students, below we speak to some of Leeds’ figureheads: Sarah Statham, who is part of experimental rock band Esper Scout and also the Chunk collective; Keeby, who helps run Cops and Robbers, a monthly guide to DIY events happening in and around Leeds; and Hilary Knott, of bands Hilary and the Hate Crimes and Cowtown.
expressive and welcomed, which encompasses non-members practising and playing at Chunk. We also host club nights and are open to non-musical events such as meetings, food, art and films.
Hookworms at Beacons 2013
Grammatics and Dinosaur Pile-Up. However that doesn’t mean there wasn’t anything else going on. Chunk has such a range of bands, from the heavy noise and powerful drive of Clenstch to ZoZo’s dynamic and lively bounce and colourful grooves.
How would you say Chunk, and your band Esper Scout, fit within the Leeds music scene? What I love about Leeds is that there isn’t a set ‘trend’ within which people seem to operate other than ‘independence,’ paradoxically. Everything seems to compliment the other. It’s a place where people don’t seem to embolden or engage with exploitative opportunists much, which was a problem I found in Manchester ten years ago. ‘Pay to play’ promoters don’t get very far here. Esper Scout grew by putting on our own gigs (extending into our Bomb the Twist label/shows), making friends with people and reaching out. We’ve always felt like outsiders, honestly. But I Sarah Statham don’t think that’s too uncommon and, inspirationally, it can actually be seen as an agent for creating new networks and activity. What would you recommend to newcomers to the city? Would you say that Leeds has its own The charming and safe-space/music venue Wharf defining sound? Chambers always has a good range of things My opinion is that there definitely isn’t, and happening week in week out. Temple of Boom, thankfully so. In the late 2000s the city deservtoo – both have housed some brilliant PLS TXTedly received press and notability thanks to promoted gigs. The Brudenell Social Club and its some great melodic and lively indie rock bands sister bar The Social have well deserved, unpreincluding Pulled Apart by Horses, Sky Larkin, tentious reputations as no-nonsense, quality ▶
“What I love about Leeds is that there isn’t a set ‘trend’ within which people seem to operate other than ‘independence’”
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Photo: Richard Manning
Photo: David Mcgowan
Sky Larkin
Cops and Robbers
venues with well considered drinks and music. Shows at The Pack Horse got us started here too. If you’re a new band then that, The Fox & Newt and Santiago’s are good places to introduce yourselves to the music scene. facebook.com/Chunk.Leeds | @chunkleeds esperscout.com | @esperscout
Keeby (member, Cops and Robbers collective) The Skinny: When did you first get involved in Leeds’ music scene? Keeby: I started going to DIY gigs in Leeds around 2001. My friends and I discovered the Cops and Robbers booklets in record shops and they opened up an amazing range of gig possibilities to us. We had our minds blown by early experiences of local bands like Bilge Pump, Capo D’Astro, J*R and touring bands from Europe and the States that the original Cops and Robbers group were putting on. We couldn’t believe such great music was happening in pub basements and function rooms and that the bands and organisers showed such complete indifference to the career-driven music industry stuff we’d experienced growing up. We started playing in bands and organising our own gigs soon after, heavily influenced by what we saw and heard happening around us. 16
“We couldn’t believe such great music was happening in pub basements and function rooms” Keeby Can you tell us about Cops and Robbers, how it works, and your involvement with it? Cops and Robbers is a monthly publication that lists DIY gigs in Leeds, Bradford and the larger West Yorkshire area. It’s not-for-profit, volunteer run, and funded by the benefit gigs that we (and occasionally other promoters) put on in Leeds. There’s also a C&R website and forum which people can use to promote their gigs and submit listings for inclusion in the paper edition. C&R doesn’t promote a particular genre of music but definitely caters for the weirder, more experimental, anti-commercial side of things. ▶
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I help run C&R with a small group of friends and we do all the essential bits like designing the booklets, organising fundraisers, folding, stapling, distributing, etc. There’s always a lot to do so we’re happy to hear from people who might want to get involved. Which local bands would you recommend to newcomers to the city? If you want to see some wilder, more experimental stuff then I’d definitely hunt down Guttersnipe, who are an incredible two-piece making a kind of extreme/absurdist rock. Beards are an amazing band, sort of post-punk sounds refracted into some very idiosyncratic rock music. No Form are doing a great, noisy hardcore thing. We’re also really lucky to have a heritage of noise/drone/ improv stuff stemming from the Termite Club gigs and festivals that have been happening in the city over the past 30-odd years: groups like Vibracathedral Orchestra, Ashtray Navigations, their various members’ solo projects and collaborations, Astral Social Club, Mick Flower, Bridget Hayden to name a few... Also the newer crop of out-there noise stuff like Panelak is well worth seeking out. copsandrobbers.net @copsandrobbers
Hilary Knott (musician, Cowtown/ Hilary and the Hate Crimes)
The Skinny: When did you first get involved in Leeds’ music scene? Hilary: I moved to Wakefield by mistake for art college in 1999 and started coming to DIY gigs in Leeds with Dave Shields (Cowtown, Monster Killed by Laser) and Lev (MKBL), who I had just sort of picked up at Wakey pop-punk shows. I saw amazing bands like Polaris and Bilge Pump and Kill Yourself play in places like The Pack Horse and The Fenton and decided I had to move here. I went to a lot of shows but I didn’t really get involved ’til Cowtown started up around 2003-4. It just sort of happens... one day you agree to do a bit of door for someone and the next thing you know there’s all these exciting bands of lovely people sleeping on your kitchen floor and you’re staying up all night folding ’zines and getting stapler rage and it’s the best times. A lot of the gigs I was involved with to begin with were to do with DIY collectives Cops and Robbers and Chinchilla. The idea always was to put on non-profit gigs to enable DIY bands to travel and play and make records; we all help each other out, you make a lot of friends, it’s very tribal and feels exactly like a big amazing family. It’s changed a lot over the years because new people are always appearing so it’s like this constantly evolving, living thing, but it still pretty much works the same.
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Cowtown
Which local bands would you recommend? Crumbs, Mia La Metta, Nope, That Fucking Tank, City Yelps, Broken Arm, Molars, Galaxians, The Wub, Ygrec, Beards, Commiserations...
“We all help each other out, you make a lot of friends, it feels like a big amazing family” Hilary Knott Why do you think there is such a strong DIY scene in Leeds? It’s got a lot of things in a concentrated area that enable people to do bands. There are all these long-established DIY scenes supported by great venues like Wharf Chambers and the Brudenell. It’s a reasonable place to live economically, so doing everyday things like hiring a practice space and getting around is accessible to more people. There are loads of great venues that are really 2015-2016
into being music venues, that know how to look after bands so that touring bands all want to come here and local DIY promoters can put on good shows. There seem to be enough people who like going to watch live bands to keep it all going. Almost everyone seems to be in a band or after starting a band. What are your favourite venues to play, and what’s your favourite as a gig-goer? My favourite venues to play and watch bands in are tied (equal firsts!) between Wharf Chambers and the Brudenell Social Club. I’ve had so many amazing times at both for different reasons. Wharf Chambers is more punk rock; it’s also like, Cheers friendly and feels like home and I know lots of people feel that way. I’d say the same thing about the Brudenell too, though. Cowtown practised behind the pool room for years and we must have played there actual hundreds of times by now. Also their new PA and Nathan-controlled light show is totally baller. I can’t choose. You can’t make me. cowtown.bandcamp.com | @wearecowtown hilaryandthehatecrimes.bandcamp.com For more on the local music scene, interviews with artists, playlists and your monthly gig highlights: theskinny.co.uk/music
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A Guide to Movie Tribes Film fandom comes in many guises. Here are just a few...
Words: Jamie Dunn
Cinema Paradiso
The nerd
Here we have the easiest to spot of the movie tribes; they wear their hearts on their sleeves – or, to be more accurate, they wear the insignia of the movies they love on their t-shirts. They’re also the most powerful. Movie executives cower at their feet, creating film worlds so dense with injokes that they become incomprehensible to anyone who’s not been schooled on comic book lore. But pity the poor critic who points this out. The pen may be mightier than the sword, but the comments left at the bottom of a comic book movie review are more brutal than Thor’s hammer. Where you’ll find them: Midnight screenings of the latest Marvel or DC movie; debating on Twitter which member of the Avengers would win in a head to head; in film review comments sections explaining to critics why they don’t understand the latest comic book movie. Leading man: Any guy named Chris (Pine, Hemsworth, Evans, Pratt) Leading woman: N/A Favourite director: Joss Whedon Favourite film: Whatever is next in Marvel’s ‘Phase 3’ assault on our cinema screens
The auteurists
Auteurists are the trainspotters of movie aficionados. They like to make lists and then meticulously check them off. They don’t just want to watch key works by the likes of Fassbinder or Altman, they want to see them all: the student films, the 8mm doodles, the box-office bombs and 2015-2016
the critical disasters. (The auteurist’s favourite word is oeuvre.) Peculiarly, they don’t refer to upcoming movies by their title like any sane person. Instead they quote the name of their übermensch creator – the film’s director. Warning: this can be confusing. “Have you seen the new Anderson?” they might ask. “Do you mean Wes? PT? Oh, God, not PWS?” Where you’ll find them: On letterboxd.com ranking Hitchcock’s career; organising their DVD collection by director; studying the latest Sight & Sound film poll. Leading man: Cary Grant Leading woman: Katharine Hepburn Favourite director: Orson Welles Favourite film: See Sight & Sound Greatest Film Poll
The cinephile
Cinephilia is the dark realm in which movie love spills over into something more ecstatic. It’s closer to a fetish than a pastime. The whirl of a projector or the crackle of a scratchy 35mm print on screen elicits a kind of erotic reverie. Like auteurists, the cinephile eats, breathes and sleeps cinema, but their movie love extends well beyond the auteurist’s canon. Their disposable income is poured into snap eBay purchases of out of print film books, faded first run movie posters and, most importantly of all, cinema stubs. They’re on first name terms with their local cinema’s ushers and spend more time there during university than they will do in lecture halls. ▶
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Where you’ll find them: At the cinema; seeking out rare one-off screenings; searching through online forums looking for torrents of out of print gems. Leading man: All of them Leading woman: All of them Favourite director: All of them Favourite film: All of them
The eclectic
The hipster
For the hipster, movies, like their facial hair and their on-trend boat shoes, are extensions of their personality. They tend to be drawn to filmmakers who, like them, show off via an elaborate aesthetic, be that down to ostentatious camerawork or eye-popping mise-en-scéne. The soundtracks should be retro – electronic pop that sounds like a Eurythmics B-side works well, as do little-heard British new wave tracks. Diegetic music should be played on vinyl or the most recent iPod. Where you’ll find them: Coen Brothers retrospectives; attending fancy dress parties in Wes Anderson movie cosplay; deciding whether to watch Lost in Translation for the eighth time or Garden State for the twelfth. Leading man: Bill Murray Leading woman: Greta Gerwig Favourite director: Richard Linklater Favourite film: Donnie Darko
The cinephile’s taste is catholic, but the eclectic’s is non-sequitur. A screening of, say, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension will spill over into a double bill with Carl Theodor Dreyer’s Ordet without missing a beat. And after that they’ll watch Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Highbrow and lowbrow become mutable. Genres collide. It’s movie watching as schizophrenia. Where you’ll find them: Hard to say – Cineworld on Fridays for the opening of the latest blockbuster and at their local arthouse cinema the following afternoon for a matinee screening of a classic. Leading man: Daniel Day-Lewis and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michael Cera Leading woman: Tilda Swinton and Meryl Streep and Melissa McCarthy Favourite director: Béla Tarr and Zack Snyder and John Ford The ironists Favourite films: L’Avventura and Die Hard and Mary Poppins For the ironist, movies can’t be enjoyed on their own merit. Their appeal comes from the ironist’s The contrarian superiority over the material. The ironist demonThe contrarian is under some sick illusion that to strates their superiority by openly mocking the be individual is to reject the mainstream. Ignoring text. For some reason, this only applies to older critical consensus is a good thing: going against movies. The ironist would never think of loudly it in all instances feels perverse. The contrarian taking the piss out of Fantastic Four, say, or the latest Zack Snyder film. The anachronistic acting reckons Francis Ford Coppola didn’t really hit his in silent films, the heartbreaking emotionality of stride ’til the late 80s, and is the only movie fan 50s melodramas or dated effects in seminal 70s outside those signed up to the L. Ron Hubbard sci-fi movies, however, are fair game. club to think Battlefield Earth is any cop. Most twisted of all: the contrarian’s favourite part of Where you’ll find them: At any retrospective every trilogy is always number three. screening, manically laughing like Robert De Niro Where you’ll find them: In the kitchens at house in Cape Fear, ruining it for the rest of us; deciding on whether to watch The Room for the eighth time parties explaining to people why Batman and Robin is superior to The Dark Knight; trolling or Troll 2 for the twelfth time. critics with their unorthodox take on Danny Leading man: Nicolas Cage Dyer’s career. Leading woman: Divine Leading man: Adam Sandler Favourite director: M. Night Shyamalan Leading woman: Madonna Favourite film: Plan 9 from Outer Space Favourite director: Brett Ratner Find film reviews, features, events, filmmaker interviews and Favourite film: Showgirls more at theskinny.co.uk/film
“Auteurists are the trainspotters of movie aficionados”
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How to Come Out at University ...because people can be total jeb-ends sometimes. But don’t worry, we’ve got your back Words: Kate Pasola
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oming out, whether you’re doing it during freshers week at a liberal university or as a toupé-wearing Tory, is a tremendously brave and usually terrifying thing to do. While Upworthy would have you believe that coming out is seriously THE most heartwarming, mind-blowing thing you’ll see this week(!), truth is we don’t live in a high production value viral video, and some people are total bastards. Here’s Deviance’s guide to coming out at university, ft. advice from a bunch of glorious grads and students. We’ll start with the total bastards: Sure, the baby boomers have finally got their head around the fact that it’s not OK to bend their wrist at people à la Ricky Gervais to imply potential gay-ness. And yes, the word ‘queer’ has been reclaimed from school bus bullies. But unfortunately, closed-mindedness still lingers like a societal fart. Take reassurance in the fact the world – especially the part you live in – is commando-crawling its way towards some sort of equality. Pretty soon, that perfect-arse who thinks sexuality is fodder for an impromptu standup set will be left outside alone with fewer pals than Anastacia circa 2004. Binning people Some people won’t be able to get their head around your decision. It’s not your job to teach them tolerance, and it’s not your fault if they aren’t able to accept you. Hang out with the people who do accept you. They’re good’uns, them ones. Cracking funnies If the ignorance is coming from a friend or family member you don’t want to lose, encourage a little humour into the situation. Jokes are a pretty helpful device for helping people desensitise themselves to these sorts of things, as long as you’re comfortable with it, of course. Labels Some people find it really handy to whack a label on themselves. It’s a shortcut which helps people to align with certain groups, activities and circles.
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That said, it can also be stifling to live up to a label, especially if the one you’ve been using (or the one that’s been stuck on you by well-meaning pals) doesn’t comprehensively reflect the sexy intricacies of your youthful brain. If you don’t fancy the permanency of a label but want to come out to someone, just drop some fact or a handy hint into conversation that indicates your sexual preferences. They’ll get the gist. Eventually.
“Unfortunately, a world of closed-mindedness still lingers like a societal fart” Reinvent yo’self To adopt a very stale aquarial metaphor, moving from a cloying high school or small town to a gorgeous urban metropolis is like being dragged from a tiny fishtank and flung into the ocean. But it’s an ocean where none of the other fish know you and where you’ll meet starfish and seahorses and sea cucumbers. Also, in this metaphor, you can suspend the laws of the land and transform from a clownfish into a crustacean and NO ONE gets to tell you otherwise. Be the crustacean you’ve always wanted to be. ...but don’t worry if you’re not sure who yo’self is yet You may well have done a heap of soul-searching and arrived at a destination of multichromatic sexy-fun-times (congrats!). But also, you might not have got round to that yet. If so, don’t worry that there isn’t a fully formed identity to rush into once you’ve come out. To share the experience of a top notch lady I know, “I remember being like ‘Oh my god, now I’m a lesbian what am I going to wear?’” Her answer? “Obviously just wear the same thing, dumbass. You don’t have to dress like other lesbians. Though that is fine too. Rock that plaid girl.”
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Night Crawlers Leeds has one of the most diverse clubs scenes in the UK, and guest selectors and residents alike take throwing parties seriously here. Fix up, look sharp, and prepare to go for 24 hours
Words: John Thorp
FunkSoulNation at HiFi Club
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espite having inspired scene-leading institutions such as Back to Basics and Hessle Audio, Leeds’ spot in the legacy of British clubbing culture is impressive but relatively undocumented – at least in comparison to its neighbouring cities. However, during term time, the very much up-for-it energy that inspired LFO to compose their classic ‘Leeds Warehouse Mix’ is still palpable in the air. Frankly, in terms of big bookings in smaller clubs, the city regularly punches above its weight; and recently established online radio station KMAH, broadcasting daily out of the city centre, is successfully putting the mid-Yorkshire metropolis back on the map. The station’s vast range of selectors offer just a taste of the dance music (and beyond) that’s constantly being rediscovered around the M62. With that in mind, here’s a not-so-exhaustive but hopefully useful guide to clubbing in Leeds in 2015. Just remember: pace yourselves, share all gum kindly and no shunting in with your mates in the queue for the cloakroom. The Big Stuff Arguably the East side of the Pennines’ answer to The Warehouse Project, Canal Mills – which, as
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the name implies, takes place in a vast retired mill space on the fringe of the city (and precariously close to a rather turbulent dual carriageway, so beware), offers some of the most exciting lineups in the UK. Unlike its Manchester cousin, it’s still a relatively intimate affair, maintaining that grimey, underground feel. The coming season’s listings have yet to be announced at the time of writing, but the past few stints have seen most corners of alternative dance represented. The likes of B.Traits, George FitzGerald, Daniel Avery and Bonobo graced the decks in 2014, while the joyous New Year’s Day finale featured Four Tet and Caribou’s Dan Snaith, aka Daphni, playing the last of three gigs in one day to rousing effect. The boxy, intimate second room offers an intense atmosphere, though there has been something of a sound bleed issue in the past so make sure to get involved down the front. The windswept toilet queue is less defensible, but the reliably impressive roster of bookings generally makes it worth the while. The Grimey Stuff ...by which we mean the likes of Wiley, Darq E Freaker and Stormzy, not just poorly maintained clubs haphazardly passing the council’s H&S ▶
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standards. Let’s face it, you’ll probably discover and suffer your own soon enough. With grime finally seeming to seep out of the capital and even into the charts, Jamz, Elijah and Skilliam’s reliably raucous celebration of underground talent, has developed a cult following in Leeds, where the pair behind the celebrated Butterz imprint have been selling out venues as vast as the city’s Warehouse. Regularly featuring pals and labelmates such as Flava D and Madam X, the night is designed to push forward some of the finest unsigned bars and instrumentals on the scene – although the duo aren’t afraid to ignite the dancefloor with classics from BBK, Dizzee and the like, either. The ‘Out There’ Stuff Quite literally out there, on an industrial estate bordering the city, it feels unfair to give away the location of Cosmic Slop; but rest assured, for those who seek them out and arrive with the right attitude, these occasional guestlist-only parties prove rather unforgettable. Featuring a hugely knowledgeable team of residents and frequent very special guests, Cosmic Slop’s speciality is vinyl-only jams covering funk, boogie, house, soul, vintage disco and whatever else feels right in the 28
moment. What’s more, their home-engineered soundsystem ensures an atmosphere so vibrant, you might half expect to find the spirits of Ron Hardy or Larry Levan propped up at the bar. Unlike the Paradise Garage, there’s (fortunately) no acid in the punch, but you might find a great selection of local cakes and beers. More readily advertised, Shipley’s cult Golden Cabinet is a monthly Saturday evening rave in a community centre, specifically programmed to ensure Leeds dwellers can catch the last train home after bracing sets by rave experimentalists like Objekt and Powell.
“Remember: pace yourselves, share all gum kindly and no shunting in the queue”
CLUBS
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Photo: Tom Humphreys
Samuel Kerridge at Golden Cabinet
The House Stuff Butter Side Up, a conglomerate of passionate and risk-taking promoters, arguably have the more underground side of house locked down. Usually operating out of Wire, a venue much respected by both crowds and selectors for its well maintained Funktion-One soundsystem and occasionally rather intense atmosphere, highlights of their recent portfolio include appearances and occasional all-night sessions from heroes from Detroit (Kyle Hall), Berlin via Edinburgh (Prosumer), and New York (Mister Saturday Night). What’s more, they’re formidably talented and knowledgeable DJs in their own right, dare we say often outshining their guests, who are nonetheless always compelled to bring their strongest game to the booth. You can’t go wrong on the floor. The Techno Stuff Also largely based out of Wire, Selective Hearing are responsible for much of the city’s techno output, taking advantage of the club’s generous 24-hour license to allow much-vaunted selectors, producers and label bosses like DJ Pete, Boddika and Levon Vincent the freedom to go deep, hard or, even better, both, for one of the most receptive regular crowds in the North. Meanwhile, fresher faced promoters ALTER have plans to further immerse their growing and open-minded
band of followers with a move to Mint Club. Upcoming slots from the likes of Mathew Jonson and Efdemin promise to push their psychedelic techno flavour even farther afield. The On-the-Regular Stuff If your idea of a night out involves a more familiar selection of faces and an easier going, perhaps less jaw-clenching vibe, then Leeds has a real gem in the form of the cool yet relaxed HiFi Club. MoveOnUp takes places every Wednesday with DJs blending Northern Soul, Tamla, Stax Records and other favourites of collectors and casuals alike, and is best known as the longest running soul night in the North. Beyond such statistics, its dedicated local following speaks to its quality, and the atmosphere is unusually consistent and electric. Also taking place weekly is FunkSoulNation, jamming classic hip-hop, disco and funk each Friday, and Saturday’s Bugalu party, which specialises in Afrobeat, tropical disco and reggae. Each weekend finishes with The Sunday Joint, whose selectors spin soul, latin, salsa and more. Each night has its own individual charm and audience, although we wouldn’t necessarily recommend hitting up all four in a row unless you’ve pencilled the following week for recovery. For interviews with DJs and your monthly clubbing highlights: theskinny.co.uk/clubs
Jamz
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Living with FoMO Think all your friends are living more fulfilled lives than you? You may be suffering from FoMO Words: Michael Shea
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iving away from home for the first time can be an intimidating prospect. It’s tempting to hide in your room, log in to social media and see what your friends are up to. To make matters worse, your friends keep posting photos that show what a great time they’re having without you. Look at them having all kinds of fun; eating ice creams, playing with pandas, riding a Zeppelin (we didn’t know they still existed). If you’ve ever felt like this, you’re not alone. Welcome to FoMO. The Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) is a state of anxiety created by a compulsive concern that a person might miss an opportunity for social interaction or a novel experience. The idea has attracted attention in the last few years as researchers try to understand what effect social media has on users’ emotional wellbeing.
user’s state of mind. A study by psychologists at the University of Michigan looked at the impact of Facebook use on the ‘subjective well-being’ of young adults. They found that increased Facebook use correlates with a negative shift in reported life satisfaction and mood. Alarmingly, they found this trend not only on a day-by-day basis, but even at various points within a single day. So what’s the best way to deal with FoMO? We could remove the temptation entirely; throw our phones and laptops into the ocean? That seems a bit melodramatic. Social media is part of our lives now, for good or ill, so the only practical solution is to find ways to manage it.
“ More than simply Facebook envy, FoMO is a state of anxiety”
1. Recognise that it is based on a lie: the fantastic life you think you might be missing out on doesn’t really exist. Think about it. When was the last time one of your friends uploaded photos of themselves at the dentist, cutting their toenails, etc. Social media is designed to show us the highlights of each other’s lives, like a nostalgic clip show focusing on the best bits while skipping all of the boring episodes.
Advertising companies have been quick to get in on the act. A report by marketing firm J. Walter Thompson describes the lucrative potential of FoMO. While advertising has always been based on the notion that people can be motivated by a desire to keep up with their friends, social media has intensified this effect by bombarding users with a stream of constant updates that exaggerate a sense of “relative deprivation” (think holiday spam). But FoMO is about more than just Facebook envy. Some academics now argue that it creates a vicious cycle as heavy internet users feel increasingly lonely because they substitute social media for real, face-to-face contact with others, which further increases their feeling of isolation, and so on. This can have a profound effect on the 30
How to deal with FoMO:
2. S chedule in some screen-free time each day, ideally involving some face-to-face interaction with folks – you’ll be surprised how quickly you make friends when you don’t have the option to look at a screen. By following these simple steps, anyone can learn to live with FoMO and enjoy the freedom that comes with exploring the offline world. Failing this, just throw all your devices in the ocean and run naked on the beach. For more on all things digital: theskinny.co.uk/tech
TECH
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Emily Tilzey’s studio
Beyond the Art School How to make the most of your city as an art graduate? That is the question
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Words: Lauren Velvick
rt school is often described as a safe environment for experimentation, where you’re coddled and protected from the cruel realities of the ‘real’ art world – but the fact is that not only will engaging with the scene in your city give your own art practice an edge, the prospect of graduating is far less intimidating if you’ve already put down roots. Plus, the realities of the art world needn’t be cruel; on the whole, those a step further on than you are keen to help and enthusiastic about new ideas – so long as you are too. In each of the major cities in the North, as well as many of the smaller towns and cities, you’ll find contemporary art agencies and studio groups that are eager to foster a sense of community and criticality among emerging artists, as well as independent galleries and artist-led spaces that will be glad of a hand with invigilating and installing.
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In Leeds, check out &Model and the gallery and event spaces at Wharf Chambers; in Manchester, look out for the open studios at Rogue or Mirabel, and events at Islington Mill. With the Biennial, Liverpool offers plenty of volunteering opportunities, but keep an eye on The Royal Standard and associated galleries too. Both East Street Arts in Leeds and Castlefield Gallery in Manchester offer memberships, whereby for a fee you get access to mentorship and residency opportunities (and in the case of the latter’s CG Associates scheme, the chance to curate a funded exhibition in the gallery). These kinds of schemes are good for when you’re trying to find your feet right after graduation, and are a decent investment for the dregs of your student loan. The Royal Standard in Liverpool, on the other hand, has a rolling voluntary directorship, ▶
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with the studios, exhibition and residency spaces run by a committee of up to six directors that change biennially. A significant number of these directors have gone on to found art spaces and publications in the city and further afield.
“Art agencies and studio groups are eager to foster a sense of community” As a student it might feel a little premature to be focusing in earnest on professional development, and indeed these opportunities are more suited to graduates, but each of the above organisations also run volunteering schemes. During your degree, a few hours per week spent working alongside the directors, curators and artists that you admire is valuable in helping you to work out what you want (or don’t want!) to devote your time and creativity to in the long run. It is of course always a good idea to sign up to as many local, national and international arts mailing lists as you can handle, but specific 32
Fünf studio
to the North are Axisweb (axisweb.org) and CuratorSpace (curatorspace.com), two online resources that, for a very small or no fee, offer exposure through a profile and first dibs on opportunities. However, as useful as it is to be searchable, the importance of being present can’t be stressed enough. You’ll undoubtedly have been told to go to previews, but you need to talk to people as well – and if noisy, boozy group situations aren’t where you do your highest quality conversing, you can always invite the people you want to speak to out for a coffee and a chat, or even interview them for a local publication, like this one, YAC (Young Artists in Conversation), Corridor8 or The Double Negative. This could all seem to come down to the old adage, “it’s who you know” – but the point is that, with a little creativity, you can get to know the artists, curators, writers and organisers that are making exciting things happen in your city, on your own terms. Pictured: We asked our team of fab illustrators to send us pics of their studios. Here is Emily Tilzey's super cool space, and Fünf studios, a shared creative space in Liverpool's Baltic Triangle, currently home to Skinny illustrators Nick Booton, Jonzo and Vicky Ledsom theskinny.co.uk/art
ART
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Photo: Nick Booton
Photo: Emily Tilzey
Emily’s studio
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The Skinny Showcase Every month in The Skinny magazine we showcase the work of early-career artists – and over the summer we select at least one favourite from the region’s graduating art schools. Here are our picks from 2015
Florence Brewin
Florence Brewin graduated in 2015 with a BA (Hons) in Photography from Leeds College of Art. Her work often concerns modern day social and political issues within Western society. Her projects include The Manual to Labour, which she began “with a strong sentiment for the injustice in Britain when regarding manual labour as a nonvalued profession,” and The Golden Mile, which focuses on a street in Leicester. This project
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“utilises the street as a metaphor for acceptance, questioning why other parts of Britain cannot have the same outlook on multiculturalism as Leicester.” Florence is also one of the four-person Round Table Collective, who share an interest in fine-art photographic practices and book making. cargocollective.com/florencebrewin Pictured work: The Golden Mile
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Victoria Ruane
From Wigan, Victoria Ruane graduated in 2015 with a BA (Hons) in Photography from Manchester School of Art. She is currently working with the themes of family narratives, memories and the exploration of her own heritage, using mainly analogue photography. Her degree show project, Back Window Looking at Dad’s Shed – “Remnants of my grandmother’s past and 36
day-to-day life through her struggles with memory loss; fleeting, intimate and momentary” – is a collection of imagery from family albums, keepsakes and her own documentations. Victoria also handmakes bound artist books. victoria-ruane.format.com Pictured work: Back Window Looking at Dad’s Shed
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Ant Hamlyn
Originally from Northampton, Ant Hamlyn now lives and works in Liverpool having completed his degree in Fine Art at Liverpool Hope University. His work “explores participation and the performance of viewing through technological encounters with sculptural objects and installations.” Taking influence from 1960s Minimalists, “particularly the way in which they explored how the viewer would navigate and experience the 2015-2016
sculptures within a space,” he likes to think of his work “as a performance by the viewer, where the made object plays a part in that performance.” He is currently developing a large-scale installation, The Boost Project, for a major show at FACT Liverpool in December 2015, and is part of the 2015 neo:artprize final exhibition. anthamlyn.co.uk Pictured work: State of Play
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Things to Make and Chew Food is confusing, so we’ll keep things simple – here’s our guide to the basics of food, from the right way to buy a chicken to how to stop your friends accidentally headbutting restaurant staff Words: Peter Simpson Illustration: Raj Dhunna
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o you’re all settled into your new digs, having rearranged the place to make space for that musical instrument you’ll probably give up on within the next few weeks. It’s hungry work, so it’s time for some food. But – and here’s the funny thing – you’ve got to deal with it yourself, rather than shouting the word “sandwich” at any relative within earshot. Fear not, we can help. If you’re going to cook, you’ll need some basic kit. Key words here are “some” and “basic”; not “loads” or “bizarre and multicoloured”. Essentially, your student cooking equipment list runs like this – a big saucepan (for pasta and soups), a little saucepan (for stuff that doesn’t need to go in the big saucepan), two frying pans (one big, one small), a couple of ovenproof dishes and chopping boards, a metal sieve (which can double as a steamer with a little rejigging) and little and large knives. That’s the lot; no ‘flavour shakers’ or ‘slap chops’ required. Keep your kit list small, and spend reasonably on the stuff you do buy, and you’ll notice three things. Your equipment will last a while, because you went for the middle option in Ikea rather than trying to load as many cheap pans into one of those blue bags as possible. Your washing-up will never be more than a few pots and boards, so you’ll know straight away who’s taking the piss with the dishes (clue: it’s not you). And here’s the crucial bit – you’ll actually be able to take all your best cooking gear with you without giving yourself a hernia. You’ll probably move house every nine months for the next few years, and will thank us when all your pots and pans fit in one box. So your cupboard is full of bits of sharp metal and plastic; time to get some food! To the shops! Simple rules to follow here – first is to buy things whole. For example, don’t buy bits of chicken, get a whole one and then break it into the bits you need.
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You’ll get some good use out of the knife and board from two paragraphs ago, you’ll save money, and you’ll end up with loads to eat now and plenty to stick in the freezer for later. Next, scout out your local shops and find out when they start reducing stuff to clear. If you live in any kind of vaguely studenty area then mini-supermarkets will be all over the place like a rash, so there’ll be plenty of opportunity to get half-price loaves of bread or family-size trifles for 20p. If you follow these two rules then you might just have some student loan left over to go to some of the lovely indie food shops your city has to offer; the kind of places that not only sell really nice stuff, but actually like to talk about it, and will even give you a bit of advice if you ask nicely.
“You’ll probably move house every nine months for the next few years, and will thank us when all your pots and pans fit in one box” As for cooking itself, there are a few basic building blocks and skills to familiarise yourself with. Explaining how to turn that chicken from earlier into ‘bits of chicken’ really works better visually than written down, so get on YouTube and check it out. If you’re making a soup or sauce, you’ll need a mirepoix – that’s two parts chopped onion, ▶
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one part each of carrots and celery. Cook that for a while and you’ve got the base for a whole load of recipes. And don’t throw away the browned bits at the bottom of pans and dishes – chuck in some wine or some stock and you’re on the way to making gravy. You aren’t nearly setting the flat on fire, you’re deglazing. Go you! Of course, sometimes you won’t want to cook, and that’s fine. After all, there is a whole world going on outside, so it seems remiss to not at least give it a chance. While the world of catering may not be entirely new to you, student life will probably be the first time you experience the grown-up embarrassment of having to wrangle a group of uncouth friends through a meal. There are a couple of simple things to remember: most restaurants serve the diners from the right, so get everyone talking to the person on their left (thus avoiding any accidental waiter-headbutting); don’t leave your knife and fork or chopsticks crossed (it is variously bad luck and a sign that you’re still eating, even if there’s nothing there); and for the love of God, leave a tip (and try not to be a dick about it). And when you hit the pub, rest assured you’ll be greeted by a
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bewildering array of bitters, stouts, saisons, pales, porters and other drinks with non-sequitur names and branding.
“If you live in any vaguely studenty area, mini-supermarkets will be all over the place like a rash” And you know what you should do? Ask the bar staff what they’d recommend – they spend their days behind the bar, so if anyone’s going to know what’s nice, it would be them. Or just pick the one with the nicest label – you’re students, you may as well experiment while you have the chance. theskinny.co.uk/food
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Phagomania: Back to Uni So you’ve made a bunch of food. What do you do with it? This, of course
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ow to make the pasta and noodle diet more exciting? With a bodacious bento box, of course. Possibly the most visual of all the manners of food presentation, the idea with bento boxes is to get creative with whatever is at hand.
Alternatively, check out funkylunch.com for inspiration on how to convert limp sandwiches and sad little biscuits into an oracular spectacular. You’re welcome. ‘Phagomania’, noun: a mania for food and eating. Keep up with The Skinny’s explorations in the world of exciting and/or stupid food at theskinny.co.uk/food-and-drink/phagomania
happylittlebento.blogspot.co.uk
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FOOD AND DRINK
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Photo: funkylunch.com
funkylunch.com
cloud9food.blogspot.co.uk
annathered.com
funkylunch.com
funkylunch.com
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COMEDY
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Tinder Surprise We take a look at the shallow minefield that is internet dating and how Tinder’s potential for no-strings-attached sex might not be such a great thing Words: John Stansfield Illustration: Raj Dhunna
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henever any new visual technology is invented it is immediately used to further the pornography industry. As soon as the nickelodeons began to litter the promenades of yesteryear there were smut pedlars with their own kinescopes of flappers flashing their gussets. In the great video wars of the late 70s and early 80s, VHS helped see off competition from the vastly superior Betamax format by allowing pornographers to use their inferior product to further the ill-gotten gains of the San Fernando Valley. Where pornography has led the market, dating has not been far behind. Just google “80s video dating” for a lesson in how not to woo the opposite sex – and also a reminder that technology existed before the internet and it was gloriously grainy. With the dawn of the World Wide Web (that’s what that fancy “www.” that you don’t even have to write anymore stands for, gang!) came of course the utilisation of such high speeds of information for the furthering of interactive sex watching, and its cosy bedfellow, interactive sex doing. Internet dating has become a lot more socially acceptable over the years to the point where kids will be asking their future parents which site they met on and ranking them from Craigslist to match.com. When computers turned into the handheld devices we now know as phones, it was of course the homosexual community that recognised the ease with which they could hook up via the use of this technology with 2009’s Grindr. Somehow, though, it took the hetero world some three years to catch up, with Tinder taking its bow in September of 2012. As we’re sure you’re already aware, Tinder offers users the chance to be outwardly shallow
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by swiping right to say you like the look of someone, or left if you think that they are a horrible wolfmonster that should be fired from a cannon directly into the sun. Unsurprisingly, it has also led to the ease with which people might put their junk on or in each other. Tread carefully with this newfound power, however. It’s not just the blows your ego will take when matches burn out quicker than those lit on Mars, but the fact that you are essentially meeting strangers who have one thought in their mind, and it’s definitely not to start a long and loving relationship based on trust. It’s for doing the no pants dance. Which is super cool, but watch out: for with every app home run there are at least 100 cautionary tales. For example, Tinder is a great place to go mugging. You already know they have a nice phone and are nearby, so why not just take a shiv and double your prizes. Alienating human contact by way of messaging people in the same room as you via your mobile telephone is all well and good, but until the thumbprint verification of a user can also check the blood and urine work (surely the sexiest phrase ever associated with Tinder) for venereal diseases then you’re risking your ovaries/testicles just signing up for a good time in the Tindergarten. And though everyone seems to want HPV since Lena Dunham’s character got it on Girls, it is sooooooooo 2014. We’re not certain where all the good men or women are but you’re more likely to find out by talking to the ones nearby than checking if they’re good to go on your phone. You never know, the results may surprise you. Or everyone is awful and the world will be over soon. So don’t worry about it.
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Act Up Words: Emma Ainley-Walker
Maxine Peake in rehearsals for The Skriker at Manchester International Festival 2015
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ou’re just starting University. Chances are you’re ready to get your head stuck in to some societies, to meet like-minded people, and to start acting out a little bit. If drama is what you’re looking for, The Skinny has got you covered. Here’s our handy overview of where you can do it, how to get involved and which society is best for you – whether you want to write, direct, act or get your hands on the tech gear. Theatre Group at Leeds University will be returning to campus after a trip to the Fringe with The Worry Monster and Five Drinks, both original plays penned by students and chosen by the group’s committee to attend the festival. If it’s writing that you’re interested in, directing, or performing on a grand scale – perhaps not in venue size but as part of the largest arts festival in the world – this is a fantastic opportunity. They’ve already announced their first semester’s programme for the coming year, all chosen from proposals made by members of the society, so if there’s a show you’re dying to produce there will always be the opportunity to pitch it. If it’s musical theatre you’re looking for, the Leeds University Music Theatre Society looks
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for musical directors, producers and actors to join their society each year. The first shows announced on their 2015 roster are Sondheim’s Assassins and Ghost – the Musical. The Opera Society put on two shows a year, but members do not have to have extensive background in opera to join. They’ll be putting on The Magic Flute in February. Leeds’ Open Theatre is the society that describes itself as “that little bit different,” from devised shows to The Wind in the Willows and Ancient Greek comedy Lysistrata. As well as performance opportunities there are also workshops for picking up new skills and exploring some old ones. Manchester University Drama Society runs New Writing Showcases, which offer great opportunities for student writers to bring their work to the stage. This year they took Façade, a new play penned and directed by Thomas Glover, to the Fringe. The Manchester University Musical Theatre Society is there for those who are musically inclined. Their most recent production was Titanic the Musical (in no way connected to the film).
THEATRE
THE SKINNY
Photo: Jonathan Keenan
Wondering where to find theatre societies, and which one offers exactly what you’re looking for? Here’s The Skinny’s handy run-down of what you can find and where
They also put on performance showcases and attended the inaugural Inter-University Musical Theatre Festival in York. Fans of musical theatre can only hope that this is a festival that will continue. In the last academic year the society took home three awards from 13 nominations at the National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA) awards, winning Best Programme, Best Supporting Actress in a Musical and Best Director of a Musical.
“It’s almost impossible not to get involved with a bit of theatre at university” Manchester Metropolitan University’s Cheshire campus has both Genesis Theatre and the MMUsical Theatre society while the Manchester School of Theatre is developing a new arts and cultural hub at the University. Until then, their performances will take place off-campus at Manchester’s exciting HOME venue. Liverpool University’s Student Theatre society (LUST) is a musical theatre society putting on two shows a year, with Into the Woods coming
up in December. The less saucily named Liverpool University Drama Society (LUDS) may be one of the most prolific, putting on four large-scale productions a semester, as well as workshops and theatre trips. Students are given the opportunity to act, direct, write, produce and work backstage also. The opportunity to showcase work on a large scale comes as well with a yearly production taken to the Edinburgh Fringe: in 2015 it was absurdist comedy A Traffic Jam on Sycamore Street. Liverpool John Moores University Drama Society boasts a Freshers’ Show on 12 September to kick off their year of events, followed by a Christmas show and end of year show, with plenty of opportunity for students new and old to get involved. The University’s recent history with the arts includes partnering with arts and culture festival Homotopia. Amongst all this, the city is home to LIPA, where drama, musical theatre and performance aren’t as much societies as they are the reason for attending, making Liverpool an incredible cultural city for students interested in both participating in and watching theatre and the arts. With so much going on – and we’re only scratching the surface here – it’s almost impossible not to get involved with a bit of theatre at university. For theatre previews, reviews and interviews with theatremakers: theskinny.co.uk/theatre
LIPA students in rehearsals for Little Shop of Horrors
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Photo: Gemma Burke
Want Job, Will Travel So you want to see the world, but can’t afford a gap year spent backpacking or volunteering? Three readers tell us their tales of travelling abroad while earning their keep
Teaching English
I never took a gap year or a year abroad, and consequently started to feel claustrophobic in Glasgow, the city I’d called home for six years. So I thought about teaching. There’s always demand for people willing to teach English, after all. I applied to an agency for jobs teaching in China and things took off very quickly. I was recommended to a school in Beijing, and within a month of Skype interviews and demo lessons I was offered a contract to teach at a private school for a year. Before deciding whether to head for Beijing, everyone I spoke to explained how lucky I was; how jealous they were. It frustrated me – they weren’t the ones who would have to uproot and live in China for a year. It’s strange how quickly we can accept things after dreading them for so long, but I found that I adapted to life in Beijing very quickly. Obviously, the main problem is the language barrier, but you can get by with a very minimal understanding of Chinese. The next concern? Actually teaching the children. I had absolutely no experience with them,
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but figured I’d catch up when I got there, and really – I did. We were given no training at all on how to give a class. But when it went well, it was very enjoyable. Sometimes I had to check myself because my three hour working day had consisted of singing songs, playing games and colouring with kids. That said, one year was enough for me. There were times when I thought I couldn’t make it through to the end of the contract, and times where I felt silly for giving up a good deal so soon, but I knew China wasn’t for me long-term. I thought that living in a different culture would make me a bit less particular and fussy about things, but I was surprised to find that I was more stubborn and confident in my own opinions and preferences than ever before. To quote Confucius: “no matter where you go – there you are.” I went halfway around the world to find out that I’m the same person I’ve always been. [Gemma Burke] For more information on teaching English check out the teaching abroad section on interexchange.org
TRAVEL
THE SKINNY
Chalet host
There’s something about places like Méribel, where the 18-25s gather to ‘work’ a ski season. They are in the middle of quintessential France while having roughly enough French people living there to fill a Fiat Punto. Mostly you’ll be surrounded by Brits and Aussies who are either on a gap year, adventuring post-study or who started that way and have decided to live winter season in the Alps and summer season in Bali.
“We visit incredible places solely through the money that busking brings in” Imogen Stirling
For info, myjobsearch.com/careers/chalet-host.html
Busking
I am one half of Wonderful Exile – a professional music duo from Glasgow who have been travelling around Europe for the past year, sustaining ourselves entirely through busking. This invites a mixed response from people – non-musicians question street music as a viable profession, and musicians doubt their ability to earn enough on the street, but the fact is, there is potential for busking to be a professional occupation rather than a hobby. I graduated in the summer of 2014 and my partner was considering a year out of university. We’d joked about setting off for mainland Europe with the guitar and one day thought – why not? We knew nothing about busking in Europe and were unsure about swapping the stage for the streets. But it would be an adventure, if nothing else. In September, we travelled to Amsterdam ▶
Photo: Leo-Setä
With the ski area arguably the biggest and one of the best in the world, it’s definitely a top destination if you want to ski/board your winter away. Conditions are always right somewhere, and it’s just as exciting for the novice seasonaire as it is for the veterans. If you want the best deal, head for a job at one of the high-end chalet companies where you’ll get the likes of accommodation, ski passes, insurance, flights and ski hire included, as well as the use of the chalet hot tub and sauna when the guests are out. And sometimes when they’re in, too. Highlights could include having James Morrison (’member him?) stay in your chalet,
complete with a gang of his tipping-shy pals. You also might wind up with a food and drink budget for your staff accom’, meaning you’ll earn c£500/ month plus tips – and live off the latter alone. The other end of the scale is to go for the likes of bar work, where things are as laid back as they can be. However, you’ll likely end up with way fewer freebies, accommodation that boasts no windows and bedrooms shared with up to six other staff members, plus evening guests. Top tips: make pals with the bar staff at the Ronnie and eat pizza at the place at the square at the bottom of the Golf Run. Oh, and if hosting, don’t piss off your chalet chef. [Kyla Hall]
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where our small store of saved money swiftly disappeared – and we had to begin busking. We were successful from the start. We had the natural appeal of being a couple, and a Scottish one at that (Scotland’s a popular country!) We wanted to stand out from other street performers, remain professional musicians, but still appear personable and approachable enough to appeal to passers-by. In order to hold their attention we needed something different. So, we looked at where our strengths lay and fit our songs accordingly. We turned dance-pop into jazz, ballads into rock, and indie into country. We smiled, we engaged with everyone who wanted to speak to us, and we listened to their stories in return. We’re sticking to Europe for now – it’s rooted within the culture to have street music, and therefore is the most profitable option. We thought bigger cities would guarantee an audience but realised that these cities could drown us out. Instead, we looked for smaller places with less of an established music scene. I’d recommend Delft (The Netherlands), Lugano (Switzerland), Bruges (Belgium) and Aachen (Germany). A surprising number of places strictly regulate busking, require that you purchase a license, or even forbid street music altogether. But we’ve found that these rules, and the police who enforce them, are to be respected but not feared. We live a varied lifestyle – alternating between hostels, Couchsurfing and Airbnb for accommodation, shopping at markets for food, experiencing the art and culture of other countries, and visiting incredible places – solely through the money that busking brings in. It’s not a hobby or a way to de-stress from other work – it’s our job. [Imogen Stirling]
Trying to find a way to make a dollar on your travels? Teaching and busking aren’t your only options...
Wonderful Exile haven’t finished our travels just yet. To see where we are and what we’re doing, visit: wonderfulexile.com
theskinny.co.uk/travel
Tour Guiding – English as a native language can come in extremely useful. Cities like Rome and Barcelona are full of UK folk showing tourists around, and there are loads of tour companies offering positions travelling from country to country leading excursions. Sound exciting? Well, head to transitionsabroad.com for more information. Club Reppin’ – where clubbing is essentially your job, all day (and night), seven days a week. Think you can handle that? Sure you can. Failing that, you could just be the responsible one who ferries the hungover populace to and from the airport and makes sure that all the party people are having a great time. Find out more at holidayrep.careerintravel.co.uk Party Hosting and Escorting – These options suffer a bit of a bad rep, but did Billie Piper teach you nothing? Thing is, if the strings to your bow happen to be ones of charm and chat, this one is a genuine earner. Just make sure you’re in a country where it’s legal and that you’re supported by a reputable agency who’ll protect you if necessary.
Photo: Gemma Burke
Head to the States – Anyone enrolled in a university or accredited post-secondary institutions can apply to work for a short time in the USA with a J-1 visa. From there, there’s no restriction on the type of work available – from internships at blue chip corporations to experiencing the infamous USA service industry. Head to j1visa.state.gov/programs/ summer-work-travel to find out more.
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TRAVEL
THE SKINNY
The Campus Novel Are you a Cher Horowitz or a Hermione Granger? We trawl the canon for literary advice on university
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tudent life has always been fruitful territory for writers: from Kingsley Amis’s comedic look at the pretence of academia in Lucky Jim (1954) to Muriel Spark’s disturbing depiction of an Edinburgh schoolteacher in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961). The campus novel genre, where the action centres on the goings-on of the university institution, became popular in 1950s post-war America and, as with many other cultural products (Pop-Tarts and superhero movies included), quickly crossed the Atlantic. The heady mix of an enclosed space, institutional rules, competing ideas, and an inbuilt power relationship between tutor and pupil provides the key elements for a great narrative. With this in mind, we take a look at what bookish folk have to say on university life (note: this ‘advice’ may not serve you well).
On romance
Literary wisdom would have it that you’ll inevitably become embroiled in an awkward love triangle. Amid the freshers week bombardment of free shots and awkward silences, you may find yourself 2015-2016
Words: Holly Rimmer-Tagoe
romantically entangled with different people – advisedly not two people sharing your living space. Pulitzer Prize-winner and king of the comingof-age novel Jeffrey Eugenides’ The Marriage Plot (2011) depicts a trio of clever Ivy Leaguers juggling questions of semiotics with the writings of Plato. The protagonist, Madeleine, who is an English major “for the purest and dullest of reasons: because she loved to read,” is forced to choose between Mitchell, a dutiful character who adores her and Leonard, an erratic and self-destructive science major. Similarly, Starter for Ten (2003), by David Nicholls, sees naïve, working-class Brian Jackson caught in a tricky situation between love interests – all the while obsessively collecting knowledge for the unnamed institution’s University Challenge team. Eugenides and Nicholls draw upon the romance plots of some of England’s renowned writers – Jane Austen in the case of the former and Thomas Hardy in the latter – in a bid to refresh the narratives for a modern audience. Both books take apart the prescribed nature of the romantic novel and question the concept of love in the age of dating apps and social media. In the end, Madeleine ▶
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shows a good deal of foresight in her use of an Anthony Trollope quote: “There is no happiness in love, except at the end of an English novel.”
On your fellow students
On that cheery thought, we move on to those people you’ll be living with; yes, possibly the Ralph Laurenclad, Prosecco-popping people in the room next door. The campus novel constantly returns to the idea that the wealthy, academic elite will fascinate and repel you in equal measure. Donna Tartt’s debut novel, The Secret History (1992) – which is as beautifully written and enthralling as you would expect from someone who famously takes up to ten years to finish a novel – follows Richard Papen as he becomes a member of an exclusive group of Classics students and is swiftly embroiled in their pagan rituals, clique politics and, ultimately, murder. The five Greek scholars making up the sect strive for academic genius, while alienating themselves from the wider student population and having a fondness for all-white clothing. Papen finds the behaviour of the group increasingly bizarre and peculiar, but cannot resist their intoxicating combination of wealth and privilege. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s semi-autobiographical novel This Side of Paradise (1920) also looks at prestige and tracks the unstable relationship between Amory Blaine and the young debutante Rosalind Connage at Princeton University. The book explores the quest for status, prosperity and the eventual loss of both. The success of the novel convinced Fitzgerald’s love interest Zelda to marry him and its publication is seen as the beginning of their life of celebrity and revelry in the Roaring Twenties. Elsewhere, the life changes that accompany meeting a new group of people and moving to a new city are best illustrated by James Joyce’s depiction of a Dublin student’s transformation in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916). The protagonist, Stephen, decides to pursue the life of an artist when he becomes disillusioned with the institutions of education, family and religion. Joyce is never an easy read, but your dedication will be richly rewarded by this supremely crafted and complex novel.
On partying
The bohemian lifestyle* is a central component of the campus novel. Invariably, a particular section of students will use the university experience to 52
temporarily live out their dreams of a bohemian, carefree life of excess. They may be a fan of the punk aesthetic, or simply not enjoy early mornings. Anyway, when amorality and excess are needed, who better to look to than Bret Easton Ellis? Ellis’s novel The Rules of Attraction (1987) focuses on a group of licentious and boisterous college students in Camden College, New Hampshire. Their outward pretence of exuberance masks violence, depression and self-loathing and the novel becomes increasingly bleak. Ellis’s depiction of Classics students dressed “‘like undertakers” is later echoed in Tartt’s The Secret History. (*literary slang for heavy drinking and all-night parties)
On academia
Although actual studying is thin on the ground in the campus novel (after all, nothing interesting ever came from describing someone highlighting lecture notes in the library), we do get an insight into the – frankly dreary – life of the university professor. J. M. Coetzee’s Booker Prize-winning novel Disgrace (1999) parallels the personal and the political, as University of Cape Town teacher David Lurie is forced to deal with the fallout from his affair with a student, while the negative consequences of South Africa’s apartheid regime become apparent. Pnin (1957), by Vladimir Nabokov, comically depicts the mishaps of Russian-born professor Timofey Pnin at a college in the US. Nabokov’s novel is best described as a tragicomedy; pain and humiliation are hidden beneath Pnin’s continual bumbling. Zadie Smith’s On Beauty (2005), meanwhile, sees two professors, Howard and Monty, compete for professional status amid a wider clash of values, culture and ideas of race. Every so often a book disappears in a veil of anonymity, only to suddenly reappear to renewed critical and commercial success. One such book is Stoner (1965), by John Williams. Initially published to a lacklustre reception, Williams’ novel has subsequently been dubbed “the greatest American novel you’ve never heard of ” by The New Yorker. Williams manages to find poignant intricacy in the anonymous and undistinguished life of an English professor. The conclusion: professors might appear wary and aloof, but they are just as complicated as you are. Find book reviews, features, events, author interviews and more at theskinny.co.uk/books
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Venue Guide
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Illustration: Raj Dhunna
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Leeds FOOD & DRINK
6. Crowd of Favours
1. Bundobust
6 Mill Hill | @Bundobust The craft ale revolution has set up shop for those in search of fine beers and Indian food! A joint venture between Prashad and The Sparrow Bier cafe, Bundobust declares itself a bar serving Indian street food rather than a restaurant. Expect lashings of IPA to wash down highly praised dishes.
Harper St | @CrowdOfFavours Meet the new face of Leeds pubs, with its great selection of ales and craft beers, food with a focus on the local, and a penchant for the old fashioned that could be described as ‘shabby chic.’ It’s also home to Comedy Cask, which presents some of the greatest up-and-coming comedians from the northern circuit.
7. Sela Bar
16 New Station St | @LaynesEspresso Opening in 2011 and quickly gaining a reputation as one of Leeds’ finest coffee houses, Laynes has since expanded to serve brunch monthly at the Belgrave Music Hall and found a full-time home for an expanded food menu at Sheaf St Cafeteria.
20 New Briggate | @selabar There’s a jazz sensibility to this often bustling bar, which has a hearty variety of beers to meet aficionados’ demands. As well as live music almost every night, there’re also homemade pizzas until midnight, so if you’ve a case of the munchies but you’re still hoping to keep that candle burning both ends, they’ve got you covered.
3. Whitelocks
8. North Bar
2. Laynes Espresso
4 Turk’s Head Yd | @WhitelocksLeeds A living piece of history, every part of this 300 year-old northern institution tells a story. That’s not to say that Whitelocks is stuck in the past. With its lovingly restored interior, it’s one of the best pubs in the city, providing a great range of traditional ales and pub food.
4. Trinity Kitchen
Trinity Leeds, 27 Albion St | @TrinityLeeds Providing a distinctively modern approach to the food court, you won’t find greasy multinationals in Trinity Kitchen. Instead you’ll find some of the best local food carts and companies from across the city, from popup shops by Love Rouge to the permanent Chicago Rib Shack and Pho.
5. Kadas Coffee Lounge
5 Crown St Serving some of the best Persian cuisine in the city, this late-night cafe and post-drinks stop off offers a warm atmosphere with a great menu. If you’re looking for a relaxed evening out without (dare we say it?) alcohol, Kadas Coffee Lounge provides a central location with a laidback feel.
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24 New Briggate | @NorthBarDrinks Waving the flag for beer way before the craft ale revolution began, this narrow bar is filled with great drinks and cheer and has a warm atmosphere buzzing with energy. While it may be slightly heavy on the wallet, its huge range of bottled and cask ales from across the world makes its selection unbeatable.
9. Global Tribe
18 Swan St | @GlobalTribeCafe Head to the cobbles of Swan Street and you’ll find one of Leeds’ best vegan cafes. From vegan pancakes for breakfast to the raw vegan ‘super burger’ for lunch, Global Tribe has enough quality cooking to win over meat lovers too. There’s also a generous variety of tea and coffee to go with the dishes.
10. Opposite Cafe
26 Back Blenheim Terrace | @oppositecafe As a firm fixture of Blenheim Terrace, the folks at Opposite take their coffee seriously, providing a menu with a range of beans and styles to send any Starbucks or Costa packing. They also serve up homemade fresh food in their large cafe, whose walls are lined with local art.
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Bundobust
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Photo: Giles Smith
Trinity Kitchen
North Bar
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Nation of Shopkeepers
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11. Nation of Shopkeepers
27-37 Cookridge St | @shopkeepers Named after a reference to Margaret Thatcher, Nation of Shopkeepers takes a deliberately subversive stance to the ‘status quo,’ but it doesn’t let its rebellious streak interfere with being a damn strong bar worthy of its mantle as a Leeds institution. It’s known for both its welcoming student atmosphere and as a great music venue.
12. Almost Famous
23-25 Great George St @almostfamousLDS With its big eats and boozy shakes, it’s hard to argue with a burger joint so impressive it almost seems to satirise the fast food concept. This is an idea that runs through the style of the restaurant too, covered as it is in subversive style graffiti art. Think McDonald’s if it was run Adam Richman.
13. Dry Dock
sandwich into an art form. These will be the best breaded lunches you ever have. Grab a freshly made focaccia or ciabatta sandwich with Italian coffee as redemption from the supermarket meal deal.
17. Love Rouge Bakery
51 Otley Rd | @LoveRougeBakery This Headingley venue with lavish pastel colours and vintage boutique decor serves up a range of hot drinks and treats, its famous cupcakes ranging from Oreo crumble to the more exotic. Whether you’re meeting friends for afternoon tea or looking for a gentle breakfast, Love Rouge provides cosy surrounds straight out of a Wes Anderson movie.
CULTURE 18. The Tetley
Woodhouse Ln | @DryDock_Leeds Oh sure, it’s run by the Scream chain, but Dry Dock has an ace up its sleeve. It’s in a boat. In fact, it is the boat. But it’s more than that: it’s also the official final pub on the Otley Run. After a 19-pub crawl, the boat’s aesthetic helps make the rocking feel natural.
Hunslet Rd | @The_Tetley When the Tetley Brewery closed down in 2011, there was a panic that the old art deco headquarters, dating from 1822, would be torn down. Fortunately, the Tetley reopened as a gallery run by visual arts charity Project Space Leeds in 2013, hosting local and international talent, events and workshops, and a classy bar and kitchen.
14. The Libertine
19. West Yorkshire Playhouse
7 Blenheim Terrace | @Libertineleeds What makes this artsy bar with a special line in cocktails and wines worthy of inclusion is not just its prime location, but also its secret reputation as a gig venue. Currently there’s a comedy and music open mic night where students have a safe space to take their first furtive steps to performance.
15. Old Bar
LUU, Lifton Pl | @OldBarLUU As the name suggests, this is the traditional watering hole for University of Leeds students. The pub-styled area is in the basement of the union, offering a wide selection of ales, spirits and lagers. Perfect for a society meetup or as a starting point for a night out.
16. Bakery 164
164 Woodhouse Ln | @bakery164 There are sandwiches, and then there’s Bakery 164. Serving fresh baked breads with all manner of generous fillings, Bakery 164 elevates the humble 2015-2016
Playhouse Sq, Quarry Hill @WYPlayhouse Set just beyond the city bus station on a modernist-style estate, the West Yorkshire Playhouse looks like a brick monolith; inside, it houses one of the most fearless performance venues in the North. From scratch nights featuring fledgling plays and artists to internationally renowned touring productions, it smoothly combines mainstream theatre and fringe productions.
20. East Street Arts
St Mary’s Ln | @EastStreetArts With a mission statement to bring art into less traditional spaces, East Street Arts showcases work in locations across the city, whether disused night clubs, Grade-A offices or old public buildings. Its headquarters can be found in Patrick Studios on the outskirts of the centre, a creative hub for many emerging artists.
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21. Enjoy Art Space
Unit 22, 64 Mabgate | @enjoyProjects Leeds boasts many active and ambitious artist studios and artist-led spaces, of which Enjoy Art Space is a proud member. The project space is run by Live Art Bistro (LAB), so expect participatory, in-the-moment performance art aplenty, while the studios themselves are well equipped for potential residents.
22. Howard Assembly Room
46 New Briggate | @Howard_Assembly Housed in the Grand Theatre & Opera House, the small Victorian performance space of Howard Assembly Room presents some of the finest classical and world musicians. Both the Grand and Howard Assembly Room offer students and locals the opportunity to volunteer, giving you a chance to see acts for free. Not bad for a bit of door holding!
23. &Model
19 East Parade | @AndmodelLeeds The curatorial project of Derek Horton, Chris Bloor and James Chinneck, free entry art space &Model has presented a huge number of international artists since its opening in 2012, and, for anyone looking to gain work experience, it is also always on the search for new volunteer gallery assistants.
24. Henry Moore Institute and Leeds City Art Gallery
74 The Headrow | @HMILeeds @LeedsArtGallery Connected to one another, the Henry Moore Institute and Leeds City Art Gallery may be neighbours but are completely different beasts, the former a shrine to sculptural art and the latter showing a broader collection of art forms with clever and surprisingly candid curation. Both galleries are city centre landmarks, offering free entry.
25. stage@leeds
University of Leeds | @stageleeds Don’t rule stage@leeds out as a venue only for theatrical societies and departments within Leeds University; the professional-level theatre space is also used for performances by local and international talent, with plays from touring theatre companies through to groups preparing for an Edinburgh Fringe run. 60
26. Leeds College of Art
Blenheim Walk | @LeedsCofArt Leeds College of Art has been the major creative outlet for artists in Yorkshire for generations, with figures including Damien Hirst and Barbara Hepworth among its alumni. It is therefore unsurprising to discover that the college itself hosts a number of exhibitions, while the grand building alone is worth a visit.
27. The Wild Pansy Press
Old Mining Building, University of Leeds In a small room in the University of Leeds School of Fine Art building (the Old Mining Building), The Wild Pansy Press project space is a hidden gem full of surprises, housing exhibitions that celebrate the medium of the art book and printed material. It’s a peaceful nook on campus.
28. Hyde Park Picture House
73 Brudenell Rd | @HydeParkPH A concentrated force of creative energy and experimentation right next door to your mate’s house (probably), Hyde Park Picture House is Leeds’ premier arthouse cinema. It also hosts experimental shows; past events have included instrumental folk music group A Hawk and a Hacksaw performing a soundtrack to a film, and Adam Buxton’s BUG show.
29. Yorkshire Sculpture Park
West Bretton, Wakefield | @YSPsculpture A short trip from Leeds/Wakefield finds the country’s leading outdoor gallery for modern sculpture. In the county that brought us sculptural giants Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore, it’s no surprise that there is such a strong art presence. Comprising a vast park and several galleries, the YSP forms one corner of the famed ‘Yorkshire Sculpture Triangle,’ and is a must-see.
MUSIC & CLUBS 30. The HiFi Club
2 Central Rd | @HiFiClubLeeds A diverse club, bar and live space, The HiFi Club’s basement venue is as naturally adept at hosting soul and funk nights as it is comedy sessions. It’s even just great at being open for a spot of jazz and a roast lunch on a Sunday. It’ll become a haunt.
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East Street Arts
2015-2016
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Wild Pansy Press Project Space
Ai Weiwei - Iron Tree (2013) Yorkshire Sculpture Park
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The Tetley
31. Wire
2-8 Call Ln | @wireleeds Powered by its meaty Funktion-One soundsystem, Wire is host to some of Leeds’ most respected club nights, and is a frequent stop off for some of the world’s most renowned DJs and producers. Theo Parrish, Four Tet and Ben UFO are just three of the names to have called in.
32. The Viaduct
11 Briggate | @viaductshowbar The best show bar the city has to offer, with drag queens, cabaret and drink deals Viaduct is a great start to the night and offers a solid lineup for Pride week. Across the road lies Queens Court, with its quality courtyard and nightlife. Here Leeds has a thriving gay scene in the heart of town, the area offering a fun-loving and open atmosphere in a city that can sometimes take itself too seriously.
36. Belgrave Music Hall
1-1A Cross Belgrave St | @Belgrave_Leeds Chipboard walls coupled with an exhaustive selection of craft ales and local food stalls marks the Belgrave as an unabashedly trendy establishment, and the multistorey building also houses equally cool bands and events, including art exhibitions, the superb Sitting Room Comedy night and DJ sets from some of the city and country’s best talent.
37. The Warehouse
19-21 Somers St | @Warehouse_Leeds Leeds has always had a proud reputation for underground music, and Warehouse is testament to this. All bricks and beams, the historic venue that predates even The Haçienda has undergone a large-scale refurbishment and provides some of the best in dubstep, techno, electro and house from world-class DJs.
33. The Wardrobe
38. Canal Mills
34. Leeds Irish Centre
39. Leeds Beckett University Student Union
35. Verve
40. University of Leeds Student Union
6 St Peters Sq, Quarry Hill @wardrobeleeds Providing a relaxed restaurant and stage for a variety of superior acts, The Wardrobe offers a laid-back music environment and a break from the frenzied gig holes elsewhere. It also hosts touring comedy shows from the likes of Joe Lycett and Katherine Ryan, courtesy of the city’s longest running comedy club, House of Fun. York Rd | @LdsIrishCentre Like many of Leeds’ best-loved landmarks, the Irish Centre is a strange mix of northern customs with high profile indie showcases. For instance, in the same venue as a Rod Stewart tribute act and weekly quiz night, Sleaford Mods perform in September; while of Montreal and Jens Lekman are among past appearances. 16 Merrion St | @VerveBarLeeds With its rock bar up top and mariachi tequila bar downstairs, Verve provides a cosy atmosphere tucked away from the city’s masses. Don’t miss the free Comedy Cellar night (@ComedyCellarV): taking place every Tuesday in the ‘dia de los muertos’ themed basement area, it showcases a mish mash of established and new acts.
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Brandon St | @CanalMills When it comes to post-industrial charm, Canal Mills has it by the boatload. Housed in a renovated 18th-century textile mill, the multifunctional venue’s red brick aesthetic and independent vibe have become a trademark, hosting some astounding music bookings, club nights, independent markets and brewers fairs.
Portland Way | @LeedsBSU A hub for students to relax in during the daytime, by night the Beckett’s Student Union offers some of the best touring bands in the world as well as solid rock club nights FUEL and Slam Dunk. Upcoming acts include Hot Chip, Eagles of Death Metal, Slaves, The Staves, Killing Joke... and that’s just in one month.
Lifton Pl | @LeedsUniUnion Leeds Uni boasts three venues: Stylus, Pulse and Mine. Located in the large basement area of the Student Union, Stylus offers an astonishing range of music and gigs, hosting acts as broad ranging as James Blake and Flogging Molly, through to club nights such as the notoriously messy student night Fruity. 63
41. Fab Cafe
@fabcafeleeds Do you like pop culture? Retro sci-fi references? Tongue in cheek nights mixing 00s pop punk with classic cheese? Fab Cafe is the place for you! Its Woodhouse Lane home is now closed, but with plans to reopen in a new central location, it seemed a shame not to include the cult venue on this list. Watch @fabcafeleeds for news.
42. The Fenton
46. Corn Exchange
Call Ln | @Leedscornex The Victorian-era Corn Exchange houses a whole raft of shops selling everything from analogue cameras to art prints, yet still retains most of its original features. The main area and mezzanine are dedicated to showcasing some of the best in local wares and products, and, much like in the city at large, there is a demand and respect for independents.
161-165 Woodhouse Ln While the craft ale revolution and gentrification surge elsewhere, The Fenton stands in defiance of this trend. With its tiled floor and worn-in, original features, this pub has long been a student institution, with cheap drinks, open jam nights and pub quizzes. Its function room, meanwhile, is perfect for student fundraisers, comedy society shows and unsigned band nights.
47. Village Bookstore
43. Brudenell Social Club
48. Travelling Man
33 Queen’s Rd | @Nath_Brudenell Look on the Brudenell, ye mighty, and despair! No other place epitomises Leeds quite like the Brud. Half old man’s drinking pub, half pioneering music venue, the Brudenell has hosted acts from St. Vincent to Wild Beasts and current local legends Hookworms. It’s a proud example of locals and students sitting side by side in ever so slightly uneasy peace.
44. Unity Works
Westgate, Wakefield | @unity_works A little further afield, Unity Works occupies Leeds’ underappreciated neighbour, Wakefield. Make the (short) trip: since its beginnings in 1867, the building has been an integral community venue and now hosts local acts such as Serious Sam Barrett, touring shows from standup comedians and theatre groups and summer markets.
SHOPS 45. Duncan Street Vintage Shops
With a hearty selection of dedicated vintage shops such as Blue Rinse, Ryan Vintage and Pop Boutique, Duncan Street and Call Lane are the main areas in the city centre for all your thrift store needs. The Corn Exchange on Call Lane, meanwhile, is home to not just vintage shops, but also great art supply shops such as Artofficial and excellent music shop Northern Guitars. 64
Unit 8/9, Corn Exchange, Call Ln @Village_Leeds Leeds has a great deal of love for publishing, and the Village Bookstore is a testament to this. A gallery and store, it combines photography and art publishing exhibitions with self-published local and international ’zines – they also accept submissions from a wide variety of ’zine makers. 32 Central Rd | @TravellingManUK Graphic novels, comic books, memorabilia and board games: nowhere does it better in the city of Leeds than Travelling Man. They are also big on showcasing local talent, and hire staff who love what they sell.
49. Merrion Centre & St. John’s
@merrioncentre | @stjohnsleeds Both these shopping centres hark back to a time when modernist concrete utopia projects littered the North. This isn’t to give them short shrift; St. John’s is home to the mighty Jumbo Records. As well as a healthy variety of vinyl, Jumbo also sells a massive range of local underground comics, magazines and gig tickets.
50. Colours May Vary
Munro House, Duke St @colours_mayvary An independent book shop and event space stocking a collection of design, illustration, photography and lifestyle books, Colours May Vary is hidden away in Munro House but is well worth seeking out, not just for its products but for its occasional local art events programme. For more venue guides, tips on where to go and what to do, visit theskinny.co.uk
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Belgrave Music Hall
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Photo: Simon Dewhurst
Village Bookstore
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BALLS. A detailed and 100% accurate guide to your forthcoming year, courtesy of our in-house oracle, Mystic Mark
ARIES All those hours under a microscope carving your CV in tiny hieroglyphs on to chicken beaks comes to nothing. Not a single employer even bothers to reply. You start to wonder what you’re doing wrong.
TAURUS Due to budgetary constraints your star sign has been cancelled in favour of endless repeats of Jurassic Park III.
GEMINI You find the law of attraction means you are constantly attracting large swarms of wasps. The problem is that by thinking about the large swarms of wasps that constantly cover your body, you attract more wasps. Try not thinking about the wasps so much and see what happens ;)
LIBRA Your belief in the miracle of transubstantiation sits uncomfortably with your newfound vegetarianism. There’s something about eating the still-living flesh of God that makes you feel queasy. Undeterred, you develop a form of Quorn Eucharist.
CANCER Your diet of crisps isn’t the healthiest in the world. Try mixing up the beef and cheese flavours with some carrot or vegetable soup flavour crisps.
LEO You never thought you believed in goats, but sitting around the campfire as your friends tell chilling goat stories, you start to wonder, what if goats are real? As the tales go on, you hear about the grandad who came back as a goat because goats aren’t allowed into heaven. Others insist it’s possible goats become trapped in our realm because they have unfinished business, like Patrick Swayze in that movie, Goat. Still, the whole time your sceptical friend scoffs that despite all this there’s still no scientific evidence for the existence of goats.
VIRGO You are you. You will always be you. Don’t ever let anyone tell you you aren’t you. You are.
SCORPIO If STDs were a game of bingo you’d have won a car, a washing machine and a holiday for one in Tenerife.
SAGITTARIUS This month you find your cat’s diary and discover to your surprise he is quite the little racist.
CAPRICORN As an optimist, you believe the flaming bin containing your crushed hopes and dreams is half full, rather than half empty. AQUARIUS Aim for the moon because if you miss you’ll die in the vast, cold emptiness of space.
PISCES Don’t join that cult, start your own, it’s easy! To find out how, simply cut off all contact with your family and attend my ‘How to Start a Cult’ lectures every day and night for the next six years in my desert compound.
For your monthly horoscopes, pick up The Skinny magazine or check theskinny.co.uk/comedy/opinion @themysticmark | facebook.com/themysticmark
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NEW LEEDS STORE TUESDAY 29TH SEPTEMBER *Terms and Conditions apply. Exclusions apply. Valid student ID required. Goody bags are limited and subject to availability.
Model: Isaac Taylor, No Hot Ashes
Beacons Metro
Leeds Schedule — Autumn 2015 Acts Confirmed so far:
Everything Everything Clark / Daniel Avery / East India Youth / Factory Floor Portico / Titus Andronicus / The Wytches Acid Mothers Temple / Beaty Heart / Bo Ningen / Boxed In / Braids Calvin Johnson (Beat Happening/K Recs) / Christian Löffler / Darkstar Dornik / Ex Hex / Ghost Culture / Gnod / Golden Teacher / Jaakko Eino Kalevi / King Midas Sound + Fennesz / Kagoule / LA Priest Lonelady / Micachu and The Shapes / Mick Jenkins / Mura Masa Nao / Palace / Ralph Lawson / Real Lies / Rejjie Snow / Slug / Spring King Sun Araw / Telegram / TRAAMS / Tuff Love / Ultimate Painting U.S Girls / Willis Earl Beal / Wolf People Abattoir Blues / Actor / Alfie Connor / Baby Strange / Beach Baby / Best Friends / Beverley Bloody Knees / Calls Landing / Cattle / Chaika / Corey Bowen / Crushed Beaks Dixon Avenue Basement Jams / Empty Blue / Fake Laugh / Favela / Feature / Fehm / Finnmark Fist City / Forever Cult / Francis Lung / Galaxians / Game_Program / The Garden / Get Inuit Girls Names / Goodbye Chanel / Grumbling Fur / Hannah Lou Clark / Jon K / Kins / Krystal Klear Lazy Day / Mothers / Nai Harvest / Nimmo / The Orielles / The Parrors / Pixx / Polo / Pretty Lighting / Royce Wood Jr / Sauna Youth / Tristan Da Cunha / Trudy / Virginia Wing / Volte Face Weirds / Woven Skull / XAM
+ Beacons Metro Manchester Featuring: Mac Demarco & More at the Albert Hall
Beacons Metro Season Pass ON SALE NOW Ticket Upgrades also available. For ticket info & dates please visit: www.beaconsmetro.com Leeds venues: Headrow House, Belgrave Music Hall & more