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Northwest Issue 02 May 2013
Music Savages John Grant Mount Eerie Comedy Adam Buxton Art Aliyah Hussain LOOK/13 LightNight Michael Landy Film Jeff Nichols on Mud Sarah Gavron Clubs Koreless Scenery Records Wet Play Books Ned Beauman Writing on the Wall Victoria Baths Fanzine Fair Fashion Manchester School of Art Theatre Physical Fest
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MAY 2013
BAR. KITCHEN. STAGE. CLUB. THURSDAY 02 MAY
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TRACEY THORN ‘BEDSIT DISCO QUEEN’
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Photo: Gaz Jones
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Issue 02, May 2013 © Radge Media Ltd. Get in touch: E: hiya@theskinny.co.uk T: 0161 236 1114 P: The Skinny, First Floor 8 Tariff Street, M1 2FF The Skinny is distributing 22,000 copies across Liverpool and Manchester, a wide range of advertising packages and affordable ways to promote your business are available. Get in touch to find out more.
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Contents
Lauren Strain Jamie Dunn Laura Howarth Dave Kerr Ryan Rushton Ana Hine Keir Roper-Caldbeck Alexandra Fiddes Peter Simpson Paul Mitchell Bram E. Gieben
Production Production Manager Designer Sub Editor
Amy Minto Thom Isom Bram E. Gieben
Sales/Accounts Northwest Sales & Marketing Manager Sales Executives
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Editorial Northwest Editor Film & Deputy Editor Events Editor Music Editor Books Editor Deviance Editor DVD Editor Fashion Editor Food Editor Travel Editor Staff Writer
Printed on 100% recycled paper
Accounts Administrator
Caroline Harleaux Isobel Patience George Sully Tom McCarthy Solen Collet
Digital Manager Lead Designer
Andy Thomson Maeve Redmond
Editor-in-Chief Sales Director Publisher
Rosamund West Lara Moloney Sophie Kyle
May 2013
Contents UP FRONT 06
Opinion: An introduction to The Skinny’s May issue; Hero Worship praises director Pedro Costa; Mystic Mark talks BALLS.; Shot of the Month demonstrates pictorial splendour; last-moment news halts the page in Stop the Presses; and Skinny on Tour offers you the chance to win a book.
08 Heads Up: Your daily guide to the best events in Liverpool and Manchester.
LIFESTYLE 30
Travel: Tired of the 'beaten-track'? We reveal the hottest summer spots in-the-know travellers are whispering about.
31
Deviance: Why do we accept the language of sexism in food marketing? One writer investigates; while another asks, is my boyfriend a ‘better feminist’?
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FEATURES 10
Mount Kimbie’s Kai Campos holds forth on his band’s staggeringly diverse second album, Cold Spring Fault Less Youth.
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Are you ready to get feral? Savages vocalist Jehnny Beth lays out her band’s frills-free manifesto.
14
We take a trip down the Mississippi with Take Shelter director Jeff Nichols as he tells about his new coming-of-ager Mud.
15
Enlightening you – see what we did there?! Guys?! Guys?! – as to what to check out during Liverpool’s LightNight.
17
Koreless returns with a new EP that takes his dawn-lit melancholy to new levels. Get ready to blub.
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Liverpool’s Writing on the Wall literature festival tackles issues of class, division, and protest. Its speakers speak. Sarah Gavron talks to us about taking a camera to a dying community on the icy fringes of the arctic circle for her extraordinary documentary Village at the End of the World.
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Radio jester Adam Buxton describes his adventures in cyberspace, and outlines the chances of him making more FM gold with his old mucker Cornballs. The Liverpool International Photography Festival, or LOOK/13, turns the camera on its audience and encourages us to question our ideas of identity. Daphnis Kokkinos remembers Pina Bausch as part of Liverpool’s Physical Fest, which aims to promote the often misunderstood disciplines of physical theatre. Former rock star comic Rob Newman lets us make friends with the characters of his new swashbuckling novel.
Fair, we speak to some of the self-publishers who still passionately believe in the power of paper and ink.
The Skinny
Music: Impressive new records from The National, Tricky and The Pastels; great gigs from Daughter and Serafina Steer; and ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead rate our Dirty Dozen. Clubs: Stu Robinson gives us the lowdown on his new imprint Scenery Records and we herald Wet Play’s first foray into wax (“cyberspace is for porn and for emails”).
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WHY?
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THE PHOENIX FOUNDATION
16
THE HANDSOME FAMILY
17
SUUNS
20
HOW TO DRESS WELL & FOREST SWORDS DJ
23
JOSH ROUSE
30
D/R/U/G/S & GHOSTING SEASON
The Kazimier with evol The Kazimier with evol The Kazimier The Kazimier Leaf with bam!bam!bam! Leaf
The Kazimier with evol
JUNE
WOLF ALICE
Film: We’ve a vampire movie (Byzantium), a hostage crisis thriller ( A Hijacking ), a coming-of-age film (Something in the Air) and a camp romp (I’m So Excited!).
07
ED HARCOURT
DVD: He’s back! The Governator dusts off his girdle for his film comeback The Last Stand.
11
MONEY
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Art: We review the dark, unsettling work of Indian-born artist Raqib Shaw, and Michael Landy’s deeply personal video installation Four Walls.
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LAMBCHOP
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Books: Bright young thing Ned Beauman talks about being included in Granta's once-a-decade Best of Young British Novelists list.
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Theatre: Venue of the Month is The Lantern, a small fringe theatre in the Baltic Triangle area of Liverpool.
55
Tech: We investigate the rise of girl geeks.
56
Listings: Well, duh: what’s happening in Liverpool and Manchester.
62
Singer-songwriter John Grant explains that his new record Pale Green Ghosts is all about forgiveness and acceptance – and that includes forgiving himself.
29 In advance of the Victoria Baths Fanzine
Food & Drink: The life of your friendly neighbourhood food writer gets quite glamorous (and costly) for a day, as he samples the priciest rum in the world.
MAY
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traversing the digital landscape that’s “making us all worse as human animals.” New buddies Jeffrey Lewis and Peter Stampfel chat collaboration and comic books ahead of their gig at Chorlton Arts Festival.
Fashion: We look at some of the young designers emerging from Manchester School of Art’s pioneering Fashion programme.
REVIEW
20 Mount Eerie’s Phil Elverum discusses
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Showcase: Manchester-based artist and Volkov Commander Aliyah Hussain demonstrates how she uses photography, printmaking and performance to create work that references futurist narratives, utopian visions and ritualistic practices. Clue: she’s from the Moon.
LIVERPOOL LISTINGS
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Out Back: Rock and Croll... a Crolling stone gathers no moss... keep on Crolling... life is a Croller-coaster... Buggers it: we speak to singer-songwriter Dan Croll. Competitions: TRY TO WIN THINGS! Such as: tickets to Beacons Festival, or a Blondie gig, or T in the Park; or a Fireball whisky party pack. Or VIP tickets to RockNess (p. 40).
The shipping forecast
The Scandinavian Church
leaf
The Kazimier
JULY
07
SIC ALPS & LUCID DREAM blade factory with lpool psych fest
AUGUST
07
SCOTT & CHARLENE’S WEDDING the shipping forecast with bam!bam!bam!
SEPTEMBER 27 - L’POOL INTERNATIONAL - 28 FESTIVAL OF PSYCHEDELIA Camp and Furnace
Tickets on sale from ONLINE: Ticketweb / Bido Lito! / Ticketline IN PERSON: Probe Records (School Ln) & The Brink (Parr St) FOLLOW ON TWITTER: @HARVEST_SUN @LPOOLPSYCHFEST
Contents
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Editorial
Hero Worship: Pedro Costa Filmmaker and cineaste D W Mault explains why he worships Portuguese director Pedro Costa, and the oppressive stillness of his cinema
H
IYA! This missive comes to you from an office experiencing, at the nth hour prior to deadline, technical problems extending to the editor’s computer refusing to believe it isn’t, in fact, midnight on 1 January 2001, and human resources problems including but not limited to a bout of mild food poisoning. All in the name of independent cultural journalism! The things we do for you. But first: let’s chat about one of the things you’ve done for us. We were thrilled to meet and dance with so many of you at our launch party at 2022NQ in Manchester back in April, and your feedback on our first issue has brought both pink to our cheeks and dew to our eyes. Plans for a bash in Liverpool are afoot – but first, of course, we fully intend to party hard at Liverpool Sound City, where not one but three of our featured artists this issue are playing: if you’re joining us, make sure you catch our inventive, chameleonic cover stars Mount Kimbie, the throaty gusto and stripped-bare philosophy of Savages, and upand-coming purveyor of pop nuggets Dan Croll. If you’ll forgive my momentary melt into fangirl, from a personal perspective this feels like a bit of a bumper issue. Along with Mount Kimbie’s Carbonated, Koreless’ Lost in Tokyo comforted many a dawn crisis last year – and his just-released Sun has already become a staple of wake-ups and shut-downs; in Clubs, writer Jean-Xavier speaks to the angel-faced producer and prods the airpockets of his upcoming EP Yugen. Former Czars frontman John Grant’s Pale Green Ghosts single has been on similarly heavy rotation since its buzzsaw remix treatment at the hands of Manchester act No Ceremony first woke me up one morning back in January – and his unflinching conversation this issue reveals some of the tumult and struggle to reconcile himself with, well, himself, behind his recent album of the same name. And finally, I think I was probably more excited/terrified than the writer himself in
advance of his interview with comedy cutie pie Adam Buxton, so much so that I called him up 38 times prior to the hour to pedantically ask if he’d definitely got his recording equipment switched on and had carried out a dummy run on three separate subjects of varying vocal range. Turns out as long as your dictaphone can pick up a sort of warm, daddyish honey-bear snuffle, everything will go swimmingly – and you’ll get a good 40 minutes on the blower with Count Buckules, chatting about everything from potentially fabricated snuff movies to Thom Yorke. Elsewhere, Film talks to director Sarah Gavron about pitching up in a Greenlandic community – population 59 – on the cusp of vanishing to make her documentary Village at the End of the World; Books catches up with an easygoing Ned Beauman, the youngest writer on this decade’s Granta Best of Young British Novelists list; Art analyses life through a lens at Liverpool’s LOOK/13 photography festival, and Food gulps down a slug of the world’s most expensive rum and attempts to nudge its distiller towards the brink of existential crisis – as you would if you could. As is now tradition, this issue of The Skinny was brought to you by: Takk on Tariff Street’s unspeakably aerated ‘muddees’ (eat ‘em up); a consummately executed investigation into the quality of a stratified sample of microwaveable dinners; the comic relief of @WeGrCuHu (look it up), and an A4 print-out of Kenneth Branagh. [Lauren Strain] Cover: Mount Kimbie, by Gemma Burke Gemma Burke is a freelance photographer from Glasgow, currently living in London. She specialises in live music photography alongside fashion and portraiture work. www.gemmaburke.com
T
he curse of influence is one that should be judged from afar, like an unknown decadelong love affair spoken of years later in hateful nostalgia... Cinema is an artform that is cursed by the affluence of influence; a merry takedown that arises like a stench from the miasma of uninteresting metteurs en scène that plague AngloSaxon cinema like the disease that they know themselves to be. True inspiration comes at an unknown point when we are least expecting it; this happened to me at Cannes in 2006, when I settled down in the Lumière Theatre for the world premiere of Pedro Costa’s Juventude Em Marcha. One should never attempt to describe the indescribable, and the power of the cinema of Costa dies a slow death every time an attempt is levelled at looking too closely; for the primary function of cinema is to make us feel that something isn’t right, which makes us ponder why we have been left among the confederacy of dunces of 21st century humanity. Pedro Costa makes films unlike any other; think about that concept for a moment... What does it mean to stare at something until it becomes an alternative ideal for the promise of unified stillness? Comparisons may come and comparisons may go, but when watching Costa’s filming of the heroin addicts of Fountainhaus while they sit in squalid bedsits waiting for the force of death, I think of Jean-Paul Sartre’s Nausea anti-hero Antoine Roquentin and his belief that inanimate objects and situations encroach on his
ability to define himself. This is the whole idea of Costa and his idea of oppressive stillness; the fact of staring, looking or peering at objects/ people: when you look at an ashtray for mere seconds it remains an ashtray; when you look at an ashtray for minutes at a time it becomes something else entirely. Costa is a director who hides things, who closes doors, and you can open them, sometimes. Yet, to open the doors of his films is difficult, dangerous – it’s work. With his films it’s absolutely necessary that you must be outside, not on the screen. Sometimes, a single word can kill. I don’t know if it can save, but a single word can do some good when it is well spoken, well-crafted, well-thought, and delivered at just the right moment. That is to say, his word is in the films of Mizoguchi, Ozu or John Ford, it’s not in TV documentaries, or in news reports. A single gesture or glance of an actor can say a lot more about suffering, misery, or joy, than a documentary that shows everything. This is why Pedro Costa is very necessary; it’s why he sings to me and shows a way to attack the banality of accepted representations of what cinema isn’t: entertainment. He forces the idea of formalism down our throats and sits back, smiles and says: “That is enough.” D W Mault is the host of The Darkness Into Light Film Podcast and curator of Darkness Into Light, a monthly film night that takes place on the last Tuesday of the month at Camp & Furnace in Liverpool www.darknessintolight.podbean.com
The Skinny on Tour
Shot of the Month BRITISH SEA POWER BY SIMON BRAY
This month The Skinny Northwest took a research trip to the home of its sister publication. If you think you know where that is, head along to www.theskinny.co.uk/competitions and enter your guess to be in with the chance of winning a copy of Things That Are by Amy Leach, one of the latest releases from our pals at Canongate Books.
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Chat
Competition closes midnight Friday 31 May 2013. Winners will be notified via email within two working days of closing and will be required to respond within one week or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Full details of terms and conditions can be found at: www.theskinny.co.uk/about/terms
THE SKINNY
First Person: Drawing at a Gig Words: Jon Barraclough
BALLS.
Jon Barraclough of Liverpool art freesheet Drawing Paper describes joining collectives Deep Hedonia and The Royal Standard – and Japanese techno producer NHK’Koyxen – to provide an evening of audio-visual collaboration
with Mystic Mark
LIVERPOOL ART PRIZE EXHIBITION AND AWARDS The nominees for this year’s award could hardly be more eclectic. There’s a video artist who’s been known to vomit dairy products onstage (Julieann O’Malley), a photographer with an eye for the absurd (Laurence Payot), an artist who turns flea-market finds into memory objects (Tabitha Moses) and a sculptor who’s interested in the point at which redundant objects become art (our April issue Showcase artist Kevin Hunt). Work by the four nominees is currently on display at the Grand Hall at Albert Dock, Liverpool, until 29 May, when the winner – who’ll receive £2000 and a solo show at the Walker Art Gallery – is announced. www.liverpoolartprize.com
Photo: Nata Moraru
S
ound has always made imagery in my head, and I’ve always drawn to music – so when local music and arts agency Deep Hedonia organised and staged a collaboration with Drawing Paper (a free newspaper devoted to the showcasing of drawing, co-ordinated by myself and Mike Carney) and artists from The Royal Standard, it was always going to be an exciting experiment. We generated live visuals in sync to performances by Liverpool producers Bantam Lions and Isocore, and Japan’s NHK’Koyxen, providing a pulsating and varied kaleidoscopic adventure that was reminiscent of futuristic/constructivist film pioneers Viking Eggeling and Oskar Fischinger. The artists worked feverishly on their drawings, with cameras capturing the collisions between line, colour and tone by mixing two live drawing experiments at once, initially as a decidedly analogue backdrop to the experimental techno of the two Liverpool producers – but by the time NHK’Koyxen took the stage, all caution was left behind as we exploited the heady mix of filmed drawings and objects (I recall a nodding rabbit!), and invoked a few ‘ghosts in the machine’ from amazing video feedback. The live, improvisational drawing turned out be an intuitive expression of the music, and a stubbornly nondigital ‘kitchen sink’ production. For me, it was a happy return to the tactile and hand-made, with
drawing and lighting contraptions created from mirror tiles, bicycle lamps, an old hi-fi turntable and LED light sticks – with only an archaic video mixer to make transitions a little smoother. I’m keen to explore how rhythmic music can offer a kind of graphic ‘dance’ – with marks and lines being produced as a result of gestures and movements that leave a trace on paper or surface. I recall hearing Brian Eno speak about ambient music and sound sculpture at a conference organised by the International Symposium on Electronic Art some years ago in Liverpool. His notion of sound providing a space that is free
from a specific ‘voice’ or narrative – a space in which you make your own journey or draw your own musical conclusions – opened the door for me to consider drawing in this way. So for me, this event was about abstraction, using gestural drawing to provide a space for sound to exist in, and for you to inhabit. Deep Hedonia and Drawing Paper are planning more collaborative events that explore drawing and music, and I can’t wait.
SOUND CITY KICKS OFF We’re very excited about Liverpool’s three-day festival, which runs from 2-4 May. Our highlights: Thee Oh Sees, The Walkmen, Oneohtrix Point Never and Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Plus catch sets from some of the great bands we spoke to for this issue: Mount Kimbie (p. 10), Savages (p. 12) and Dan Croll (p. 62). www.liverpoolsoundcity.co.uk
A SMALL SELECTION OF LOFTY AMBITIONS You’ve got until 16 May to catch this ace exhibition of new works by Liverpool based printmakers Hannah Bitowski and Josephine Hicks, exploring the themes of flight and escapism. Inspired by forgotten sketches of flying machines, individual risk and melancholic success, the works presented consider our relationship to space, freedom and the predicaments if we were truly able to fly. To get a flavour of Hannah’s style, turn to page 18 to see a piece she did for this issue. Bold St Coffee, Liverpool.
GIT AWARD WINNER Who’s this year’s winner, I hear you ask? Piers Morgan? Chris Brown? Michael Gove? None of those gits, ’cause the GIT award is Liverpool Echo's Getintothis blog’s annual awards celebrating the best of Merseyside music. Congratulations to winners Baltic Fleet, a synth rock project headed by Warrington-based artist Paul Fleming. You can catch them playing Sound City at The Garage on Saturday 4 May alongside Mount Kimbie and Darkstar, then they’re back at The Kazimier on 15 May supporting Public Service Broadcasting.
Online Only It’s another release heavy month in the Music world, with much more afoot than we have room for in these pages. Over on the website our critics weigh in on forthcoming releases from Primal Scream (we didn’t get the album ’til the day before print), Jaga Jazzist, KMFDM and Dinosaur Pile-Up, plus many more. www.theskinny.co.uk/ music Our counterparts in Scotland spoke to American sax virtuoso Colin Stetson, who releases the final chapter of his groundbreaking New History Warfare trilogy this month. He talks about unorthodox recording setups, working with Tom Waits, and the loneliest whale in the world at www.theskinny.co.uk/music
May 2013
They also chatted to hip-hop legend Big Daddy Kane in advance of his UK tour – read an extended run-down of his ten crucial cuts from the Cold Chillin’ label on the website, with a lovingly compiled playlist of classic videos included. www.theskinny.co.uk/music Over in Books, this month the Scottish team spoke to author William McIlvanney – his Laidlaw, credited with being the first ever ‘tartan noir’ novel, recently re-published by Canongate, is their Book of the Month. We have an extended interview with him online, talking about his legacy to Scottish crime fiction, and his thoughts on a career revitalised. www.theskinny.co.uk/books
www.drawing-paper.tumblr.com www.deephedonia.com www.the-royal-standard.com
BEACONS ADDS 24 NEW ACTS Joining the likes of Django Django, Local Natives and Floating Points are: Melody’s Echo Chamber, who brings her sunshine pop and French melody, Stealing Sheep, with their unusual brand of contemporary folk, London’s grunge censers Splashh, hotly tipped fuzz-pop band Menace Beach and Dan Croll. See Beacons’ website for the full announcement: www.greetingsfrombeacons.com
ARIES After fitting a new kitchen, the plumber accidentally connects your water pipes up to Europe’s largest Industrial Sperm Bank complex. Taking a shower after work, the boiler rumbles and the pipes gurgle and creak before a torrent of thick man sludge erupts from the shower head, covering you in an inadvertent bukkake. Blinded by muck, you stumble out to find the toilet filling to the brim with off-white ooze like something out of Ghostbusters II, then into the hall, warmed by radiators full of boiling jizz where you frantically turn off the stop cock. Pregnancy concerns you, so you visit Boots for the morning after pill only to realise too late the only thing you have to wash it down with is a clotted glass of human slime from the kitchen tap.
TAURUS This month your career takes an interesting turn when you’re sold into the army as a stab bag.
GEMINI Didn’t your parents ever tell you it’s rude to talk with your mouth full of drugs?
CANCER Tears roll down the 2ft mince-like tumour that hangs off your face like a leaking meat cauliflower while you watch the taped One Show Christmas Special you just got round to viewing.
LEO You have the mind of a worm and the body also of a worm.
VIRGO Like your sphincter, you tend to relax after a few drinks.
LIBRA After starting your own accountancy firm you decide to put 110% into the venture. Nobody can fault your commitment, but this really fucks up the figures.
SCORPIO You never noticed before the Job Centre employees’ stab vests or side arms, the searchlight tower in the car park, the snarling German shepherds barely held back by guards at the door or the wailing job seekers in cages hanging from lampposts in the street outside.
SAGITTARIUS Your ruling planet is Jupiter, the fattest planet in the solar system.
CAPRICORN You hope to one day have an ambition.
AQUARIUS For you, the grass is always greener on the other side. That’s because you live in a nightmarish dystopian future where grass has been banned by a merciless World Government.
In Film, Hal Hartley, one of the most distinctive voices on the American indie film scene (could’ve been bigger than Soderbergh, y’know), talks to us ahead of the re-release of three of his early films on DVD and Blu-ray. www.theskinny.co.uk/film Our online column NETVERK, focusing on some of the best self-released downloadable music currently on offer, returns in podcast form this month. Stream it exclusively online at www.theskinny.co.uk/music
PISCES Lately you’ve been working your way into the heart of a certain someone special, really getting to know what they’re like inside. In May however, a malfunction in the miniaturisation ray causes your microscopic vessel to expand without warning, exploding out of their body in a flash of meat and metal. With the engines powering down and the windscreen wipers moving guts back and forth across your cockpit window, you stumble out into a dripping red living room for a scream-filled meeting with the parents of the person you spent the last fortnight inside.
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Compiled by: Laura Howarth
May – the month of many bank holidays – also marks the start of festival season, with Liverpool Sound City and Sounds from the Other City kicking off proceedings. Elsewhere, things get all arty with LightNight and the Liverpool Art Prize, the Wild Writers have their first outing and there's a Freak Show in town...
Wed 1 May
Thu 2 May
The Bar Shorts bunch are on the road, bringing their quirky evening of short films and animation to Manchester. The picks for the night have been selected by Chris Shepherd and 12foot6, and include a string from University of Salford students, David Shrigley's classic The Artist and Vicky Mather’s Stanley Pickle. Band on the Wall, Manchester, 7pm, Free but ticketed
Given the title, you'd be easily forgiven for thinking this is some kind of weird taxidermy documentary – good news, it isn't! Back in 2004, Beastie Boys handed out 50 cameras to audience members at their sold out Madison Square Garden show. Awesome; I Fuckin’ Shot That! is the result. Part of The Art of Pop Video exhibition. FACT, Liverpool, 6.30pm, £4 (£3)
Festival season is with us once more, and Liverpool Sound City kicks things off in style today with a blistering line-up. The three-day conference/festival/expo is a melting pot of creativity, with the likes of Oneohtrix Point Never taking to The Kazimier, and Everything Everything set to rock the Art Academy. See you there. Various venues, Liverpool, Until 4 May, £30/£45/£55/£120
AWESOME; I FUCKIN’ SHOT THAT
ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER
BAR SHORTS
Wed 8 May
Thu 9 May
Fri 10 May
Matthew Houck, aka Phosphorescent, is out and about showcasing his sixth studio album, Muchacho, still delivering experimental Americana/folk all saturated with reverb and those distinct vocals – and returning to the sound that served him so well on his 2007 album, Pride. The Ruby Lounge, Manchester, 7.30pm, £11
A unique chance to catch Ibsen’s A Doll’s House from a new angle – literally. That glass-walled spaceship of a theatre suspended in the hall of the Victorian Cotton Exchange Buildings offers the audience a chance to capture every flicker of emotion as they watch the ‘perfect’ marriage crumble. Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, Until 1 Jun, 2.30pm and 7.30pm, From £10
An experimental new performance fusing theatre and cinema into one wholly immersive experience, imitating the dog theatre's 6 Degrees Below the Horizon is a dark and macabre tale, taking the audience on a tumble into an underworld of sailors, chorus girls, nightclub singers, failed dreams and lost love. Contact Theatre, Manchester, 8pm, £10 (£6)
Founding member of Siouxsie and the Banshees Steven Severin performs his electronic score accompaniment to German silent horror film The Cabinet of Dr Caligari. Support comes from Ears in Excellent Condition, formerly known as The Otto Show. International Anthony Burgess Foundation, Manchester, 8pm, £10
PHOSPHORESCENT
PHOTO: DUSDIN CONDREN
Tue 7 May
A DOLL’S HOUSE
6 DEGREES BELOW THE HORIZON
THE CABINET OF DR CALIGARI
Tue 14 May
Wed 15 May
Thu 16 May
As part of their The Art of Pop Video season, FACT have teamed up with the Bido Lito! folk to host a panel event that puts the future of the pop video up for discussion. Has YouTube Killed the Video Star, or is the medium evolving into a key interactive part of the music industry? Musicians, filmmakers and journalist discuss. FACT, Liverpool, 7pm, Free
Inspired by Konstantin Raudive’s experiments with electronic noise and voices from the other side, Electronic Voice Phenomena is a collaborative multimedia project by design agency Mercy and literary arts producer/independent publisher Penned in the Margins. It’s part-séance, part glitchcabaret, with live performances from synth-loving pop bunch Outfit and others. St George’s Hall, Liverpool, 7pm, £10 (£7)
A night of freakish delight designed to make your skin crawl, the Tin Shed Theatre Company's Fringe theatre show Dr Frankenstein’s Travelling Freak Show is a re-working of Mary Shelley’s classic Gothic horror story, as told by a band of ghoulish characters. Three Minute Theatre, Manchester, 7pm, £7.50 (£6)
THE ART OF POP VIDEO
ELECTRONIC VOICE PHENOMENA
DR FRANKENSTEIN’S TRAVELLING FREAK SHOW
Tue 21 May
Wed 22 May
Thu 23 May
Fri 24 May
Vertigo Theatre bring their production of Mysterious Skin to Manchester for the first time. The hard-hitting, controversial drama explores the story of two young men and a horrific event from their childhood that threatens their future – while one retreats into a world of fantasy, the other wanders down a path of self-destruction. Three Minute Theatre, Manchester, Until 25 May, 7.30pm, £8
Brighton's Bonobo tours LP The North Borders, an atmospheric and patiently honed gem of a thing drawing on elements of jazz, garage and shimmering dubstep. After a sold out show at The Ritz, he'll be heading over to Gorilla for an afterparty, playing a DJ set until the small hours. (We're aware that's a lot of primate references.) Gorilla, Manchester, 10.30pm, £7/£9
Mellowtone and The Viper Label are set to take over the majestic Palm House at Sefton Park for a showcase evening of live music from some of their most prolific artists. Headlining is singer-songwriter Edgar ‘Summertyme’ Jones, a pillar of the Liverpool music scene since his stint with The Stairs back in the 90s. Palm House, Sefton Park, Liverpool, 8pm, £5
You know you’re doing alright when David Lynch wants to collaborate with you. Performing artist, recording artist and model Chrysta Bell will be performing songs from her latest album This Train in her highly theatrical and evocative style, blending multimedia elements with her sultry vocals. The Ruby Lounge, Manchester, 7.30pm, £10
MYSTERIOUS SKIN
BONOBO
EDGAR ‘SUMMERTYME’ JONES
CHRYSTA BELL
Tue 28 May
Wed 29 May
Thu 30 May
Fri 31 May
Catch the exhibition by 2012 Liverpool Art Prize winner Robyn Woolston. Featuring giant bales constructed of waste plastic strewn across the Walker Art Gallery, Strangers in a Strange Land aims to explore our relationship with the earth’s finite resources – and might just make you think twice before taking another bag in Tesco. Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, Until 23 Jun, Free
The 52 contenders for this year's Liverpool Art Prize have been deftly whittled down to just four – Tabitha Moses, Julieann O’Malley, Laurence Payot, and Kevin Hunt (our April issue Showcase artist). All are competing for that £2000 prize and the opportunity to exhibit their work at the Walker Art Gallery. Go support! Grand Hall @ Albert Dock, Liverpool, 6pm, Free
Welsh author and ex-international drug smuggler Howard Marks recounts his life of crime in this Writing on the Wall event. Marks will be reading extracts from his autobiography, Mr Nice, and talking candidly about his experiences as one of the most notorious criminals of the 70s and 80s. Secret location, Liverpool, 7.30pm, £10 (£8)
Sam Wills, aka The Boy With Tape On His Face, returns with his trademark boyish charm for another silent stand-up tour, aptly named More Tape. Transcending the barriers of language and culture, Wills delivers a routine that is very simple, very charming, and very clever – all without uttering a word. Contact Theatre, Manchester, 8pm, £12 (£10)
HOWARD MARKS
THE BOY WITH TAPE ON HIS FACE
ROBYN WOOLSTON: STRANGERS IN A STRANGE LAND
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KEVIN HUNT
THE SKINNY
PHOTO: DUTCH RALL
Heads Up
Tue 30 Apr
Sat 4 May
Sun 5 May
Mon 6 May
Mercury Prize-nominated singer-songwriter Kenny Anderson, aka King Creosote, makes an appearance at Band on the Wall for the first time since 2011 – and if past precedence is anything to go by, this intimate gig will likely wow. Band on the Wall, Manchester, 7pm, £12.50/£14.50, returns only
The unusual setting of Victoria Baths – a restored Edwardian swimming pool – for this new production of Twelfth Night allows the play's themes of water and echoing isolation sparking madness to run rampant. Moving the action to the 19th century, theatre company Malkin Tower incorporate live music in the performance. Victoria Baths, Manchester, 2.30pm and 7.30pm, £12 (£10)
Returning for its ninth year, Sounds from the Other City promises a full day of live music, arty happenings and general good vibes, all within a stone's throw of Salford’s Chapel Street. Promoters from Manchester and Salford have been busy curating their various stages, with highlights including Gramme, BC Camplight, Still Corners and Robert Gordon. Various venues, Salford, 3pm-late, £18 (wristband)
A chilling theatre production that spawned a major motion picture, The Woman in Black is out on tour, but sadly, sans Harry Potter. Based on the novel by Susan Hill and adapted by Stephen Mallatratt, this production has been scaring audiences for 25 years and is showing no signs of letting up. The Lowry, Manchester, Until 11 May, 7.30pm, From £17
KING CREOSOTE
PHOTO: STEVE-GULLICK
Friday 3 May
VICTORIA BATHS
SOUNDS FROM THE OTHER CITY
THE WOMAN IN BLACK
Mon 13 May
The Imaginarium is a firsttime outing for Liverpoolbased writers’ collective, the Wild Writers – and they've lined up a full day of events, taking over Drop the Dumbells with their prints and projections. The literary themed exhibition will include a campfire setting (for story writing and telling), head shaving, and a poetry vending machine. Drop the Dumbells, Liverpool, 127pm, Free
A rare outing for the Swedish psych/folk-rock trio Junip, fronted by the occasionally solo classical guitarist José González. In addition to González on guitar and vocals, Elias Araya takes care of percussion while Tobias Winterkorn, on organ and Moog, provides droning background textures. Expect songs from their new self-titled album. Band on the Wall, Manchester, 7.30pm, £11/£13
Taking their fourth studio album Heart of Nowhere out for a ride, Charlie Fink's gang of chirpy Southerners Noah and the Whale entertain crowds in some of the UK's finer establishments – including a month of residencies at London's Palace Theatre. Fancy. Opera House, Manchester, 7pm, From £18.50
THE WILD WRITERS’ IMAGINARIUM
JUNIP
PHOTO: JOHANNA HEDBORG
Sun 12 May
PHOTO: ALLEGRA WHITEHOUSE
Sat 11 May
NOAH AND THE WHALE
Fri 17 May
Sat 18 May
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Mon 20 May
Catch a preview of this exhibition by photographer Eva Stenram on LightNight from 6pm. A collection of photographs challenging objectification, Drape sees Stenram digitally manipulating found images to alter the composition – the background takes centre stage, leaving the subject as an afterthought. Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool, Until 25 Aug, Free
English folk singer-songwriter Matt Hill, aka Quiet Loner, plays a special gig as part of the Protest Music Festival. A set including songs from his latest album Greedy Magicians will be followed by a discussion concerning the art of protest music, and Hill's inspiration for his album. Part of Museums at Night. People’s History Museum, Manchester, 3pm, Free (donations welcome)
This project – one of Cornerhouse's Micro Commissions – sees performance artist Stefanie Elrick and tattooist Loren Fetterman join forces for a daring new performance art piece, Written in Stein, where words submitted by strangers will be bloodlined in an intricate design over the entirety of Elrick's body. Cornerhouse, Manchester, 11am-5pm, Free
How To Dress Well is Chicago-born, Cologne-based experimental pop producer and singer Tom Krell. Still reeling from the success of his 2012 album, Total Loss, he’s out on a jaunt of the UK playing some of the more intimate venues. Leaf, Liverpool, 7.30pm, £9
EVA STENRAM: DRAPE VIII
QUIET LONER
LOREN FETTERMAN AND STEFANIE ELRICK
HOW TO DRESS WELL
Sat 25 May
Sun 26 May
Mon 27 May
The OneFiveEight collective return to the Mill for another all-day expo event taking in a whole spectrum of talent across photography, audio-visuals, music and visual arts. Audience interaction is encouraged, with visitors being invited to help decorate the gallery. Moving into the evening, Herbal Sessions provides a DJ set. Islington Mill, Manchester, 4pm, Free (£5 after 10pm)
It's your last chance to catch the Raqib Shaw exhibition before it’s gone! Venture into the Manchester Art Gallery to discover the Indian-born, London-based artist's dark and unsettling visual world. Beyond the willows and spring flowers lie jewel-encrusted artworks and a land of terrifying creatures. Manchester Art Gallery, 105pm, Free
Aiming to knock down those pesky barriers and make art accessible to all, the Liverpool Art Fair is a reason for artists and buyers alike to celebrate. A range of artists from within a 25 mile radius of Liverpool will be showcasing their work, allowing buyers to peruse and pick up some reasonably priced pieces. Camp and Furnace, Liverpool, 24-27 May, Free
ONEFIVEEIGHT
RAQIB SHAW
MIKE RICKETT
Sun 2 Jun
Mon 3 Jun
Marnie Stern and her insane shredding skills return to our shores toting her latest album, the fantastically named The Chronicles of Marnia. Puns and literary references aside, this album really does mark a foray into the unknown for Stern as she experiments with new techniques and hones her sound. The Ruby Lounge, Manchester, 7.30pm, £10
A physical theatre performance that will go completely over your head (ahem). The Ockham’s Razor bunch perform their series of short stories, Not Until We Are Lost, on a custom built aerial structure with mesmeric effects. With support from Dance City, Live at LICA and La Brèche. The Lowry, Manchester, 2.30pm, £16 (£13)
It's musical theatre, but without all the jazz hands (er, we think). The Last Five Years is a two-character musical about a relationship that lasts – you guessed it – five years. He tells it from the beginning, while she tells it backwards, from the end. Highly entertaining, and occasionally heart-wrenching. The Epstein Theatre, Liverpool, Until 23 Jun, 7.45pm, From £15
MARNIE STERN
May 2013
OCKHAM'S RAZOR
PHOTO: JANE HOBSON
Sat 1 Jun
THE LAST FIVE YEARS
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Post-Everything Newly signed to Warp, and ready to release their staggeringly diverse second album, Mount Kimbie’s Kai Campos discusses the band’s influences, recording techniques, and life beyond post-dubstep Interview: Bram E. Gieben Photography: Gemma Burke
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f you dabble even casually in electronic music, you’ll be aware that the proliferation of new micro-genres has gotten pretty ridiculous. A quick check on any of the major music hosting platforms such as SoundCloud will provide you with everything from illbient to trillwave. Mount Kimbie, a London-based duo comprised of Kai Campos and Dominic Maker, are often credited with being the originators of their own. Their first EP, 2009’s Maybes, was at that time something of a departure for Scuba’s Hotflush label, with a minute and a half of muted, washed-out synth echoing out of the speakers, before dropping into a beat that bears all the defining signatures of what would become the post-dubstep sound – above all, a sense of space and dynamics that appeals to the brain first, and the dancefloor second. Which isn’t to say you can’t dance to Mount Kimbie – their early EPs helped push the boundaries of bass music, mutating it into something slicker, deeper and stranger, and they were embraced by DJs, clubbers and critics alike.
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Following the release of their debut album, 2010’s Crooks & Lovers, they became known for their live performances, incorporating a Maschine control interface, live guitars and percussion, and heavily improvised sections that digressed wildly from the recorded tracks. James Blake, another important figure to emerge from the dope smoke haze of post-dubstep, was a touring member for a while, helping flesh out their vision. Mount Kimbie and James Blake weren’t the only ones blazing a trail – Four Tet’s productions from that era, along with the more hip-hop oriented likes of Flying Lotus, were also hugely influential, as was the ‘ghost garage’ sound pioneered by Burial, and embraced and imitated by many producers in the years since. But for Mount Kimbie, it seems the shine has come off postdubstep. Speaking to the band’s Kai Campos (who takes the lion’s share of vocal duties on their sophomore album Cold Spring Fault Less Youth, making him an ideal spokesman), he admits that he simply doesn’t listen to a lot of the music that falls under the banner these days. “I think in this
scene, you listen to a lot of stuff that sounds like yourself, but I guess that the stuff that grabs you and shocks you is often the stuff that doesn’t come at you in the same way,” he says. Asked about dubstep’s other mutations, such as trap, US-style ‘brostep’ (they prefer ‘EDM’), and chillwave, he gives a guarded but positive response: “We’re interested in where all of that stuff is going, really.” One thing’s certain – on the evidence of their latest LP, there isn’t a lot that Mount Kimbie haven’t been listening to. It’s a work of arcane twists and sudden turns, taking in moments of pie-eyed shoegaze and emotive house on Home Recording, punk-inflected hip-hop blues on You Took Your Time with King Krule, through to beatless classic synth patterns and indie surf pop on Break Well. That’s just the first three tracks. “The two records really are, for me, quite far apart, in that this one will be flawed in some ways, but it was a more ambitious endeavour for us,” says Kampos. “I feel like we’ve got a little bit more on the line creatively.” The album’s
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ambitions are so mercurial, the sheer diversity of styles and approaches could put off some listeners, particularly those looking for a definitive statement on post-dubstep from two of its originators and innovators. But the recording techniques, and the sonic depth of each track, mark them out unmistakably as the work of Mount Kimbie. Once you’re over the shock of hearing Made To Stray, a techno-influenced, lo-fi jam with vulnerable lyrics sung by Campos, almost naked of effects, it all makes perfect sense – and it’s a perfect fit for their new home in the Warp Records stable. Asked if bringing his vocals to the fore was an intimidating step to take, Campos is philosophical: “It seemed natural, but at the same time it also felt very uncomfortable as well.” Starting to record vocals was a process of trial and error, “until I managed to find a voice of sorts, you know?” That voice is a fine one – and perhaps gives a clue to the fact that Campos lists his recent influences as Tame Impala, Ariel Pink, White Denim,
THE SKINNY
and Micachu and the Shapes. “There’s been so much since the first album came out that we’ve spent time listening to and got really excited about,” he enthuses. “These people are still really inspiring us, and making music today around us.” Prolific techno stalwart Actress is also cited as a big influence, along with a healthy diet of hip-hop and bass music. “It wasn’t really a decision to make a vocal album,” Campos admits, but that is what Cold Spring Fault Less Youth is – his vocals, with occasional contributions from Dominic Maker, and the bass-heavy counterpoint of King Krule, anchor the album, connecting it to their previous work with a purely emotional thread.
“This album was a more ambitious endeavour for us. We’ve got a little bit more on the line creatively” Kai Campos
They worked with producer and Stereolab drummer Andy Ramsay – a little of Stereolab’s lo-fi pop aesthetic can be detected in CSFLY’s DNA. “We got to use all of his gear that he’s amassed over a much longer career than ours, so he has a lot of old drum machines which we spent time recording, and kind of mangling in our own way,” says Campos. “We were doing stuff that he wouldn’t have thought of, and he was showing us stuff that we wouldn’t have thought of.” A big element of the Mount Kimbie aesthetic is rooted in musique concrète – the use of synthesised and sampled, found sounds from nature, and the ambient atmospherics created by recording in locations with different electroacoustic properties. This played a part on the new album too, but with a difference: “Instead of degrading the sound before we had even recorded it, we were recording stuff clean, and then doing stuff to it afterwards, which was different for us,” Campos explains. “It freed up a whole world of different options.” The collaborations with King Krule came about after Campos saw his video for Out Getting Ribs: “I just sent a note to Dom, saying, ‘You’ve gotta check this out, because it’s breathtakingly good,’” he recalls. “I instantly thought he had a similar songwriting style to ours, in a way, in that he was doing quite a lot with quite few elements, and leaving quite a lot of space. I don’t think either of us are too precious about what we’re doing so it was really, really enjoyable, and I learned a lot from watching him write lyrics. We both bounced ideas off each other quite a lot.” They plan to work with him again in future, and the possibility of live collaboration at a few festivals this year may well be in the offing: “If we try and put the effort in, I think we can do something really good,” Campos says. That is the band’s next move – prepping for a busy year and a half of live shows. This time around, is the record a little closer to what we’ll hear live? In rehearsals, says Campos, “the starting point has been the recorded version of the songs.” Thus far, “they’re fairly close” to the album tracks, says Campos. “These songs seem to lend themselves a lot better to being played live as well: they’re easier to kind of get inside, whereas
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the last ones were such studio creations that it was like we really had to breathe new life into them.” The addition of drummer Tony Kus to their live setup “has really opened up what we can do.” But improvisation and evolution are still on the cards for these tracks: “It’s early days, so by the end of the summer they’ll probably be completely different,” Campos speculates. One topic that their friend and former colleague James Blake has not been shy of sharing his opinion on in recent months is the future of the music industry, which he has deemed “a sinking ship.” Undoubtedly, scraping a living is hard for touring, album-releasing musicians on Blake’s level, and getting harder. Asked for his own personal views on the industry’s state, Campos says: “I’m not sure anyone knows what that term even means anymore; but I think that there will always be music and there will always be an audience for music, so you have to figure out a way to make a living out of that.” In some ways, he agrees with Blake, saying: “It’s not easy – but people have probably had it too easy in the past.”
Mount Kimbie have had their fair share of problems with online leaks, and with the promotion of their music, but “it’s kind of so hard to draw a line between the good that’s been done by the same kind of mechanisms,” Campos says, ever the pragmatist. “We wouldn’t be able to tour the world while being such a small band without half of this stuff… you just have to assess the environment that you’re in and do the best work that you can within it.” Returning to the subject of influence, a remark Campos once made about Mount Kimbie’s origins is repeated back to him – that they started out attempting to replicate forms of music they liked, such as dubstep, and their failure to replicate it accurately was how they found their style. Would he recommend this as an approach for artists who are just starting out? “I think that is the basis for all creative endeavours,” he says. “That’s how they begin. Even now, every song that we do is started from something happening when you’re listening to either music, or sound. I would say not to be too concerned about it, if that’s
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what you feel like doing, but it’s good to hold back on sharing and pushing your music until you feel like you’re saying something that you want to say.” It also helps to have a broad set of influences, unlike many emerging dance music producers, who focus narrowly on their own scene or sound. Campos, who grew up in “a rural area” with “no discernible music scene” listening to Gilles Peterson and John Peel on the radio, has never had a narrow set of influences. “It’s just not something I’ve ever considered. From the beginnings of making music it was always kind of an amalgamation of stuff that I was hearing on the radio. A lot of my favourite records come from all different places.” Mount Kimbie as a duo could never focus solely on one style, he says: “I don’t think we’d be able to do it even if we wanted to.” Mount Kimbie play Liverpool as part of Sound City on 4 May Cold Spring Fault Less Youth is released via Warp on 27 May www.mountkimbie.com
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Speaking Words to the Blind Technology may make us feel safe but it could be lost in the blink of an eye. Are you ready to get feral? Savages vocalist Jehnny Beth lays out a very particular manifesto f you believe that true stylistic originality in music currently lies dormant or, worse, deceased, then to find real resonance you look to the qualities of those behind its creation: their message, their ethos, the decisions made as to why they’ve reached to the past to further the present. That Savages are currently one of the brightest burgeoning acts on this island isn’t down to any great sonic furthering on their part – it’s well established that there’s no great leap between the electrifying crackle of their sniping dissonance and the post-punk groups of the late 70s and early 80s. They themselves wrote, “Savages is not trying to give you something you didn’t have already,” in a statement accompanying the breath-stealing thrill of debut LP Silence Yourself – it’s down to the convictions of the individuals behind it.
“Guitar music has been adrift in a way. Bands are the same, and to be in one with a direction is kind of an old school thing, almost like it was gone” Jehnny Beth
The four-piece treat this band as manifesto; they’re artists beyond writers, using the word just so they don’t have to write ‘band’ again. The lean, sinewy tissue of their music serves a function beyond mere sound. Their public presentation is derived from an intense methodology; where the tight, self-straightjacketed post-punk of the 80s was a reaction to the rockist excesses of the 70s, Savages’ interpretation is a reaction to our internet-aided existence of all-access, all-choice, all-influence. By actively devolving and stripping away the surplus elements of their own music they’re making a societal response; it’s not a paean to cultural fashion, it’s a howl against our own cultural bloat. Savages realise that to go forward, you first have to go back, because all new paths must start at the beginning. If you caught Savages’ initial shows last year and found tracks like City’s Full and Husbands already fully-mobilised in leaving you punchdrunk from the startling co-ordination of their attack, then it was because the intentions of the band had been forged before they’d played a note. “The name was the starting point really; it was there before the band was even formed,” explains singer Jehnny Beth. “Gemma [Thompson, guitarist] had been talking to me about wanting to start a particular group for months, and she came up with the name Savages. The discussions we had were about presenting these ideas, about
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creating a tension from trying not to pretend that we are technologically advanced, that savagery is still in every one of us and that it’s still capable of coming to the surface; how technology can give us the impression that we’re in total control of everything, but how this can be lost in the blink of an eye. Gemma really wanted a sonic representation of this dystopia, of these ideas of human devolution.” The Savages we know, the ones that went from playing their first gig with British Sea Power in January last year to a full summer festival schedule, TV appearances and, latterly, Coachella, were already racing along on wheels put in motion far in advance of their first, striking perforation. “Before we even practised,” confirms Jehnny. “It’s important that you set yourselves goals and directions, because it’s very easy to be distracted otherwise – and you know, we play and jam, but for what? What’s the idea? What do you want to say?” Silence Yourself’s message reveals itself in crystalline fashion in the spoken word intro for the video of lead-off track Shut Up. “The world used to be silent, now it has too many voices and the noise is a constant distraction,” Jehnny says at its opening. “They multiply, intensify, they will divert your attention to what’s convenient and forget to tell you about yourself.” Thus the knowing simplicity of the record counteracts that complexity; its chief elements are constant. The restless grooves of Ayse Hassan’s bass and tom-heavy bullishness of Faye Milton’s drumming provide the muscular backdrop to Thompson’s guttural guitar and Jehnny’s tight, staccato-syllabled lyrics, reflecting the tautness of what’s around her. They are strictly controlled, placed on rails that provide a route through the 11 tracks even as the dynamics and tempo alter. “When we started the band I was reading Nietzsche and one thing that I got really into was the idea that, from when you start writing, you try not to lose what made you first begin, even as you continue further; the first spark is the purest and you should try to keep hold of that and not get distracted along the path,” explains Jehnny of the band’s desire to create this singular aesthetic. “But it demands a lot of concentration! The actual process of it is hard because your brain is not trained to be so simple, and as a human you naturally want to be seen as this complex personality – indeed you are a complex animal.” The group’s desire for control is replicated in their working set-up, surrounding themselves with people they know and trust. Jehnny now knows the industry rigmarole, having experienced it with her partner as John & Jehn, and it’s from those early experiences of inevitably naïve compromise that they re-gathered their thoughts to found record label Pop Noire – which put out Savages’ two previous releases to date, 7” Husbands/Flying To Berlin and a live EP – and ultimately streamlined the singer’s thinking towards joining a music project that sought to exist with minimal interference beyond those who could help elevate them for the right reasons. “I wish I’d had someone to tell me how to do this the first time round,” she sighs, “but then we all do. I remember an interview with Billy Corgan, for instance, and he was saying exactly the same thing. But of course there never is, and now I have
SAVAGES
a power because I have knowledge from these past mistakes.” Last year, in the initial flush of their hype, they told The Quietus that their songs improved once they’d started taking the choruses out of them. It’s a process of reduction that Jehnny also applies to her own lyrics, initially writing a lot of text, then editing and extracting the essential from it, contorting it sharply to match the punchiness of the music. Track titles, meanwhile, are devices for repetitious use with mantra-like effect – would-be open-ended phrases become her own through their whirling revolutions. She comments: “It’s important, I think, because the meaning evolves and changes, each repetition captures you in a different kind of way, you put yourself in a little trance; live, it transfers to your body and makes it a little more mechanical…” The lyrical delivery often comes from a place of gums-bared aggression (“are you coming for the fight?”); sometimes it’ll subvert conventional semantics, like those associated with love and affection, to dark environs (“hit me, I think I’m ready tonight, hit me with your lips”). Elsewhere there’s a general sense that she’s standing on the cusp of something unknown (the track title Waiting For A Sign, the words “are you ready to face the future?”). The latter suggests that the intention behind this sound, even as it revisits past sonic ghosts, is to simultaneously attempt to reject it. It’s an internal monologue that afflicts all artists, when the sheer size of bygone creative material is so vast and the future contains no perimeter, how is it possible to resist the familiarity of the
MUSIC
past? Otherwise a record bristling with a haughty confidence, it’s in these incidences where Silence Yourself illuminates the insecurities of the band, even as they’re thunderously delivered. What’s exciting about Savages is that they’re a band who choose to be one because they recognise that it gives them a chance of having a voice. “That’s never really departed from music,” muses Jehnny, “it’s just guitar music has been adrift in a way. Bands are the same, and to be in one with a direction is kind of an old school thing, almost like it was gone.” Savages, though, have a voice, a method, an outline. To go back to the spoken word of Shut Up, when Jehnny coldly intones, “You are distracted. You are available. You want flattery. Always looking to where it’s at. You want to take part in everything and everything to be a part of you. Your head is spinning fast at the end of your spine until you have no face at all,” it could be an attack on every band whose sound is akin to a Spotify-clicked six degrees of separation. Wider than that, it could be an attack on every person who buys into the social media culture of each individual being a brand, adapting and speaking to their marketing requirements and not to who their being ultimately is. No, Savages are not pointing to the future yet. What they’re doing is holding a mirror to the present, and doing so with such irresistible assertiveness that it’s impossible to avoid its glare. Savages play Liverpool as part of Sound City on 3 May. Silence Yourself is released via Matador on 6 May www.savagesband.com
THE SKINNY
Photo: Richard Dumas
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Interview: Simon Jay Catling
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MUD
Mississippi Yearning Jeff Nichols, director of Take Shelter and Shotgun Stories, is one of the most exciting young directors in America. He talks to The Skinny about his latest film, Mud
M
ud is a coming of age story and an elegy for a dying way of life. Set in the Deep South along the banks of the Mississippi, it feels like an adaption of an American literary classic; a Mark Twain story for the millennial generation. Yet it was written and directed by a 34-year-old Arkansas native called Jeff Nichols. “I first read Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in this dingy classroom in seventh grade, when I was 13,” the director of Take Shelter and Shotgun Stories says of the classic American novel. “There’s a scene in which Tom swims out to this deserted island and takes a nap. Nothing really happens; he just takes a nap. I remember sitting in this classroom, bored as hell, thinking: God, I wish I could do that.” The seed was planted there, with Mud born as a screenplay when Nichols was still in college. With 14-year-old Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and his devoted friend Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) as his vessels, Nichols’ eventual creation is imbued with the folklore of the American heartland, from Truman Capote to Laura Ingalls Wilder, from Badlands to Stand By Me. It’s a film about the struggle of childhood in a continent conquered but not connected, a remembrance of life defined by livelihood and possession and our small relationship with the vast unexplored. “There’s a purity about Tom Sawyer which just perfectly captures what it felt like to be a kid,” Nichols says. “I wanted to do something similar with Mud.” Taking his father’s boat, Ellis travels with Neckbone to a deserted island in a deep turn of the Mississippi; there, a flood has surreally moored a boat high in the branches of a stately tree. They try to stake their claim, but the boat is already occupied by a strange hermit named Mud (Matthew McConaughey); a kind, storytelling ramshackle of a man, yet a wanted fugitive with bounty hunters on his trail – he murdered the man with whom his lover chose to stray. “Going into it, I saw Mud as a getaway film,
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Interview: Tom Seymour
like something Sam Peckinpah would make,” Nichols says. “But I wanted to make the film personal and mean something to me and my life, so I gravitated quickly towards the boy Ellis’s story. Finding this man on an island is a grand adventure for him, but I began to think about heartbreak and first love as something I could hang on his shoulders as the force of the story.”
“There’s a purity about Tom Sawyer which just perfectly captures what it felt like to be a kid. I wanted to do something similar with Mud” Jeff Nichols
The two children are recruited by Mud. After requests for food, they’re asked to courier letters to Juniper (Reese Witherspoon), Mud’s first love, to whom he is still hopelessly committed. She’s stuck in town, locked down by guys who sense blood. Yet Mud hatches a plan to spirit her away to an Eden down river, and asks the boys to shelter and aid his getaway. Mud, like all Nichols’ films, seems to come from his own experience, his own upbringing. He grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, and his maternal cousins lived on a houseboat by the delta. “I really wasn’t familiar with that part of my state,
even though it was in my own backyard,” he says. “When I was back from college one year I found a photo-book of people in the region; mussel shell fishermen with homemade diving helmets. So I started asking around and realised I had a bunch of relatives who had grown up on houseboats and lived that life. “I remember them first taking me out on the White River, which flows into the Mississippi,” he says. “It was stunningly beautiful; teeming with wildlife. I saw bald eagles and panthers and snakes, and it felt like a mythical place. There was an island out there and I imagined a guy hiding out there, all alone; once I had that thought I held on to it. I knew it was a good idea, but when I heard that the houseboats were being demolished, I knew I had a movie.” Nichols needed an actor good enough to play the title role, and he chose Matthew McConaughey, the 43-year-old Texan who, before his turn in Killer Joe, spent a decade making modern classics like Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Surfer, Dude. Since playing the title role in William Friedkin’s comeback, McConaughey seems to have regained his acting chops and is a revelation as Nichols’ island-convict; loose and garrulous, deeply likable, yet distant, hurt and unknowable. When did Nichols first decide McConaughey was his main man? “I decided I wanted McConaughey to play Mud over a decade ago, before his onslaught of romantic comedies,” Nichols says. “I saw him in John Sayles’ Lone Star – he plays a myth, a legend, but he adds such complexity to it, he takes it further. I needed Mud to be a guy you wanted to go back to and hang out with, despite the fact that he is strange, and speaks in a strange way. You think about Paul Newman or Jimmy Stewart or Cary Grant, these are actors you just want to spend time with; if you have that as a director, all you do is confuse that a little bit.” Like its star actor, Mud is a gentle,
FILM
sentimental movie filled with romance and belonging, filmed with a deep, resonant love of this wild, dangerous part of the world. But the black dogs of jealousy and betrayal lie crouched in the shadows; every relationship is in peril, every character is on their own deserted island, suffering their own torment. Ellis’s parents are in the midst of a separation, his taciturn father too wedded to the river, his mother desperate to break free. Neckbone is a tough, searching orphan raised by a juvenile uncle (Michael Shannon). Ellis himself looks to Mud for a sense of value and meaning, and an idea of masculinity, as he tries in vain to navigate his own burgeoning attachments to the opposite sex. Can Mud respond? Can he carry the weight of the boys’ expectations? But beyond the dynamics, a greater meaning impresses itself; that Mud is Nichols’ love letter to the culture that raised him which has been left behind as the world turns. “The American South is a very particular way of life and it’s a celebrated way of life,” he says. “We’re known for our stories and our cultural richness, but it’s a place that’s getting a little diluted – not a little, a lot. “We’ve become about Home Depot and Walmart, and we have access to the same vast worldwide culture, so the distinct voice of the American South is becoming homogenised.” Stood on the bow of a boat, being taken downstream by his cousins, Nichols couldn’t help lament the growing tide of progress: “The houseboats that you see dotted along these rivers feel like they’re from an older time, another world. Even though the people living there have sneakers and cell-phones they’re still so attached to nature, to an older ethos. That way of life is fleeting, and it fell in line with my opinions on what’s happening with the American South in general. It’s disappearing, gone with the river.” Mud is released in cinemas on 10 May by eOne www.mud-themovie.com
THE SKINNY
Nocturnal Wonderland Galleries, museums, art spaces and streets come alive late into the evening for Museums at Night and Liverpool’s LightNight. Here’s what not to miss
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oth Manchester and Liverpool are heartily participating in this year’s nationwide Museums at Night celebrations. Launching a weekend of events with a special one night show at Manchester Museum on 16 May, leading British sculptor and artist Richard Wentworth will be delving into the diverse and intricate peculiarities of objects amassed by local amateur collectors before gathering them all into a specially curated ‘cabinet of curiosity’ – but the real place to be on 17 May is Liverpool for LightNight, this year given the theme of Memory and Identity. At the Albert Dock, work by this year’s shortlisted Liverpool Art Prize competitors Kevin Hunt, Tabitha Moses, Julieann O’Malley and Laurence Payot will be on display, and accompanied by live music (4-8pm, Grand Hall, The Colonnades). Potter a couple of minutes down the cobbles, and you’ll find yourself at The Art of Parties, as Tate Liverpool celebrates 25 years with music, performances, party games, quizzes, an anniversary retrospective in the Wolfson Gallery and, in an ode to the venue’s current show Glam! The Performance of Style, you’ll also encounter pampering sessions from make-up and beauty parlour So Coco Rouge (6-9pm). Liverpool’s biennial photography festival, LOOK/13, is well represented. Highlights include Sander/Weegee: Selections from the Side Photographic Collection – a number of startling
Words: Julian Shepherd Illustration: Beth Crowley portraits recording 1920s and 30s German society by August Sander and Arthur ‘Weegee’ Fellig – at the Bluecoat (4-11pm) and a return of former contemporary gallery and artist studios Wolstenholme Creative Space as creative producers and curators with an exhibition at Drop the Dumbells. Liverpool, Unfinished is an evocative and emotive series of coloured portraits and landscapes by photographer Rob Bremner, whose defined works documenting people and everyday life in the mid-80s were shot in Everton Valley and across the city as part of a never completed student portfolio (4-10pm). The Baltic Creative campus on Jamaica Street is full of open studios, events and workshops from 6-11pm, while at the Arena Studios and Gallery on Parliament Street, Paul Bywater presents 30 new, striking and highly detailed drawings in Something to do with Death. The artist will also be present to answer visitors’ questions (6-9pm). Camp and Furnace hosts Recurring, an exhibition and live performance (6-10pm) from the Not Just Collective, who will be examining and exploring the notions of dreams, consciousness, imagination, manifested rituals and relationships in the various contexts of drawing, art, sculpture, performance and audio intervention. Direct participation from members of the public will be encouraged as part of an ongoing piece that will
be developed throughout the evening. LightNight crescendoes with Memory Lame at Static Gallery (8pm-2am), combining a fun old social gathering and bouncing sound system courtesy of online arts magazine The Double Negative and experimental music agency Deep Hedonia. Provided, among other things, will be an interactive installation with ‘reinterpreted karaoke,’ favourite memories, music, and short partyinspired films from local, national and international filmmakers. A raft of specially selected DJs will be playing anything and everything from R’n’B to Juan Atkins. To make life easier on those weary limbs, you can hop on a free LightNight bus, which runs
every 30 minutes from 5.23pm and every 10 minutes from 8.10pm, looping from Pier Head past the Albert Dock, round to the Anglican Cathedral, then up to Lime Street station before returning to its starting point via Dale Street. So whether you fancy checking out Black Sun Horizon at The Royal Standard or Transition of a Memory at The Black-E, you really have no excuse, OK? OK, good. Richard Wentworth at Manchester Museum, 16 May, 6.30pm9.30pm, free www.museum.manchester.ac.uk LightNight, various venues, Liverpool, 17 May, 4pm-late, Most events are free www.lightnightliverpool.co.uk
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15
The End of the Beginning Returning with a new EP that marks a dramatic departure from his earlier work, Koreless explains how he has shed his skin and taken his sound forward
Interview: Jean-Xavier Boucherat
G
etting to grips with the concept of ‘Yugen’ is a profoundly futile task – profound in that the difficulty one might have in grasping it shines more light on its true nature than words really can. Rooted in Japanese aesthetics, it posits that there is much within our world that we cannot name. Emotions experienced only in dreams, pleasures derived from the stale and mundane, heartache on the night-bus – these are the prompts that might drive us towards a meaningful understanding of the concept, if only for a few fleeting moments, before resuming our mad scrabbling in darker recesses. They are subtle beauties that can only be vaguely hinted at. Koreless (aka Lewis Roberts) seems fully aware that Yugen, his new EP on Young Turks, might be asking a lot of its listeners. “It’s hard to say,” he responds when pushed for a definition. “It’ll all become clearer over time though. This is something I’ve wanted to do for ages.”
“I tried not to make any music for a while. I felt like this was very necessary” Koreless
Certainly he’s kept us waiting for ages. Having come up like so many through the internet’s decentred channels, it’s now been over two years since the release of 4D/MTI on Pictures Music, a playful, two-step infused release that rode a wave that’s been throwing a genre-fixated press off tempo since day one. (The release prompted the Independent to warn James Blake to ‘watch [his] back, there’s a new minimal dubstep star on the scene.’) Since then, we’ve seen a single on Jacques Greene’s Vase label, and some collaborative work with fellow producer Sampha under the moniker of Short Stories, but nothing in the way of a larger, cohesive effort. So why the wait? “I just wanted to get away from doing the same stuff,” explains Roberts. “I mean 4D/MTI and everything I’ve released so far has been pretty pigeonholed in that messy, house-but-notquite-house sound. I really wanted to put some distance between myself and all of that, so I tried not to make any music for a while. I felt like this was very necessary. There was a period where I just felt nothing I was doing sounded very good. I took a break, played a load of shows, and eventually figured out the concepts behind the EP and the work that needed to be done around the end of last year – in fact it came together really quickly, less than a month maybe. It was just reaching that point that took so long. So this is something new – a different approach.” He’s not wrong. Yugen is a primarily beatless affair, and while its five tracks are littered with elements that have characterised previous releases, there is no ignoring the almost unsettling conclusions that Roberts’ minimalist tendencies have brought him to, logical though they may be. Somehow, Yugen is both a record of alarming sparseness and satisfying richness; of arresting
May 2013
KORELESS
stillness and weighted movement. The combination of chopped vocals and warm synthwork, which weaves its way through the spaces intentionally left blank, paints for us a surface world on to which Roberts projects radiant structures that obscure the depth beneath. Yugen feels part of a much larger, multi-discipline work, and one can only wonder what Roberts means when he claims that all will become clearer over time. That’s not to say Yugen doesn’t work as a standalone record. It does. It’s a wonderfully coherent work – following in a comparable vein to fellow innovator Production Unit’s 2012 release There Are No Shortcuts in a Grid System. Roberts utilises similar, occasionally identical sounds and motifs throughout the record. “There’s a few tracks working around the same theme: Sun and No Sun share a theme, for example, except one’s backwards,” he says. “I wasn’t keen on putting out five completely different tracks. I enjoy the way a band comes together using the same instruments to put out four different tracks, so it’s an attempt to bring that out in electronic instrumentation – the same sound, used in different ways.” In an age where so much is available to producers, this kind of restraint is both provocative and refreshing. Yugen will definitely come as something of a relief to many. While the original explosion of forward-thinking bass music undoubtedly instilled UK and worldwide clubbing with a fresh sense of
urgency, later efforts lost their charm, and were accompanied by a growing unease around the tools that made it all possible in the first place – could anyone with a cracked copy of Ableton and a couple of hundred Twitter followers really be a producer? Via Yugen, Koreless has emerged unscathed from this dangerous landscape. The record’s well-crafted ambience, inevitably imbued with hints of Tangerine Dream and early Kraftwerk, takes us to sullen rooms equipped with ancient oscillators, full synth set-ups and ten-tonne tape decks. Whether Roberts did the EP on a laptop or not is irrelevant – Yugen carries serious weight, the kind that requires isolation. Tellingly, when quizzed on what he was listening to when the EP was coming together, Roberts draws a blank. Visual influences get a better response – “I was reading a lot of JG Ballard, all that weird sci-fi stuff. I can definitely see imagery from that having seeped into the sound.” Originally from Bangor in North Wales, Koreless was up until very recently a denizen of Glasgow, involved with the likes of LuckyMe, Numbers and All Caps. “The Glasgow club scene is amazing; it’s a real special group of people. For better or worse, it’s the same bunch at every night, and the same crowds packing out the place, like a little family.” Roberts is by no means the first to speculate thus on what makes the Glasgow club scene the delightful little pressure cooker it is, but he speaks of it with an
CLUBS
enthusiasm that suggests there are things happening in Glasgow that do not happen anywhere else – “They really know what they’re talking about, it’s a vibe I’ve never seen anywhere else, even being down in London, or anywhere else in the world for that matter. It’s in its own little world and for that reason it just doesn’t care.” As well as performing alongside the analogue-heavy Jacques Greene at Glasgow’s Make Do for a Vase label showcase, this month Roberts plays London’s Field Day. “Until now the live shows have been fairly simple,” he admits, “all based on re-working things in a live setting using MIDI controllers and so on. But now I’m in rehearsals for a full live show – full keys, full synths, maybe some modular stuff. We’ve got a live kalimba to play some of the riffs with, it sounds so poppy. I’ve enjoyed what I’ve done up until now, and I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s cheating, but you definitely feel a bit detached from everyone when you’re playing stuff off a launchpad, so it’s gonna be nice to try and share more of a connection with the audience. That emphasis on performance is something I’m keen to cultivate – I want vocals, and I’m toying with the idea of involving some other performers maybe. It’s a work in progress! It’s definitely going to be complicated. These things are always growing, always changing.” Yugen EP is released through Young Turks on 20 May
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Pressure Points Tackling issues of class, division, and protest, this year’s Writing on the Wall literature festival combines a timely theme with opinionated speakers Interview: Sarah-Clare Conlon Illustration: Hannah Bitowski
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ollowing the recent redefinition of Britain’s social classes, who can honestly say they didn’t spend a good hour filling in the BBC’s recent Great British Class Survey – firstly out of curiosity, then in disbelief and with an eye on fixing the outcome? In advance of speaking on this very subject at Liverpool’s Writing on the Wall festival’s regular Rebel Rant series – previously host to such shrinking violets as Germaine Greer, Joan Bakewell and Darcus Howe – Janet Street-Porter tells me: “The British are obsessed with class and where we stand in society. The BBC recently tried to redefine class, coming up with some fancy new names, but the fact remains people at the bottom in our society still find it hard to rise to the very top. It’s still about who your parents were and where you went to school. Even within the middle class, we emphasise our differences, sneering at people with the wrong clothes, the wrong cars and the wrong accents. We have North/South snobbery. So we are as much to blame as the politicians for the fact that Britain is as divided as ever.” This fighting talk is perfect for Writing on the Wall (WoW), which, in its 13th year, is all about being ‘under pressure.’ “The theme is really a reference to the economic situation and a reflection of how people feel experiencing job losses, benefit caps, bedroom taxes and the erosion
of essential services,” says festival director Madeline Heneghan. “It could also be reference to the pressure placed on arts organisations, such as WoW, to deliver quality artistic events while funding for the arts is being continually cut.” It’s a bold theme with some bold guests, one being former fugitive drug dealer Howard Marks, who will be performing an extract from his new show, Scholar, Smuggler, Prisoner, Scribe (30 May, secret location). Says Marks: “When I was suffering the consequences of a 25-year sentence in a maximum federal penitentiary, the people of Liverpool organised a petition of thousands of names for me to serve the rest of my sentence in the UK. I shall never forget that support.” “Our festival and our Rebel Rant series is designed to bring audiences together to tackle issues that are deemed to be controversial, to explore new ideas and foster understanding,” continues Heneghan. “I think our audiences expect WoW to be more engaged with relevant issues than perhaps more traditional literary festivals.” Poet and Liverpool John Moores University lecturer Alicia Stubbersfield, reading pieces from her new collection The Yellow Table alongside Sam Willetts on 23 May at House on Bold Street, agrees. “WoW showcases writers who are trying to address the personal and political pressures
of life in these times,” she says. “[Sam and I] will be reading poems that arise from real life: drug addiction, cancer, divorce – and the capacity to find love and hope in the midst of it all.” Fiction writer Rosie Garland, launching her debut novel The Palace of Curiosities at an event complete with a Victorian circus sideshow (19 May, St George’s Hall), is also drawn to life on the edge. “I’ve always found myself writing about outsiders,” she explains. “I’m interested in characters who won’t, or can’t, squeeze into the one-size-fits-all templates they have been
provided, and the friction that occurs when they try. That comes from always having been an outsider myself. I want to find out what’s going on in there. And celebrate it, proud in the face of the overwhelming sludge of ‘normality.’” Writing on the Wall, various venues, Liverpool, 1-31 May Writing on the Wall incorporates the In Other Words festival, curated in partnership with Liverpool City Council’s Culture Liverpool, which runs until 19 May www.writingonthewall.org.uk
Create at Salford Festival 2013 Industry Preview A unique showcase of over 800 creative and talented minds Thursday 13 June 2013, 6.00pm – 9.00pm University of Salford MediaCityUK campus and the Open Centre, MediaCityUK Why you won’t want to miss this exclusive event: Experience inspirational work from our final year arts and media students Network with those shaping the future of the creative sector Enjoy impressive exhibitions and not to be missed performances.
To book your place visit: www.salford.ac.uk/create/industry-preview t: 0161 295 6165 e: create@salford.ac.uk
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BOOKS
THE SKINNY
Encounters at the End of the World Over an 18-month period, director Sarah Gavron and cinematographer David Katznelson filmed a Greenlandic Inuit community on the cusp of disappearing. We speak to Gavron about her time at the Village at the End of the World
Interview: Chris Buckle
VILLAGE AT THE END OF THE WORLD
F
or several long months of the year, Niaqornat, in northwest Greenland, is a cold, dark and demanding place to live. In winter, night falls and stays fallen, with a muted twilight the closest thing to sunrise and sub-zero temperatures fixing the landscape into lunar-like permafrost. The only ways in and out are by sea or air, and the supply ship that brings the village vegetables, kitchen roll and anything else that can’t be fished from the sea or hunted across the polar ice is forced to pause its service ’til spring. When winter ends, thermometers climb above freezing and flora battles to make the most of its brief opportunity to flourish. Daylight returns but does not leave, the midnight sun shines around the clock. What’s more, the relative warmth carries dangers of its own, as unstable ice sheets make hunting risky. Whether frozen or thawing, it is a challenging environment to call home; a landscape of stark contrasts presenting its populace with a precarious future. Most troubling is the settlement’s declining population, exacerbated by the closure of the local fish factory a few years prior. With scarce employment options remaining, families increasingly sought work elsewhere, and Niaqornat started its seemingly inexorable shrink. By spring 2009, only 59 people remained. It’s a fascinating subject for a documentary, though when director Sarah Gavron, along with her husband and cinematographer David Katznelson, first visited the community, it wasn’t with the express intention of prepping a project. “My husband is Danish, and he’d been to Greenland and made a documentary there some years ago,” explains Gavron, speaking by phone from her London home. “He was really keen for me to go with him, so we went on an adventure.” But while filmmaking may not have been front of mind at the outset, their “tiny idea” quickly grew and took shape. “We ended up visiting a few tiny hamlets, and I was immediately drawn to them – it was just a world apart from anything I’d ever encountered before,” says Gavron. “When we went to Niaqornat we were greeted by Ilannguaq [the town’s affable sewage collector], who was the only one who spoke English. He was really our way in – he explained the whole mechanics of the
May 2013
village, and we spent time there and were made welcome.” The filmmakers quickly identified the denizens with the most vivid personalities and stories: in addition to Ilannguaq, the ‘cast’ includes town mayor and hunter Karl; Annie, the village’s oldest resident; and hoodie-wearing teen Lars. “After that first trip we thought, ‘perhaps there is a story here,’” says Gavron. “One that tells of a traditional way of life fighting for survival, which will connect, perhaps, with a global narrative of small communities all over the world fighting for their existence.” But despite the alluded-to global context, Village at the End of the World avoids turning Niaqornat into a universalised emblem. Its inhabitants may be struggling first-hand with the effects of climate change, globalisation and other planet-wide concerns, but they are living, breathing individuals, not representational vessels – though that’s not to deny the village’s microcosmic potential. “I think part of what is interesting about these tiny communities,” notes Gavron, “is that everything, including relationships, is kind of heightened, because you’ve only got 59 people and you’re living in such close proximity to one another. Life is just more extreme in every way.” While largely comprised of slice-of-life vignettes matched to the seasons – whale butchery in the gloom of winter; visits from haughty Danish tourists in the lighter months – two key strands structure the narrative: the first follows attempts to reopen the factory as a co-operative and thereby save the village from extinction; and the second, hip-hop loving Lars’s dreams of moving to somewhere more cosmopolitan. When Gavron first started filming, did she have any pre-conceived expectations about where these threads would lead? “Well, that’s the big difference between documentary and fiction,” says Gavron, best known for dramatic work such as the Bafta-winning This Little Life and her 2009 adaptation of Monica Ali’s Brick Lane. “You can’t control where the story’s going to go. At the beginning, we knew that the fish factory was closed and that it had caused people to leave in droves. And we knew that there was a young boy who had his eye on travelling the world. But we couldn’t predict the outcome of either, so our
guiding principle was instead to follow the dramatic, extreme seasons, and to focus on those people who seemed to encapsulate some aspect of the themes and stories we were trying to tell.” Over the following 18 months, Gavron and Katznelson returned to Niaqornat several more times. For three of the trips, the couple brought their young children with them, even celebrating their son’s first and second birthdays in the village – an indication of just how accepted the family were made to feel. “The Inuit communities are traditionally very welcoming of kids,” says Gavron. “Kids have a very free and nice existence in those villages, and I think that it helped break down barriers – because they welcomed us into their homes and the kids made connections with them.” In-between visits, Gavron set about imposing order on the reams of footage they’d amassed. “It took an enormous amount of time,” she recollects. “Something that I hadn’t really appreciated is that if you film in a foreign language, then you’ve got the added job of translating – and [it’s] a language that no one in England speaks, so it wasn’t like we could find a translator here! There were people in Copenhagen who came across and sat in the edit suite and went through [the footage with us], finding the little nuggets within the interviews.” Also complicating the edit was the early decision to eschew formal narration. “As a fledgling documentary-maker, I now know that that’s a huge challenge,” Gavron laughs, “because it means you have to find ways of telling what’s going on without exposition. Initially we thought we might not even have interviews – in sort of the same way as Etre Et Avoir [Nicolas Philibert’s portrait of a rural French primary school], we thought we might just follow life. But when we showed really early cuts to friends they’d say, ‘But how does it work and what do they eat and who are they and what do they feel?’ We realised that, to make it an interesting and engaging film, we needed to give people some insight into those things – it wasn’t enough to just observe.” The result is something semi-observational, with no attempt to deny the filmmakers’ presence and influence, but nothing as disruptive as a voice-over to encroach upon the audience’s engrossment.
FILM
“I think part of what is interesting about these tiny communities is that everything, including relationships, is kind of heightened” Sarah Gavron
Gavron’s next project – an ensemble biopic of the suffragette movement (“I’d like it to see the light of day sometime soon but we don’t yet know when production will start”) – will see the director move back to her comfort zone of scripted and acted drama. I ask whether her work in one mode of filmmaking influences her approach to the other. “It’s kind of a different muscle in lots of ways, but obviously one does feed into the other,” she replies. “I think as a fiction director I find it very important to constantly observe the real world and life around you, because in a way you’re trying to create truth – you know, what would someone do if they’re told that piece of news, how will they respond... And I suppose in documentaries you’ve got the truth laid before you, so you’re just capturing what’s there.” In the case of Village…, “what’s there” is an absorbing snapshot of a community in flux; a rewarding glimpse into an increasingly rare way of life; and heartening proof that, often if not always, where there’s a will, there’s a way. Village at the End of the World is released 10 May by Dogwoof www.villageattheendoftheworld.com
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New Old Space Mount Eerie’s Phil Elverum talks navigating nature – human and otherwise – in a bit-rate world Interview: Sam Lewis
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hil Elverum is Mount Eerie. He once was The Microphones. Formerly signed to K Records of Olympia, Washington, he now self-publishes under the P.W. Elverum & Sun label that he runs out of Anacortes, Washington. He’s released six albums under his Microphones moniker, and six as Mount Eerie, including two in quick succession last year – Clear Moon and Ocean Roar – which he recorded near his home, in a desanctified church.
“Things have changed a lot. My first tour was booked by telephone” Phil Elverum
Elverum’s music alternates and shifts as often as the natural imagery that fixates it, transitioning from beautifully delicate melodies to pounding, fuzzy riffs, off-kilter percussion and wide-eyed vocals. For him, he says, nature is “just the version of the world that I use to represent a
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neutral, non-human place where we’re living out our weird adventures.” Clear Moon begins with the line: “Misunderstood / and disillusioned / I go on describing this place and the way it feels to live and die.” Elverum’s inspiration is, he explains, “always zen poetry, straight up. Almost all of the ideas are directly lifted from that world – Cold Mountain, Eihei Dögen, Gary Snyder...” Dögen – founder of the Soto school of Zen Buddhism – described himself as ‘Drifting pitifully in the whirlwind of birth and death / As if wandering in a dream,’ and so it often feels with Elverum’s music, which is by turns dreamlike, morbid and transcendent. Elverum also cites metal music as an influence, from its mysterious song titles to the oneman bands, the atmosphere and the imagery – and Ocean Roar is darker and messier than Clear Moon. “Extremes are interesting,” he explains. “I like the totality of the aesthetic presentation in black metal. It’s presented as a fully conceived world, not just some people playing music.” This year, Elverum will re-release five remastered Microphones albums on vinyl. The process was, he says, “in some cases a little embarrassing, but mostly I stand behind it all.” In the time it took for The Microphones to become Mount Eerie, the internet arrived and swept the rug from under the music industry’s feet. “I’ve been doing this for a weird period in history,” he agrees. “Things have changed a lot. My first tour
PHIL ELVERUM
was booked by telephone. It’s easy to be nostalgic for a pre-internet time but that’s pointless. I think I’m able to be self-sufficient because of the internet, but it is making us all worse as human animals.” This self-sufficiency was borne out of the DIY movement of the 80s and early 90s that spawned labels like Dischord and K (whose mission statement remains ‘exploding the teenage underground into passionate revolt against the corporate ogre’). How do those ideals fit into the new digital landscape, where everything is free forever? “If anything it’s more important now than ever to keep our underground art/music stuff disconnected from the corrupt economic conglomerates,” Elverum proposes, “if only to prove that we can make actual cultural changes without using the tools and money of shitty companies and websites. It’s very difficult now
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because people don’t want to pay for stuff and the world is already drowning in ‘content,’ but making quality shit and doing it in a bad ass way is actually still very uncommon.” And what about ‘punk ideals’? “The notion that music is something that has money-value doesn’t seem to exist for kids these days, so taking an idealistic stand about how one navigates that music-economy is not always super relevant,” Elverum says. “This is a complicated issue and I am still constantly asking myself how to do it all in a good way and how to exemplify what I see as a legit model. Saying that ideals are totally irrelevant is a cop out. The world still exists. It’s just weird and different.” Mount Eerie plays Soup Kitchen, Manchester, 23 May, £8 www.pwelverumandsun.com
THE SKINNY
Go Team
Beloved songwriter and comic book artist Jeffrey Lewis drops in to Chorlton Arts Festival this month with new buddy and Holy Modal Rounders founder Peter Stampfel. In between recording their new album, the two swapped emails with The Skinny
Interview: Lauren Strain Hi Jeff, hi Peter! How did your paths cross, and what sparked you to collaborate? Peter Stampfel: [We met] at the Bowery Poetry Club at a birthday party for Ed Sanders. I had never heard of Jeff, but after hearing his History Of Punk Rock On The Lower East Side, I went up to him and did an instant fanboy gush. I found we both had a powerful comics obsession. What did you know of each other’s work before you started writing and gigging together? Jeffrey Lewis: For a long time I had been really in love with the early Fugs recordings which Peter played on, but it was years before I got any Rounders records – I had somehow been biased against them without having ever heard them. Maybe I thought they were in the same category as stuff like the Kweskin Jug Band, like, hippies playing old timey music just to be goofy or just because it was easier than creating something. I don’t even dislike that Kweskin stuff, it just isn’t the kind of music I felt driven to seek out. At some later point I’d gotten my hands on the first Holy Modal Rounders album, which was something of a revelation; the spirit of it really struck me and I started picking up any of Peter’s stuff I found, just one LP at a time here and there over the years. What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learnt from working together? PS: That trying to make everything in your life better in a relaxed yet relentless way is the best possible use of one’s time.
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What are the little things that keep touring exciting? PS: Being in a band you love and playing songs you love for people who mainly love it is about as good as it gets, as far as I’m concerned. JL: There’s a lot of great stuff that can come from touring but I do find the group-responsibility factor increasingly a source of pressure, like, since it’s my band or a tour that I’ve booked or a project that I’ve organised it all falls on me if things don’t go to everybody’s liking. We miss lunch because we have a long drive to get to soundcheck, or the place we sleep is weird or crummy, or there’s only three people at a show, any number of complaints that any number of musicians can have, and as the prime mover of this stuff happening I’m the natural focus of unhappiness if things go wrong, because if not for me everybody would just be sitting around safe at home. So if everybody’s happy I’m happy, but you’ve got to find people who want to be doing this. Does your shared love of comics feed into your shows together? PS: We’ll be doing a number of Jeff’s great cartoon songs, which I never get tired of watching. JL: And I’d better sell a lot of comics on tour this year! I just printed an ungodly amount of comic books because the printing company offered me a good deal but now my apartment is rammed with boxes. Jeff, you’ve visited Manchester a lot over the years. What are your memories of the city?
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JL: Hmm, being kicked while sleeping in the street, or hooligans sticking their hands in my pockets in a chip shop, or our tour car having its window smashed in our friend’s front yard overnight, all the homeless shelters being filled up and no place to sleep, great record shops, great
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cafes, great streets, great bands, great people. Lots of rain. Love Manchester!
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Plug In, Bug Out As he prepares to bring his Best of BUG and BUG Radiohead shows to Manchester, broadcaster, comedian and writer Adam Buxton traces the development of his fascination with pop culture into a touring phenomenon
Interview: John Thorp Illustration: Will Daw
C
alling Adam Buxton by phone is not an intimidating experience, but it is a surreal and strangely hypnotic one. Along with his best friend and long time co-conspirator Joe Cornish, Buxton has been responsible for some of the funniest, warmest and strangest radio ever broadcast. Having benefitted from the advent of the podcast, Buxton and Cornish’s pop-culture obsessed BBC 6 Music and Xfm shows – by turns savvy and silly, and perfect hungover Saturday morning radio – are archived for posterity and discovery, and remain incredibly popular. Since a short run of shows with Edith Bowman before Christmas, Buxton’s tone has been absent from 6 Music – so listening to him down the blower, as you could happily do for hours on end, it’s easy to imagine him about to introduce a record or feature at any moment, and a reminder of how much his presence is missed. To get it out the way, then: what are the chances of an Adam and Joe reunion? “I’d feel really sad if it never [happened], but Joe’s so busy,” he understates – Cornish is currently working with Edgar Wright on Marvel’s upcoming Ant-Man adaptation, following on from his successful foray into feature film with Attack the Block and a writing credit on Steven Spielberg’s recent The Adventures of Tintin 3D spectacular. “I’m always telling him that I’ll do all the work, he can just turn up for three hours and pour scorn on me, but I don’t think he wants to be seen as a lazy git. “We haven’t really seen each other socially for a long time,” he continues. “We live completely different lives, I have kids, and I don’t live in London anymore. So we’d only really see each other in the studio. But no, we haven’t fallen out or anything; we’ll just wait for the planets to align.” While Cornish has been gadding about making films, Buxton has been slowly but surely building his BUG empire into a live phenomenon. Subtitled ‘The Evolution of Music Video,’ BUG aims to offer “big-screen exposure to the most awe-inspiring new work in music videos.” Each show is anchored by Buxton at his most charming and enthusiastic, sharing visually arresting work – as well as new discoveries from the DIY scene – on a canvas somewhat bigger than a YouTube window. Since debuting with a bimonthly residency at BFI Southbank in London in 2007, BUG has toured as far as the Sydney Festival and Los Angeles, and all over the UK, including to Latitude and Reading festivals. BUG is the outcome of Buxton’s lifelong love of DIY and obscure culture. From 1997 to 2001, Channel 4 broadcast The Adam and Joe Show, a hotchpotch comedy revue programme shot in a ‘bedroom’ featuring skits involving Buxton and Cornish’s collection of Star Wars toys, and ‘Vinyl Justice,’ which memorably featured the two riffing on an agitated Mark E. Smith’s record collection. Over on cable from 2000 to 2002, the pair would gently but relentlessly mock terrible European pornography on E4/Bravo’s Shock Video. Looking back, much of Buxton’s early work feels ‘viral’ before the word meant anything beyond the origins of a crippling disease. “I’m like a pig in shit, basically,” he says. “In the olden days, if you had cool friends they might have a VHS of some weird stuff they’d found. There was a film called Faces of Death, which was supposedly a snuff movie, a collection of deaths.
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Nowadays you could probably buy it on Amazon, but back then, nobody was even sure it existed.” Music video culture used to be similar, he feels. “You were never sure when things were going to be on TV; you sat with a finger on the record button. The choice we have now is great, but you still need that cool friend, you know? I’m not saying I am that cool friend, but it’s all about curators now, isn’t it? Rather than some fucking YouTube algorithm that’s noticed you’ve been watching David Bowie, so maybe you’d like to watch more David Bowie.”
“I’m like a pig in shit, basically” Adam Buxton
One of the mainstays of BUG is Buxton’s fascination with impotent online fury, and his amusing and endearing deconstruction of the raging and absurd YouTube comments he finds during his web trawls. However, he remains refreshingly optimistic about the fans behind their computer screens. “I think people want to feel engaged, and sometimes people are constructively critical, but the easiest thing is to be negatively critical, because it makes you feel powerful,” he observes. “I can relate to that, but I try and hold back, because I know how it feels to have work criticised. I started reading out YouTube comments [on]
my own stuff partly as a form of therapy, and I don’t think I’m ever horrible. I don’t read out any nasty ones, just stuff that’s funny or a bit weird.” There’s a pleasant irony in the success of BUG – a celebration of the internet in the live forum, away from commissioning editors; or, as Buxton succinctly describes the event, “a group of people in the same room enjoying things that are generally consumed in a solitary setting.” With Buxton and his video-hunting BUG team having curated special showcases for labels such as Warp and Ninja Tune, his choice of Radiohead as subject for another themed BUG show seems natural – especially as he codirected the video for In Rainbows’ Jigsaw Falling Into Place, where the band’s performance was captured using cameras attached to poles worn on their heads. On its release, this was a unique angle – in more ways than one – on the previously famously enigmatic band; particularly in the case of lead singer Thom Yorke, who Buxton, along with close friend and co-director Garth Jennings, managed to persuade to put his head in a box for a hilarious Se7en parody video. “It was actually Louis Theroux that got me into Radiohead,” Buxton recalls. “That was around Pablo Honey and I didn’t like big, sprawling rock songs. But I listened to it, and sure enough he was right. By the time OK Computer came out, it felt like they were speaking directly to my needs and anxieties.” Buxton had met the band’s producer and engineer Nigel Godrich at a gig, but Godrich was protective about introducing anyone to the group. Ultimately, through Jennings, Buxton
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befriended Ed O’Brien, then Jonny Greenwood and Yorke, before eventually assisting with the band’s In Rainbows webcasts. From a fan’s perspective, he has “a soft spot for Amnesiac, but it’s OK Computer that I keep coming back to, rather predictably, and the No Surprises video by Grant Gee is unbeatable. I love a really simple concept executed well, and it also has a great performance from Thom.” In regards to the possibility of directing more music videos of his own, Buxton says he’d like to, “but needs an idea first.” The thoughtful, family-man Dr Buckles of today may seem far removed from the twentysomething late-night scamp that people may recall being thrown out of a brewery, in the second series of The Adam and Joe Show, for trying to a) film and b) host a piss up in it. But his passion for pop culture has clearly yet to falter – and despite his claims that throwing around concepts is not his forte, fans would suspect there’s plenty of comedic life left in long-running characters such as his pompous film producer, Ken Korda. While he claims to be “skirting around” the idea of writing something narrative-based, Buxton remains most enthusiastic about his current endeavour. “I’d be perfectly happy just doing BUG for another couple of years,” he tells me. Good news for us; bad news for trolls. Adam Buxton presents Best of BUG, Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, 15 May, 8pm, £16 Adam Buxton presents BUG Radiohead, Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, 16 May, 8pm, £16 www.adam-buxton.co.uk www.bugvideos.co.uk
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Transmission 5 curated by
Sunday 7th July 2013
Jodrell Bank Tickets with special guests
Johnny Marr The Whip Jake Evans Hot Vestry
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New Order Official / live from jodrell bank www.new order now.net
Through the Looking-Glass The second biennial Liverpool International Photography Festival, or LOOK/13, boldly asks its participating artists and audience to interrogate their ideas of identity. It’s an appropriate theme for an event with an increasingly strong sense of self
Interview: Linda Pittwood
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hotography is like a cracked mirror – it reflects us and distorts us at the same time,” says Patrick Henry, director of the Liverpool International Photography Festival, or LOOK/13, which this year takes as its theme the slightly confrontational question: ‘Who do you think you are?’ He continues: “It can be used positively to explore and experiment with self-image, or negatively to stereotype and categorise us.” The biennial festival is only in its second instalment, having launched in 2011 as a response to a series of events initiated by Manchesterbased photography network Redeye in 2007 (LOOK07). But the title of this year’s edition suggests it has already grown in confidence, with its titular question aimed squarely at the jugular of visitors, exhibitors and the city all at once. To help answer its query, the festival is bringing a diverse selection of work to the city – some by late names we may not have encountered (August Sander, Weegee), and some by current big hitters (Rankin, Barbara Kruger). Within its programming, the festival attempts to place Liverpool within the history of photography (through the work of Merseyside photographer Keith Medley, and a compare/contrast exhibition bringing together Martin Parr and Tom Wood), and to blur the line between insiders looking out and outsiders looking in (an example being a new body of work by Kurt Tong – The Queen, The Chairman & I).
gaze upon, apart from a hint of leg. By contrast, the ‘Wilder Men’ in Fréger’s portraits – part of his The Wild and The Wise exhibition – use disguise to, as he says, “allow them to cross the line between human and animal, real and spiritual, civilization and wilderness, death and rebirth.” On his travels, Fréger has found strikingly similar folk traditions all over Europe, leading him to observe that human behaviours might be more innate than we realise. Elsewhere, for the duration of the festival the Bluecoat seems to be taking on the role of a national meeting point, co-producing an exhibition of early to mid-20th century portraiture and photojournalism by August Sander and Arthur ‘Weegee’ Fellig with Newcastle’s Side Gallery, and also hosting Brighton’s Miniclick, who are leading an afternoon of short talks, entitled Photo Pulse, which will bring together ten of the UK’s leading photographers to discuss the festival’s theme. The festival is full of juxtapositions – not least of older and contemporary work. Within the Walker Art Gallery, the not too distant history of photography will be represented by Every Man and Woman is a Star, comprising the work of Martin Parr (who, Henry reminds me, “forged his signature style [in Liverpool] in the mid-80s”) and Tom ‘Photie Man’ Wood – while the ultra contemporary will be on display in new work by Rankin, whose stylised cross between fine art and fashion photography has earned him an international reputation. The ‘enfant terrible’ who co-founded Dazed & Confused magazine in the early 90s brings to the Walker a surprisingly tender and emotive series of portraits that, entitled ALIVE: In the Face of Death, examines mortality with unexpected results. Understanding the importance of local talent as well as the work of artists with a national or international profile, in March LOOK issued a call for submissions responding to the brief ‘Made in Liverpool.’ Adam Lee, the project’s manager, suggests that interpretations of this theme could include references to “things like the docks and port, football, music, fashion, art and politics,” but that the images could also find a way to visualise Liverpool’s “humour and friendliness.” The difficult task of deciding which of the submitPatrick Henry ted images best and most creatively fulfil this brief falls to Liverpool Daily Post arts editor Laura It seems as if almost every gallery in Davis and photographer John Stoddart – and the Liverpool is about to close its current exhibiworks they select will be prominently presented tion to reopen for LightNight on 17 May, and as a giant slideshow during the festival’s opening the launch of LOOK – and the variety of venues event at Camp and Furnace. involved – is testament to the medium’s chaElsewhere, for his exhibition Processing – meleonic nature, as well as its enduring appeal. opening on 7 June under the banner of LOOK’s Central to the festival, of course, is Henry’s fringe, or ‘parallel programme’ – artist-curator former home, Open Eye Gallery, which, since its Jack Welsh has taken the written critique of and opening in 1977, has earned itself a reputation response to artworks as his impetus. Having for working with photographers that interest noticed a trend towards good quality critical other photographers, without excluding the non- writing in the Northwest, but feeling that it could specialist audience. For LOOK/13 it maintains this go even further, Welsh says: “There is still much balancing act by introducing us to Swedish artist work to be done [to increase the] level of debate Eva Stenram and French photographer Charles about art. It won’t be a quick fix. With Processing, Fréger. I consider critical writing not just as a response Stenram’s exhibition at Open Eye comprises but [also] as an intrinsic part of the overall artistic process.” For the exhibition, he has partnered suggestive images from her Drape series, in three documentary photographers with three which women are obscured by – or almost become one with – their soft furnishings. There is writers, but has given them an open brief: the a retro-pop quality to her images, not dissimilar only certainty is that what will result is an exhibito that of Richard Hamilton’s famous collage Just tion at The Cornerhouse Gallery, Hope University. what is it that makes today’s homes so different, As might be expected, the big galleries so appealing? – but with a feminist bite. They (Tate, FACT, etc.) have strong offers linked to the leave nothing for females to aspire to or men to festival – but it is in some of the smaller spaces
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“Photography can be used positively to explore and experiment, or negatively to stereotype and categorise”
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KURT TONG
that you will find the most intriguing exhibitions. At Liverpool John Moores University’s Exhibition Research Centre, Henry and Imogen Stidworthy are curating BLACKOUT, bringing together the work of four artists to ‘consider the relationship between viewer and (photographic) subject.’ At another, very different university gallery, the Victoria Gallery and Museum is presenting the work of Kurt Tong, a former health visitor in Liverpool who describes his work as a “quest to trace my own ancestral history... It incorporates new photos, found photos, found items and writing,” and “explores the story of Hong Kong of the last 100 years and the Asian Diaspora.” With its new-found assertiveness, LOOK/13
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seems to be galvanising an already extant passion for photography within the city – as well as a belief that there is still value to be had in the gallery encounter. As Stenram summarises: “The fact that I have made an effort to physically travel to a gallery space makes me take the time to consider the work more carefully, spend time with it and have a bodily interaction with the photograph as an object.” In so doing, who knows: you might even find out who you are. Liverpool International Photography Festival, or LOOK/13, various venues, 17 May-15 Jun www.lookphotofestival.com
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Body Language From Pina Bausch to Zambian street dance, serious masterclasses to the art of the circus, Liverpool’s Physical Fest offers a packed programme of workshops and performances in an effort to promote the often misunderstood disciplines of physical theatre
Interview: Clare Wiley
he late choreographer Pina Bausch used to cover her stage in soil, flowers and mud, and have her dancers enact weird and wonderful scenarios, from sleepwalking to chasing each other. She reshaped and redesigned what we think of as contemporary dance, blending absurd cabaret and poignant movement, and is widely considered the most pioneering dancemaker of the past century. When Bausch died suddenly in 2009, just days after being diagnosed with cancer, she left her dance company, Tanztheater Wuppertal – not to mention audiences around the world – in mourning. Several years ago the German choreographer was on a train to a performance in Paris with one of her dancers and rehearsal assistant, Daphnis Kokkinos. “I was sitting in front of her, in the direction the train was going,” he tells me, “and she had her back to the direction the train was going. I asked her, ‘Pina, would you like to change places?’ She said to me, ‘No darling, you’re looking at the future, and I’m looking at the past.’” This small exchange rooted itself in Kokkinos’ memory, and now forms part of the inspiration for his first ever solo piece, Addio Addio Amore, a touching and witty tribute to the life of the great choreographer. “I’ve been working on this piece for the last two years, in between rehearsals for the company, working in airports, all over the place,” says Kokkinos, speaking on the phone from Moscow. “The piece is what I wanted to do for Pina. There are little stories she said to me, some dreams I had of her. It’s all to say thanks to her, and to show how much more I love dance because of her.” Addio Addio Amore will have its UK premiere at Liverpool’s International Physical Theatre Festival – or Physical Fest for short – this summer. Launched in 2004, the festival stages dance, circus, and physical theatre performances – and runs several workshops that are open to the public. “The festival started from our desire to bring stuff to Liverpool,” says artistic director Elinor Randle, who also directs the city’s Tmesis Theatre Company. “We were always travelling to see exciting work or take part in theatre workshops, so we thought, why don’t we bring this to Liverpool? This was at a time when we were building up to the European Capital of Culture [in 2008] so there was a lot of positivity around bringing other things to the city. We want to maintain that now.” This year’s festival, occurring in venues across Liverpool including Unity Theatre and the Bluecoat, also features the Barefeet Acrobats – a troupe that mixes rhythm, voice, and krump-influenced movement while drawing ideas from traditional Zambian myth and folklore – and Jamie Wood’s Beating McEnroe, an energetic show about the great tennis star Björn Borg, exploring rivalry, love and self-doubt. “A lot of the performances are by people who have never been to Liverpool, or perhaps wouldn’t [otherwise] come,” explains Randle. “Some are UK premieres, or styles of work that haven’t been seen in Liverpool before, so it’s a great benefit to the city. Bringing exciting and brilliant artists from all over the world extends our community.” But the festival doesn’t just provide a stage for global performers in Liverpool: it also wants to nurture homegrown talent and cultivate the
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region’s theatre and dance scene. “I’m an artist myself and have a company making work,” says Randle, “so I understand all the difficulties involved with that and I’m passionate that there are genuine opportunities for people, real ways of developing work.” With this in mind, the festival’s showcase night – played to an audience of promoters as well as theatre fans – isn’t just a singular performance from an artist never to be heard from again; it’s a proper platform for up-and-coming talent, which may then be picked up by the festival for development. Randle expands: “A local artist, Mary Pearson, did a short piece at the festival showcase last year, which we thought was brilliant, so we committed to developing that and seeing the full piece.” This summer Pearson will perform her full-length work Failure (and other opportunities for non-linear success). Playing a ‘fashion victim, aspiring pop diva and chronic underachiever’ with delusions of commercial success, Pearson promises a funny and irreverent show. Even volunteering at the festival could lead to getting your work noticed, says Randle. “We give opportunities to people at the beginning of their careers, and the chance to take part in our workshops for free. For the volunteers, it’s also a chance to be part of a professional organisation and meet other artists from around the world. Some volunteers have stayed with us and we’ve helped them develop their work.” Randle has personally mentored several artists, including Plastic Factory Theatre – whose work has been praised as compelling and macabre – and Caustic Widows, an all-female radical performance and visual theatre troupe. When Physical Fest started out, it was
“The piece is what I wanted to do for Pina. There are little stories she said to me, some dreams I had of her” Daphnis Kokkinos
purely a workshop festival, mostly aimed at artists and arts practitioners to develop their practical and creative skills. Randle and her team have since been programming more on-stage performances, and gradually building up the audience to include the Liverpool community and general public. “This is work that’s exciting, dynamic and new,” she says. “I don’t really want to use the word accessible, but we want to show that physical theatre is a wide genre and can actually be really engaging and entertaining, and not exclusive or just for artists. That’s really important to us, that these aren’t just performances for artists to watch other artists. That’s why we’ve programmed work that isn’t some weird, experimental thing that’s quite alienating, but actually exciting to watch.”
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To this end, this summer’s Physical Fest is collaborating with the Glasgow-based group Conflux to bring street art, circus and installations to the streets of Liverpool. Randle is hopeful that this will drum up interest around the festival’s main performances and encourage people to see a show. But although the festival has made a concerted effort to increase the number of theatre, dance and circus shows, workshops are still its main focus – and this level of real audience participation is fairly unusual on the festival circuit: anyone can come along and try their hand at mime, acrobatics, acting, and dance. Wood will lead a clowning workshop encouraging participants to be playful and fun as well as honest and vulnerable, while Michael A Brown will teach a two-day workshop on masks in performance. “The workshops are open to anyone,” adds Randle. “If the workshop is very physical we’ll recommend the taster sessions to people who aren’t sure and just want to drop in. The workshops are at a professional level, but we don’t ask for previous experience, and so far this balance has worked really well. We get a lot of people who just want to try something completely different.” One of the highlight classes will be taught by Kokkinos himself. Of teaching a modern dance class, and then helping participants create their own movement, he says: “I think it’s very important for young dancers [workshop participants] to learn something about Pina’s work, her ideas, her world.” International Physical Theatre Festival, or ‘Physical Fest’, Liverpool, 24 May-1 Jun, various venues and times, class and workshop prices vary. Some performances are free www.physicalfest.com
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Photo: Tmesis Theatre
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In which we try to discover what a politicallycharged comedian like Rob Newman is doing writing a swashbuckling, historical adventure novel Interview: Ryan Rushton ROB NEWMAN
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n the early 90s, not many would have foreseen the trajectory of Rob Newman’s career. Part of an alternative comedy scene the media labelled ‘the new rock’n’roll,’ he sold out the 12,000-seat Wembley Arena with then comedy partner David Baddiel, commanding a level of success completely plausible in the post-Michael McIntyre era, but revolutionary for the time. However, in the wake of his and Baddiel’s reportedly inevitable split, Newman took a wildly different path. Eschewing the commercial success of his past, he not so much reinvented himself as used comedy to express the politically astute, anti-establishment opinions he had always held. Moving into the 00s and, alongside multiple shows cementing his place among fellow ‘activist comedians,’ Newman has also become a respected novelist. His fourth and latest book is The Trade Secret, a historical adventure story brimming with danger and the pursuit of riches in exotic locations. This may seem fairly removed from Newman's political concerns, but one finds upon delving into the novel many of the same themes that have come to define his comedy. We caught up with Rob to ask him how the project came about: “Before you find your story and characters there is a notion of the sort of
book you want to write,” he explains. “I knew I wanted to write a historical novel, I knew I wanted it to be an adventure story, and I knew the grit in the oyster would have to be a real-life event involving a real-life character.” The novel is clearly the product of much research, nine years in the making according to Newman. “I had a great stroke of luck in the British Library Rare Books & Music Room. I stumbled upon a great lost story about Sir Anthony Sherley, who leads this party of Elizabethans who stumble upon petroleum, coffee and messenger pigeons. None of which interest him, but they do interest his teenage servant Nat Bramble, the novel’s hero, who embezzles Sir Anthony’s money and then, with his friend Darius, sets off to find his fortune in the secret oil well under a ruined Temple of Mithras.” This friendship is the core of the novel and leads the reader into the origins of the oil industry and global corporations, topics Newman has previously explored in stand-up shows such as A History of Oil. The Trade Secret is concerned with specifics, such as the idiosyncratic moments that lead to the rise and fall of men and nations, but in a broader sense it portrays timeless issues, like the exploitation that is recycled in various forms
“The experience of having written visual gags and of having watched a lot of slapstick was a great help in writing action scenes” Rob Newman
as the base of capitalism. This is never achieved didactically though. Instead, it is Nat and Darius’s existence as lower-caste citizens and the various tragedies that befall them as a result, as a result that illustrate the pervasive, persecuting forces at work within society.
The choice to make the whole thing an adventure story is bold, and it's what Newman chooses to focus upon when I ask him about the meeting place between his stand-up and writing. He tells me that, “Writing action scenes is like writing gags. For example, I was stumped by a particular escape scene, and what helped me solve it was remembering a Buster Keaton rule. I think the experience of having written visual gags and of having watched a lot of slapstick was, strange to say, a great help in writing action scenes.” In truth then, and with the benefit of hindsight, this new aspect of Newman's career actually feels perfectly logical. From alternative comedian to activist comedian to politically engaged novelist, he seems to have developed increasingly better vehicles for investigating those issues at the very bedrock of how we live. The Trade Secret is his latest, and you can see him reading from it in Liverpool on 5 June. The Trade Secret is published by Cargo Press, out now, cover price £14.99 An Evening with Rob Newman, Leaf, Liverpool, 5 Jun, 7pm, £5 (£4) www.robnewman.com
eatre g-Edge New Th in tt u C g in p lo Deve
Tickets from £5
Idle Motion developed with The Lowry, Jackson’s Lane, Greenwich Theatre and Redbridge Drama Centre
That Is All You Need To Know Thu 2 – Sat 4 May
The untold story of the Bletchley Park codebreakers.
Produced by Dep Arts and developed with The Lowry. Theatre in the Mill and The Carriageworks (Emerge Festival)
The Enough Project Thu 20 – Sat 22 June Brimming by Emma Adams. Something Right by Cathy Crabb The Enough Project was devised to respond to one simple question – what is enough?
Nunkie Theatre developed with The Lowry and Harrogate Theatre
The Time Machine Thu 27 – Sat 29 June
By HG Wells. Adapted and performed by R M Lloyd Parry 1895. In a suburban garden, a man has a story to tell. A story of of fire and fear.
thelowry.com/studio 0843 208 6007
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Photo: Tristram Kenton
(New)man vs Establishment
Sensitive New Age Guy Lauded singer-songwriter John Grant discusses fear, loathing and Pale Green Ghosts, his remarkable new album
Interview: Colm McAuliffe
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hile performing with New York disco outfit Hercules and Love Affair at London’s Meltdown Festival last summer, John Grant announced to a shocked audience that he had been diagnosed as HIV positive. After the implosion of his band The Czars, Grant had descended into a self-destructive spiral of drink and drug abuse, flirting with suicide and rampant priapism only to clean up and return as a solo artist with 2010’s acclaimed Queen of Denmark. Grant’s lyrics spoke of dysfunction and self-loathing, stemming from a guilt-ridden relationship with his own homosexuality, whereas the music was firmly rooted in 70s FM rock courtesy of sympathetic production from Tim Smith and his Midlake cohorts. For a man who seemed to operate with the weight of the world on his shoulders, this new-found success ought to have ushered in a new era of comparative tranquility – but was shattered by this staggering development. So, it may be natural to assume that Grant’s latest album, Pale Green Ghosts, would plough a familiar furrow of baroque, undeniably adult, MOR amid his trademark lyrical waltz of selfanalysis. But it doesn’t. For the most part, the album positively throbs and thoroughly bristles,
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drenched in neon synths and seared with Grant’s remarkably sonorous and empathetic vocals. “On this album, I’m mostly influenced by the things from the 80s I love,” he says. “Cabaret Voltaire, Yello. And in terms of modern things: Apparat, Jimmy Edgar, Kavinsky, Gus Gus [Biggi Veira from the band produced the album] – they’re all important.”
“Everybody has their shit to deal with” John Grant
Sinéad O’Connor’s primal, new wave Mandinka was one of the songs Grant danced to in his mid-80s nightclubbing heyday. Twentyfour years later, O’Connor covered the title track from Grant’s last album and now appears on Pale Green Ghosts to add wonderfully spectral backing vocals to four of the album tracks. “We naturally became friends,” he admits. “I really love the
go about it, I’m talking about my experience as a human being.” There’s a very clear and deliberate dichotomy at the dark heart of Pale Green Ghosts. Grant croons about suicide and the torment of heartbreak over a hi-NRG backing, a schism that is only disrupted by the presence of stately ballads It Doesn’t Matter To Him and Glacier. “I think this is my way of naturally reacting to things when I feel like I have a particularly difficult subject to deal with. It’s like a wolf in sheep’s clothing: an upbeat, positive sound delivers [unsettling] information. For example, Sensitive New Age Guy is about a dear friend’s horrible suicide. This was a difficult song for some people as they seemed to be irritated by its presence on the record and I felt like that was a triumph for me as that was how this person was perceived in everyday life, his drag persona was difficult for some to deal with so I feel like the song was a manifestation of who he was. Black Belt is a song about anger, a lot of anger, and saying horrible things to someone you really love deeply but to put it in this musical context seems to really work.” Grant’s propensity for self-laceration in song peaks with Ernest Borgnine, ostensibly a tribute to the one-time Airwolf actor but, conversely, peppered with sly references to Grant’s health issues: ‘Now what did you expect, you spent your lifetime on your knees.’ “I just really love that there is a song called Ernest Borgnine,” he says. “I just adore him and will continue to do so. And that song is my take on Woody Allen’s Purple Rose of Cairo because it’s about somebody who is escaping their everyday life; the harsh realities in the verse and then the escape is in the chorus. And the song is like my take on escaping the realities of my diagnosis and wondering: What would one of my movie heroes do? Which is completely absurd! But, as I say in the song, I did meet him and it was a highlight of my life.” Nevertheless, Grant’s existential and health burdens consistently threaten to overwhelm. Both Queen of Denmark and Pale Green Ghosts deal with grief, albeit in different stages. “I was angry when I wrote Pale Green Ghosts,” he reflects. “But now I feel like I’m in the stage of acceptance. Most of that is directed at myself, feeling sad and angry that I wasn’t able to have enough of a love for myself, to avoid getting into my current situation. I’ve thought a lot about how [the HIV diagnosis] came about. Two years ago, I was sober for the previous six years. And I had become sober in order to face myself and face life and have a chance to actually live my life and enjoy it. But when this happened, it was obvious that I was still indulging in other areas of my life, other behaviours were connected to the fact that I never felt like a human being because of the environment I grew up in. And it does make me angry, very angry. But in a very big way, this record is about acceptance. And that includes forgiving myself.” And has he reached that point of forgiveness? “Yes. It’s different every day but, for the most part, I’ve accepted that I’m a very flawed human being who is trying to wake up and take part in his own life and not just let life happen to me, but it’s also me saying, ‘I would like to just feel like I deserve to be loved and have a great life. No more and no less than anybody else.’ That’s it. That’s a good start for me.”
human being and artist she is. Her backing vocals sound so natural; working with her is so easy, she has a great instinct about how to be, in a specific context, with her voice.” This layering of raw emotion on a foundation of retro electronica serves to beguile the listener into the travails of Grant’s private life, although private hardly seems apposite for a man whose lyrics are shot through with disarming candour. Pale Green Ghosts is equally in thrall to the power of language as to the electronic sounds of his teenage years. A polyglot, Grant frequently dips into a parlance unfamiliar with the tropes of pop, as the scolding lyrics of Black Belt testify: ‘You are callipygian but look at the state you’re in / You got really nice clothes, bet you didn’t pay for those.’ But he can never cloak his often frightening frankness in linguistic obscuritanism. “I do get asked if I’m worried about being too open but it’s always a resounding ‘no,’” he admits. “I really don’t feel like I’m dealing with issues that anyone else is not dealing with. Everybody has their shit John Grant plays The Ritz, Manchester, 14 May, 7pm, £16.50 to deal with. You too can be a black sheep in your Pale Green Ghosts is out now via Bella Union family, have a total disconnect [from your family] and feel like you don’t fit it – you don’t have to be www.johngrantmusic.com gay as well. I really can’t imagine how else I should
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Better on Paper
The upcoming Victoria Baths Fanzine Fair is just one of an ever-increasing number of events in the Northwest celebrating and encouraging self-publishing. We speak to some of its participants about the apparent resurgence of independent media
Interview: Lauren Velvick Illustration: Katie Craven
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elf-publishing is well represented in the Northwest’s cultural calendar: this year we’ve already been treated to a Manchester Art Gallery Zine Fair in January, Liverpool’s Inprint Fair in March, and the fifth Manchester Print Fair, held at 2022NQ just last month. Next up is the Victoria Baths Fanzine Fair, taking place on 5 May in Manchester’s water palace, a gorgeous but crumbling Edwardian bathhouse, which is in the process of restoration after winning funding in 2003. As well as numerous stalls proffering zines (for the uninitiated: essentially non-professionally published magazines, more often than not hinging on a specific or niche cultural subject matter, hence the ‘fan’), the fair will also host a programme of films, temporary exhibitions, workshops and tours taking place throughout the day. These participatory extras have been an integral part of the fair since its inception, three years ago, as an in-house answer to FutureEverything festival’s use of the Baths as a venue. The fair’s founder, Natalie Bradbury, affirms the fundamental role of interactivity, explaining that “the more exciting zine events are those that place just as much emphasis on sharing, collaborating and networking, and have opportunities for everyone to get involved, even if they haven’t come across zines before.” Poignantly, during the campaign to win restoration funding, members of Pool Arts – a collective of artists with a studio at the Baths – made zines as part of various efforts to save the building. Their zine, The Vicky, was created ‘on the spot’ at each open day held to drum up local support, and featured funny stories about the Baths along with collaged images. The Vicky continues to pop up in one form or another at each fair, and this year Pool Arts will be delivering a zine-making workshop exploring the possibility of reintroducing public bath houses. Alison Kershaw of Pool Arts revealed the inspiration behind their theme: “We are thinking about the current
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economic situation, the bedroom tax, benefit cuts, homelessness... and thinking perhaps we need to bring back public baths. When Victoria Baths first opened it was for taking a wash, not only swimming.” One of the highlights of the fair will be a screening of Helpyourself Manchester, a documentary by the Castles Built in Sand collective (castlesbuiltinsand.wordpress.com). The film consists of interviews, original footage and illustrations exploring Manchester’s community of DIY music promoters in the mid 00s. “As one of the people in our film says, ‘Cutting out that middle man’ is part of the way things are done,” says collective member Huw Wahl. He explains that, for him, “the essence of DIY is simply that you maintain control over the production of an object – that is to say you are not alienated at any stage of the process.” This radical vein running through the Victoria Baths Zine Fair is intriguing, and invokes a rich history of nonconformist self-publishing. The idea that zines embody a way for people to share information and opinions with each other, unmediated by the mainstream, is exemplified in John Mather’s Greater Manchester’s Public Swimming Pools: A Pictorial Guide. Mather set out with the straightforward intention of creating a guide for other swimmers, but through his research soon became aware of Manchester and the Northwest’s extraordinary swimming heritage, which he felt he had to share. He recounts how he would visit local libraries to ask for information on pools and swimmers, and “invariably the librarian would return from a dusty storeroom with a buff folder of faded press cuttings, old pamphlets and photographs. Some would even proffer some of their own memories of distant school days.” Mather will be giving an illustrated talk explaining his project at the fair, as well as exhibiting a small collection of his artworks and mementoes from swimming expeditions, and of course selling copies of Greater
Manchester’s Public Swimming Pools. In my conversations with stallholders and organisers, we discuss possible reasons for the region’s apparent boom in self-publishing – and the way in which, at fairs and events, customers engage with the maker, craftsperson or artist directly (and vice versa) emerges as an important incentive. This personal connection is particularly meaningful for Steve Carlton and Liz Murrary Jones, makers of Young Explorer zine (youngexplorerzine.blogspot.co.uk), who eloquently state: “You rarely get a dickhead at a zine fair.” It’s important too for Preston’s Within Six art and photography collective (within-six.blogspot. co.uk), who describe zine fairs as a way to network and see what other creatives are up to. The communities formed among the stallholders at fairs and markets is also a central motivation for Alessandra Mostyn, organiser of the Manchester Print Fair (manchesterprintfair.co.uk), the sixth instalment of which will take place this summer: “My real aim is to make a legacy of ideas and friendship,” she says. Another recurring motive for engagement with self-publishing, whether as a maker or a buyer, is the way in which a physical publication is fixed and unchanging, where online media is in constant flux. Carlton explains, “Unlike a blog post, you can’t go back and edit a zine once someone’s bought it and has it on their bookshelf. It’s a static, unchanging thing that people can enjoy referring to, looking at or holding in their hands forever – or at least until they lose it or throw it away.” The material properties of a publication are integral to how it is experienced, and the kind of beautifully printed, hand-finished books and zines that will be on sale at Victoria Baths provide something that mass-produced glossy magazines and digital content cannot. Michael Butterworth of Northwest arts journal Corridor8 (corridor8.co.uk) explains that in order for the publication to maintain a “zine sensibility” while distributing nationally and
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internationally, “the format undergoes a radical change each issue, and our designers see this as a creative challenge into which they put a great deal of effort and thought, introducing handfinished elements.” A limited run of the latest Corridor8 comes in four parts, which the reader can buy separately, or all together and then bind into a specially created cardboard folder with coloured elastic bands.
“You rarely get a dickhead at a zine fair” Young Explorer
While it feels imperative to defend and nourish the DIY trade in physical handmade objects, we don’t just buy zines and artists’ books on moral grounds. Perhaps the most wonderful thing about zine fairs – from both a fan and a buyer’s perspective – is that they are one of the only really affordable ways to own artwork. As Tommy Eugene Higson, a stall-holder at Victoria Baths, explains, “It makes art more accessible to everyone.” Zine fairs, especially those that encourage participation, are temporary sites where art, activism and community intersect. Being around creativity – and being creative – is invigorating, particularly when, as Wahl puts it, “We are drowned in music on the radio and magazines that perpetuate a certain way of life.” Another quote from Helpyourself Manchester sums it up rather well: “People have a right to organise their own culture.” And we do. Victoria Baths Fanzine Fair, Manchester, 5 May, 12pm-4pm, £2.50 adults, £3 Gift Aid, free for under 16s and Friends of Victoria Baths www.victoriabaths.org.uk
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The Hot List 2013 Still unsure of where to go this summer? Tired of the ‘beaten track’? Allow The Skinny’s travel experts to let you in on the hottest destinations every in-the-know traveller is whispering about in 2013
The Ancient Lost City of Chernobyl Since it was discovered almost 30 years ago, historians and archaeologists have clashed over the purposes and meanings of this ugly lost city. Suggestions have ranged from the proposal that it was built by Oompa-Loompa settlers on the run from their tyrannical chocolatier overlords to the idea that the central Chernobyl facility was a highly sophisticated ray gun capable of seeing through women’s clothing and giving Communists cancer. The latest controversial theory goes that a lost people – ‘the Ukrainians’ – built a giant temple to their sun god, which was later destroyed by said huffy god because of its unflattering architectural features. In terror, ‘the Ukrainians’ abandoned their homes, which remain today as testaments to the horrific aesthetic tastes of their literally god-forsaken owners. Whatever the truth, you could spend weeks exploring the ruins of this once disgusting-butpopulated citadel. What’s more, it’s so off the beaten path you’ll hardly spot another lifeform while you’re there. Makhachkala Follow in the footsteps of Cameroon star Sammy Eto’o, who visits Makhachkala every other weekend with an armed guard to play football 1,250 miles away from his home in Moscow, by giving the capital of Dagestan the briefest of possible visits. Just edging out star-struck (literally!) Chelyabinsk as Russia’s must-see destination for 2013, the charming capital of peaceful Dagestan was first propelled into the spotlight this year by the plucky exploits of Anzhi, the gazillionaireowned local football team, and latterly as the home of Anzor Tsarnaev, father of Tamerlan and Dzhokhar. Described as “the friendly city” by drunk local officials and large men holding rifles to your ribs, Makhachkala is best viewed on a breakneck tour in an unmarked car with specially-fitted windows that concludes, conveniently, at the airport.
“If there’s one thing better than seeing the cradle of civilisation, it’s participating in its wanton destruction!” Dubai Some leaders of oil-rich countries squander their fortunate wealth on vote-buying gimmicks like state-run food markets, cash benefits for poor families, free health clinics and education programmes; but not Dubai’s! Dubai’s leaders built the biggest fucking thing in the world! The Burj Khalifa skyscraper towers 830m above the pittance-paid immigrants who built it in filth while their passports were withheld and are now kept well away so cleaner tourists, like you and me, can have their jaws physically towed downward
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Words: Ally Brown & Quinten Dol Illustration: Nicholas Stevenson
by their necks as they crane backwards to not even see the top of it because of the scorching desert sun. The Khalifa is so big that the labourers can admire their handiwork even from their squalid distant ghettos (though they might have to squint a little to see the 150m-high dancing fountain). Syria If there’s one thing better than seeing the cradle of civilisation, it’s participating in its wanton destruction! Follow in the footsteps of pioneering American adventurer Chris Jeon, who spent his summer vacation fighting with Libyan rebels, by indulging in the hottest new trend in travel today: war tourism! You don’t need any knowledge of local politics to take part – in fact, it’s better to pack enthusiasm than understanding! And if you’re lucky, you can be partially responsible for overthrowing a tyrannical dictatorship in favour of a tyrannical theocracy! What’s more, relying on the hospitality of your fellow revolutionary fighters is a great way to save money: “I haven’t spent a dollar in weeks!” Jeon told the Christian Science Monitor from Libya.
lets its guests in based on merit rather than the depths of one’s pockets. Selfless research methods have found that the most effective ways to earn an invitation to Guantánamo’s world famous hospitality are to blog for assorted jihadi websites, or simply start your own terror cell. Then it’s just a matter of waiting for your VIP pickup service to come crashing through the door. Once in, having settled into your concrete suite and glimpsed the ocean through the razor wire, you’ll never want to leave (and that’s probably just as well!). Guantánamo’s personal transport services get our tick of approval for efficiency and value, with many guests reporting extended tours of North Africa and Eastern Europe being included before finally arriving in Cuba forever.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Only ‘Great’!? Let’s try again with ‘Awesome’! This place is so off the physical map it doesn’t even appear on physical maps. It’s the product of an incredible environmental phenomenon, whereby millions of tonnes of plastic rubbish are recycled by the ocean into an island more than double the size of Texas. Visiting the APGP is an unforgettable experience: behold a riot of vivacious colours Bouvet Island and violent aromas that will smack your senses Tired of people chiming in on your stories about silly while you battle sea sickness on the open the officially uncontacted Piriutiti tribespeople ocean. Somewhere between Malibu Beach and of Amazonian Brazil because they’ve hung out Asia (we’re not sure, it’s not on any of our maps), with them a dozen times? Sick of other expedition we suggest getting there by small boat with a members wandering into your solitary Facebook tiger, as demonstrated in that film. profile pictures at Jebel Uweinat in the trackless Sahara between Libya, Sudan and Egypt? Ciudad Juárez Well, Bouvet Island just might be the destination Clamber over ancient Mayan ruins, relax with a for you! Towering, volcanic, Norwegian-owned cocktail on one of hundreds of beautiful beaches, Bouvet Island is arguably the most isolated place explore the flora and fauna of some of the world’s in the world and has therefore remained way off most biodiverse jungles, and snorkel or scuba in the beaten shipping lane for other nauseating hu- crystal clear Caribbean waters in other parts of man ‘tourists.’ Indeed, its very existence between Mexico if you want to be surrounded by tourist Antarctica, South Africa and the southern tip of scum. If you want to experience the real Mexico, South America is unknown to virtually all normal try Ciudad Juárez, just across the border from people. But with a climate where temperatures the United States. So beloved by Mexicans it’s litfluctuate between zero and absolute zero, and erally being fought over, you can’t help but enjoy the chance to gaze at Bouvet’s famous funghi and the joie de vivre of a population seemingly living moss on rocks, we really can’t understand why! each day as if it’s their last. Soak up some authentic Mexican culture by enjoying a plate of ‘nachos’ The Principality of Sealand – a dish of Doritos covered in ketchup – for lunch Populated by the Bates family and some pals, before ye olde afternoon shoot-out show: just the Principality of Sealand is a vast and diverse like in the days of the Wild West, only more excitland full of surprises located just off the coast of ing with UZIs and AKs. Suffolk. Boasting a geological history stretching Jupiter all the way back to World War Two, the area now Often overlooked by travellers on the long road known as Sealand was first forged in a British to Saturn, Jupiter is an ambitious, up-and-coming factory as a sea fort for fending off German destination with loads of atmosphere (if admitmine-laying aircraft. After the war, the notoriously nomadic British navy moved on in search tedly lacking in solid mass). Best of all, it’s off of new hunting grounds and Sealand was left to the beaten planet, so you’ll be experiencing it all the forces of nature until 1967, when Prince Roy with around half the tourists that you’d find on Bates and a band of family and friends declared it its more well-trodden neighbour, Earth. Marvel at an independent nation. Sealand is rich in distinct the Great Red Spot, Jupiter’s legendary apocalyplandscapes: admire the expansive plains of the tic storm, as you’re torn so violently to death that Lounge Room, marvel at endless ocean views your eyeballs end up 20,000 miles apart. What a from The Balcony, or if you’re feeling adventurway to go! For travellers with a lust for life, and ous get off the beaten track for similar views time on their hands, Jupiter boasts 67 moons, all at The Back Balcony. As for when to go, Head of easily accessible for day-trips. Wonder about the Homeland Security Mike Barrington says Sealand possible existence of an ocean below Europa’s is at its best in summer. He recently told the BBC: icy surfaces (-160 degrees Celsius, burrrrr!) and “It’s a cold, horrible place in winter.” linger among the lava flows and sulphur fumes of charming moon Io’s volcanic hellscapes. It’ll be Guantánamo B.A.Y. enough to have you singing Drops of Jupiter for The most exclusive of Cuba’s many resorts, the whole 13-month journey home. Guantánamo Beach And Yachting (B.A.Y.) Club
TRAVEL
THE SKINNY
She and Him A writer asks: is my boyfriend a better feminist than me?
No Ketchup, Just Tits Apparently, we’ve reclaimed the word ‘slut’ enough that we’re cool with it being written on our dinner. One concerned voice considers how sexist language has slipped into the marketing of food, and why fellating a hotdog isn’t funny
I
t’s the 21st century: and recently, in the Northwest, the young, hip and educated have been queuing for a burger with the word ‘SLUT’ grilled into its brioche bun. Arguably sparked by the success of outlets like London’s MEATliquor, the UK food scene’s bewildering current obsession with a particular kind of Americanised, unctuous meat is everintensifying, with countless new pulled-pork pile-ups, ‘true’ pit barbecues and carne carnivals springing up nationwide. Disconcertingly, in certain instances this fetishisation of the red stuff is finding its voice in an intentionally brazen machismo that equates gooey Monterey Jack and how much steak you can stuff into your gob with bodily fluids and fellatio: and rather than being challenged, it’s being welcomed, laughed along with, and paid for. A popular Manchester burger diner is perhaps our most immediate, enthusiastic proponent of this ‘ironic’ chauvinism. It takes the titillation of US restaurants like Arby’s (with its burgers-as-boobs ad campaign), Grind Burger (whose mascot is a naked woman apportioned into butcher’s cuts, from ‘rump’ to ‘loin’ to ‘soup bone’) and Hardee’s (known for its sex-sells trailers) to a more explicit, direct level, tweeting at its customers quips such as: “we eat bitches for breakfast then floss with their panties – YOU’RE GOING DOWN (on us bitches)”; “let’s do this – my hot meat – your mouth – the image is coming together beautifully”, and, to one Twitter user who commented on the taste of another restaurant’s food, “you said this the first time you managed to fit a cock and balls in your mouth”. It produces web comics hyping up its specials that feature its trademark ‘dumb blonde’ characters pleading things like, ‘Oh baby fuckin’ fill me up with... oozing meaty pizza and sauce and cheese make me squeal like I’m getting slammed in a car door’; on a visit, when we asked the difference between the regular and the ‘trailer trash’ fries, a staff member informed us that they were “the same, except the trailer trash have been fingered by gypsies for half an hour.” Last year, a poster for a spin-off sausage fest featuring a girl in a bikini poised in anticipation of giving a frankfurter a blowjob was not dissimilar to one made by a Singapore agency for Burger King back in 2009, depicting a wide-eyed, open-mouthed young blonde preparing to receive the chain’s new ‘super seven incher,’ above the tagline: ‘It’ll blow your mind away.’ Now, it’s nothing new for food, and particularly meat, to be rhapsodised over in a language that errs on the sexual, and particularly the patriarchal; and it’s not hard to understand from where this originates. After all, meat is flesh, and it is – originally, anyway – the trophy
May 2013
of the (male) hunter, the predator. Eating it, we engage in something that can be allegorised with a sexual act: a body ingests another, an’ all that. There are all your connotations of the colour red (lust, blood, licence, vice), of overindulgence and excess, of power, and even of violence. Eating is a sensual experience, and can, for some, edge into a sexual one. To unpick these associations would be to take a long and possibly futile journey into our collective unconscious: but what is troubling today is where the use of this language crosses over from the unsophisticated to the calculatedly provocative and even degrading – in the service of a) lols and b) commerce.
“Hipster sexism is itself a strand of a broader irony that attempts to legitimise itself by being spoken by those who should know better” This carefully calibrated brand – and brand it is – of ‘trash talk’ and imagery can be seen as symptomatic of what we’ve come to know as ‘hipster sexism’ (or ‘ironic sexism’): a term Kelsey Wallace over at Bitch magazine defines as ‘the notion that if sexism is done tongue-in-cheek it’s okay, even hilarious.’ Hipster sexism is itself a strand of a broader irony that attempts to legitimise itself by being spoken by those who should know better (and know it). The premise is that, as long as no one thinks you really mean it – because you’re probably, again in the words of Wallace, one of those ‘progressive people with possible college degrees who are maybe environmentally conscious and probably liberal and might even identify as feminists’ – then it’s OK to insult and offend. Hipster sexism is everywhere. See for example: the two ‘lightheartedly’ sexist t-shirts pulled from Topman’s range in 2011, one of which – ‘Nice New Girlfriend: What Breed Is She?’ – compared women to bitches; the other of which poked fun at domestic violence/rape (‘I’m So Sorry, But...,’ it began, followed by a set of tickboxes, including ‘You Provoked Me,’ ‘I Was Drunk,’ and ‘I Couldn’t Help It’); and, back on the
Words: Rachel McCrum
T
he conversation sprang from topic to topic like an antsy goat in time-honoured second date fashion. I told of a recent social media rumpus about male attitudes to girls in short skirts. He frowned and talked about the obnoxiousness of male privilege, heteronormative behaviour and proprietorial attitudes inherent in a patriarchal society. I realised I was dating a feminist. I find it unacceptable if I am treated as less Words: Lauren Strain capable because I am female: whether at work, in a pub, a shop, or my car. But I hesitate to call myself a feminist. I find feminist theory – and those meat scene, the poster that a Leeds hotdog out- who bandy it about while correctly applying it to let last year produced advertising their new-term real-life situations – intimidating. Consequently, student discount, reading: ‘Freshers Girls: Get I often find myself retreating from conversations ’Em While They’re Skinny.’ (This was all the more and also, more shamefully, avoiding news articles, journals and newsletters on issues that condisorienting for the fact that it didn’t even seem cern inequality and injustices towards women. to make any sense. What did they mean? That Partly it’s because I feel I don’t have the vocabuyou need to grab a nubile young innocent before she’s gotten podgy on their cut-price sausages?) lary to engage with feminist theory in any depth. Partly it’s because I believe that it’s blinkered to You could choose to blank this behaviour, perceive life through any specific theory. Many sure. But those who would shrug off someone in years in further education means I can waft an a shopping centre in one of those tees, or pass epistemology around with the rest of them – but a poster equating taking advantage of a 10% jargon leaves me cold. discount on some fast food to taking advantage My introduction to feminism and feminist of a witless first-year student, are subject to theory came not through engagement with real a gradual, insidious unlinking of serious words world injustices and inequalities, but through from their serious meanings, normalising not the lens of literary criticism. I found feminist only the language itself but also the attitudes it re-readings of existing literature to be rigid and indicates and the acts it describes; and there is no difference here. (There is perhaps no stronger cold experiences; at worst, feminist criticism seemed a distortion of the text, a one-shade example of this than the way we have, over the interpretative filter prioritising gender relations last few years, seen the word ‘rape’ be assimilated into casual chitchat: aggressive music can be over all other meaning. I’ve also never quite forgiven the feminist appropriation of Sylvia Plath as ‘rapey,’ someone ‘frapes’ your Facebook status.) martyr. In rewriting her as cuckolded victim, they Isn’t it worth asking at what point using sexually betrayed a fierce and ambitious poet who wrote dominative and even aggressive language in the staggeringly angry poetry in spite of, not because marketing of food became a successful way of of, her circumstances. appealing to a moneyed, city-dwelling clientele I don’t often need to muster feminist arguwho would likely, if asked, regard themselves as otherwise culturally enlightened, socio-politically ments. I’m a white, British, middle-class, university educated woman working in the arts with a savvy, and broadminded? And at what point did bunch of liberal, equality-minded friends. I don’t the default reaction to anyone calling someone out on this become one of, as I have found, encounter much sexism on a daily basis; I have “lighten up, they’re just having a laugh”? not found myself needing to do much fighting for What makes hipster sexism in this context my rights or for equal treatment. OK? Is it that women often participate in the It transpired that my date’s interest in Twitter banter (i.e. it’s OK to portray the opposite feminist theory had been piqued by a number of sex in a demeaning light if they play along themstrong, well-read female flatmates who challenged him “constantly.” One of his ongoing interselves)? Is it that the privileged target market ests is how these challenges are now being aimed for this expensive food that’s as much about the at the videogaming world, which has a track re‘experience’ of eating as it is the food itself can, cord of some very dodgy attitudes towards womquite simply, afford to dissociate themselves from the real impact of this language and imagery en. He says: “It took me a long time to catch up on things because there are so many assumptions (i.e. it’s OK to allow your gender to be stereotyped and condescended to in the interest of that need to be questioned.” When I recount a financial gain if you’re fortunate enough to be in a story of yet another female friend being sexuposition to flick the finger and walk away)? Maybe ally harassed by a drunk in the pub one night, and how she dismissed it with the stoicism that I should just chill out and suck up some whore comes from years of working in bars and clubs, slaw with my bingo wings. But to let this business’s modus operandi and the wider problem he asks why I’m telling the story so casually. it is indicative of go unchallenged is to allow and In his practice as a literary critic, he preaccept the language of misogyny into the promo- sents a constant questioning of gender inequalition of a mainstream commercial venture – and ties or implicitly sexist assumptions. He’s taken therefore into its surrounding culture and socithe time to learn the theory and, more imporety. We shouldn’t become inured to this, whether tantly, the facts. With that theory giving him a you want to find out what it tastes like when you framework against which he can analyse real life sandwich a wheel of mince inside a Krispy Kreme situations, he highlights and challenges sexist donut or not. assumptions. In this way, I think he might just be a better feminist – or at least a better feminist theorist – than me.
DEVIANCE
Lifestyle
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OUTDOORS, 2012
JOLLIES, 2012
Aliyah Hussain A
liyah Hussain’s practice encompasses photography, printmaking and performance. She experiments with the performative and technical aspects of different media to create works that reference futurist narratives, utopian visions and ritualistic practices embedded within the everyday. She’s based in Islington Mill studios.
www.aliyahhussain.co.uk www.ahussainillustration.co.uk www.volkovcommanders.co.uk
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“I’ve exhibited my work throughout Manchester and further afield and feel pretty lucky about being a part of the city’s exciting design and print community. In 2009 I received the Google Photography Award, exhibiting at the Saatchi Gallery, London. I’ve also worked as a performer for different artists including Manchester International Festival’s exhibition 11 Rooms for Marina Abramovic and Joan Jonas, as well as a solo show of prints and many group shows, the most recent being Triptych curated by Laura Mansfield. “I am also a part of the collective Volkov Commanders, a group of artists who devised a unified alter ego to create collaborative sculptural and performance works that explore the boundaries between visual art, dance and costume. We are a unified alter ego from a future of our own making; a fiction that revolves around us being ambassadors from the Moon, sent to study and interact with Earthlings, pervades all of our performances. These performances have included a future disco party from the Moon, a royal banquet with traditional Moon food, folk dancing, and a mobile orchestra made up of percussive costumed creatures.”
SHOWCASE
SHELTER SHRINE, 2013
THE SKINNY
COCKERHAM SANDS, 2013
MOUNTAINS, 2013
May 2013
SHOWCASE
HOWDY, 2011
JAZZ, 2013
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Illustration by Tess Redburn
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Trailer Park Boys – Saturday 4th – Seated show OMD + John Foxx And The Maths – Friday 10th CASH No.1 Johnny Cash Tribute – Saturday 11th The Smiths Ltd – Saturday 18th Gentleman’s Dub Club – Sunday 19th Bob Mould with Jason Narducy and Jon Wurster – Monday 20th The Skints – Tuesday 21st
GHOSTPOET | ART BRUT | BLACK STROBE | CRAZY P | REEPS ONE SON OF DAVE | THE LOVELY EGGS | GRAMME | LAID BLAK MT. WOLF | NIMMO AND THE GAUNTLETTS | TYPESUN | THUMPERS IVAN CAMPO | THE FIRE BENEATH THE SEA | THE FLAMENCO THIEF DJ DIE | CHICKEN LIPS | LUKE UNABOMBER | DR FISH | COR DJS DJ WOODY (AV SET) | LEFTSIDE WOBBLE | PLUS MANY MORE AN INDEPENDENT MUSIC FESTIVAL ON A FARM, NR BRUTON, SOMERSET BEAUTIFUL COUNTRYSIDE, LOW PRICES, GOOD TIMES.
Tribes – Wednesday 22nd Watsky + Dumbfounded – Wednesday 22nd The Parov Stelar Band – Thursday 30th – Doors 9pm – 2 am June
Camera Obscura – Wednesday 5th
4 LIVE STAGES, 3 THEMED DJ TENTS, BEST HAT COMPETITION AND PARADE, INTERACTIVE ART AND SCULPTURE, KIDS ARTS TENT, PERFORMERS, GAMES, STALLS GALORE, LOCAL CIDER & ALE, PUNCH & JUDY, CHILLOUT AREAS, FARM THEMED WRESTLING, FAMILY CAMPING AREA, BIG SELECTION OF ORGANIC MEAT & VEGETERIAN FOOD, FREE CAMPING & PARKING, UNDER 12S FREE.
FARMFESTIVAL SOMERSET 26-27 JULY 2013
twenty | one | pilots – Wednesday 5th Mudhoney + Meat Puppets – Friday 7th – Doors 6.30pm Manc Floyd - Saturday 15th DANZIG 25th Anniversary Tour + Misfits Set With Special Guest DOYLE + In This Moment – Wednesday 19th Snakecharmer + Hell To Pay – Friday 21st MK1 - Sunday 23rd July
MS MR – Monday 15th Modest Mouse – Tuesday 16th Wintersun – Wednesday 17th Trembling Bells & Mike Heron – Wednesday 31st Highlights for the rest of year
The B-52’s – Tuesday 13th August Emily Portman Trio – Friday 6th September - Seated Show Babyshambles – Saturday 7th September Wiley – Sunday 8th September Y & T – Tuesday 24th September Miles & Erica of The Wonder Stuff – Saturday 5th October The South – Sunday 13th October Bowling For Soup Bid Farewell Tour 2013 – Sunday 13th October Children Of Bodom – Monday 14th October For full listings please check out our website:
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@MancAcademy
THE SKINNY
Celebrating in Style As its 2013 fashion graduates prepare for their degree show, Manchester School of Art marks its 175th birthday with a series of anniversary events. The Skinny encounters a department of innovation and collaboration
Photos: Adrian Hunter
Words: Jessica Campbell
DANIEL ADAM JONES
T
hough celebrating its 175th anniversary this year, Manchester School of Art is anything but ‘old’. With its highly anticipated new building now in use, the school is looking bigger and better than ever. The new building itself is a modern masterpiece, with its clever open plan layout allowing students to mix with fellow art schoolers of different disciplines, creating exciting opportunities for collaboration. This ethos of collaboration is something the school prides itself on, and has resulted in the introduction of the mysteriously titled Unit X. Now in its second year, Unit X is a school-wide project that aims to allow students to gain skills beyond their specialty while networking with each other and industry professionals. This year, as part of their Unit X, first year students from Fashion, Textiles in Practice, and Film and Media Studies have been invited to celebrate the school’s milestone through the aptly titled ‘175’ project. Working in cross-disciplinary groups, the students are encouraged to investigate one of four themes – Revolt, Play, Perform or Record – for an exhibition titled Dressing the City, which will take place in a variety of venues in Manchester and is just one of 175 accessible events and exhibitions occurring locally, nationally and internationally over the next couple of months to mark the school’s anniversary. The students are being encouraged to embrace the city and its inspiring surroundings, working not only in the new art school building but also in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. The School of Art’s award-winning fashion degree course is renowned for its use of textile
May 2013
EMILY SHAW
processes such as print and knit to compliment design, giving students a creative edge over similar courses – and the influential Manchester School of Art Graduate Fashion Show will take place in the new art school building on 23 May. It will be the third year students’ first opportunity to show off their impressive work to family and friends, the fashion press, art school tutors and the general public, with collections being presented in a traditional catwalk show format in the elegant new space. Every year, selected exceptional students are invited to show their designs as part of the Manchester School of Art show at Graduate Fashion Week in London’s Earls Court. This event has long acted as a platform for many Manchester students, with past graduates Aitor Throup, Rebecca Thomson, Luis Lopez-Smith, Nabil El-Nayal and Toni Stott all being previous award winners. Last year, Jousianne Propp – already a winner of the Mulberry design prize – came away with two prestigious awards: the Karen Millen Portfolio Award and the Stuart Peters Visionary Knitwear Award, while Roz Lamkin was selected as a finalist for the Zandra Rhodes Catwalk Textiles Award. With their innovative and exciting creations, this year’s selected graduates are at the top of their game. In setting their own briefs, the students have taken inspiration from a range of themes including androgyny, childhood nostalgia, Northern seaside towns and Sikh warrior turbans, to name but a few. Nina Burton has based her collection on the idea of a young man taking on the role of a soldier during World War
MARK GLASGOW
One, and on his resulting mental and physical deterioration; Amy Davidson, meanwhile, uses laser cutting to create shapes based on Gothic churches, and uses them as design features in wood and plastic.
“The students have taken inspiration from a range of themes including androgyny, childhood nostalgia and Northern seaside towns” It is this diversity of ideas and processes that makes the Manchester School of Art Graduate Fashion Show stand out, and keeps its audience engaged – and the hard work, time and effort that the students have put into their pieces, from the initial research to the final details, is evident in each beautiful garment. Over the course of the last year, the School
FASHION
of Art students have been working on their final graduate collections while juggling competitions, portfolio projects and industry-led briefs. They have taken this pressure and hard work in their stride, however, and there have already been numerous success stories, including three students – Jessica Cooper, Ria Leape and Stephanie Wood – being offered jobs as part of the prestigious Abercrombie & Fitch design team in Ohio after entering a competition. Following a first interview held in the UK, the three were flown out to the company’s design headquarters in Ohio for a second interview, and later told by phone that they had been selected. “I was so overwhelmed and excited when I found out that I’d got the job that I phoned my mum and cried!” Cooper says. “I feel like all my hard work has really paid off.” Elsewhere, Robert Mills was shortlisted for the Fashion Awareness Direct (FAD) competition, and as a result had his designs displayed at the Vauxhall Fashion Scout venue at London Fashion Week in February, where he was announced as runner-up. The entrepreneurial student has also created his own t-shirt brand, Haus of Wire. With many of its students already making statements in the fashion industry and with such a range of exciting new talent on offer, the Manchester School of Art Graduate Fashion Show is not to be missed. Manchester School of Art Graduate Fashion Show, 23 May, check www.artdes.mmu.ac.uk for ticket prices and show details @ManMetUni www.artdes.mmu.ac.uk
Lifestyle
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Like us on facebook.com/fireballofficialuk THE SKINNY
It's a Rum Job...
...but someone's gotta do it. When we were invited to try the most expensive rum in the world, we said ‘er, yes.’ Here is the story of that day, complete with mystery, intrigue, and funny costumes Words: Peter Simpson Illustration: Sarah Tanat-Jones
Y
ou aren’t to know this, but the life of your neighbourhood food writer isn’t exactly wallto-wall with glamour and intrigue. Yes, we get to mock others for their hard work and argue over pieces of burger art, but it isn’t a lavish existence. Just last month there was much excitement when an enormous box arrived in the office marked for yours truly. Turns out the box was filled with unrefrigerated meat pies. We couldn’t be sure if it was a promotional freebie or a leftfield assassination attempt. So when an invitation to attend a tasting of the world’s most expensive rum landed on the virtual doormat, we jumped on it. Well, we wrote a very nice email to confirm our attendance, after initially sending said email to a non-existent address by spelling the rum company’s name incorrectly. Same thing really. Angostura Legacy has a list price of $25,000, or £16,000, per bottle. Being invited to celebrate a bottle of rum that is worth, objectively, more than a year of your time could be a little depressing if given too much opportunity to ponder it, which presumably explains the choice of venue. No dive bars or nightclub back rooms here; instead we were off to one of those two massive five-star hotels in the middle of Edinburgh. Not that one, the other one.
“This must be how people agree to start wars; one minute you’re having a nice steak and the next thing you know people are throwing paint at you and calling you a ‘murderous shit-head’” For the day, your humble food section was one of the big shots. Rather than being shooed from the hotel lobby with a broom, we were referred to as a ‘Sir’ and given incredibly detailed directions. Someone took our coat without rifling through the pockets or giving it a dissatisfied sniff. Someone else, for some reason dressed as an extra from the Galactic Senate scenes in the Star Wars prequels, handed us a daiquiri. Unprovoked. At five to 12 on a Tuesday morning. There are only 20 bottles of Legacy in the world. That’s it. It really isn’t a lot, which made the somewhat-excessive setting, and the fourcourse meal, and the constant refreshing of glasses all seem a little moot. It felt a bit odd to be hyping a product that, realistically, next to noone will ever experience, let alone own. But then at the same time, there’s a glass of wine in one hand, a cocktail in the other, a fillet of monkfish in the middle and an enormous golden chandelier above, so it all seems fine. This must be how people agree to start wars; one minute you’re having a nice steak and the next thing you know people are throwing paint at you and calling you a
May 2013
“murderous shit-head.” Angostura Legacy comes in a custom-designed crystal decanter, hand-crafted by ‘Her Majesty’s number one champion decorative glass-creators’ Asprey. Thus began the long spiel about the history of said glass company, and their love of expensive things and of people who make expensive things that can be placed inside other expensive things. Much like a timeshare presentation or a meeting with a distant relative, the best thing to do was settle in and wait for the interesting stuff to resume. Fun fact, though: 560 man-hours went into the production of each bottle, and its individual silk and calves’ leather presentation box. That is, at the very least, £3000 of labour for a single glass bottle and a fancy box. It looks more depressing in print, but it’s still an unsettling sum to have to work out. John Georges is the master distiller for Angostura, and one of the men behind the most expensive rum in the world. Mr Georges himself wouldn’t call it the most expensive rum, for two reasons. One – the expensive angle “is just something that the marketing people came up with” for his ludicrously pricey and rare rum. Two – to him, he said, mopping his face with a handkerchief, “this liquid... it’s priceless.” Mr Georges wore a sharp suit coupled with some mad hipster glasses, strongly resembled the character of Johnson from TV’s Peep Show, and seemed to be simultaneously channelling the spirits of an evangelical preacher and a warlord from a 1980s action movie. Mr Georges was, and we believe this is the correct technical expression, a ‘boss.’ A ‘boss’ and a ‘lad.’ Angostura Legacy is bloody lovely. It’s very rich, and a little like being punched in the nose with a bag of dark brown sugar. It’s fruity and oaky and dark and it has a nice finish to it. It also costs $25,000 a bottle. After finishing our one and only taste of the world’s most expensive rum, and overcoming the sadness of knowing that it probably won’t be repeated unless we strike oil in the back garden or end up making a late run at a career in professional football, there’s just time to ask our one question of Mr Georges. Around the table, people are asking about barrel types, and the stills used in production, and all sorts of other technical gubbins. But our question was a bit more straightforward: “Why do any of this? Why make a bottle of rum – the world’s most social spirit – that’s so expensive that next to no-one will ever suckle at its mighty teat? Why bother?” Mr Georges wiped his glasses on that handkerchief, presumably getting head sweat all over the lenses, and smiled. “Well you see, it’s kind of like when a car company makes a really fast car, a concept car. There’s no real point to it, no-one ever gets to drive it. But it shows what can be done.” “So... this rum, the most expensive rum in the world, it’s just so you can show off?” “Yes, pretty much.” Our reply: “Hmm... fair enough.” And with that, the spell was broken. As your correspondent and one of his fellow journalists left trying to work out how many toiletries we could steal from the bathrooms if we put our minds to it, all was right with the world. The world’s most expensive rum – it’s just there to show off. Turns out that even in the world of the hyper-rich and superpricey, there isn’t much intrigue – just depressing numbers and a whole host of fancy outfits. Fewer pies, too. Angostura Legacy costs $25,000 a bottle. Other rums are available
FOOD AND DRINK
Lifestyle
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Food News
Around the World in 20 Drinks: Trinidad and Tobago
The palest, limpest sliver of sun is out, so of course we’ve all gone bonkers for bangers and booze – from retro sausages to um, Tom Cruise cocktails
In honour of our dalliance with the world’s priciest rum, we take a look at some of the other liquids available in the home of the stuff, Trinidad and Tobago: super-powered rum for the grown-ups, and beer for the kids
Words: Liz Gregory Illustration: Catherine Chialton
Words: Peter Simpson
W
hatever counts for summer is just around the corner – so it’s time for a festival or two. First up is the Stockport Sausage Fest, which has both a winning name and an irresistible strapline: who could pass up a chance to celebrate ‘hand held happiness’? Turns out they’re referring to those two staples of every true Northerner’s diet – beer and bangers – and will be inviting us to share a selection of ales and meaty... meats from the Northwest region. ‘Dandys and dames’/‘toffs and totty’ fancy dress (Saturday and Sunday respectively) optional. Victorian Market Hall, Stockport, 4-5 May, three sessions, £10 per session. Just sneaking in at the end of the month is another celebration of local produce: the annual Southport Food and Drink Festival. Expect live cookery demonstrations, tastings from the best local restaurants and plenty of opportunities to sample food and drink from the region – we recommend you go on an empty stomach and take a generous bag. Victoria Park, Southport, Merseyside, 31 May-2 Jun, Free. If you prefer to make straight for the hard liquor, then Manchester’s instalment of Cocktails in the City is just the ticket. Matching cocktail demonstrations, masterclasses and tutored tastings inspired by Mad Men (of course) and Tom Cruise (well, if we must) with an impressive range of top brands, the evening is soundtracked by Crazy P and El Diablo, and food from the
legendary Almost Famous will be on hand to mop up (some of) the alcohol. The Town Hall, Manchester, 2 May; tickets start at £15 for entry and two cocktails, and reach £45 if you fancy yourself a ‘connoisseur’ and want champagne on entry, dinner, three cocktails and a tutored tasting. For those who favour hops over spirits, Liverpool Organic Brewery’s next tour proffers unlimited cask beer and a buffet lunch, as well as the chance to wander the brewery and ask questions – providing a sterling opportunity to test whether organic really equals no hangover. Unit 39, Brasenose Road Industrial Estate, 18 May, £20. Over in Manchester at the other end of the calendar, the Guerrilla Eats collective – street food traders who pop up in various locations across the city on a regular basis – will be setting up shop at an as-yet undisclosed outdoor location in the city centre on the final Saturday of the month (25 May), with traders including Fire and Salt BBQ Co. and Dirty Dogs braving the eccentricities of the early holiday climate. Keep an eye on guerrillaeats.co.uk for full details.
T
here’s something to be said for excess. After all, why have a bag of crisps when you can have two, or a ‘normal’ sandwich when you can cut a loaf of bread in half and stick a block of cheese in the middle? That being said, the phrase ‘NOT LESS THAN 75% ALCOHOL’ might be a bit much for most of us to handle. Puncheon rum is the favourite of Trinidad’s hefty boozers, thanks to its... well, its 75% ABVness. We think that might have something to do with it. Word is that the stuff smells like rubbing alcohol, and drinking it feels a bit like having your mouth set alight. We’re intrigued, but it turns out it’s a light rum and we prefer the dark stuff, so we might give it a miss. Yes. That’s our reason. Now for something slightly more palatable: Peanut Punch. Take peanut butter and sugar, add some cinnamon and nutmeg, blitz the whole lot up with some condensed milk, and bam! Heart attack waiting to happen. If that sounds too sweet, why not try adding some angostura bitters, or a handful of granola mix? Genuinely, this is a thing that exists. Also a thing that exists is malta, the beer for kids. Malta is basically a non-alcoholic soft drink, designed to have all the yeasty flavour of a refreshing beer without any of the point. It’s
unfermented, but has all the barley and hops that you’re used to. It looks like a pint of Guinness, but you can have one sitting in front of your boss with your lunch without being fired or slapped. It lets you pretend to be a big boy, basically. And if it’s a choice between that, death rum or diabetes juice, we know which one we’re picking.
Words: Lewis MacDonald COOL STORY BRO
Y
ou kids won’t understand, but when this writer was a young lad the only exciting thing you could do on a computer was make crude, limited-colour drawings on a paint programme. And that’s pretty much what I do for living now. But imagine if we combined that with another childhood joy – pizza! If that sounds a little far fetched (what kind of a fool would combine virtual paint and pizza?), we have artist Jonas Lund to thank for conceptualising this particular venture. Originating from the foundations of a site (thepaintshop. biz) where people collaboratively use a simple paint interface (like the good old days) that can be printed onto canvas, Lund swapped canvas for pizza dough. From hilarious drawing battles with strangers, to an individually laboured work of art, each colour represents a topping that will grace your final piece of pizza pie. Just think of the possibilities. You could feel like a spy sending coded messages to other secret cool spies who use pizza instead of, eh, any other available form of technology... Or feel like
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Lifestyle
TURTLE PIZZA
an arse with smug satisfaction as you unveil your minimalist, geometric creation in front of unsuspecting eyes. Well, you thought ‘unsuspecting’ – everybody knew you were going to do that. It’s great to see that humanity hasn’t let expectations down here: you leave a drawing publicly open and what do you get? A toilet wall esentially. Textbook cocks and personal insults (both predictable and obscure) nestle in the online gallery among more creative and postive messages. It's probably understandable that this is quite a venture to take on, and the original New York pizzeria partner is no longer in the business of making these exquisite artworks. Lund is currently on the lookout for a new partner. Let’s take this concept over the pond and encourage willing pizzerias to get in touch with either Jonas or ourselves and talk Picasso on a pizza, shall we? www.jonaslund.biz www.paintyourpizza.com
FOOD AND DRINK
THE SKINNY
Photo: Anka Galuza
When the moon hits your eye like a what the hell is that?
Photo: Eugene Reznik
Phagomania: Paint Your Pizza
PUBLIC NOTICE
26th & 27th July 2013
‘El Rincon Tapas’ at Eastbank Square, Lord Street in Southport is conforming to traditional Spanish custom & giving all visitors a FREE Tapas dish with first drink. Choice of:- Chorizo al Vino, lamb shish, smoked salmon, whitebait, goats cheese, etc. Muy Bueno!
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WEEKDAYS LUNCHTIME & EARLY BIRD(6-7.30PM) OFFER 4 Tapas Tasting Platter & 2 Desserts Only £20 per couple.
FREE TAPAS
C U LT U R A L
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27th
PRIMAL SCREAM
Live music Nights - 8pm 3rd, 10th, 12th & 17th May
Join us soon !
I N D E P E N D E N T
26th
Free entry.
Eastbank Square, Lord St, Southport. PR8 1NY
Use one voucher for up to 10 people
THE ENEMY KT TUNSTALL DEXYS BELLOWHEAD KING CHARLES PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING RODDY HART AND THE LONESOME FIRE HOLY ESQUE VUKOVI ROMAN NOSE VIGO THIEVES NORTH TYNESIDE STEELBAND & MANY MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED WITH TEN STAGES, A DEDICATED CHILDREN’S AREA, A HOST OF OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES, LUXURY CAMPING OPTIONS, A FIREWORKS DISPLAY AND THE SPECTACULAR BURNING OF THE WICKERMAN AT MIDNIGHT ON SATURDAY, IT IS AN ADVENTURE NOT TO BE MISSED. FESTIVAL SITE NEAR DUNDRENNAN, DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY
May 2013
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RockNess takes place from 7-9 June on the banks of Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands, and is known as one of the most beautiful festivals in the world – and the only festival with its own monster! A host of eclectic arenas add a unique signature to RockNess, and this year’s lineup includes headline performances from Example, Plan B, and Basement Jaxx plus comedy from Dylan Moran and Jim Jefferies. Full lineup details are available at www.rockness.co.uk.
1 TICKET, 14 HOURS OF LIVE MUSIC ACROSS MANCHESTER’S BEST VENUES
DRY THE RIVER // TOM ODELL BENJAMIN FRANCIS LEFTWICH LUCY ROSE DEAP VALLY // THE 1975
Thanks to our partnership with RockNess, we’re offering our readers the chance to win a pair of VIP weekend camping tickets for you and a mate to head to this incredible festival. To be in with a chance of winning the pair of tickets, head over to www.theskinny.co.uk/competitions and correctly answer the following question:
BO NINGEN // CHAPEL CLUB LITTLE GREEN CARS // LONDON GRAMMAR MØ // RUEN BROTHERS WAVE MACHINES // WOLF ALICE
Which of the below isn’t a Fatboy Slim track?
BLACK BOOKS // THE BOTS // GAVIN JAMES GOLDEN FABLE // NIGHT ENGINE // ONLY REAL PINS // SATELLITE STORIES // SKATERS STORY BOOKS // TELEMAN // PLUS MANY MORE
Entrants must comply with RockNess’s age policy; details are on their website, www.rockness.co.uk
Manchester // Friday 24th May
A) Right Here, Right Now B) Gentleman C) Praise You
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23/04/2013 11:44
COMPETITIONS
THE SKINNY
Gig Highlights
On the Fringes Among its art and performance programming, Chorlton Arts Festival offers a few tasty musical morsels. We ’ave a gander
We might be grinning at spring finally having sprung, but May in the Northwest promises a live calendar for all outlooks – from the homely tones of Phosphorescent to the squall of Metz, and from a woozy Vondelpark to a confrontational Mykki Blanco
Words: Sam Briggs Words: Jacky Hall
D
ESBEN AND THE WITCH
I
MOLLY NILSSON
Hailed as one of the very first horror films, the German silent revolves around the sinister hypnotist of the title, who is suspected of using the somnambulist headliner of his travelling carnival show, Cesare, as a murdering accomplice. And it seems there’s an atmosphere of foreboding everywhere, with Montreal’s twisted SUUNS and their doomy, propulsive post-punk heading to Liverpool’s Kazimier on the 17th. Ex-cotton factory Islington Mill continues to establish itself at the centre of Manchester and Salford’s margins – see what we did there – with a series of top bookings this month. Kicking things into action with their synthesised vulnerability are Vondelpark (9 May). In support are B L O O M, who’ve been recently recruited to nearby antiestablishment label/self-proclaimed ‘cultural regenerator’ SWAYS, and Yes Blythe. Following on 16 May is the subversive Mykki Blanco, whose wilful transgression of social and musical norms promises something thrilling: prepare to have your preconceptions of hip-hop identity swung dramatically to the right side of wrong. Last but by no means least comes Molly Nilsson with her shimmering, quietly anthemic twist on Scandinavian pop and support from Die Hexen (24 May).
Photo: Rasa Juskeviciute
o you like your music served bearded and American? If so, you’re in luck, as both Matthew Houck and Sam Beam, better known as Phosphorescent and Iron & Wine respectively, grace Manchester this month as part of very fleeting UK visits – the former coming to The Ruby Lounge (7 May), and the latter paying a visit to the Opera House on the 30th. Don’t miss either opportunity to enjoy these rare troubadours’ haunting, rustic melancholia. While more than 400 bands decamp to Liverpool’s Sound City, each to be enjoyed for less than the price of a Freddo (2-4 May), the other end of the M62 flexes its own magnetic properties on the 5th, attracting names from home and abroad to Salford’s Sounds from the Other City (SFTOC). Uniting the cream of the local scene with national newbies and international cult figures are a host of Salford/Manchester promoters we love to love. With stages hosted by Now Wave, Comfortable on a Tightrope, Underachievers Please Try Harder, Hey! Manchester and more – and featuring acts as diverse as Parenthetical Girls, Daedelus and Divorce – the ninth year of SFTOC provides another top bank holiday destination. From a crop of fresh-faced newbies to a true Northwest veteran: on 10 May, Liverpool’s new East Village Arts Club plays host to Mark E. Smith and the latest incarnation of The Fall that he hasn’t managed to piss off yet. Famously branded “always different, always the same” by John Peel, the band and their abrasive abstraction need little introduction – and there’s equally little chance that Smith’s sharp-fanged miserabilia will have been blunted by the years. At the opposite end of the spectrum, playing The Kazimier on the 7th are Yoni Wolf’s brainchild Why? – on paper, their concoction of folk, indie and hip-hop probably shouldn’t work, but it’s an intersection they’ve mined successfully for nearly a decade, wriggling at every turn to prove themselves exhaustingly unclassifiable, and all the better for it. A curveball from Siouxsie and the Banshees founding member Steven Severin takes May’s prize for most leftfield gig. Despite the London punks’ resilient afterlife, their final demise in 2002 pushed Severin towards his current occupation as soundtrack composer (among other things) – and on 10 May, he takes up residence in a building celebrating another distinct voice, Manchester’s International Anthony Burgess Foundation, introducing it to his electronic score for chilling film noir The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
Manchester’s big-time alternative promoters Now Wave bring their “celebration of the best record label around” to The Roadhouse and The Deaf Institute with an unofficial Captured Tracks ‘season.’ Between Beach Fossils on 15 May (Roadhouse), Mac DeMarco on the 17th (Roadhouse), and Widowspeak on the 19th (Deaf Institute), we’re offered three of the Brooklyn label’s distinct spins on dense, warm nostalgia. (DeMarco also plays East Village Arts Club, Liverpool, 24 May, as do Widowspeak, on the 23rd.) And as the best things come in threes, Underachievers Please Try Harder and Hey! Manchester have teamed up to bring us a visceral triple-header of Fucked Up, Titus Andronicus and Metz at Sound Control, Manchester, on 29 May. The month in Manchester comes to a close with two icons of a very different nature. On 23 May, the reclusive Phil Elverum heads to Soup Kitchen with the dark hymnals of his lo-fi Mount Eerie project – while Nile Rodgers takes a break from slaying the internet with new buddies Daft Punk and hits The Ritz with his recently reformed disco outfit Chic (29 May). What better way to wave in the summer than with a joint-loosening ‘freak-out’ alongside its original pioneers?
DO NOT MISS:
O
ver the course of last year’s rightfully acclaimed Total Loss LP, Tom Krell – better known as How To Dress Well – rendered himself in such vivid detail and stark intimacy that his songs felt more like minimal self portraits than just ‘tracks.’ It’s apt, then, that his Manchester appearance on 15 May sees him surrounded by actual artwork – as he performs to an all-seated audience against the backdrop of the Whitworth Art Gallery’s collections. This inspired choice of environment will surely only intensify the emotional punch of Krell’s ethereal R’n’B, honest
May 2013
HOW TO DRESS WELL
introspection and quivering vocal. His Liverpool date at tea-spot Leaf the following week comes equally highly recommended. Drawing from a patchwork of influences and touching base with acts as diverse as Prince and Bon Iver, Krell’s music feels borne of a dark place,
but is often cathartic in its harnessing of the creative drive that negative space can provide. Of all the individuals gracing the Northwest this month, Krell is neither the most eccentric nor the most established – but he’s an artist with whom you can’t fail to be enamoured. [Sam Briggs]
MUSIC
Photo: Jesse Lirola
How To Dress Well, Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, 15 May / Leaf, Liverpool, 20 May
n the midst of all its artisan foodstuffs, South Manchester’s leafy and tram-accessible suburb of Chorlton hosts an annual arts festival, now in its 13th year (and this year held 17-26 May). As you’d expect from a community-led event, live music throughout the 10-day festival – which also features a mix of visual art, performance and comedy – is diverse. As festival manager Ella Byford says: “We hope there’s something for everyone” – and indeed there is, from Irish music knees-ups in The Beech Inn to recitals for mums and dads in local schools. We picked a few events more up The Skinny’s street. First up is the festival launch night, featuring journalist, author, DJ and all-round Manc type Dave Haslam in conversation with I Am Kloot frontman John Bramwell (Wilbraham St Ninian’s Church, 17 May). Bramwell will surely have many stories to share, from tales of his former life as performer and Granada television presenter Johnny Dangerously to booking bands for Northern Quarter venue Night and Day in the 90s. Another highlight looks to be Chorlton Radiophonic Workshop in a performance of analogue synths and bleepy-bloopy machines that promises to be somewhere between a psychedelic Summer of Love-era happening and Doctor Who theme tune (St John’s RC Church, 23 May). Elsewhere, _scape and The Noise Upstairs collaborate for Fuse, an evening of improvised live electronics (St Werburgh’s Church, 25 May). This will definitely be an esoteric event, as there is an underscore in one of the entities’ names. Gigs at St Clements Church include Brighton’s brooding Esben and the Witch (24 May) with support from Mancunian krautrockers Ghosting Season, and, on 25 May, New Yorkers Jeffrey Lewis and Peter Stampfel with their lo-fi folk and comic book art. Londoners Toy – all big hair, FX pedals and hype – play at the same venue the following night, supported by local lasses PINS. The classical world gets fair representation, with the Hallé string soloists Lyn Fletcher (violin), Nick Trygstad (cello) and Roberto Carrillo-Garcia (double bass) performing works by Rossini, Ravel and Bach in the afternoon at St Werburgh’s Church on 26 May, and Royal Northern College of Music alumni Kwangho Lee (viola) and David BaMaung (piano) appearing as a duo (St Werburgh’s Church, 24 May). Tactfully rounding up the programme on Sunday 26 May is an all-dayer (well, 1-5pm, at least) at long-reigning folk and cheese hangout Dulcimer, which always provides a good excuse for a mid-afternoon pint. Acts for a suitably lazy end-of-weekend finale include Liverpudlian daydreamers Science of the Lamps and bearded folk-blues peddlars Meadow. Chorlton Arts Festival, various venues, Chorlton, Manchester, 17-26 May, Over half of the events are free www.chorltonartsfestival.com
Preview
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Album of the Month Mount Kimbie
Cold Spring Fault Less Youth [Warp, 27 May]
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With their follow-up to Crooks & Lovers, Mount Kimbie have turned their attention to stranger sounds and more challenging song structures, bringing Kai Campos’ vocals to the fore. The tracks he leads are among the standouts, including opener Home Recording, which nods to James Blake while walking its own distinct line, pairing subtle electronic percussion with muted woodwind and organ. You Took Your Time, one of two collaborations with King Krule, starts as low-slung electronic hip-hop but takes a sharp left turn into Clash-like blues-punk crooning. Break Well carries hints of Tame Impala’s exquisitely faded surf pop, while Made to Stray
Savages
eagleowl
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The National have always chosen to polish rather than reinvent; to delve deeper, rather than jump ship. So as LP number six prepares to see the light of day, those hoping for a new wheel best look away now. The journey to Trouble Will Find Me is arguably the least dramatic the band has made yet. It’s less ornate than High Violet, but more dense, instrumentally. It’s the least oblique Matt Berninger’s lyrics have ever been, with countless instantly gratifying couplets. “You are not the only one that sits awake until the wild feelings leave,” he sings to Jennifer – this record’s Karen – on Fireproof. Graceless chugs from indie standard to showstopper in the space of a single key change and it’s this power to subtly visit three different places on every song that makes Trouble... such a marvellous listen. But unlike the wonderfully shadowy outros of Boxer, these are well-lit porticos attached to stylish, stately manors: fantastic places to spend an hour of your life. [Finbarr Bermingham] www.americanmary.com
CocoRosie
Tales of a Grass Widow [City Slang, 27 May]
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Silence Yourself [Matador, 6 May]
The family of birds known as eagle owls (easily identifiable by their ear tufts) are notoriously elusive, spending most of their time roosting out of sight. The group of Edinburgh-based musicians known as eagleowl (easily identifiable by their penchant for slow, sad sounds in the Low/Smog mould) also have a habit of keeping quiet, with this silent year arriving eight years after the band’s formation. Not that the interceding years have been entirely silent, of course, with EPs confidently marking their territory and ensuring their debut long-player is backed by the full weight of their maturing talents – a long-game strategy that’s borne exceptional results. From the imposing expanse of Too Late in the Day to the stately Eagleowl Versus Woodpigeon (a messy match in the bird world but an unspeakably beautiful pairing in the musical one), the band have assembled something enduring and elegant – not so much a birdie as a hole in one. [Chris Buckle]
www.savagesband.com Playing Liverpool as part of Sound City on 3 May
www.eagleowlattack.co.uk
Small Black
The Pastels
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Limits of Desire [Jagjaguwar, 13 May]
The Casady sisters have certainly come a long way since La maison de mon rêve’s Paris bathroom – and their latest record shows fresh strengths, even since 2010’s Grey Oceans. While not entirely shedding their quirky stylings, Tales of A Grass Widow uses their tinkle of toys and pitchwarped vocal effects as an asset rather than a gimmick. Flexing what were previously disparate (and to some ears discordant) elements, the duo now proffer an accomplished, emotive LP. There is no clutter here; the warbly organ on Villain is considered, not showy. End of Time has an engaging hip-hop strut that carries, rather than obscures, their trademark exoticism; likewise, Gravediggress is fittingly armed with a snarling beatbox vocal. Tribal panpipes lend several tracks an earthy flavour, in line with the girls’ penchant for atmosphere and storytelling. Whatever they might have traded in youthful abandon, they more than compensate for with a newfound cohesion. [George Sully] www.twitter.com/LaRealCocoRosie
www.small-black.com
Tricky
False Idols [False Idols, 27 May]
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this silent year [Fence, 13 May]
The soberly dressed women comprising this London-based quartet present something of a refreshing anomaly in contemporary British music. Who else out there is making staccato, Gang of Fourinfluenced post-punk with this much attitude? And wasn’t that revival killed off in 2005? Although it remains to be seen whether Savages’ presence will bring the gloomier end of 80s fashion crawling out from its grave (again), there’s no doubting Silence Yourself backs up the initial bark of their show-stopping double A-side from last summer. Cathedral-shaking stop/start bass is ever present and Jehnny Beth’s gutteral howl gives Siouxsie Sioux a run for her money, never more so than on She Will. Influences may be clear, and certainly never hidden, but in among the spindly guitar work are some weighty riffs – I Am Here would worry Tad Doyle’s speaker stack – and plenty of pop nous. [Stu Lewis]
Although Limits of Desire is Small Black’s second album proper, it’s also a follow-up to last year’s fantastic Moon Killer mixtape, released online for free. The conceit of Moon Killer was to mix hip-hop beats with shoegaze guitars and dream-pop melodies, lending an extra edge to tracks like Two Rivers. On Limits of Desire, the hip-hop influences of Moon Killer and debut LP New Chain are replaced by a softly-shaded synth-pop bent. When it works, as on openers Free At Dawn and Canoe, the results are impressive – a narcotic wash of muted guitars and gently-pulsing synths underpin a louche, breathy vocal, everything concealed behind a film of reverb. But No Stranger, the title track and Breathless feel like half-finished New Order offcuts, while Sophie errs towards the twee. Only A Shadow lifts proceedings again, burying the vocals beneath a propulsive house beat. It’s a pleasant enough experience, but fails to match the inventiveness of Moon Killer for both ideas and hooks. [Bram E. Gieben]
It Hugs Back
Recommended Record [Safe and Sound, 6 May]
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In many ways a return to the dynamics of his first (and best) album Maxinquaye, False Idols pairs Tricky’s distinctive, half-whispered vocals with the mellifluous singing of Francesca Belmonte. Although his 90s output exerts a powerful influence, rehabilitating the trip-hop sound, there is a polished sheen and confident structure on show that indicate an artist back at the top of his game. Still happy to cherry-pick choruses (Van Morrison and Patti Smith are referenced on Somebody’s Sins; Valentine is constructed around a down-pitched sample of Funny Valentine), Tricky makes them his own. The weed-laced paranoia of his lyrics is sharpened, used with scalpel-like precision to examine social issues and relationship dynamics. Melodic pop hooks underpin every track – there is not a single moment of the difficult experimentalism or brag-rap posturing that marred more recent albums. Mr Thaws was always the king of the Bristol sound; False Idols sees him relcaim the throne. A triumphant return. [Bram E. Gieben]
It’s easy to see why Matthew Simms, the guitarist, vocalist and songwriter behind London quartet It Hugs Back, was asked to join Wire last year. Despite being recorded on a modest budget, the psych-poppers’ third LP has a remarkable clarity and sharpness: Simms’ guitar style here may suggest a sunnier, more melody-led approach, but the glossy, crunching riffs and expressive brevity of tracks like Go Magic! and Big Sighs have much in common with Wire’s insistent, metallic post-punk. If Recommended Record has a flaw, it’s in the occasional feeling of sensory overload: there is some impressively clear layering of organ, synth, dreamy vocals and crashing guitars here, which works best on slower songs like Teenage Hands; but combined with relentless garage tempos, those elements can feel overwhelming. Some respite appears in the motorik pastiche of Piano Drone, but It Hugs Back are too exuberant to rein things in for long. [Sam Wiseman]
www.trickysite.com
www.ithugsback.co.uk
Review
www.mountkimbie.com Playing Liverpool as part of Sound City on 4 May
The National
Trouble Will Find Me [4AD, 20 May]
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reconfigures minimal techno as horn-laced, lo-fi electro-pop. So Many Times, So Many Ways fuses delicate jazz bass and percussion with muted synths, while Lie Near is possibly the closest the album gets to post-dubstep – its hypnotic half-time beat, with reverb-drenched synths and distant saxophone, is beautiful and involving. Sullen Ground is at once the simplest and strangest track on the album, its rhythmic DNA built from sampled knocks on wood, filtered static and angular, minimal house beats, while Campos, again, drifts in and out. [Bram E. Gieben]
RECORDS
Slow Summits [Domino, 27 May]
Slow Summits is being billed by some as The Pastels’ first album in 16 years – a timescale that only fits if you discount their 2003 The Last Great Wilderness soundtrack and their 2009 collaboration with Tenniscoats. But to strike both from memory for the sake of implying a comeback would be remiss, with both projects arguably key to Slow Summit ’s graceful configuration – the former coaxing the band down more wistful avenues and ushering in a gentler aesthetic; the latter commencing an alliance carried over to this record’s guest appearances from the Japanese duo. Opener Secret Music is impeccable, Katrina Mitchell’s purring vocals melting into rich (but never ostentatious) instrumentation. Its airy beauty ushers in an album remarkable more for its sense of wholeness than its individual peaks. Nonetheless, there are standouts, including Summer Rain’s misty waltz and Come to the Dance’s lithe sign-off. [Chris Buckle] www.thepastels.org
Sam Amidon
Bright Sunny South [Nonesuch, 13 May]
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A folk singer cast from an old-fashioned mould, Sam Amidon rearranges and repurposes songs from the ages. His albums to date have principally reinterpreted hymns and trad folk standards – often includnig a cover version of lesser vintage, with Tears for Fears and R Kelly gracing past releases, and Bright Sunny South offering up an incongruously reworked Mariah Carey number. But while his sources are venerably second-hand, the songs are reborn in novel shapes, with jazz inflections and instrumentation beyond the banjo-fiddle-acoustic genre hub. That’s not to say the fruits of Amidon’s latest labours will curry broad favour, with Bright Sunny South likely to play best to those already partial to roots revisitations, and existing fans of the Vermont artist’s work. But then again, Amidon’s hardly shooting for mainstream adoration, with the aforementioned Carey cut less an aspirational point-of-reference, more an impressive (and successful) attempt to find depth where it’s least expected. [Chris Buckle] www.samamidon.com Playing Bush Hall, London, on 23 May
THE SKINNY
Brazos
Alice in Chains
Saltwater [Dead Oceans, 27 May]
The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here [EMI, 27 May]
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Since his 2009 debut Phosphorescent Blues, Martin Crane (who performs as Brazos, perhaps to avoid being confused with Frasier’s pop) has relocated from his native Austin, Texas to Brooklyn, New York – and there are distinct whispers of neighbours Grizzly Bear’s urbane precision and Vampire Weekend’s cosmopolitanism across Saltwater (both acts for whom Brazos has opened for in the past). The album’s textured, layered instrumentation evidences Crane’s broad palette, with much to take in between the afrobeat flavoured pop of opener Always On and the low-key blues of closer Long Shot. But while there are no major errors of judgement to spoil proceedings, there are lesser offerings amid the tracklisting that fail to impress themselves, rendering this an assured but asyet-unperfected expression of a definite talent. [Chris Buckle] www.brazosbrazos.com
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If 2009’s Black Gives Way to Blue was about legitimising the resurgence of Alice in Chains while eulogising the irreplaceable Layne Staley, this fifth album from the Seattle survivors arrives with the conviction of a band still capable of greatness. Time might have nudged Jerry Cantrell’s outfit into the realm of classic rock statesmen, but status hasn’t hindered them from reaching for higher ground. With an even split of melodic slowburners and lead-heavy bangers with blindsiding tempo-shifts, songs such as Phantom Limb and Breath On A Window carry the familiar hallmarks of AiC’s heyday without entirely surrendering to the predictability they might imply – brooding, doomy riffs usher in soaring two-part harmonies which reiterate that, against some odds, Cantrell has found a worthy foil in co-vocalist William DuVall. [Dave Kerr]
Deerhunter
Monomania [4AD, 7 May]
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Fans of Atlanta quintet Deerhunter, accustomed to the band operating in a mire of genres within their self-proclaimed ‘ambient punk’ label, should hold no truck with the direction sixth album Monomania takes. After the soporific and nostalgic tone of 2010’s Halcyon Digest, it stands as something of a wake-up call, full of scuzzy garage riffs and heavily treated, lo-fi vocals. As such, it can feel a tad regressive at times, particularly on initial cuts like Leather Jacket II or the bluesy stomp of Pensacola. It’s the more gradual moments that shine, from the flowering lament of Sleepwalking to the stealth-pop jangle of Back To The Middle. Such highs will likely eclipse any minor misgivings, leaving a somewhat measured and uncharacteristically consistent work. It’s no clean kill shot, but Deerhunter still possess the power to stun. [Darren Carle] www.deerhuntertheband.blogspot.co.uk
www.aliceinchains.com
Mike Patton
The Place Beyond the Pines OST [Milan Records, 6 May]
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From Faith No More to Fantômas, Tomahawk to ‘pop’ project Peeping Tom, Mike Patton’s restless creativity is too big for one band – and for Derek Cianfrance’s latest drama, he continues his fledgling career as soundtrack composer. A triptych of interconnected crime stories that ask whether we can ever escape our family history, The Place Beyond the Pines is a thinker – and Patton gives it a suitably cerebral backdrop, evoking the great Ennio Morricone. Like Morricone, Patton understands subtlety. This is not a big orchestral punch of a score – rather, Patton uses a combination of electronic tones, electric and acoustic guitar accents and a sampled choir to build an eerie and affecting soundscape. The Snow Angel is as close as we come to a traditional theme, used more than once over the film's recurring scenes of forlorn bikers riding through tall trees. Its icy piano refrain is graceful, but holds back: like the movie, the music won’t let you off so easily. [Laura Kelly] www.milanrecords.com
Ghostpoet
The Dillinger Escape Plan
Some Say I So I Say Light [PIAS, 6 May]
One Of Us Is The Killer [Party Smasher, 20 May]
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Where debut Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam was more a scattergun of influences and styles, Some Say I So I Say Light has consistency in its corner. Obaro Ejimiwe has lost none of his wit nor love of wordplay, but here the whimsical, nursery-rhyme cadences are all but gone, replaced by an observational spirit of reflection. Nearly every track is as strong as that debut’s undoubted highlight, Cash and Carry Me Home – perhaps down to the influence of co-producer Richard Formby, veteran of albums by Egyptian Hip Hop and Darkstar, or maybe it’s simply a natural growth. Tracks like Cold Win and Them Waters are imbued with an elegant electronic melancholy, evoking twilit London scenes. Elsewhere, Dial Tones is an exquisite slice of neo-soul, Plastic Bag Brain employs a spiralling guitar line to hypnotic effect, while the album’s more experimental moments (Dorsal Morsel, the fuzzedout MSI MUSMID) are equally enthralling. [Bram E. Gieben] www.ghostpoet.co.uk Playing East Village Arts Club, Liverpool, 21 May, and Gorilla, Manchester, 28 May
Saltland
Thirty Pounds of Bone
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I Thought It Was Us but It Was All of Us [Constellation, 13 May]
I Cannot Sing You Here, but for Songs of Where [Armellodie, 6 May]
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The Dillinger Escape Plan’s fifth LP might not grip listeners with anything quite so visceral as past staples like Fix Your Face or Panasonic Youth; One Of Us Is The Killer is instead presented as a seamless, interconnected narrative rather than a collection of short, controlled bursts. Chaos still reigns, though: the vicious guitar stabs of opener Prancer settle into a towering groove, while Hero of the Soviet Union’s waspswarm assault of discordant riffs and complex, polyrhythmic drum patterns is truly relentless. Instrumental CH 375 268 277 ARS (good luck requesting that live) is reminiscent of the cold technicality of Calculating Infinityera Dillinger, whereas the title track boasts a clean vocal performance from singer Greg Puciato, whose overall contributions vary from enraged, testosterone-fueled barks to soft, sincere croons. A varied beast, then, yet the sum feels more like a checklist of previously employed tricks than a true evolution. [Ross Watson] www.dillingerescapeplan.org
Sparrow and the Workshop
Murderopolis [Song, By Toad, 27 May]
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Rebecca Foon is in some ways the archetypal Constellation artist, a Montreal-based cellist who has previously played in Thee Silver Mt. Zion and Set Fire To Flames. However, this project with Jamie Thompson eschews the overwrought melodrama of those acts for an intricate and understated approach, blending soft, tender vocals with strings, drones and electronica. Ominous GY!BE-style strings are in evidence, but they are balanced against unearthly synth chords, and resist the urge to pursue apocalyptic crescendos. All of Us is at its most impressive on the pieces that showcase Mark Lawson’s masterful engineering, like Unholy. Foon’s vocals hypnotise against a backdrop of seamlessly mixed live and electronic percussion, delayed guitars, and droning strings; the whole merges dreamily into a single horizon, recalling the lush textures of Tara Jane O’Neil. The delicacy and restraint on display here lift Saltland above the pack. [Sam Wiseman]
I Cannot Sing You Here, but for Songs of Where is Johnny Lamb’s third album as Thirty Pounds of Bone, and its title is evocatively apt. As Lamb sings these ‘songs of where’ – recorded in dozens of bucolic locales from Shetland loch-sides to coves in Cornwall; quartered into sections entitled Past Place, Present Place and suchlike; and woven through with field recordings that hark to earthy origins – it’s easy to feel transported. This applies not only to space (with allusions to and echoes of landscape in every water splash and wind howl) but time, as Lamb carves his niche amidst a plethora of traditional folk sounds. But this is no moribund exercise in revivalism; rather, I Cannot Sing You Here… is a vibrant collection that combines old and new to great effect, with special mention owed to drone-backed opener Veesik for the Broch and tender ballad The Snow in Kiel. [Chris Buckle]
Since their first EP dropped four years ago, Sparrow and the Workshop have stacked up the accolades for a sound that, in lesser hands, would border on pastiche. But the skill and aplomb with which the band delivers their pseudo-gothic balladry and cactusflavoured rollickers has, rightfully, excepted them from such critiques. Murderopolis deftly continues the arc. Their sound has grown rockier by record and on occasion (see Darkness and lead single Shock Shock), there’s a tasteful hint of Fever to Tell-era Yeah Yeah Yeahs on show. Jill O’Sullivan’s honeyed vocals are again set to centre stage. Opening track Valley of Death reminds us that Caitlin Rose has been doing a half decent O’Sullivan turn since we last heard from the trio, while the salacious set highlight Odessa has to have one of the finest vocals of the year so far. Thankfully, there’s nothing over-complicated here. Murderopolis is 11 fine tracks from a band that should really be reaching more ears. [Finbarr Bermingham]
www.saltland.ca
www.thirtypoundsofbone.bandcamp.com
www.sparrowandtheworkshop.co.uk
Boats
A Fairway Full of Miners [Kill Rock Stars, 20 May]
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On their third album, Winnipeg’s Boats present an array of unruly but endearing quirks that are liable to be manna to some, anathema to others. Their hyperactive brand of indie-pop recalls the likes of Architecture in Helsinki, with lyrics that straddle strange poetry and jolly nonsense (“o mighty cufflink pincher, o frothy eater of sandwiches!”) and a playful songwriting style that conjoins carnivalesque abandon with extra-sugared electro-pop. Mat Klachefsky’s high-pitched nasal yelp needs acclimatising to (Getting Worst.jpeg’s shrill assault especially so) and there are moments where the smorgasbord of ideas starts to sound less like inspired eccentricity and more like a band in search of a rudder. But when it works, it really works, with Animated GIFs a squelchy twee-epic and Advice on Bioluminescent Bears undoubtedly the year’s finest song about a captive colour-changing grizzly. [Chris Buckle] www.yeahboats.com
Woodenbox
End Game [Olive Grove, 27 May]
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They may have undergone a minor rebranding since Home and the Wild Hunt (having re-dropped ‘…And a Fistful of Fivers’ from their moniker a wee while back now), but Woodenbox’s second album suggests their influences and intentions haven’t drifted far from those that informed their gallantly spit-and-sawdust 2010 debut. Frontman Ali Downer continues to belt out lead vocals with rugged fervour, his forefront presence anchoring a robust assortment of rollicking country-folk sounds, while the three-piece horn section (arguably Woodenbox’s second cornerstone asset) delivers bolstering melodies that quicken the pulse of tracks like lead single Courage. But while the ingredients are occasionally over-familiar, the band have found convincing ways to extend their reach, with erstwhile rough edges scraped smooth and a streamlined sense of purpose showing through in the likes of opener Asphyxiation’s pop stomp chorus or Roll For Me’s jazzy, jerky verses. A confident, if not quite revelatory, return. [Chris Buckle]
The Top Five 1 2 3 4 5
Mount Kimbie
Cold Spring Fault Less Youth
The National
Trouble Will Find Me
Savages
Silence Yourself
eagleowl
this silent year
Alice in Chains
The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here
www.wdnbx.com
May 2013
RECORDS
Review
43
The Dirty Dozen Nursing epic hangovers from the night before, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead’s Jason Reece and Jamie Miller debate whether they need pure punk rock or “a modern day Phil Collins” to take the pain away
Interview: Ross Watson
Suicidal Tendencies – Cyco Style [from the album 13, out 6 May via Suicidal Records] Jason Reece: [rocking out] I used to listen to Suicidal Tendencies when I was like 15. Jamie Miller: Sounds like old school Venom! It’s definitely how you want ‘em to sound. Awesome! It’s just their classic style, you know? Little more modern production, a little more thrash. JR: My favourite album’s the first one. JM: I’d give it two thumbs up. Solid eight, yeah, definitely. JR: It’d be fun to jam that in here after a show. JM: Plus if we say anything less they’ll find us and beat us up.
Three Blind Wolves – Parade [from the album Sing Hallelujah for the Old Machine, out 27 May via Instinctive Racoon] JR: These guys are Scottish? JM: That some pedal steel? It’s a trip, all these UK bands playing Americana music. America’s been ripping off the British for years, so... JR: The Americana thing’s big right now, huh? Mumford and Sons and The Lumineers. It’s not bad, you know? JM: It’s not really my thing. I’m not super familiar with this kind of stuff. I’m sure American college students would eat it up. Let’s say five. I bet they have cool beards. Princess Chelsea – We’re So Lost [single – released 20 May via Lil’ Chief Records / Cargo] JM: Princess Chelsea... [disappointed tone] Oh, Chelsea... JR: It’s really David Lynch. JM: Sort of childlike. I think the acoustics in this room are adding to it. JR: Yeah, making it even more reverbed out. JM: It does sound a lot like Beach House. Maybe a little too much. It’s cool, it’s chill. Somethin’ to sit back, drink some wine to... before moving on to Beach House. JR: I’d say five. Middle of the road. JM: Points for tryin’. Keys – Hiding In Our Smirks [from the EP Innocuous Beats, out 6 May via Sturm Und Drang Recordings] JM: That riff sounds like somethin’ – what is that? JR: Well, we’re into The Fall. A little Gang of Four maybe. Very innocuous. Ha! JM: I hear a lot of bands do this. When they discover Wire and stuff, they’re like “oh, we can do that!” JR: I’ll give it a three.
44
Review
Photo: Vito Andreoni
Vår – Into Distance [from the album No One Dances Quite Like My Brothers, out 13 May via Sacred Bones Records] JR: I heard about these guys. JM: That sounds like The Church. Oh, one of these dudes is in Iceage. JR: Some Joy Division in there. Yeah, I’d probably get the CD and check these guys out. JM: Yeah, this is up my alley. Especially their pedigree – they’re hardcore dudes. It’s just polished enough, but it still sounds lo-fi. Not too slick. I’ll check more of that out. JR: Eight. JM: I’m gonna give it a nine. Hookers for Jesus – On a Night Like This [from the EP Hymns for Beautiful Losers, out now via Pioneer Sounds] JM: Hookers for Jesus? Ten! Haha! The Skinny: The name’s a bit misleading. JM: It’s kinda like our misleading name. I went to a record store once in Denver that sold mostly hardcore music, and Trail of Dead had a section. All of the headers had a description of the band, and on ours it just said “not very brutal.” That’s all it said! This band’s called Hookers for Jesus, and it sounds like this! That’s worse false advertising than Trail of Dead! JR: I’m disappointed – I was expecting punk rock. Songs about sex and violence. It’s a little too “sleepy time” for me. JM: We had too long of a night for this. This is gonna put us to sleep! Everything’s got its right moment and mood, that’s the tough thing about music. JR: So, what should we give it? JM: I’ll give it a six – it wasn’t as generic as the Chelsea one. He’s got a cool voice. Breathless – Please Be Happy [single – out 6 May via Tenor Vossa] JR: Oh, there’s a remix on this single by Jim from Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. It’s Dominic Appleton, who sang for This Mortal Coil. JM: Really? Wow. Yeah, this is how you do sleepy music. JR: It’s definitely dark. It’s got that darkness. JM: This is what I gravitate towards. The Skinny: Are you more of a punk rock purist, Jason? JR: Uh, no, you know there’s a time and a place for this kind of music. JM: I’d put this on after one of our shows with headphones and just bask in it. JR: Yeah, that might work. JM: I dig this. I’d give it an eight.
JR: Alright, he’s giving it an eight, I’m giving it a f[short pause] five-and-a-half. Haraball – Cock Persona [from the album Sleep Tall, out 13 May via Fysisk Format] JM: I like this a lot. I would actually buy this right now. I’m in the mood for something like this. JR: This band was started by Norwegians from straight-edge bands, and some arty dudes. JM: It’s got a song called My Douche. Yeah, this is just killer, old school hardcore. When I first heard about Iceage, this is what I wanted them to sound like. Like old Agnostic Front or something. JR: Yeah, this is really good hardcore. I’d say seven. Young Aviators – Forward Thinking [from the album Self Help, out 13 May via Electric Honey] JM: Young Aviators... I’ve heard that name somewhere before. Britpop! Where’re they from? JR: They’re based in Glasgow. I’m hearing Nine Black Alps... JM: They’re like, on the poppier edge of Nine Black Alps. It’s just got that classic Britpop sound. JR: Like Ride. A little more 60s. JM: It’s got that tempo of a Yardbirds song or somethin’. Yeah, it’s weird, it’s like a cross of 60s and, like 80s Brit. It’s cool. I’d give it a seven. Dead Sea Souls – The Comet [single – out 20 May via Platform] JR: Too much like Vampire Weekend. This shit is awful. JM: Yeah, I was about to say, man! Where are these cats from? The Skinny: The West Lothian area... JR: [mimics Scottish accent] Shite! I’m giving that a one. Pretty harsh, but... JM: I give it an “I don’t care.”
RECORDS
Raffertie – Trust (feat. YADi) [from the EP Build Me Up, out 20 May via Ninja Tune] JR: [looks at the cover] Stylish. JM: Oh, that’s quite a jacket he’s got there. I’d give that jacket a five. Yeah, this has that modern day Phil Collins production, but it’s just weird enough to make me want to hear more of it. I almost don’t want to hear it, but at the same time I do. I’m like “what’s gonna happen next?” JR: Yeah, it’s nice. JM: It’s interesting. Not cliché. JR: Yeah, it’s like The Weeknd. Dark R’n’B, like, seductive. That’s cool! JM: Cool vibe. I like the dark, oddballness of it. I’m gonna say eight. TRACK OF THE MONTH: Retox – Mature Science [from the album YPLL, out 27 May via Epitaph] The Skinny: This is a Justin Pearson (of The Locust) project. JR: Oh yeah, I’ve heard some of this before. JM: [laughs gleefully] Always loved The Locust and what they did. It’s like a swarm of bees comin’ at ya. Very jittery and very nervous, I love it. Frantic, just nuts. JR: [starts drumming along before turning to the press release] Oh, Nick Zinner from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs played on some of it. This is fun! JM: Punk rock, man. Badass. I’d give that a ten. JR: Yeah, why not? Ten. Let’s be nice. I’m gonna give everybody a ten. JM: You’re gonna be like Rolling Stone? Give ‘em all a ten! www.andyouwillknowusbythetrailofdead.bandpage.com
THE SKINNY
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Serafina Steer’s third and latest album, the Jarvis Cocker-produced The Moths Are Real, confirmed the young harpist as an artist of vision and depth. Measured and stately, but gnarly with a vagabond spirit, it saw her songcraft finally catch up with her unquestioned musicianship. A deftly orchestrated, often spartan work, it’s not the kind of album whose creator you would expect to see pitch up in such a potentially unforgiving venue as Soup Kitchen, despite the basement’s well-loved status among artists and punters alike – and it’s to Steer’s credit that she’s not cowed by its CBGB’s vibe. She confronts it, inhabits it, and makes it work for her. Unsurprisingly, it’s the detail, the complex
geometry of her repertoire, that exerts pull. In a live setting, her songs are brought into greater relief away from the layered arrangements of their recorded versions – truly revealing their core, and more. Steer’s voice, grave and woody, is ballast to the needlepoint array of her strings. Lost in the hushed recesses of Night Before Mutiny, her mode of expression becomes a tightrope walk – and you marvel at her bravery. She plays with grace but with gusto, too; her fingers flit and blur. “They left me here with a ship to sink,” she sings, and we’re cast away, too. The walls blur, and chatter subsides. No-one dare look away lest the spell be broken – but there’s nothing illusory about Steer’s dark magic. The simple fact is, she’s unique; her whispery hymnals proof positive that to shake it up, you don’t have to shake the walls. [Gary Kaill]
PATTERNS
Patterns
The Roadhouse, Manchester, 13 Apr
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BRITISH SEA POWER
British Sea Power / PINS Gorilla, Manchester, 12 Apr
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In most cases, a band opening up for their own show could be considered somewhat ostentatious. But with British Sea Power, such things are par for the course. A delicately balanced and stripped five-song set provides a rewarding appetiser for those who’ve made the early trek down to Gorilla for the first of their two stage times, at 7.20pm: though unsurprisingly, given their fans’ well-documented devotion, the place is nearly full by the time they begin. Quickly, a word on PINS: quite spectacular in support. Vibrating with static, they combine the abrasions and taut scars of The Stooges with a looping, coursing rhythmic hypnotism that nods to Public Image Ltd and Pere Ubu – and singer Faith Holgate exhibits a striking stage presence, terrifying and glacial.
May 2013
Photo: Simon Bray
Do you remember your fifth birthday? No, me neither, but I presume it was dire; someone will have thrown a tantrum and it was most probably a wholly regrettable experience for all involved. Luckily, the good folk from indie clubnight Underachievers Please Try Harder have a wealth of experience from multiple birthdays to plough into this, their penultimate outing, which coincides with their own – well – fifth birthday. In the prestigious headline slot are Patterns, a Mancunian band whose recent quiet spell makes them a perfect choice for such a celebration of awkward slackerdom (a hedonistic union of gig-then-club, all under the sweatiest of roofs).
There’s no real need to dwell on BSP’s various props and curios – we’re well used to them by now. So what is it that makes tonight so memorable? Maybe it’s how they can now leave out Fear of Drowning and Oh Larsen B and you barely notice? Waving Flags could (and probably should) be headlining Glastonbury, Carrion drops jaws and the material from new album Machineries of Joy soars when released into the live arena. Maybe it’s the way, musically, they now enmesh with each other in a sort of elegant variation on a Cronenberg plot? Maybe it’s because, after ten years, you still feel like you’re seeing one of the biggest acts on the planet in the most intimate of circumstances? Or maybe it’s simply that, in terms of live performance, BSP have reached a glorious pinnacle. The reason they can do whatever they please is that, after all this time, they’ve earned their right. [David Edwards]
With a menagerie of new tracks presumably destined to feature on their debut album, the four delinquent-looking types shoegaze the crowd into an appreciative stupor. Their popspangled landscape is weathered by all elements: downbeat ‘vibes’ sit next to the unbridled joy of their weird, synth-raptured melodies, which in turn sit next to the unbridled joy of a lot of drunk people on a Saturday night. So unbridled, indeed, is the joy, that there is even an encore. In this day and age of ‘that’s your lot, now go home,’ Patterns actively put in some overtime. As noteworthiness goes, Induction is a bittersweet moment; this wilfully skewiff electro composition – seemingly about new beginnings – acts as an optimistic almost-goodbye to Underachievers, one of a rare breed of credible Mancunian music institutions. [Lucy Holt]
DAUGHTER
Daughter
most, you suspect, will be similarly rammed). Many songs tonight begin in near silence rrrrr before the band unfurl, with Igor (guitar) and With a predilection for knotty, staccato rhythms Remi (drums) laying waste. Epic opener Shallows and minimal melodies, Daughter strive to avoid typifies their nervy ebb and flow, Tonra singing: standard indie tropes – and recent debut If You “Come out, come out to the sea my love, and Leave swerved genre expectations. Skittering just drown with me...” Her narratives, in line with arpeggios, chamber strings and unearthly perher single-word titles, espouse a blunt moderncussion generate mood, but it’s the presence of ism; she builds dialogue and drama from simple, founder Elena Tonra that gives the trio identity trusted materials. and focus. Her voice, all deep heat and steeped in Winter and current signature tune Youth are reverb, sits smartly up front. stark but enveloping: they catch fire and devasIt’s this enterprise and daring – as opposed tate. As the atmosphere builds and an attentive to hiding the singer in the mix – that ensures crowd loosens up, you can sense the very stone Daughter engage at depth, rather than just wash around us begin to warm. With their fiery hosanover. Tonight sees them fuel an upward trajecnas and a wholly devoted flock, Daughter treat tory that will continue later this year when they this magnificent structure with due reverence, play a string of sizeable UK venues – few, you can its Gothic revival mirroring their own dark reinbe sure, will be quite as august as this evening’s ventions. [Gary Kaill] show at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral (though Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, 22 Apr
MUSIC
Photo: Leah Henson
Soup Kitchen, Manchester, 18 Apr
Review
45
Photo: Gaz Jones
Serafina Steer
DJ Chart: Circular Rhythms
Scenery Records’ Circular Rhythms takes us on a tour of his eclectic listening habits, from classical music to decayed tape Words: Julian Shepherd
Introducing... Scenery Records Stu Robinson gives us the lowdown on his new house, techno and electronic imprint – and first Cannibal Run clubnight Interview: Julian Shepherd Image: Mike Carney
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tarting out as a drum and bass DJ in the late 90s, Stu Robinson rose to notoriety in 2008 with his Cosmic Boogie website, record labels and DJ moniker, later playing clubs across the world. As a family man already balancing a hectic career with his home life, he felt the need to re-evaluate, strip it back to the grain, and start a new chapter – hence his new label, Scenery Records, which has released two EPs (Bantam Lions/John Heckle’s One to One EP in 2012, and Deep Space Orchestra/Bantam Lions’ We Held On this April). A third release, from producer Circular Rhythms and Andy Ash, comes in June. In Robinson's studio, we listen to the new music he’s working on, speak about future goals and eat several bags of bacon crisps.
SCENERY RECORDS
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cenery Records’ Circular Rhythms became interested in producing music after forming a band with some mates in 1998; his first true experience of dance music came in Ibiza. He became a weekly regular at Cream, cites Liverpool clubnight Voodoo and Bugged Out as key influences, and was devoted to Mary Anne Hobbs’ BBC Radio 1 show The Breezeblock, as it was known from 1997-2006. Ten years ago he began experimenting further with software and production, acquiring equipment, building up a studio and making music for his own enjoyment without much of a longterm plan, apart from sharing his tracks among friends for mutual appreciation. Counting Skudge, October and Levon Vincent as his main inspirations, Circular Rhythms releases his debut EP (Untitled Document/Circumflex) through Liverpool’s Scenery label in June, and hopes to have a live performance set completed for later in the year.
about dance music. It’s perfect, from the timbre of the drums to the grainy spaced echo to the constantly evolving arrangement. Levon is an inspiration for me, he took the time to encourage me to keep making music and a year later he played two of my tracks in the club. It was an honour coming from someone I admire so much as a producer and DJ. He makes music for the right reasons.
Henryk Górecki – I. Lento - Sostenuto Tranquillo Ma Cantabile (from Symphony No 3) There was a series on BBC Four recently called The Sound and the Fury, about musical evolution at the beginning of the 20th century, and it opened me up to a lot of classical music. There’s something very simple and powerful about the way each part of the string arrangement plays the same riff at different timings, building and building from nothing into this crescendo of melody.
William Basinski – dlp 3 (Temporary Residence Ltd) Basinski recorded all these synth loops [on The Disintegration Loops] on reel-to-reel tape and stored them in tins to work on them sometime in the future. When he came to use them they hadn’t been stored correctly so when he played them on the machine, as the tape rolled over the capstans, it began to flake creating this amazing distorted warped sound. It sounds brilliant, you can actually hear it disintegrating.
Freddie Hubbard – First Light (Epic) I discovered this track through Fred P on the Fabric blog and haven’t stopped listening to it since. He mentioned how every time he listened to it he heard something new in the track and I think it’s that attention to detail that’s had such an influence on me. There’s something very special about the sound of a great jazz trumpet player.
The Traveller – A100 (Ostgut Ton) I love the ‘less is more’ attitude of René Pawlowitz’s club tracks, he has the heaviest drums and grooves in the business, and he proves you don’t necessarily need complicated chord sequences or breakdowns to make an effective track. This was a big influence for my Untitled Document.
Levon Vincent – Double Jointed Sex Freak (Part 2) (Novel Sound) This record made me re-evaluate the way I think
May 2013
Radiohead – Weird Fishes/Arpeggi (_Xurbia_Xendless Limited) People talk about how influential OK Computer and Kid A are all the time, but for me In Rainbows is their classic album. It is the sound of a band who have transcended the act of actually being a band and just naturally write amazing music. There are hardly any choruses, the arrangements are brilliant, it’s that Górecki thing of layering melody, building the track piece by piece.
Burial – Archangel (Hyperdub) It’s all about the atmosphere, drenched in white noise and reverb. I read that he sampled the sound of rain falling and a fire crackling to get
that effect. I know it sounds pretentious or maybe a bit clichéd, but it really does sound like walking around the streets at 2am on a cold wet night. I love melancholic music. My Bloody Valentine – Sometimes (Creation) Although the style of music is worlds apart, sonically My Bloody Valentine and Burial are very similar. I love the density, the way the melodies are in there but buried in noise. Kevin Shields is a genius. I was lucky enough to see them recently and I can confirm it isn’t a myth about how loud they are. It’s mentally draining, you can’t gather your thoughts. When they played You Made Me Realise, it actually made people cry. Clinic – Porno (Domino) You know that sea shanty/folk style The La’s did and a million bands from Liverpool have tried to copy since? Done to death – but when it’s done properly it’s great. Clinic completely broke the mould in terms of style. There are all left-of-centre sounds in there, like The Velvet Underground, Can, Ennio Morricone and post-punk and, at times, it’s really sinister. I’ve been a fan since the beginning and the new album produced by Oneohtrix Point Never is a bit of a change of direction for them without ever compromising the original Clinic sound. Voiceless Sounds – Sweet Spot (unreleased) For my last choice, I’m going to take the opportunity to big up a local Northwest producer, Voiceless Sounds. His music is deep, hypnotic, dirty and dubbed out, everything I like to hear in techno. I believe he has a debut release in the pipeline. Check out his music on SoundCloud. Circular Rhythms/Andy Ash EP (SCN003) is released in June on Scenery Records www.scenery-records.com www.soundcloud.com/circular_rhythms
CLUBS
You retired your disco-edged Cosmic Boogie guise and blog last year. What was it that prompted you to create Scenery Records? I just love being involved in it all, putting music out there, meeting like-minded people. I first did that with Cosmic Boogie Records, releasing re-edits; the next step was wanting to operate an outlet devoted to releasing original music, which I did with Boogie Originals. I realised after a couple of releases that I had a label connected with a scene that, although it was hitting a decent level, felt restricted as ‘one sound’ – and in the long term, this was no good. I had these brilliant tracks from [Liverpool producer] Bantam Lions for over six months but they didn’t fit the old label, so, after shedding skin, Scenery was born and Bantam Lions became the first release. At heart, what I was doing before wasn’t right, and now it is. I’d say it’s the best thing I’ve ever done – even after one release. I am really enjoying it. What’s the ethos behind the new label? It’s simple really. I just put out whatever feels good. The focus of Scenery is on friends and producers I know, a social extension really, and although the label is dance-based with house and techno as a general body, I’m flexible with it too. There’s no official policy as such. It’s not going to be a closed book, I’m always scouring around. I want it kept organic – to have a simple, interesting, matter-of-fact ethic. What are your intentions for the future and who can we expect to see appearing on Scenery Records in 2013? Right now we have the second Scenery vinyl release in stores with new tracks from Deep Space Orchestra and Bantam Lions (with a Cottam mix), and the Circular Rhythms and Andy Ash EP will be coming in early June. After that there’s new music from ASOK, Liverpool producer Binny, more Bantam Lions, Other Worlds, System Status and Mituo Shiomi from Japan... with a smattering of perhaps more household names to remix them. We are also about to launch Cannibal Run – a new night in Manchester. The first one is at Kraak Gallery on 10 May. Headlining is John Heckle with his amazing live set-up, and Neville Watson. Support will come from Deep Space Orchestra and me (under the ASOK moniker). Life is pretty good. www.scenery-records.com
Preview
47
Clubbing Highlights Bookended by two bank holiday weekends ripe for groove and debauchery, May is a fine month for staying out late, from the death of Sankeys to the birth of Cannibal Run Words: John Thorp Illustration: Jennifer Oliver
T
he big news this month is, of course, the oftrumoured death of Manchester’s Sankeys, which is closing ‘indefinitely’ on 6 May. It’s worth noting that the closing procedure involves knocking down a wall as part of the event, which suggests that the club won’t be returning in its current form anytime soon – or at least when it does, it’ll be much breezier. The midday to midnight part of the closing party, featuring Joris Voorn, tINI, and Darius Syrossian, is sold out – but you can still grab tickets to the afterparty, from midnight to 6am (£20). While Sankeys eventually, undeniably suffered in the face of The Warehouse Project – and a genuinely strong underground scene in the city – it still holds a special place in the hearts of many. Upon exiting, the last few out will even be offered a piece of said obliterated wall, which makes a change from a big bag of leaflets for trance reunion weekenders you’ll never go to. Beginning the first extended coda of partying on Friday 3 May, Manchester’s South gets a visit from the legendary Kevin Saunderson, courtesy of Limbo (£12). Along with childhood friends Derrick May and Juan Atkins, Saunderson spent much of the 80s helping to create a now almost mythically regarded Detroit techno scene, and saw out the decade accidentally forming Inner City, best known for Good Life and the still rightly inescapable Big Fun. Since then, Saunderson has managed to balance his pop legacy – six million records! – with still forward-thinking DJ sets. Support comes from Manchester techno mainstays H2. Heads with a taste for tough and uncompromising techno should opt in for Selective Hearing with Redshape on Saturday 4 May at Soup Kitchen, Manchester (£6/£8/£10). The German wizard’s live performances are sonically smart, and he draws in the crowd wearing a fetching and enigmatic red mask, possibly to hide that he is both Daft Punk and Burial, but more likely just to intimidate anyone thinking of bouncing over with a shit request on their phone. More plain sighted but no less intriguing support comes from Ghosting Season, who offer one of the most underrated and engaging electronic live sets around. Up the road and down the stairs to The Roadhouse on the same night, and reliable disco haunt Cutloose welcomes Sean P back to Manchester for what’s likely to be a deep and eclectic session from the man Idjut Boys call ‘The Knowledge’ (£5). Liverpool is swallowed up with Sound City for Bank Holiday Weekend #1 (2-4 May), where the real afterparty on 4 May seems to be in the hands of Chibuku at East Village Arts Club, formerly known as The Masque. Giving Redshape a run for his money, crossover success SBTRKT totes a slightly more extravagant mask, and presumably also some records for a DJ set. He’s supported by a live appearance from Tensnake and the always on it Modeselektor, digging through heavy slabs of their 50 Weapons catalogue and beyond (£15). The tyranny of choice continues with another big weekend in Manchester. On Friday 10 May,
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Preview
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mysterious new night Cannibal Run launches with a serious bang over at Kraak (£10), offering perhaps the most impressive dance-focused lineup to have ever graced the venue, a strange disused office/art den that lurks behind the throngs of hens and office workers desperate to get into Hula Bar. Crème Organization is home to some of the finest analogue loving producers in the game, and two of them, John Heckle and Neville Watson, will be gracing the decks for a live and DJ set respectively. Support comes from cosmic players Deep Space Orchestra and ASOK. Floating Points is one of the best DJs in the UK, a favourite of everyone from Four Tet to Gilles Peterson, and perhaps also the only DJ to hold a PhD in the neuroscience of pain. It’s a set of skills not usually reflected in his often quite lovely outlines, which take in all the aspects of warm boogie, acid and jazziness that have made his occasional releases – such as People’s Potential and ARP3 – staple underground hits. Having not played Manchester in a while, he’s handed the controls of Soup Kitchen on Saturday 11 May along with similarly minded former CityLife DJ of the year Kelvin Brown (£7). At the time of going to press, Bank Holiday Weekend #2 is looking a little sparse – bad news if you’re a clubber with a wall chart or a crippling fear of the future. Liverpool seems on form thus far, with MK-indebted house and garage enthusiast Huxley making a visit to The Shipping Forecast on Friday 24 May, still riding high on the back of last year’s witty and anthemic Box Clever as well as showcasing newer and equally charismatic tunes for bubblin’ up label Hypercolour (£7). Marco Carola, Deetron and Yousef finish up on Sunday 26 May with a proper heads down session for Circus at East Village Arts Club (£16), while Justin Robertson quite literally heads down into Williamson Tunnels, taking his usual combination of dandy headwear and slamming acid with him. Oh, and 250 local ravers (£12). Back in Manchester, 26 May sees a very special extended set at Black Dog Ballroom’s newer haunt on New Wakefield Street, as the venue gets unusually out there with the arrival of Mr Bill Brewster (£8). Bill is a true archivist of club culture and underground music, having penned the internationally celebrated and absolutely essential book Last Night a DJ Saved My Life. He also runs the fantastic DJhistory.com, where he continues to document his love of all things dancefloor with interviews and features, and is perhaps the only man ever to shift careers from a local football pundit – as one of the original editors on seminal zine When Saturday Comes – to underground New York disc jockey. Five hours of musical pleasure are all but guaranteed, and with a bank holiday-concluding lie-in to recover with the next day, who could refuse? Well, those with work the following morning, I guess. Or anyone with no interest in clubbing, but reads this column anyway out of perverse fascination. You’re right, it does all sound the same. Ticket prices are advance unless otherwise specified; some events may be more on the door
THE SKINNY
Beneath the Label: Wet Play Manchester’s underwater boogiedrome bursts its vinyl bubble
BAND ON THE WALL
THE HOME OF REAL MUSIC
Fri 3rd May
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DREAD
Interview: John Thorp Illustration: Randy Marsh
Sat 4th May 28 - 34 HIGH ST, NORTHERN QUARTER, MANCHESTER, M4 1QB
MAY
3RD - THE NEIGHBOURHOOD 4TH - REMAKE REMODEL ‘THE NATION’S SAVING GRACE OF ROCK’N’ROLL’ 5TH - LIVE FAST TOUR FEATURING VINCE KIDD + AMPLIFY DOT + KLIQ + ESCO WILLIAMS 7TH - PHOSPHORESCENT 9TH - DAVE MCPHERSON (FULL BAND SHOW) 10TH - BLACK LIGHTS 15TH - MATT BERRY (FULL BAND SHOW) + guests PUGWASH 17TH - THE HANDSOME FAMILY + guests SNOWAPPLE 18TH - ULTIMATE POWER ‘STUPENDOUSLY SUCCESSFUL… DEDICATED TO THE
MR SCRUFF KEEP IT UNREAL Sun 5th May
MELBA MOORE + MELI'SA MORGAN Fri 10th May
THE TAPESTRY THE DELAPLAINS THE WATCHMAKERS
GLORY OF THE POWER BALLAD’
19TH - MC LARS 21ST - ANDREW MCMAHON + guests FORT HOPE 22ND - COME - 11:11 20TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR + guests
WE THREE AND THE DEATH RATTLE + DEAD SEA APES
23RD - THE BESNARD LAKES + guests SWEET JANE 24TH - DAVID LYNCH presents CHRYSTA BELL + guests MINUTE
S
ometimes things just turn out right. The right people, the right time, the right scene, the right records. Modern clubbing and music scenes are built on a foundation of heritage, both real and occasionally revised. Meanwhile, some people just know everything about great records. A collective of purist producers and record store masterminds operating without a hint of pretence, Wet Play and their bimonthly parties have, over the past few years, inspired a devoted following to head to various pub back rooms, mills, basements and multi-purpose jerk chicken venues, keen to indulge in a night that gradually nudges from welcoming, oozing boogie to relentless and crackling house. Having fallen pretty quiet since a Christmas party that featured a huge drone experimentation system in one room and Tim Burgess jamming in a pirate hat with a Cornish psych band in the other, Wet Play the night returns this month and brings with it a four-track EP, representing the beginning of the moniker as a burgeoning wax institution. The label launch party at Kraak on Saturday 18 May sees sets from usual residents Ste Spandex, Kickin’ Pigeon and Randy Marsh, as well as those on the EP. Tell us about the new EP? Ste Spandex: There’s one of my tunes, which I did when I first got my MPC in 2007. It’s a live take, called Edit V2. I keep playing it out and it still really works, and I need to get it out of my mind. Then there’s Jamie Logan, aka Loge, from Halifax, and that’s all analogue stuff, lots of stuff with tapes. Kickin’ Pigeon: Then there’s a track from Metrodome, who’s our mate Ruud, who’s younger than us but has been DJing since he was about 12, when we played a boat party with him and he smashed us all. Jonny Dub was booking him at the age of 14 because he was amazing at scratching.
May 2013
You don’t have to do it through Beatport though, you can run it through a specialist like Juno or Boomkat? SS: If it’s going to reach people and it gets to people that want to hear it, then I don’t see why not? KP: I think all the sub-standard stuff should be released digitally. RM: There won’t be any sub-standard stuff. KP: Exactly! If something’s worth its salt, you want a pressed, physical copy of it, so it doesn’t have to exist in cyberspace. Cyberspace is for porn and for emails. You don’t shag a computer, you shag a pussy! You listen to a record! I don’t hate digital, but the records that sell well are the ones that state there will be no digital release. There exists a personalised Wet Play phone jingle, but what other exciting Wet Play merchandising is in the offing? RM: There’s a keyring too, and we’ve already done a series of cassette mix releases, which have all sold out. Pidge has done one, there’s another from Seahawks, which is original stuff. KP: We don’t really know where the label’s going to go. We didn’t anticipate doing this when we were in the back room of The Crown, so who knows. Who are the biggest influences on the template and aesthetic of the label? RM: Easy one. For me it’s PPU, People’s Potential Unlimited, putting out mad tape jams from the 80s. KP: Jamal Moss is my biggest inspiration. Not because of sound, the sound isn’t Wet Play, but his stream of consciousness – anything that works, basically. His label, Mathematics – you can trace so much to that even though I rarely play any of that at Wet Play. SS: I really like old French house records, old Armand Van Helden and Roger Sanchez stuff. I started reading Mixmag in 1995, that mid-90s scene where everyone’s out their head for a big, fat kick drum, big piano riffs. KP: Ron Hardy and Daniele Baldelli are big influences. Wet Play’s label launch and Friends Swapping Party drenches Kraak, Manchester, on 18 May, £4 www.wetplaymcr.blogspot.co.uk
+
ALEX LIPINSKI
31ST - AN ACOUSTIC EVENING WITH ANDY CAIRNS (THERAPY?) -------------------------------------------------------------
JUNE 1 - MARNIE STERN + guests SKY LARKIN JUNE 1ST - REMAKE REMODEL ‘THE NATION’S SAVING GRACE OF ST
ROCK’N’ROLL’
JUNE 2ND - MILES KANE JUNE 3RD - L.L.E.MUSIC SERVICE SHOWCASE featuring KORA COLLECTIVE + ON THE RADIO + RACHEL WATERS + TOM METCALFE JUNE 5TH - BORED SPIES (MEMBERS OF BITCH MAGNET + SEAM + OBEDIENT WIVES CLUB + PASTELPOWER) + guests SMALLGANG + MOUNT FABRIC JUNE 7TH - KASSOMA + guests FREEDOM OF THE CITY JUNE 14TH - MELT YOURSELF DOWN JUNE 15TH - ULTIMATE POWER JUNE 22ND - HOUSEMANIA MEETS AUDIOHOUSE featuring MAJESTY + LANCE MORGAN + CHINO + JEZTA + VICTOR REID + MIKE TRACEY + JIMMY SWITCH + MURR + DARYEL MICHAEL + OLIVER JULIEN JUNE 28TH - BBC MANCHESTER INTRODUCING LIVE JULY 5TH - THE TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT JULY 12TH - DINOSAUR PILE UP SEPT 13TH - HEARTLESS BASTARDS OCT 26TH - KNOTSLIP
11:00pm club night
SOUL BOUTIQUE + JULIE E GORDON Sun 12th May
HEY! MANCHESTER PRESENTS... JUNIP Tue 14th May
ESKA Thu 16th May
KAN
Fri 17th May
THE ABYSSINIANS + DJ MIKEY D.O.N. Sat 18th May
FUNMI OLAWUMI Sun 19th May
SUNDAY SESSIONS
Mon 20th May
ROKIA TRAORE
NOV 14TH - THE BLOCKHEADS (RESCHEDULED DATE) NOV 15TH - ANE BRUN NOV 22ND - ELECTRIC MARY NOV 23RD - KING KURT
Thu 23rd May
Coming up from
Fri 24th May
WASHINGTON IRVING - 28 April - Castle Hotel, Manchester LUCY ROSE - 4 May - Northumbria University, Newcastle LIAM FROST - 11 May - The Anthony Burgess Institute,
Sat 25th May
Classic Slum Manchester
LIAM FROST - 12 May - The Anthony Burgess Institute, Manchester
SAM SALLON - 19 May - Castle Hotel, Manchester COME - 22 May - Ruby Lounge, Manchester DEXTERS - 22 May - Castle Hotel, Manchester THE BESNARD LAKES - 23 May - Ruby Lounge, Manchester CHRYSTA BELL - 24 May - Ruby Lounge, Manchester PARLOUR FLAMES - 26 May - Ruby Lounge, Manchester CAMP STAG - 26 May - Fat Cat, Stoke TERRAKAFT - 28 May - The Ruby Lounge, Manchester SULK - 29 May - Castle Hotel, Manchester CAMP STAG - 29 May - Buffalo Bar, London CAMP STAG - 30 May - Castle Hotel, Manchester MARNIE STERN - 1 June - Ruby Lounge, Manchester BORED SPIES - 5 June - Ruby Lounge, Manchester MELT YOURSELF DOWN - 14 June - Ruby Lounge,
Manchester
VINTAGE TROUBLE - 20 June - Northumbria University, Newcastle
THE TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT - 5 July - Ruby Lounge, Manchester
DINOSAUR PILE UP - 12 July - The Ruby Lounge THE HEARTLESS BASTARDS - 13 September - The Ruby
Lounge, Manchester THE BLOCKHEADS - 14 Nov - Ruby Lounge, Manchester
PAT MARTINO LEE THOMPSON'S SKA ORCHESTRA CRAIG CHARLES FUNK & SOUL CLUB feat. THE RENEGADE BRASS BAND
Tue 28th May
LO’JO Fri 31st May
SOUL:UTION feat. CALIBRE (2 HR SET) Tickets / Info:
bandonthewall.org ticketwall.org 0845 2 500 500 Band on the Wall, Swan Street, Northern Quarter, Manchester M4 5JZ
ADVANCE TICKETS c/o:
TICKETLINE: 0161 832 1111 ★ TICKETLINE.CO.UK SEE TICKETS: 0870 264 3333 ★ SEETICKETS.COM And over the counter at Piccadilly Records, Oldham Street, Manchester
Photo © Rosanna Freedman
One of the things I like about the night is the variety of tempos and styles. Randy is better known for the boogie side of things, whereas it gets a bit weirder or heavier when Spandex takes over later on. Is the plan to reflect all of these styles throughout the releases? Randy Marsh: Yeah, with the first 12” especially there’s a bit of boogie, a bit of housey stuff. We mainly want to represent all the sounds and people we’ve been wanting to put out for ages. SS: The fourth track is Skanky Magic, which is a collaboration between me and Preston Brooks, and that’s got more of a techno kind of feel, both in how it sounds and how we made it.
You all dig pretty deep and principally play wax, but is there any chance of any digital releases? KP: Nah. SS: I dunno, maybe. KP: What?!
TAKER
25TH - HELL TO PAY followed by CAGED ASYLUM 26TH - PARLOUR FLAMES + guests STEVE ROBERTS
Sat 11th May
CHRIS DAVE AND THE DRUMHEDZ
THERUBYLOUNGE.COM ★ TWITTER.COM/THERUBYLOUNGE TWITTER.COM/CLASSICSLUM ★ CLASSICSLUM/TUMBLR.COM
CLUBS
Preview
49
May Film Events This month’s film picks include two music documentaries and a music mockumentary, some exploitation double-bills and the latest Star Trek movie on a screen the size of a double-decker bus
A HIJACKING
Byzantium
Director: Neil Jordan. Starring: Gemma Arterton, Saoirse Ronan, Sam Riley, Caleb Landry Jones. Released: 31 May Certificate: 15
I’m So Excited!
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Director: Pedro Almodóvar. Starring: Javier Cámara, Raúl Arévalo, Carlos Areces, Lola Dueñas, Cecilia Roth. Released: 3 May Certificate: 15
Neil Jordan loves a myth. His best movies (The Crying Game, Mona Lisa, The Company of Wolves) are dreamy fairy tales with one toe in reality. The sensual and stunningly beautiful Byzantium continues this tradition. The film concerns two vampires who’ve been on the run for two centuries and opens with two murders that neatly summarise our heroines’ characters. Clara (Arterton) is an old-school, Hammer-style vamp: sexy, violent and handy with a cheese wire. Elenor (Ronan), an ethereal 200-yearold trapped in a teenage body, would be more at home in Twilight ’s emouniverse. When she feeds it’s to euthanise the terminally ill. This is probably what initially draws her to the peely-wally Frank (eccentrically played by Jones), with whom she begins a wistful romance. Byzantium is more interesting in Clara’s company, however. Jordan sporadically flashes back to a fascinating origin story that imagines her as an immortal suffragette born into a chauvinistic brotherhood of the undead. The film often meanders, but these delicious moments of surprise and invention more than compensate. [Jamie Dunn]
After making an unsettling and memorable foray into thriller territory with The Skin I Live In, Pedro Almodóvar’s new film feels like a conscious attempt to recapture the spirit of his earlier comedic films. A cast of Almodóvar regulars play the eccentric passengers and cabin crew who find themselves on board a potentially doomed flight, but while they all bring commendable energy to their parts, the coincidences and revelations that the director’s stories have always been built on feel particularly strained here. The gags – many of which lean heavily on tiresome gay stereotypes – are frequent but they only provoke the occasional chuckle, and Almodóvar’s decision to play rape for laughs is astoundingly misguided, creating a sense of discomfort that is at odds with the breezy tone. I’m So Excited is a broad, raunchy farce that sometimes threatens to develop into a Buñuelian satire on Spain’s ruling classes, but it ends up looking like a disappointingly half-baked effort from a director whose body of work has entitled us to expect much more. [Philip Concannon]
A Hijacking
Director: Tobias Lindholm. Starring: Johan Philip Asbæk, Søren Malling, Gary Porter, Abdihakin Asgar, Dar Salim. Released: 10 May Certificate: 15
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Village at the End of the World Director: Sarah Gavron Released: 10 May Certificate: 12A
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The understated manner in which the taking of a cargo ship occurs in A Hijacking is indicative of Tobias Lindholm’s approach to the subject. He avoids the scenes you’d expect to see in a film like this; he veers away from sensationalism at every opportunity, and instead he immerses us in the minutiae of a painfully protracted negotiation. As Danish chef Mikkel (Johan Philip Asbæk) and his shipmates cower under the guns of Somali pirates, his company’s CEO Peter (Søren Malling) attempts to haggle them down with the assistance a professional hostage negotiator (Gary Porter, who really does this for a living). Watching this back-and-forth play out is astonishingly tense, with the actors performing as if their lives really are on the line, and Lindholm uses this scenario to make potent points about class divide and corporate responsibility. Lindholm and editor Adam Nielsen expertly capture the agonising sense of time – and hope – slowly slipping away. When the credits roll, you may feel as if you too have been released from captivity. [Philip Concannon]
Many small-town teens dream of moving to the big city, but few experience as profound an isolation as 16-year-old Lars. Living in the remote Inuit settlement of Niaqornat in northern Greenland, peers are few and options limited. “We don’t have internet cafes, hotels or restaurants,” he explains. “We only have the shop” – a small convenience store serving the settlement’s 59 residents, and one of the few employers left in a village facing an uncertain future due to its ever-dwindling population. Filmed over an 18-month period, director Sarah Gavron focuses in on a handful of those who remain, piecing together an absorbing documentary portrait of everyday life in an extreme environment. The community’s attempts to kickstart their prospects by purchasing an abandoned fish factory provide a kind of overarching narrative, but it’s the vignettes proffered along the way – from whale butchery to springtime celebrations – that make Gavron’s film so fascinating. Beautifully-shot and purposely unsentimental, Village… is an insightful study of lives in transition. [Chris Buckle]
Something in the Air (Après mai)
Gimme the Loot
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Director: Olivier Assayas. Starring: Clément Métayer, Lola Créton, Hugo Conzelmann, Léa Rougeron, Félix Armand, Carole Combes, India Salvor Menuez. Released: 24 May Certificate: 15 Set in 1971, Something in the Air is French filmmaker Olivier Assayas’s ebullient tribute to the kids who had to follow in the footsteps of those student firebrands who helped bring his country to a standstill in the summer of 1968. It centres on Gilles (Métayer), a mop-haired teen who wants to change the world but doesn’t quite know how. Political, artistic, nonchalantly handsome – he’s essentially the kind of gloriously pretentious Frenchman that would send knees quivering if he turned up at your secondary school on a cross-channel exchange. Gilles is clearly a thinly-veiled version of Assayas, who also missed out on the generation-defining strikes of ‘68 (he would have been 13 at the time), and authentic autobiographical detail is what makes Something in the Air sing. Politics with a big ‘P’ can often drown cinema, but in Assayas’s sure hands the moving image wins out. By the film’s end, individual expression has trumped political collectivism and his onscreen stand-in has channelled his political ardour into personal filmmaking rather than agitprop. [Jamie Dunn]
50
Review
Director: Adam Leon. Starring: Ty Hickson, Tashiana Washington, Meeko, Zoë Lescaze. Released: 3 May Certificate: 15 In Adam Leon’s debut feature, two teenaged graffiti artists, Malcolm (Hickson) and Sofia (Washington), attempt to leave their mark on an iconic monument at a New York baseball stadium. Needing $500 to pay off stadium security, the pair manoeuvre through a myriad of loosely-conceived schemes and disparate characters over 48 hours, from flirtations with over-privileged slackers to break-ins with irritable tattooed thieves. Recalling the energy of early Cassavetes and Linklater, plus the latter’s fondness for eccentric conversations, Leon’s film has a lot of warmth, both in character interaction and the evocative capturing of a New York rarely portrayed in contemporary cinema. Bolstered by a low-key but assured aesthetic and a soundtrack of vintage soul and doo-wop, the film is infectiously enjoyable, with frequently amusing insights and an affable shagginess. Though its protagonists’ capers repeatedly prove hapless, Gimme the Loot is less about the goal – or even graffiti – and more the entertaining camaraderie of the aspirational duo and the irrational lengths they are willing to go for each other. [Josh Slater-Williams]
FILM
Words: Simon Bland
F
irst up, ace Brit director Shane Meadows brings his rock-doc The Stone Roses: Made of Stone to Manchester’s Cornerhouse on 30 May. Chronicling the band’s road to reunion and trio of sold-out Heaton Park shows, Made of Stone promises a never-before-seen glimpse at these local legends. Following the screening, Meadows will appear via satellite to host a Q&A with some as-yet unannounced special guests. The whole shebang will be zapped live to over 100 cinemas nationwide ahead of the doc’s full release on 5 Jun.
RE-ANIMATOR
The Art of Pop Video exhibition at Liverpool’s FACT will screen Rob Reiner’s untouchable mockumentary This is Spinal Tap on 8 May. Expect a tiddly Stonehenge and amps that go all the way up to 11 in this story of a faux metal band with more hair than brain cells. The exhibit will also show the Beastie Boys’ Awesome; I Fuckin’ Shot That! on 1 May. This unique doc saw Mike D, Ad-Rock and the late MCA dish out 50 cameras to gig-goers at their sold-out Madison Square Garden show and ask them to hit record. Definitely worth ch-ch-ch checkin’ out. Horror troupe Grimm Up North are hosting a Re-Animator and Bride of Re-Animator double-bill at Stockport Plaza on 2 May. These campy cult faves balance gore and dark humour effortlessly and are somewhat responsible for unleashing the controversial fast moving zombie on audiences. Speaking of which, Reel Zombies and The Eschatrilogy (Book of The Dead) get a back-to-back screening at the same venue on 21 May. Like your horror a little more hand made? Then this one’s for you. Finders Keepers Records kicks off its new monthly film night, Hocus Focus, with a double feature for B-movie junkies at Manchester’s Dancehouse Theatre on 3 May that is brilliantly described on its website as a ‘cinematic speedball bikesploitation clash.’ The films in the bill are Stone, in which the titular Sydney cop goes undercover to prevent the assassination of a biker gang, and Werewolves On Wheels, in which... well, you can work it out. On 1 May, Screen Stockport presents Ken Loach’s post wartime nostalgia doc The Spirit of ‘45 at the Stockport Plaza and on 9 May one of 2013’s most hyped (and secretive) summer movies Star Trek Into Darkness hits Manchester Printworks’ epic IMAX screen. As one of just 12 giant venues in the UK, to miss JJ Abrams’ second Trek on the biggest of big screens would be, as Spock would put it, highly illogical.
THE SKINNY
The Last Stand
Gangster Squad
The Unbelievable Truth
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Director: Kim Jee-woon. Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Forest Whitaker, Johnny Knoxville. Released: 27 May Certificate: 15
Director: Ruben Fleischer. Starring: Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn, Emma Stone. Released: 27 May Certificate: 15
“I’ll give the sheriff a call to tell him to get out of the way.” When a psychopathic cartel boss is sprung from custody in Las Vegas and races towards the Mexican border in a souped-up supercar with teams of killers running interference for him, the FBI warn the lawman of the sleepy border town that lies in his path to stand aside. What they don’t realise is that this particular sheriff has a past... This decent comeback vehicle for Arnold Schwarzenegger, fresh from his previous role as the Governator of California, is directed with some nice car-crunching flourishes by South Korean genre maestro Kim Jee-woon, including an exciting cat-and-mouse chase through a field of corn. The focus of the film, however, is always on Arnie, who remains an impressively granitic presence despite his protestations of old age. Although the accent seems to have mellowed, he still lumbers through his dialogue with the panache of a Speak & Spell low on batteries. [Keir Roper-Caldbeck]
Not much liked by the critics on its theatrical release, Gangster Squad’s account of the creation of an extra-legal LAPD team to take down a mob boss in postwar LA perhaps suffered because it covered the same ground as James Ellroy’s influential LA Quartet. But where Ellroy’s novels, and the films derived from them, owe their pervasive atmosphere of corruption and moral ambiguity to film noir, Gangster Squad channels the more straightforward world of the gangster B-movie and Dragnet, where the line between the good guys and the bad guys is always clear. Viewed in this light the film is an enjoyable, slick, violent, and lightweight pastiche, where the all-star cast play characters who can be summed up in a single line of dialogue (Josh Brolin’s ex-army police captain is described as “a bull in a china shop” and that’s really all you need to know). It’s also fun to see a ludicrously miscast Sean Penn hamming it up unashamedly as arch-gangster Mickey Cohen. [Keir Roper-Caldbeck]
Director: Hal Hartley. Starring: Adrienne Shelly, Robert John Burke, Chris Cooke Released: 27 May Certificate: 15 Audry feels, and looks, like the heroine of a Nouvelle Vague film who is trapped in the very ordinary surroundings of a Long Island suburb in the late 1980s. She obsesses about the hollowness of existence and the threat of nuclear conflagration, wears black and has an uncanny resemblance to a young Bardot. So it is inevitable that, after she dumps her proto-yuppie boyfriend, she becomes fascinated by Josh, an older man who has returned to the neighbourhood after a long and enforced absence. For not only does he wear a black polo neck, he also has “a history.” What saves Hal Hartley’s 1989 debut from being as annoying as its heroine is his deft undercutting of any pretentiousness with some lovely comic and absurdist setpieces, from running gags and bedroom farce, to a bizarre circular conversation and the unexplained reappearance of a minor character. A warm and witty love story for what might just be the end of the world. [Keir Roper-Caldbeck]
Hors Satan
Sacrifice
Quartet
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Director: Bruno Dumont. Starring: David Dewaele, Alexandra Lemâtre, Christophe Bon. Released: 13 May Certificate: 15
Director: Chen Kaige. Starring: Wang Xueqi, Ge You, Hai Qing. Released: 27 May Certificate: 15
No one goes to Bruno Dumont for easy answers or anything approaching ‘fun.’ His oeuvre is marked by an ascetic aesthetic, employed to serve sober themes – and Hors Satan may be his most inscrutable work yet. Actually, semi-scrutable is a fairer approximation of the film’s arcane qualities: precise meanings may be elusive, but there’s more to comprehension than whos, whats and whys. Dumont contrasts rural tranquillity with shocking violence and abnormal sexual encounters, including one scene in which the unnamed male protagonist sleeps with a backpacker, only for her to disturbingly growl and froth at the mouth in response – a reaction that may signify euphoria, but could equally indicate something more unsavoury. The ambiguity is typical, the impact substantial: in short, you won’t necessarily understand every frame, but you won’t easily forget them either. [Chris Buckle]
If there’s one thing that we learn from this historical epic from director Chen Kaige (Farewell My Concubine), it is that if revenge is a dish best served cold (15-years cold in this case), its preparation should also be fiendishly complicated. Indeed, so tortuous is the plan of mild-mannered doctor Chen Ying to avenge the terrible wrong that was done to him by the warlord Tu Angu that, when the climax is reached, the revenger spends a whole scene explaining (with flashbacks) his logic to the revengee. Ultimately, neither looks convinced. Sacrifice is made on a truly grand scale; sets are vast and beautifully detailed, costumes exquisite, and the extras multitudinous. Action is dramatically and lovingly staged; Wang Xueqi is a powerful, sullen presence. But these state-approved productions remain carefully and reverentially locked in the past and divorced from the life and energy of contemporary China. [Keir Roper-Caldbeck]
Director: Dustin Hoffman. Starring: Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly. Released: 6 May Certificate: 12
Dustin Hoffman’s shameless Bafta-bait arrives on DVD and is a pleasant diversion, if ultimately lacking in substance. Maggie Smith leads an all-star cast as a retired opera singer struggling to adjust to life in a nursing home for professional musicians. A piece like this depends on character actors and Hoffman brings together some of Britain's best. A faint plot about an upcoming concert is more of an excuse to get these luvvies on screen together as much as possible, and they’re always entertaining. Only Pauline Collins can’t seem to find the right note as the principal comic relief battling with senility. The meatier elements of growing old, and the loss of talent and dignity, are only superficially dealt with in what is essentially a vanity project that’s not without pretensions. But Smith commands every scene and the film has an undeniable warmth that’s hard to ignore. [Scotty McKellar]
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May 2013
FILM
Review
51
MICHAEL LANDY - FOUR WALLS
Michael Landy: Four Walls RAQIB SHAW - MONKEY KING BOUDOIR I
Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, until 16 Jun
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Manchester Art Gallery, until 26 May
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The Manchester Art Gallery has, since Valentine’s Day, been host to that which lurks in the murky depths of the human unconscious – in a collection of works by Indian-born, London-based artist Raqib Shaw. Adorned with willow and spring flowers for the exhibition’s duration, the gallery offers itself as a vessel upon which you’re welcome to embark to escape the city’s humdrum hum: but as you make your way into the building, it soon becomes apparent that this is not a place in which to find solace. Shaw’s work, though reminiscent of the old masters, transcends what we know – or rather, what we might want to know. On first entering the show, the viewer may feel underwhelmed by the simple, classic use of space: a huge room with paintings on the walls, nothing on the floor, and nothing to trip over? Perhaps this initial impression comes from your writer having spent too much time in student
exhibitions, where the sole purpose often seems to be to see how many people you can get to face-plant the floor in the name of participatory art. But in making our way over to the first painting in a line of many, that impulse feeling of, ‘Is this it?’ is revealed to have been unfounded. Using kaleidoscopic colour, painstakingly painted enamel and thousands of tiny jewels, Shaw drags you into lush, verdant realms, which appear fantastical at first but, on closer inspection, throw the viewer into battle with scenes of violence, perversion, and sexual fetish. Within Shaw’s constructed ecological visions exists a world that will excite even the most morbid of the viewer’s curiosities – or as David Lomas in his catalogue essay writes, the artist (and the viewer) witnesses ‘beauty mutate into a monstrous progeny that turns upon its creator.’ Shaw’s works reveal all too truly the reality that all that glitters is not gold. [Katy Morrison] Mon-Sun 10am-5pm, late opening on Thur until 9pm, Free www.manchestergalleries.org
You mightn’t think one photograph, four drawings and a video could cause you to consider both your relationship with your parents and the simultaneous dignity and futility of pouring your life’s work into maintaining a family home. But Michael Landy’s Four Walls – bringing together a handful of 2004 works paying homage to the artist’s father, John Landy, a miner and a resourceful man who prided himself on his ingenuity around the home but who, at 37, suffered debilitating spinal injuries in a tunnel collapse – is as moving as it is minimal. The show’s centrepiece is the half-hour Four Walls video, projected onto a screen hanging in the empty centre of the building’s wide entrance gallery and soundtracked by the trilling of Landy Sr’s whistling as he potters around his property. Comprising a series of stills – photos and instruction manual-style diagrams coloured in the flat, subdued shades of a Ladybird manual – it serves as both an appreciative presentation of his father’s dedication to DIY, and a non-accusatory but nonetheless palpable comment on the ultimate impossibility of achieving the ‘ideal’ home: rogue shots show cracks appearing, damp
rising, chair legs succumbing to wobble. Across the room, the photo, Semi-detached – John and Ethel Landy, depicts Landy’s parents standing modestly by the near-perfect rendering of the front facade of their home that the artist installed in Tate Britain in 2004. Despite its unceremonious pebbledash, peeling paint and drizzle-grey voile, the house’s flashes of ‘fancy’ – a grand wedge of stone step, a brass lion’s head doorknocker – nod to its inhabitants’ diligence and stoicism. Equally vocal in their simplicity are the four coloured pencil studies, from the series Welcome to my World – built with you in mind, of items owned by John Landy, including a VHS video cassette label (its rust and gold design holding unexpected nostalgia) and a still-packaged plumb bob set. The ‘Re-order’ number, printed in red across its plastic, is suddenly upsetting in the knowledge that Landy, placing this on his shelf after his accident, wouldn’t need to. The exhibition’s emotional pull lies in the echoing quality of the artist’s exercise: in thoughtfully filing and presenting his father’s odds and ends, Landy reflects the same care and precision that Landy Sr would have applied to using them. [Laura Swift] Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 12-4pm, Free www.manchester.ac.uk/whitworth
Different Faces 7th - 16th June Liverpool Arab Arts Festival: Different Faces in films, theatre, dance, music, arts and crafts, open air, street food, exhibitions, workshops, talks & debates. This hugely popular award winning festival is The destination of choice to experience Arab arts and culture.
Lights on Syria
For full listing and venue information, please visit -
Concert St Georges Hall, 16th June 7.30pm The magical singer Lena Chamamyan.
www.arabartsfestival.com For more information 0151 703 7782 | admin@arabicartsfestival.co.uk Liverpool Arab Arts Festival
Photography Exhibition the Bluecoat, 18th May - 14th July I exist (in some way) Issa Touma from Aleppo.
@arabicartsfest
Theatre Performance the Bluecoat, June 15th 7.30pm Damascus Stories (World Premier).
Supporters and partners
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Review
ART
THE SKINNY
The Trade Secret By Robert Newman
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Best of Young British Novelists 4
Hawthorn and Child
By Keith Ridgway
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It begins with a shooting in North London, with detectives Hawthorn and Child trying to work out what’s happened. Early on, though, Ridgway derails the standard train of plot in which much detective fiction gets locked: he lets the priority of solving the crime dissolve and dissipate. “We are not at the centre of things,” says Child. Then the chapters all run in different but related directions, picking up the story arcs of people whose relevance to Hawthorn and Child is not always immediately apparent. So we slide through the worlds of the chief inspector’s daughter, the local crime boss’s driver, a semi-psychopathic editor and the blurring dream-visions of Hawthorn’s sexual fantasies. Thus Ridgway breaks the conceit of a central narrative thread, and the characters that it might have held together go rattling away in all directions, knocking into one another like scattering beads. As one of them says: “It’s not a plot. Nothing so straightforward as a plot.” It is excellent, though, whatever it is that Ridgway has put in place of a traditional plot. This is not fussy stylistic trickery: the whole thing holds together and is buoyant with grotesque, shit-smeared brilliance. [Galen O’Hanlon] Out now, published by Granta, RRP £7.99
Indian Nocturne
By Various
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Once a decade, since 1983, Granta has compiled a list of the 20 best British novelists under the age of 40. Accompanying the announcement is a volume featuring a short piece of work from each selected writer. This year’s selection differs from previous decades in that, for the first time, we find a majority of women dominating the list. In addition there is a truly international flavour to what is in the collection; an acknowledgement of the multiple diasporas any sort of modern idea of Britishness must include. We see this in Kamila Shamsie’s Vipers, an excerpt from her forthcoming novel about the experience of British Indian soldiers fighting in Europe during WWII. David Szalay’s Europa is an examination of the strange relationships that develop through human trafficking and prostitution in London. Many of the stories take place outside of Britain, such as Ned Beauman’s Glow, or Evie Wyld’s After the Hedland. Jenni Fagan envisions a Britain on the verge of environmental collapse; Londoners fleeing the bursting banks of an overflowing Thames. Putting aside the Britishness of the collection, however, it is the quality of the writing which will define this generation, and the quality is very, very good. [Ryan Rushton]
By Antonio Tabucchi
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Out now, published by Granta, RRP £12.99. Read our interview with Ned Beauman below
Indian Nocturne follows a nameless man as he searches for his lost friend Xavier among the squalid streets and luxury hotels of India. At just over a hundred pages it is more a novella than a novel but not a single word is wasted. With minimal description Tabucchi calmly and precisely depicts the abject poverty present in the country’s hospitals, brothels and lodgings. Cockroaches, disease and death are starkly contrasted by the gross opulence of the tourist hotels as he treads a very different path during the day to where he sleeps at night. The nameless man traces Xavier’s journey across India in order to seek information but those who once knew him – a doctor, a prostitute, the leader of a religious order – can only offer half memories to aid his search. The sense of uncertainty is heightened by the narrative of an insomniac protagonist as he seamlessly drifts into dreams, blurring the boundaries of reality and fantasy. Indian Nocturne is not a book of action but of reflection. Each person encountered by the man adds to the philosophical thread of the narrative – questioning the reliability of memory, the nature of identity and the personal journey each individual takes through life. [Rowena McIntosh]
www.granta.com
Out 9 May, published by Canongate, RRP £8.99
Rob Newman’s fourth novel is both an investigation into the pervasive forces of corporations, class and capitalism, as well as a swashbuckling adventure of star-crossed lovers, treasure hunters and underdog heroes. It is, in short, ambitious. Set in what was then Persia, we follow the exploits of Nat Bramble, servant to English mercenary Sir Anthony Sherley, as he befriends lovelorn local poet Darius Nouredini. Together the two embezzle Sherley’s money and attempt to set up their own local oil operation, years before the value of black gold has been exploited by the West. They are, however, thrown into constant battle with exploitative forces, allowed to trample the heroes by virtue of their low standing in society. The breadth of historical research that went into this novel is clear, but sometimes too clear. Newman does indeed let the reader in on some marginalised pieces of the past, including the slave-running history of The Mayflower decades before it landed in America. However, at times it feels like the structure and tempo wanes as we are informed of excessive historical incident and character. The compelling dual-narratives of Nat and Darius could have driven the book forward more if some supplementary detail had been filleted off. That said, by and large The Trade Secret succeeds as a historical adventure that will also leave you thinking. [Ryan Rushton] Out now, published by Cargo Press, RRP £14.99. Read our interview with Rob Newman on page 27 www.robnewman.com
We sat down with the youngest author on Granta’s once-a-decade Best of Young British Novelists list, and chatted about inclusion, his work and the international appeal of ‘coke rap’ Interview: Ryan Rushton
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n 15 April last month hordes of writers, journalists, publishers and agents squeezed into the British Council building in anticipation of an announcement. Once a decade, beginning in 1983, Granta reveals its list of the 20 best British novelists under the age of 40. The list is known for its prescience in identifying writers who will dominate the British literary landscape in years to come. As evidence, see the past inclusion of Salman Rushdie, Martin Amis, Kazuo Ishiguro, Iain Banks, Monica Ali... the list goes on. This year the list was immediately noteworthy for featuring a majority of female writers and for the international breadth of the selection, pushing against any sort of narrow definition of Britishness. The youngest author, at 28 years old, was Ned Beauman, author of last year’s roundly celebrated The Teleportation Accident. We caught up with him mere days after the announcement, although my own excitement was tempered by the fact he had known for ages: “I found out on the 9th of January – long, long ago.” Asked about the mania that has surely engulfed him since the announcement, Beauman says: “Yes, between Granta and the hardback publications of The Teleportation Accident in the
May 2013
NED BEAUMAN
“A gay Burmese drug chemist being a huge coke rap fan is no more ridiculous than a public schooleducated British novelist being a huge coke rap fan” Ned Beauman
US and Germany, I have 14 readings in a monthlong period. Then again, there are 20 of us on the list, so there’s not too much pressure on any individual author.” At the moment it does seem like
this new wave of young authors are a collective, moving as one and in smaller factions over the next few months, giving readings and discussing the work that has gotten them included. Alongside the list, Granta also produces an accompanying book. Best of Young British Novelists 4 features a short new piece of writing from all the authors involved. In Ned’s case, the story entitled Glow is an extract from a forthcoming novel of the same name. He tells me, “the story is in fact a flashback explaining the background of one of the characters from Glow, which is otherwise set mostly in London. The advantage of giving Granta a flashback, rather than an excerpt from the main plot, was that it has a beginning, middle and end, like a short story. I suppose out of its context it functions as a story about a doomed love triangle, but in the novel it’s there to explain a few things that we’ve been wondering about earlier in the book. Also, there’s a fun sense in which, when a flashback is first published earlier than the rest of the book, it’s almost as if it really did happen chronologically earlier.” In tone Glow seems more serious than past work, which Beauman is candid about, describing
BOOKS
it as “a more sincere book than either of my first two.” Upon reading, this feels completely natural, like Beauman is exercising different aspects of the same voice readers have enjoyed already. The story’s protagonist, Win, is instantly likeable as a Burmese drug chemist involved with his seedy boss and new American lover and occasionally throwing out lines of gangsta rap. There are shades of Everything Is Illuminated’s Alex in this, except his character does not misappropriate the culture for comic effect; he gets the lines from Ghostface Killah just right. “Well, a gay Burmese drug chemist being a huge coke rap fan is no more ridiculous than a public school-educated British novelist being a huge coke rap fan. In fact, it’s considerably less ridiculous, because, as Win muses in the story, he pretty much leads the life those rappers are describing, except in a tropical climate.” Indeed. Details of where Ned and the other Best Young British Novelists are appearing can be found on the Granta site www.granta.com/Events/UK
Review
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Photo: Dylan Forsberg
Granta Best of Young British Novelists: Ned Beauman
Venue of the Month: The Lantern Theatre
We take a look at The Lantern, a fringe theatre in Liverpool bringing intriguing and diverse programming to the heart of the city
Interview: Vicky Anderson
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small fringe theatre and bar tucked in the Baltic Triangle area of Liverpool, The Lantern has enjoyed increasing word of mouth success since its opening in 2009, catering to grassroots, emerging and travelling theatre companies from across Europe. Housed on the second floor of an old warehouse building on Blundell Street, it’s one of Liverpool’s few theatres truly dedicated to fringe theatre – but that’s not all you’ll find going on. Regular folk nights, the Rush of Laughter comedy club and the odd one-off gig all make use of The Lantern’s space. It supports new writing and new companies, and provides an ideal stomping ground for established talents to try out experimental work – and there are regular acting and storytelling groups and workshops, and children’s events. Eventually, The Lantern aims to stage its own in-house productions, but for now hosts touring work from across the Northwest and the rest of the UK. Mother and daughter team Margaret Connell and Siobhan Noble took the reins of the theatre 18 months ago, with Connell, a former drama tutor at Hope University, investing in the theatre with redundancy money. With years of experience in theatre both as an academic and working on the outreach and education side of things for several Merseyside venues – plus coming from a family actively involved in the industry – Connell had a clear picture of what the city needed from The Lantern, and what she wanted it to be. “Our vision for The Lantern was [for it] to be something very community-based,” she says, “dedicated to developing audiences and championing new writing, especially new writing with a regional voice. I believe that is something that is very lacking in Liverpool. There is a huge gap for a small-scale theatre that people can afford to take chances in.” This month sees a busy and eclectic mix of local and national performers passing through, resulting in some of the most intriguing and diverse programming you could hope to find in the region.
THE THING ABOUT PSYCHOPATHS (4 MAY)
This includes everything from a production of Brecht’s Fear and Misery of the Third Reich from Dingle Community Theatre (7-9 May) to Everything has been said, they say, a piece from Danish performance artists Arrieregarden (12th May). Political stand-up show Transatlantic Fury with Nick Revell and Lee Camp arrives 16-17 May, while the delightfully strange prospect of an adaptation of Chaucer’s The Miller’s Tale told through the songs of Bob Dylan can be seen on 24 May. Finally, established writer Andrew Sherlock
(The Shankly Show, Epstein: The Man Who Made The Beatles) will be showcasing new work The Judgement of Hakim as part of the Writing on the Wall literary festival from 29-31 May. Having been refurbished by Connell and Noble, with its extended bar area and warm boho ambience The Lantern is a desirable night-out location in itself – and this is how its folk and comedy nights have gathered such a following. People may not know where they’re going the first time they visit, but Connell says many go on to become
regular patrons. “The Lantern is steadily being discovered by local artists and theatre groups who want to perform here,” she says. As the Baltic Triangle area is slowly reborn as one of the city centre’s creative hubs, and as new businesses, apartment blocks and a café culture start to appear in this previously abandoned and relatively cut-off part of town, so Connell’s gamble is starting to pay off. www.thelanterntheatre.co.uk
Malkin Tower: Twelfth Night
A Wondrous Place
Victoria Baths, Manchester, 1-5 May
Unity Theatre, Liverpool, 15-18 May
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or its debut production, new Northwest theatre company Malkin Tower reimagines Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night in the stunning Edwardian architecture of South Manchester’s Victoria Baths. Translated to the 19th century, this jolly romp featuring a shipwreck, cross-dressing and a pompous servant follows Viola as she navigates her way through a strange wonderland – but the play is not all knockabout laughs, and explores the unsettling crossover between love and madness. With its emerald tiling, vivid stained glass and elaborate Turkish baths, the venue is a palace for water, but does not lend itself to the task of staging theatre. “The biggest challenges have come from the building itself,” says the company’s founder and the production’s director, Anna Marsland. “Where do the audience sit? How will we light the production when the roof is made of glass? Where are the dressing rooms?” Marsland’s team have approached these challenges by embracing the Baths’ Edwardian heritage as inspiration for the staging. “The building really is at the heart of the production,” she says. Traditional songs from Manchester’s music halls and pubs are incorporated in the
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Preview
drama, and composer Oliver Mawdsley has written music based on old Lancashire folk songs. Marsland’s interest in drama began at Burnley Youth Theatre, where she directed a production of Alice in Wonderland. After staging student productions as an undergraduate, she went on to study theatre directing at London’s Birkbeck College, also spending a year as a trainee director for Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre. Her background in fantastical theatre is appropriate to the ethos of the young Malkin Tower company, which, interested in storytelling and magic, takes its name from the home of two of the infamous and alleged Pendle witches. The company is already developing its next project: a play exploring the relationship between preRaphaelite all-rounder Dante Gabriel Rossetti and his muse-turned-wife Elizabeth (‘Lizzie’) Siddal. Titled Eat Me, it’s partly based on a narrative poem by Rossetti’s sister Christina, Goblin Market. [Jacky Hall] £12 (£10) www.malkintower.com www.contactmcr.com
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our new short plays offering altered perspectives on contemporary Northern cities come together in A Wondrous Place, a new production combining the efforts of four up-and-coming writers in an attempt to show the region in a different light – and challenge the old ‘it’s grim up North’ cliché. “Overwhelmingly, dramatic stories located in the North of England depict a North of the past, or emphasise social depravation, or are about a character’s need to escape to a more fulfilling life elsewhere,” says Chris Meads, artistic director of Northern Spirit, the company behind the piece. Examining the cities of Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield and Manchester, A Wondrous Place aims to encourage its audience to experience them with new eyes. Electricity, by Sarah McDonald Hughes, makes the case that Manchester can be as glamorous as New York and as romantic as Paris; redemption and forgiveness on the midnight streets of Liverpool set the scene for Dog, by Luke Barnes; What Space Between by Alison Carr, tells the story of a girl who has an
THEATRE
extraordinary encounter with Gateshead’s iconic tower block the Dunston Rocket, and finally in Porters Brook by Matt Hartley, a young man’s life is saved by the spirit of Sheffield’s people. Meads continues: “We want to present an alternative, more surprising and more inventive idea of the North of England to the world, led by people who are passionate about it. We want to approach the people, the landscape and the experiences that you can have here with respect and with imagination, invest them with a sense of wonder, with a wide-screen intensity, with glamour and with romance.” The cast comprises Kathryn Beaumont, Josh Hayes, Sally Hodgkiss and Adam Search, and after its stint at Unity Theatre, the production will tour to Newcastle and Sheffield before arriving at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Studio on 11 June for a run until the 22nd. [Vicky Anderson] £12 (£10), £8 Wed preview/Sat matinee www.northernspirit.org.uk www.unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk
THE SKINNY
Push the Button Interview: Jacky Hall
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Women! They’re out there, building robots in cafés, just for the hell of it. The Skinny scopes out the growing number of opportunities for girl geeks – and everyone – to get into everything from coding to Arduino
Illustration: Caitlin Clancy
cross the Northwest, people are developing apps, coding websites and sewing flashing LEDs into cycling gear, just for the fun of it. Right now, there are probably people sitting in the room above a pub building robots, cosy in the warmth of soldering irons. And many of these people are women. Fewer women than men follow careers in technological or digital spheres, or complete qualifications in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths). But thanks to growing communities outside of work and education, more women are taking control of technology as hackers, hobbyists, geeks and dabblers, whether getting creative with HTML or playing with a Raspberry Pi (a small, low-cost computer). Natalie Ledward, a trainee architect, volunteers at Manchester’s digital fabrication laboratory FabLab. Open to the public Fridays and Saturdays, FabLab is a place where anyone can have a go with gadgetry such as a 3D printer, embroidery machine or laser cutter for the cost of the materials. Natalie admits that, before she started volunteering, technology was “never something I enjoyed – just a necessary evil as part of my degree.” But while she was researching her thesis, a tutor suggested she get involved with FabLab – and since completing the People’s Fab Academy, a course in how to use the equipment, she has gained an enthusiasm for technological DIY-ing. “So many opportunities open up to you,” she says. “It’s amazing what you can make yourself, without relying on other people, companies or manufacturers.” Another organisation offering hands-on tinkering is Manchester Girl Geeks, who host talks, networking events and workshops – with a female
bias. Men can attend, but only if accompanied by a woman. “We wanted to offer something a bit different,” explains one of the organisers, computer science PhD student Samantha Bail. “A lot of the Manchester tech scene is centred around going to the pub after work, which doesn’t mean to exclude people, but it often does.” Girl Geeks events aim to be particularly accessible to mothers who may have childcare responsibilities. Their monthly tea parties, occurring in venues such as MadLab or TechHub, are alcohol free and held on Sunday afternoons with children (sons and daughters) welcome. Their inexpensive small electronics workshops have been especially popular. “A mother can come along with her fouryear-old daughter,” Samantha continues, “and it won’t be boring for either of them.” Past Girl Geek workshops have covered subjects including mathematical origami, coding in programming languages like Python, and Arduino. Arduino? It’s a small, programmable chip, able to make motors whirr and lights flash. Also extremely fond of Arduino are the people behind DoES Liverpool. Their office/workshop in central Liverpool’s Gostins Building is fully Arduino’d up. Two of the group – Adrian McEwen and Patrick Fenner – show me the Arduino attached to a bubble machine, which is activated when DoES are mentioned on Twitter. They also have some WhereDials, perspex gears that display the owner’s location – like the Weasley family’s Whereabouts clock in Harry Potter, but better. They’re not made with ‘magic’, though: they’re made with hands and brains and perseverance. DoES host three maker events each month, plus Future Makers, a regular Saturday event for children and parents. Adrian believes confidence
can be a barrier for women. “When mothers come along to FutureMakers they say, ‘Oh, I can’t do that’. But with a bit of practise they soon can. It’s just problem-solving.” With so many opportunities, perhaps the gender gap in STEM industries will narrow. Or at the very least, perhaps more women will discover a rewarding and creative hobby. As Samantha
says: “Getting involved with technology can help you understand things more. And it can just be really good fun.” www.fablabmanchester.org www.manchester.girlgeekdinners.com www.doesliverpool.com
L I V E R P O O L’ S M O S T I N T I M AT E FRINGE VENUE A F R E S H L O O K F O R L A N T E R N T H E AT R E L I V E R P O O L NEW WEBSITE COMING SOON K E E P U P T O D AT E W I T H U S O N : T W I T T E R - @ LT L I V FA C E B O O K - L A N T E R N L I V E R P O O L T H E AT R E . M U S I C . C O M E D Y.
May 2013
TECH
Review
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Manchester Music Tue 30 Apr
Night-creatures Featuring Henry Botham
Sound Control, 19:30–23:00, £8
Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:30–01:00, £5
Attack! Attack!
Ohio-based Warped Tour regulars fronted by Caleb Shomo, touring with their new album, This Means War. Hatebreed (Demoraliser)
Manchester Academy 2, 3 and Club, 19:30–22:30, £14
Hardcore metal hailing band from Connecticut, entertaining riled up audiences since back in’t 1994.
Wed 01 May
Mohawk Radio (Phre the Eon, Laughing Gravy) Roadhouse, 19:30–22:00, £5
Manchester-based punk/rock/soul group led by the powerful vocals of Mia Chambray. Anton Hunter Trio
Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:00–00:30, Free
Manchester-born Anton Hunter, playing spacious, contemporary jazz with James Adolpho on bass and Johnny Hunter on drums. Katey Brooks
The Castle Hotel, 20:00–23:00, £3
Bristol-born, London-based singer/songwriter lady, making deliciously smooth Americana folk with a jazz twist. Korea Rocks (Galaxy Express, Apollo 18, Goonamguayeoridingstella, Gate Flowers )
Night & Day Cafe, 20:00–02:00, Free
Showcase event highlighting the best of the Korean rock music scene, with everything from physchadelic garage punk rock to hard alt-rock. Chvches
Sound Control, 19:00–22:00, £10
Electro-pop trio from up Glasgowway, currently embarking on a mammoth world tour
Thu 02 May Masta Ace
Roadhouse, 19:00–22:30, £8
The ever-influential MC returns to Manchester following a sell out show last year. Sonar
Band On The Wall, 19:30–23:00, From £12
Post-minimal-rock four-piece hailing from Switzerland, with an instantly recognisable sound crafted by the unique tuning of the guitars and bass guitar. Johnny Hunter Quartet
Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:00–00:30, Free
Blind Monk Trio drummer, Johnny Hunter, branching out with a new project, offering up fresh, contemporary jazz. Killswitch Engage (Sylosis, Heartist)
The Ritz, 19:00–22:00, £sold out
Formed in 1999 from various members of Overcast and Aftershock, the Massachusetts-based five-piece now have six studio albums and one DVD under their belts – still making loud and angry metalcore, natch. Mr Tom
Dry Live, 18:30–22:30, £5
Indie banger pop from the Southampton/New Forest-based four piece.
The Last Carnival (Fluorescent Hearts)
Manchester Academy 2, 3 and Club, 19:00–22:00, £7
More pumping melodies and driving guitar from the energetic rock five-piece.
Fri 03 May The Neighbourhood
The Ruby Lounge, 19:30–22:00, £9
Half blues band, half brass band, offering up rhythm and blues and funk. Pete Roe
Soup Kitchen, 19:00–22:00, £7
Multi-instrumentalist and vocalist from Laura Marling’s band, embarking on a solo project, touring with his debut album, Our Beloved Bubble. The Staves
Gorilla, 19:00–23:00, £sold out
Headline set from Communion Records all-female folk harmony trio. Thabo and The Real Deal
The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £6 (£8 door)
Acoustic soul from West Yorkshire, apparently they were on that series of X Factor when Bob Marley, Fela Kuti and Dolly Parton were judges. Musta missed that one. Free Gig Friday (Those Rotten Thieves)
The Bay Horse, 21:00–01:00, Free
Fill your Friday night with free live music – guests and DJs selected by a different band each week. Adjective Animal
Dry Live, 18:30–22:30, £5
A five-strong line-up showcase event with alternative five-piece, Adjective Animal snagging the headline spot.
Sat 04 May The Sleep
Roadhouse, 19:00–22:30, £5
Rock’n’roll four-piece with roots in Cheshire. Franny Eubank’s The Blues
Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:30–01:00, £5
Original Chicago blues from the Manchester-based Franny Eubank – delivering knock out performances with a harmonica and vocals. The See See
The Castle Hotel, 20:00–23:00, £6 (£8 door)
The London trio present their new adventures in rock’n’roll and psychedelia under the Ma Raineyinspired moniker The See See. Seasick Steve (Duke Garwood)
The Ritz, 18:30–22:00, £22.50
The storytelling country-rockin’ bluesman showcases his new album, Hubcap Music, rich with his raspy vocals and personalised guitar. Mutiny on the Bounty
Trof Fallowfield, 19:00–22:00, £5
Luxembourgish four-piece making indie/math rock flecked with synthetic and electronic elements, out on tour with their latest album, Trials.
Sun 05 May
Old Man Markley (Roughneck Riot, Paper Town)
The Star and Garter, 19:00–23:00, £7 (£9 door)
Punk and bluegrass hybrid from California, led by John Carey on guitar (also featuring Ryan Markley on the washboard, obvs). On An On
The Deaf Institute, 19:00–23:00, £8
US-based trio making electrodream pop, touring with their debut album, Give In. LVLS
The Castle Hotel, 20:15–23:00, £3.50 (£5 door)
Manchester-based Loveless present their unique brand of dark, shiny pop. Colin Hay (Chris Trapper)
The Ritz, 19:00–23:00, £22
King Creosote
The Grammy Award-winning frontman of Men At Work gives his latest solo LP, Gathering Mercury, a live airing.
Band On The Wall, 19:00–23:00, From £12.50
Antwerp Mansion, 21:00–01:30, £13
Alternative Californian quintet led by heavily-tattooed frontman Jesse Rutherford.
One-half of the inimitable Fence Records (alongside Johnny Lynch, aka The Pictish Trail), Fife-based singer/songwriter KC – otherwise known as Kenny Anderson – takes to the road for a wee jaunt of the UK.
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Big Daddy Kane
Grammy award-winning American rapper who started his musical career back in 1986 as part of the Cold Chillin’ Juice Crew.
Sounds From The Other City 2013 Various Venues, 15:00–02:00, £18
The annual festival of new music is set to take over Salford for the day, with over 70 acts spread over 12 stages and a proper afterparty at Islington Mill. Highlights include: Stealing Sheep, Gramme, Rozi Plain, and BC Camplight.
Alt-J
The Computers
The Elwins (Royal Canoe)
The Tricks
The Black Sound Series
Manchester Academy, 19:00–22:00, £sold out
The Deaf Institute, 19:00–23:00, £6
The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £5
The Castle Hotel, 20:00–23:00, £6
Contact Theatre, 20:00–01:00, £10 (£6)
Mercury-nominated Cambridge quartet – whose name is literally the computer shortcut for a geometrical symbol – sporting intricate fusions of plucky jazz, sombre guitar and dubby rhythms. Paul Farr Band
Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:00–00:30, Free
Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Manchester native, Paul Farr – known for touring with the likes of Lily Allen and Corinne Bailey-Rae – joined by bandmates John Ellis, Neil Fairclough and Luke Flowers.
The Deaf Institute, 19:00–22:30, £sold out
Islington Mill, 19:00–23:00, £5
Mon 06 May
Portland-based three piece making alternative indie-rock with a healthy dose of electronic influence. Dick Valentine (Electric 6)
Soup Kitchen, 19:30–22:30, £9.50
Electric Six frontman Dick Valentine is going it alone with his debut solo album, Destroy the Children. Arthur Rigby and The Baskervylles
The Castle Hotel, 20:00–23:00, £tbc
Epic eight-piece orchestral pop band hailing from Leeds, led by frontman Benjamin, who takes care of the scores for the violins, piano, bass, trumpet, trombone, saxophone and flute.
Tue 07 May Phosphorescent
The Ruby Lounge, 19:30–22:00, £11
Matthew Houck, aka Phosphorescent, out on a Europe-wide tour to showcase his fifth studio album, Muchacho – delivering experimental alt-indie/folk, all saturated with reverb and those distinct vocals. Stuart McCallum: ‘Projects’ Residency
Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:00–00:30, Free
Cinematic Orchestra guitarist trying out new material in the realm of beats, electronica, classical orchestration and jazz. Laura Mvula
Gorilla, 19:00–22:30, £sold out
Soul lady of the moment, imbued with gospel stylings and a voice that’ll make you stop and savour. Joshua Hyde
The International Anthony Burgess Foundation, 19:00–22:00, £5 donation
Saxaphonist and director of Soundinitiative Ensemble plays a selection of new works. Arcane Roots
Sound Control, 19:30–23:00, £7
Surrey-based rockers adept at pushing the genre in fresh and unexpected ways.
Wed 08 May
The Jochen Eisentraut Trio
Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:00–00:30, Free
The Wales-based Jochen Eisentraut, delivering atmospheric jazz and original compositions, influenced in part by the Snowdonia landscape. Lordi (Kaledon, Hostile)
The Ritz, 19:00–23:00, £16.50
The – let’s face it, slightly bizarre – Finnish hard rockers bring the mayhem, all monster masks and O.T.T. pyrotechnics. Rat Attack
Sound Control, 19:00–22:00, £5
Vondelpark
London-based young pups Lewis, Alex and Matt bring the ear-pleasing ambient, washed-out electronica. Gagreflex (The Me Me Me’s, Halflings Leaf, Dead Retinas)
KRAAK, 19:30–23:00, £4 (£5 door)
A night of punk rock from Gagreflex, a musical assault on pop classics from The Me Me Me’s, experimental rock from Halfling’s Leaf and straight up punk from the Dead Retinas. Feldspar
The Castle Hotel, 20:00–23:00, £5 (£7 door)
London-based five-piece, led by singer/songwriter Will Green, playing alt-folk with astute lyricism. We Are The In Crowd, Never Shout Never
The Ritz, 19:00–23:00, £15
American indie-rock lot We Are The In Crowd take to the road for a special co-headline spring tour with fellow US indie-popsters Never Shout Never. FYI, that’s a whole lotta indie.
Fri 10 May
The DN5 (These Mortal Cities, Jacobi, Gdansk81)
Roadhouse, 19:30–22:00, £7
Five-piece blues rock line-up hailing from Manchester, taking inspiration from The Rolling Stones, Gram Parsons and Primal Scream, to name a few. The Tapestry, The Delaplains, The Watchmakers
Band On The Wall, 19:30–23:00, £5
A tripe headline event with three of Manchester’s finest, playing everything from guitar-pop to psych-rock’n’roll.
OMD (John Foxx and The Maths)
Manchester Academy, 19:00–22:00, £32.50
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark present their latest album, English Electric. The Phoenix Foundation
The Deaf Institute, 19:00–22:00, £9
Prog-styled indie-rock from New Zealand, founded back in 1997 when Conrad, Samuel and Luke were but young high school pups. OZMO
Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:30–01:00, £5
Liverpool-based five-piece, making smooth jazz and groove sounds. Lotte Mullan
The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £7
Tender pop singer/songwriter originally from the fields of Suffolk, who, asides from music, claims to enjoy bike rides, real ale and cowboys. Cold War Kids (Milo Greene)
Party punk four-piece from Exeter, out on tour with the new self-titled EP, Rat Attack – say it five times, fast.
California natives, making indie rock with those beachy wave vibes we all love.
Thu 09 May
Sound Control, 19:30–23:00, £9
Author and Punisher
Roadhouse, 20:00–22:00, £7
The industrial doom/drone offerings of Tristan Shone – hailing from San Diego. Dave McPherson
The Ruby Lounge, 19:30–22:00, £8
The Ritz, 18:30–22:00, £11.50
Wolf People
Psychedelic folk-rock with flecks of the blues, from the London, Bedford and North Yorkshirestraddling foursome. Free Gig Friday (Gymnast)
The Bay Horse, 21:00–01:00, Free
The ex-InMe frontman takes to the road solo.
Fill your Friday night with free live music – guests and DJs selected by a different band each week.
Band On The Wall, 19:30–23:00, £19.50
Sat 11 May
Shuggie Otis (Jesca Hoop)
Rhythm and blues legend, playing a rare spate of shows with his new band, and joined on the evening by Northwest Skinny cover story contributor, Jesca Hoop.
Chris Dave and the Drumhedz
Band On The Wall, 19:00–23:00, £12 adv.
An alternating line-up of worldclass musicians, with Chris Dave leading the way on their musical journey through genres.
Visceral and hardcore bluesy punk from the Exeter four-piece, touring with their new album, Love Triangles Hate Squares.
Ontario-based four-piece indie rock line-up, formed out of a high school friendship back in 2008.
Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:30–01:00, £5
Virginia-based trio who take hiphop infused punk and indie-rock soundcapes and mould ‘em into something unique. Oh, and the name’s pronounced RedGoldGreen. Obviously.
Neil Yates
Legendary trumpeter, Neil Yates, playing with a full band lineup. Dirty Beaches
Soup Kitchen, 19:30–22:30, £8
Solo performer, sound-smith and trans-Pacific nomad Alex Zhang Hungtai plays under his Dirty Beaches moniker, all drum loops, yearning melodies and enchantment. Shovels and Rope
Night & Day Cafe, 19:30–02:00, £9.50
Husband and wife duo from South Carolina – making lovely harmonydriven folk with the help of a a few guitars, a kick drum, a snare, some harmonicas and the occasional bit of keyboard. Athlete
The Ritz, 18:30–22:00, £sold out
Mercury Prize-nominated four-piece hailing from Deptford, London, playing alt/indie rock. Liam Frost
The International Anthony Burgess Foundation, 19:30–22:00, £sold out
Hailed as the UK’s answer to Bright Eyes, local boy Liam Frost blends delicious alt-folk melodies with heartfelt lyrics – all while navigating hefty subject matter. Playing a series of dates in his home town, with an extra date added due to demand. FranKo
Sound Control, 19:00–22:00, £7
Alternative rock-pop bunch from London, led by Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging actor, Tommy Bastow. Kishi Bashi
Trof Fallowfield, 19:30–22:00, £5
RDGLDGRN
Night & Day Cafe, 20:00–02:00, £7.50
Then Jerico (Mike Marlin)
Manchester Academy 2, 3 and Club, 19:00–22:00, £19.50
The 80s rockers play a rare date to celebrate 30 years since their original formation. Noah and The Whale
Opera House Manchester, 19:00–22:00, From £18.50
Nu-folk singer/songwriter Charlie Fink & Co churn out a batch of polished pop numbers, on tour on the run up to the release of their fourth studio album, Heart of Nowhere.
Tue 14 May
TesseracT (The Algorithm, Enochian Theory)
Roadhouse, 19:30–22:00, £10
British prog rock group credited with pioneering the ‘djent’ movement in progressive metal. Eska
Band On The Wall, 19:30–23:00, £12
Zimbabwe-born singer/songwriter with a rich musical background, drawing on folk, phsycadelia, jazz and choral music influences. Dance Gavin Dance
NQ Live, 19:00–22:00, £10
Formed back in 2005 in California, the post hardcore lot return with their ever-changing (aka unguessable) line-up. Toe Rag Trio
Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:00–00:30, Free
The singer, violinist, and composer, Kishi Bashi, embarking on a solo orchestral project – known for playing around with a dazzling array of vocal and violin loops.
The Toe Rag Trio are Paul, Helen and Danny – channelling influences ranging from Django Reinhardt to Stephane Grappelli, whilst bringing a fresh perspective.
Factory 251, 19:30–22:30, £9.50
Gorilla, 19:00–22:30, £10.50
Steve Diggle
Taking a break from the Buzzcocks live schedule, founding member Steve Diggle takes to the Factory to play an acoustic set covering some Buzzcocks classics alongside his solo work.
Sun 12 May Junip
Band On The Wall, 19:30–23:00, £11 adv. (£13 door)
Little Boots
Pop star, otherwise known as Victoria Hesketh, launched into stardom back in 2009 with her Gold-selling album, Hands. The Amazing Snakeheads
The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, tbc
Glasgow-based rock’n’rollers gently imbuing their sound with a bit o’ garage blues. John Grant (Asgeir Trausti)
The Ritz, 19:00–23:00, £16.50
A rare outing for Jose Gonzalez’s band, featuring drummer, Elias Araya and keyboardist, Tobias Winterkorn.
The American singer/songwriter and onetime frontman of 90s act The Czars does his solo thing.
The Deaf Institute, 19:00–23:00, £8
Experimental duo who sample old public information films and archive material and set them to new music, making for a pretty special live set.
Chelsea Wolfe
The Californian songstress brings the richly layered and darkly haunting stylings as per, touring with her fourth studio album. Title Fight
NQ Live, 20:00–22:00, £10
The Kingston natives show their love of melodic hardcore anthems, as displayed on the Walter Schreifels-produced new album, Shed. Soriah (Die Hexen, Laser Dream Eyes) The Castle Hotel, 19:00–23:00, £tbc
Soriah, the Sufi word for ‘Milky Way’, is the stage persona of Enrique Ugalde – known for blending Khöömei (Tuvan Throat Singing) with more experimental electronic and acoustic accompaniments Liam Frost
The International Anthony Burgess Foundation, 19:30–22:00, £8
Hailed as the UK’s answer to Bright Eyes, local boy Liam Frost blends delicious alt-folk melodies with heartfelt lyrics – all while navigating hefty subject matter. Playing a series of dates in his home town, with an extra date added due to demand.
Public Service Broadcasting
Sound Control, 19:00–22:30, £10
Eric Clapton
Manchester Arena, 19:30–22:00, From £55
Widely regarded as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, it’s almost insulting to attempt to write a ‘short description’, but here goes – the Surrey-based rocker will be in town playing some of his many, many *many* hits.
Wed 15 May Beach Fossils
Roadhouse, 19:30–22:00, £8
Starting out as Dustin Payseur’s solo project, Beach Fossils came to be after Tommy Gardner took to the drums – fleshing out their sound with a full band for live gigs – expect plenty of alt-indie goodness. Matt Berry
The Ruby Lounge, 19:30–23:00, £14
The London-based rock/powerpop four-piece, touring on the run up to the release of the album they recorded in sunny Los Angeles back in January. Rue Royale
Night & Day Cafe, 20:00–02:00, £5
Following a sold-out performance in 2012, BPM and Contact team up to deliver another one-off music event: garage Vs grime.
Hurray For the Riff Raff (Walton Hesse, James Carson) The Castle Hotel, 20:00–23:00, £8
Husband and wife duo made up of Ruth and Brookln Dekker, loved equally for their indie-pop goodness and hand-knitted merch.
Soulful, country-tinged vignettes from Alynda lee Segarra and her touring band, the Tumbleweeds.
The Whitworth Art Gallery, 20:00–23:00, £10
The Ritz, 18:00–22:00, £15
How To Dress Well
Moniker of experimental pop producer, Tom Krell, the man who shot to fame in 2010 with his debut album, Love Remains, and continued this upward trajectory with his next release, Total Loss.
Thu 16 May
The Exploited (Discharge, Crashed Out, The Fiend)
The Scottish punk outfit make a rare appearance at the Ritz, with support from Discharge, Crashed Out and The Fiend.
Sun 19 May MC Lars
The Ruby Lounge, 19:30–22:00, £7.50
Band On The Wall, 19:30–23:00, £12.50
MC Lars is the answer to the widespread (?) problem of not having enough Edgar Allen Poe references in hip-hop – making intellectual indie hip-hop, with literary inspired lyrics.
Dead By April
American indie/folk duo hailing from Brooklyn, comprised of Molly Hamilton’s syrupy-sweet vocals, with Robert Earl Thomas on’t guitar.
KAN
Flook and Lau frontmen Brian Finnegan and Aidan O’Rourke join forces with guitarist Ian Stephenson and Manchester drummer Jim Goodwin to create something rather special – touring to launch their debut album, Sleeper. NQ Live, 19:00–22:00, £10
Gothenburg foursome fusing catchy pop melodies, relentless metal riffing and balls-to-thewall rock sounds. Rescheduled date. Bobby and Jemima
Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:00–00:30, Free
Widowspeak
The Deaf Institute, 19:30–23:00, £8
Sam Sallon
The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £5
Contemporary folk music from the London-based Sam Sallon, out on the road on the run up to his next release, One For The Road. Fitting. Genleman’s Dub Club
Playing a mixture of covers and originals, Bobby and Jemima will be joined by saxophonist Karl McCabe to produce a rich and rounded sound.
Manchester Academy 2, 3 and Club, 19:00–22:00, £12.50
Soup Kitchen, 19:30–22:30, £8
Mon 20 May
Sophie Delila
London-based French girl Sophie Delila, seducing our isles with her soul pop vibes.
Fri 17 May
The Handsome Family (Snowapple) The Ruby Lounge, 19:00–22:00, £12
Musical collaboration between husband and wife duo Brett Rennie Sparks – still making lovely Americana-styled alternative folk tunes after some 20 years together. The Abyssinians (DJ Mikey D.O.N)
Band On The Wall, 20:30–23:00, £19.50
The Jamaican roots reggae ensemble return to a live setting, known for their close harmonies and promotion of the Rastafari movement in their lyrics. Paper Aeroplanes
Eight-piece dub/reggae/dance group hailing from Leeds, touring with their latest EP, Open Your Eyes. Rokia Traore
Band On The Wall, 19:00–23:00, £18
Mali-born singer/songwriter and winner of the 2003 BBC Radio 3 World Music Award – Rokia Traore is touring with her fifth album, Beautiful Africa, featuring lyrics sung in her native languages of French and Bambara, with some English. Craig David
The Ritz, 19:00–23:00, £27.50
Mr David is making music and touring again – you know the drill, look busy. BrokeNCDYE
Sound Control, 19:30–23:00, £11
Albuquerque-based crunkcore bunch, shot to fame after uploading their Freaxxx video to YouTube – six million hits and counting.
The Deaf Institute, 19:00–22:00, £8
The Zombies
The Dixie Ticklers
The classic-styled English rockers play as part of their 50th anniversary tour.
Acoustic alternative folkies from Wales, led by vocalist and songwriter Sarah Howells. Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:30–01:00, £5
Six-piece ensemble playing New Orleans jazz, led by clarinettist and composer Dom James. Two Eyes (Wet Pelican, Minor Blues, The Bluebottle Veins)
Night & Day Cafe, 19:30–02:00, £6
Psych/rock’n’roll from a Manchester-based four-piece. Free Gig Friday (Mr Heart)
The Bay Horse, 21:00–01:00, Free
Fill your Friday night with free live music – guests and DJs selected by a different band each week.
Sat 18 May Funmi Olawumi
Band On The Wall, 20:00–23:00, £12.50
Nigerian singer and founder of the Yoruba Women Choir, touring wit her 12-piece big band. The Postal Service
Manchester Academy, 19:00–22:00, £sold out
The Lowry, 20:00–22:00, £20
Bob Mould (Jason Nardusy, Jon Wurster)
Manchester Academy 2, 3 and Club, 19:00–22:00, £19
Alternative San Fransiscoan rocker (and one time Husker Du and Sugar man), showcasing his latest album, Silver Age, with a four-date tour of the UK.
Tue 21 May
Andrew McMahon (Fort Hope)
The Ruby Lounge, 19:30–22:00, £15
Better known as the piano-pounding frontman from Something Corporate and Jack’s Mannequin, now doing his solo synth-pop thing, drawing comparisons to Death Cab et al. Bottomline
KRAAK, 19:00–22:00, £3
Slovenia-based five-piece, touring with their new EP, Solitude. Charlie Boyer and The Voyeurs
Soup Kitchen, 19:30–22:30, £6
Mon 13 May
The ever-talented Matt Berry – yes, the funnyman from The IT Crowd and The Mighty Boosh – doing a full band set, laden with deep vocals and his usual cheeky charm.
On tour for the first time since 2003, Ben Gibbard (of Death Cab For Cutie fame) and Jimmy Tamborello and their catchy, synthy electro-pop.
London-based guitar rock five piece, grabbing attention with their debut single, I Watch You, produced by Orange Juice frontman, Edwyn Collins.
KRAAK, 19:30–23:00, £5
The Deaf Institute, 19:00–23:00, £10.50
Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:30–01:00, £5
Gorilla, 19:30–23:00, £12.50
Julie Doiron
Canadian singer/songwriter of mid-90s fame as the bass and guitar player for the grunge rock group Eric’s Trip – now doing her solo folk/indie-rock thing to suitably fine effect.
Valerie June
Memphis based singer/songwriter, making ‘organic moonshine roots music’, so says she.
Dark Matter
Full band line-up led by Rioghnach Connolly’s folk vocals, delivering electronic beats, loops and vocal sculpting to an already colossal sound.
Youngblood Brass Band
Globe-trotting, ten-piece ensemble, making highly progressive, energetic and riotous jazz. Caulbearers
The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £tbc
Manchester-based eight piece, fusing a unique blend of influences and genres to create a funk/soul sound.
THE SKINNY
The Skints
Mount Eerie
OneFiveEight Expo:02
Senses Fail
Manchester Academy 2, 3 and Club, 19:00–22:00, £11
Soup Kitchen, 19:30–22:30, £8
Islington Mill, 16:00–03:00, Free (£10 after 10)
NQ Live, 19:00–22:00, £10
London quartet whose rock sound takes in reggae, dub, ska, pop and roots as it goes.
Wed 22 May
Come (We Three, The Death Rattle)
The Ruby Lounge, 19:30–22:00, £12
Alt-rock band hailing from over America way, touring to celebrate 20 years since release of their hit album 11:11. The Beards
The Deaf Institute, 19:00–23:00, £7.50
Fuzzy-faced folk from South Australia, responsible for such beard-loving anthems as ‘You Should Consider Having Sex With a Bearded Man’ and ‘If Your Dad Doesn’t Have a Beard, You’ve Got Two Mums...’. Nice. Stuart McCallum: ‘Projects’ Residency
Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:00–00:30, Free
Cinematic Orchestra guitarist trying out new material in the realm of beats, electronica, classical orchestration and jazz. Cayucas
Soup Kitchen, 19:30–22:30, £6.50
Sun-kissed five-piece from Santa Monica, CA – playing beachy, altpop with a rocked out vibe. Dexters
The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £5
If you missed them at Liverpool sound city, here’s another chance to catch the guitar rock bunch from Hoxton. Three Blind Wolves
Night & Day Cafe, 20:00–02:00, £6
More singalongable, dancealongable alternative countryesque tunes from the Glasgow lads.
Bonobo: The North Borders Tour
The Ritz, 19:30–23:00, £sold out
Musician, producer and DJ associated with Ninja Tune and Tru Thoughts, making downtempo trip-hop and electronic sounds. NoMeansNo
Sound Control, 19:30–23:00, £10
Progressive punk rock bunch from Canada with a loyal following over on this side of the pond. Hungry Kids of Hungary
Trof Fallowfield, 19:30–23:00, £6
Australian four-piece making catchy, energetic guitar pop, drawing on a hefty array of influences, from rock and soul, to 60s pop-rock. Tribes
Manchester Academy 2, 3 and Club, 19:00–22:00, £12.50
Camden town indie kids out on their own playing the obligatory indie-rock soundcapes. Watsky (Dumbfounded)
Manchester Academy 2, 3 and Club, 19:30–22:00, £8
The emerging San Franciscoan hip-hop chap does his slam poetry thing, still riding high on his 2011 viral track, Pale Kid Raps Fast. Rush
Manchester Arena, 19:30–22:00, From £60
Canadian prog rock/metal trio that lag just behind the Beatles and the Rolling Stones for the most consecutive gold or platinum studio albums by a rock band – out and touring their latest album, Clockwork Angels.
Thu 23 May
The Besnard Lakes (Sweet Jane)
The Ruby Lounge, 19:30–22:00, £9
Psychedelic and progressive pop offerings from the charming Montreal foursome, formed in 2003 by the husband and wife team of Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas. Pat Martino
Band On The Wall, 19:30–23:00, £17.50
Celebrated jazz guitarist hailing from Philadelphia, joined by Pat Bianchi and Carmen Intorre. Lord Huron
The Deaf Institute, 19:00–23:00, £8
LA-based folk pop outfit formed around Chicago native, Ben Schneider. Rodina
Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:00–00:00, Free
Blending jazz and pop with electronic influences, Rodina will be joined by Cinematic Orchestra guitarist Stuart McCallum for this special performance.
May 2013
The latest evolution of Phil Elverum’s fuzzy-folk musical vision, formerly playing as The Microphones. Sleeping With Sirens
The Ritz, 19:00–23:00, £sold out
The Florida post-hardcore quintet bring their latest LP to a live setting, following on from last year’s acoustic EP. Life In Film
Trof Fallowfield, 19:00–23:00, £6
London-based indie-pop quartet touring on the back of their new EP, Needles & Pins – the title single of which you can currently download via their Soundcloud, for gratis. The Girobabies (The Universal, Words Escape Me)
The King’s Arms, 19:30–23:00, £5
The hard-rockin’ Glaswegian outfit do their angry thing, with support from Liverpool’s The Universal, and poet Words Escape Me.
Fri 24 May Great Cynics
The Star and Garter, 19:00–23:00, £6
The second expo event from the OneFiveEight collective, spanning photography, audio-visuals, music and visual arts, followed by a Herbal Sessions club night, bringing together music and art like never before. Internet Forever, Her Parents
KRAAK, 19:30–22:30, £5 (£6 door)
Double headline show featuring the London-based pop line-up, Internet Forever, and fun-loving punk bunch, Her Parents. Van Susans
Night & Day Cafe, 20:00–02:00, £6.50
Bromley-based five-piece, touring and showing off their debut album, Paused in the Moment. Joyce the Librarian
The king's arms 7:30pm – 11:00pm, £4
This Bristol-based folk outfit have been gaining a steady underground following throughout 2012, now they’re on tour showcasing tracks from their debut album, They May Put Land Between Us.
Punk/indie rock bunch from East London, touring with their new album, Like I Belong.
Grey Lantern Liberates Fallowfield (Vision Fortune, Queer’d Science, Meddicine, Base Ventura, Naked (On Drugs), Bad Grammar, Silver, Vei, Sphelm)
The Ruby Lounge, 19:30–22:00, £10
Trof Fallowfield, 15:00–23:00, £5
Chrysta Bell
Talented songstress/model who started her career in Texas as the lead vocalist for 8 1/2 Souvenirs, and went on to collaborate with David Lynch. Lee Thompson’s Ska Orchestra
Band On The Wall, 20:00–23:00, £15
Blistering ska and rocksteady beats from Lee Thompson’s Jazz Orchestra, formed in Hackney back in 2011. Honeyfeet
Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:30–01:00, £5
The Manchester-based six-piece, making raucous and rowdy folkhop, led by the distinct vocals of Rioghnach Connolly. The Louche (Father Sculptor, Emperor Zero)
Grey Lantern take-over event in student-central, spreading those good bank holiday vibes across Trof Fallowfield and Wahlbar, and inviting a bunch of local bands to get in on the action. District 3
Manchester Academy 2, 3 and Club, 19:00–22:00, £17.50
Three-piece made up of Micky, Dan and Grey, straight off the X Factor production line – on their 3eek tour. We don’t know how we’re saying that, but as usual, look busy.
Sun 26 May
The Upload Tour 2 (Dave Giles, BriBry, Eddplant) Roadhouse, 17:00–22:00, £8
Salford-based four-piece on the Sway Records roster – deft at making surreal soundscapes of noise-rock.
Upload Tour, take two, bringing together the underground artists that are leading the DIY recording scene – including the Londonbased Dave Giles and Eddplant, and the Dublin-based BriBry.
The Castle Hotel, 20:30–23:00, £10
The Ruby Lounge, 19:30–22:00, £7.50
Soup Kitchen, 19:30–23:00, £5
Marcus Bonfanti
The London-born bluesman plays with his live ensemble, featuring Scott Wiber on bass and Alex Reeves on drums. Free Gig Friday (Kleanshot)
The Bay Horse, 21:00–01:00, Free
Fill your Friday night with free live music – guests and DJs selected by a different band each week. Mumiy Troll (Moulettes)
Manchester Academy 2, 3 and Club, 19:00–22:00, £15
Longstanding Russian art rockers founded in 1983 in Vladivostok by vocalist and songwriter Ilya Lagutenko. Aurora Halal/Ital
The Dancehouse Theatre, 20:00–00:00, £5
An evening social with video screenings and live peformances, followed by DJs in the theatre bar – in conjunction with Full Beam! And Wet Play. Alicia Keys
Manchester Arena, 19:30–22:00, From £39.50
Talented songstress Ms Keys will be gracing us with her presence and doing her ever-soulful r’n’b thing.
Sat 25 May Hell to Pay
The Ruby Lounge, 19:30–22:00, £8
2010 winners of 106.1 Manchester Rock Radio’s Battle Of The Bands, the Manchetser-based heavy rock four-piece have hardly been off the road since.
Parlour Flames
Musical collaboration between former Oasis rhythm guitarist Bonehead (aka Paul Arthurs) and the Manchester-based singer/ songwriter and poet Vinny Peculiar (aka Alan Wilkes). Lilygreen and Maguire
The Deaf Institute, 19:30–23:00, £10
Two young lads from South Wales, churning out songs on guitars since they were kids – now on a UK-wide tour with their debut EP, Roll On. Second Hand Wings
Islington Mill, 20:00–23:00, Free
Album launch party for the Americana/folk/pop five-piece Second Hand Wings – perfect chance to get your hands on limited edition vinyl and album artwork prints. Midas Fall
The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £6
Alt-rock four piece from Manchester, gearing up to release their next album on Monotreme Records.
Mon 27 May Captain Dangerous
The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, tbc
Nottingham five-piece playing pop/indie-rock, often joined by a full orchestral band for a fully fleshed out sound.
Tue 28 May Terakaft
The Ruby Lounge, 19:30–22:00, £8
A$AP Rocky
Meaning ‘caravan’ in Tamasheq, Tarkaft are a genuine desert rock band, channelling the harsh conditions of the Sahara into their riff-heavy sounds.
Manchester Academy, 19:00–22:00, £sold out
Band On The Wall, 19:30–23:00, £15
NYC born-and-raised rap MC, selfproclaimed as Harlem’s ‘Pretty Motherfucker’. Ahem. The Fresh Dixie Project
Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:30–01:00, £5
Five young lads from the South Easy, making hard-hitting, toetapping tunes.
Lo Jo
These troubadours have been travelling the world’s less beaten paths and feeding this influence into their music for over thirty years. Swim Deep
The Deaf Institute, 19:00–23:00, £8
Bright indie hopefuls making sun-kissed dross-pop in their hometown of Birmingham.
Punk rock-meets-screamo outfit from New Jersey, touring with their latest album, Renacer. Should be a loud one, if Mr Nielsen has his way... Kyla Brox
Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:00–00:30, Free
UK-based blues and soul singer/ songwriter, redefining her sound as a duo performance, joined by Danny Blomeley on guitar. Ghostpoet
Gorilla, 20:00–23:00, £11 adv.
Experimental hip-hip from the Mercury-nominated lisped Londoner, whose brand new track, MSI MUSMID, will be available as a free download after it gets 1000 Soundcloud reposts. Sulk
The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £tbc
London psych pop-styled quintet fuelled on a diet of joyful uplifting harmonies, giant psychedelic guitar riffs and, of course, tambourines. Nick Howard
Night & Day Cafe, 20:00–02:00, Free
The follow up to his last tour, Really Far Away and Plugged In (jk), the Brighton-born singer/songwriter is currently on the road promoting his album, Stay Who You Are. The Family Rain
Sound Control, 19:00–23:00, £6
Bath-based band of brothers who all had previous projects before embracing tropical indie-rock as The Family Rain.
Wed 29 May Jagwar Ma
The Deaf Institute, 19:00–23:00, £6
Often two-piece, occasional three-piece hailing from Sydney and making alt-indie music you can dance to. Sam C. Lees
Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:00–00:30, Free
Gypsy-jazz guitarist, known for working with the likes of Yngwie J Malmsteen, Robben Ford, Lollo Meier, and bass legend Jack Bruce. Titus Andronicus, Fucked Up
Sound Control, 19:30–23:30, £15
Double headline event with the New Jersey-based Titus Andronicus and Toronto-based Fucked Up. Expect punk, in various forms.
Thu 30 May
RNCM Live Sessions: Part 1
Band On The Wall, 19:30–23:00, £5
Showcase performance for students from the RNCM popular music degree. The Parov Stelar Band
Manchester Academy, 19:00–22:00, £24
Following on from an impressive solo career, Parov Stelar is now joined by a full band for The Princess Tour. Mr G’s Blues Band
Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:00–00:30, Free
Performing an eclectic mix of instantly recognisable songs that charts the influence of blues on contemporary music. Camp Stag
The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £4
Following on from their gig supporting Adam Green and Binki Shapiro at the Ruby Lounge, Stokeon-Trent’s Camp Stag return with their indie flecked alt-rock. Coasts (Mt. Wolf)
Night & Day Cafe, 20:00–02:00, £6
Bristol-based five-piece line-up, touring with their new EP, Paradise – as this title suggests, they make shimmery pop sounds that probably go well with cold cider and a sunny day. We just haven’t tested this theory yet, give us time. Allister
Sound Control, 19:30–23:00, £10
Punk rock four-piece from Chicago, one of the first bands to sign up with Drive-Thru Records. Tom Paxton
The Lowry, 20:00–22:00, £24.50
Classic Americana folk singer/ songwriter, a stalwart on the scene since the early 60s Greenwich Village scene. Iron & Wine
Opera House Manchester, 19:00–22:00, £17.50
The bearded folk-master, otherwise known as Samuel Beam, touring with his fifth studio album, Ghost on Ghost.
Fri 31 May
Dirty Ghost (Sound Marshals, Lunar Fire, Ben McEwan)
Roadhouse, 19:30–22:00, £5
Three piece indie rock outfit from Manchester.
An Acoustic Evening With Andy Cairns
The Ruby Lounge, 19:30–22:00, £10
The founding member of rock band Therapy?, doing a stripped-back, acoustic tour. Theo Jackson
Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:30–01:00, £5
Exciting young jazz musician, Theo Jackson, joined by a full band to produce some sizzling swing and jazz. Polar Bear Club (Me Vs Hero, Landscapes)
Sound Control, 18:30–22:00, £10
American post-hardcore punk bunch formed back in 2005, currently led by vocalist Jimmy Stadt. Free Gig Friday (The Folk Remedy)
The Bay Horse, 21:00–01:00, Free
Fill your Friday night with free live music – guests and DJs selected by a different band each week.
Sat 01 Jun
Marnie Stern (Sky Larkin)
The Ruby Lounge, 19:30–22:00, £10
The American musician, guitarist and songwriter tours her latest album, Chronicles of Marnia, chock with the hooks, choruses and tapping guitar play we’ve come to expect from the talented lass. The Summer Set
The Deaf Institute, 19:00–23:00, £10
Arizona-based five-piece making breezy pop rock – often seen touring with the likes of Yellowcard and Hey Monday, but heading out on their own for a UK-wide tour. Meursault
Night & Day Cafe, 19:30–02:00, £7.50
Neil Pennycook and his Meursault cohorts make the trip Manchesterway to promote their third album, Something for the Weakened.
Sun 02 Jun Miles Kane
The Ruby Lounge, 19:30–22:00, £15
The non-Arctic Monkey half of the Last Shadow Puppets does his nostalgic Merseybeat thing. Bauer
The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, tbc
Hook driven and infectiously melodic four-piece emerging from the studio after a brief period of perfecting their art.
Liverpool Sound City 2013
The Phoenix Foundation
Various Venues, 18:00–03:00, Various Prices
The Kazimier, 20:00–23:00, £9
Kick-starting the festival season with a city-centre affair, Liverpool Sound City will see more than 360 artists playing in 20+ venues across the city. Day 2 highlights include: Dutch Uncles, Thee Oh Sees and Savages.
Sat 04 May
Liverpool Sound City 2013
Various Venues, 18:00–02:30, Various Prices
Kick-starting the festival season with a city-centre affair, Liverpool Sound City will see more than 360 artists playing in 20+ venues across the city. Day 3 highlights include: Darkstar, Dexters and Baltic Fleet.
Sun 05 May Dinosaur Pile-Up
The Shipping Forecast, 19:00–23:00, £7.50
Leeds-based alternative rock lot led by singer and guitarist Matt Bigland.
Mon 06 May The Story So Far
The Shipping Forecast, 19:30–23:00, £8
California-based punk rock outfit, touring with their latest album, What You Don’t See.
Thu 02 May The Apples
Eric’s Live, 20:00–23:30, £10
Nine-piece funk/jazz line-up hailing from Israel, formed amidst Southern Tel Aviv’s burgeoning underground scene – the band grew organically from jams, to parties, to gigs and finally, international tours. Liverpool Sound City 2013
Various Venues, 18:00–03:00, Various Prices
Kick-starting the festival season with a city-centre affair, Liverpool Sound City will see more than 360 artists playing in 20+ venues across the city. Day 1 highlights include: Oneohtrix Point Never, Reverend and the Makers and Findlay.
Fri 03 May The Spares
O2 Academy, 19:00–23:00, £6
Americana duo hailing from over Chicago-way, touring with their latest album, Everything Is Easy. Sonar
The Capstone, 19:30–22:00, £12.50
Post-minimal-rock four-piece hailing from Switzerland, with an instantly recognisable sound crafted by the unique tuning of the guitars and bass guitar.
Sun 12 May Lucy Rose
O2 Academy, 19:00–23:00, £12
The singer/songwriter who has contributed vocals to Bombay Bicycle Club tracks strikes out on her lonesome.
Tue 14 May Matt Berry
The Kazimier, 19:30–23:00, £14
The ever-talented Matt Berry – yes, the funnyman from The IT Crowd and The Mighty Boosh – doing a full band set, laden with deep vocals and his usual cheeky charm. OMD
Liverpool Empire Theatre, 20:00–22:00, £33.50
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark present their latest album, English Electric. CSS
East Village Arts Club, 20:00–22:00, £12.50
Cansei de Ser Sexy, which translates as ‘I’m tired of being sexy’ are a Brazilian sextet, busy pumping out their fizzy brand of electro-pop.
Tue 07 May
Rolo Tomassi (Bastions, The Bendal Interlude)
O2 Academy, 19:00–23:00, £7
The electronica-tinged spazzcore kids bring the chaos to a live setting near you. Amen.
Dick Valentine (Red John, Mike Markey)
The frontman of Detroit underdogs Electric Six does his solo acoustic thing, all joyful hooks and mischievous wordplay. Why?
The Kazimier, 20:00–23:00, £12.50
The Cincinnati-bred gents (aka Yoni Wolf, Josiah Wolf and Doug McDiarmid) tour on the back of their characteristically playful and pitch black new LP, Mumps, etc. The Temperance Movement
Five-piece metal band hailing from London, although currently based in Hell, if their Facebook page is anything to go by. Public Service Broadcasting
The Kazimier, 19:30–23:00, £10
O2 Academy, 19:00–23:00, £sold out
The Kazimier, 19:30–22:00, £12
The Handsome Family
Thu 09 May
Musical collaboration between husband and wife duo Brett Rennie Sparks – still making lovely Americana-styled alternative folk tunes after some 20 years together.
The Shipping Forecast, 20:00–23:00, £8
The Dovedale Towers, 20:00–23:00, Free
Solo performer, sound-smith and trans-Pacific nomad Alex Zhang Hungtai plays under his Dirty Beaches moniker, all drum loops, yearning melodies and enchantment. Rob Vincent (Dave O’Grady)
The Dovedale Towers, 20:00–23:00, Free
Blues and country singer from Liverpool.
Fri 10 May
Undiscovered Society (Refrain, Indigo Violet)
O2 Academy, 19:00–23:00, £6
Four-piece hard rock line-up hailing from the Wirral, Merseyside, led (and managed) by the multitalented Graham Fryearson. Christa Couture
View Two Gallery, 20:00–23:00, £6
Canadian indie folk singer/ songwriter, making beautifully orchestrated music interspersed with lyrics of loss. The Fall
East Village Arts Club, 20:00–00:00, £17.50
Seminal 70s post-punk outfit from Manchester – led by the inimitable Mark E Smith with an otherwise interchangeable line-up. Novice Mathematic
Blade Factory, 19:30–23:00, tbc
Album launch party for Liverpool’s own Novice Mathematic – four occasionally bearded fellas playing rock tunes with pop sensibilities, delivering a reliably energetic live performance.
Sat 11 May
Alt-J (Hundred Waters, Princess Chelsea) O2 Academy, 19:00–23:00, £sold out
Mercury-nominated Cambridge quartet, sporting intricate fusions of plucky jazz, sombre guitar and dubby rhythms.
Sun 19 May Mark Knopfler
Echo Arena, 19:30–22:30, From £41
The Dire Straits guitarist celebrates his 35th year as a recording artist – showcasing his new double album on a solo tour, but, er, joined by an eight-man band. You know what we mean.
Mon 20 May
Catfish and the Bottlemen
The Kazimier, 19:00–23:00, £6
Rock’n’roll quintet full of guitars and songs about love an’ that. Hurray For the Riff Raff (The City Walls)
Mello Mello, 19:30–23:00, £8
Soulful, country-tinged vignettes from Alynda lee Segarra and her touring band, the Tumbleweeds. How To Dress Well
Leaf, 19:30–22:00, £10
Tue 21 May
Hang the Bastard
Thu 16 May
Lucy Spraggan
With a sharp suit and even sharper lyrics, the Barrow-in-Furness native tours with his latest album, Built by Angels.
O2 Academy, 19:00–23:00, £7
Wed 08 May Lil Lucy Spraggan, of X Factor fame, now a fully fledged touring musician making ‘flop’ – that’s folk meets hip-hop for the uninitiated.
Jon Byrne
STUDIO2 - Parr Street Studios, 19:00–22:00, £5
Wed 15 May
Alternative rock’n’rollers formed between London and Glasgow in the summer of 2011.
The Shipping Forecast, 19:00–23:00, £6
Mello Mello, 20:00–23:00, £4
Rock’n’roll trio from Nottingham, playing what they describe as Sexomatic Fuckerphonic Trashabilly.
Moniker of experimental pop producer, Tom Krell, the man who shot to fame in 2010 with his debut album, Love Remains, and his continued this upward trajectory with his next release, Total Loss.
Blade Factory, 19:30–23:00, £5
Experimental duo who sample old public information films and archive material and set them to new music, making for a pretty special live set.
Dirty Beaches
Liverpool Music
Prog-styled indie-rock from New Zealand, founded back in 1997 when Conrad, Samuel and Luke were but young high school pups.
Dick Venom and The Terrortones (In Evil Hour, Mike Badger and the Shady Trio)
Mohebbi (Paul John Walker)
Five piece psyche rock’n’roll bunch from Liverpool
Fri 17 May
The Protagonists (The Squires, Youth Union)
Ghostpoet
East Village Arts Club, 19:00–23:00, £12.50
Experimental hip-hip from the Mercury-nominated lisped Londoner, whose brand new track, MSI MUSMID, will be available as a free download after it gets 1000 Soundcloud reposts.
Thu 23 May MC Lars
The Kazimier, 19:30–23:00, £7.50
MC Lars is the answer to the widespread (?) problem of not having enough Edgar Allen Poe references in hip-hop – making intellectual indie hip-hop, with literary inspired lyrics. Man Overboard (Transit)
The Shipping Forecast, 19:00–23:00, £8
New Jersey pop-punk quintet, formed by childhood buddies Nik Bruzzese and Wayne Wildrick.
Fri 24 May Room for Rent
O2 Academy, 19:00–23:00, £6
O2 Academy, 19:00–23:00, £6
Liverpool-based indie-rock fourpiece return to the O2 Academy.
Suuns
Former Ghost Runner on Third frontman, Jonny Craig, embarking on a solo project with an r’n’b/ pop vibe.
Sweden’s Magnus Sundström, aka The Protagonist, making otherworldly (ie. weird) orchestral music under the Cold Meat Indutry label. The Kazimier, 20:00–23:00, £9
Montreal-based rock outfit, making a home for themselves somewhere between electronic rock and gloomy shoegaze – touring with their latest album, Images Du Futur. Night Beats
The Shipping Forecast, 20:00–23:00, £8
Experimental psych-rock/garage/ soul trio from Seattle, led by guitarist and vocalist Lee Blackwell. Kat Men
Eric’s Live, 20:00–23:30, £10
Stray Cat drumming legend Slim Jim Phantom and UK rockabilly guitarist Darrel Higham combine forces. The Hoplites (Iron Riot, The Pesticides, Joe Chellew, Red Flag)
Jonny Craig
The Shipping Forecast, 19:00–23:00, £8
Clara Barker (Rob Gough, Ade Jackson, Just By Chance)
View Two Gallery, 20:30–23:00, £5
Part of Liverpool Acoustic Live – a four-strong line-up of acoustic acts with Isle of Man native, Clara Barker taking the headline spot. Stephen Langstaff
East Village Arts Club, 19:00–23:00, £10
Liverpool-based singer/songwriter playing a much-anticipated hometown gig. Widowspeak
East Village Arts Club, 19:00–23:00, £10
American indie/folk duo hailing from Brooklyn, comprised of Molly Hamilton’s syrupy-sweet vocals, with Robert Earl Thomas on’t guitar.
The Picket, 19:00–23:00, £5
Sat 25 May
Sat 18 May
Prepare thy lugs for a double dose of indie veterans, as The Twang and Cast play as part of their coheadline tour.
Liverpool-based five piece making hardcore post punk noise. Si Connelly
The Zanzibar Club , 19:30–23:00, £4.50
London-based alt-rock singer/ songwriter – out on tour after completing his debut album with the Grammy award-winning producers, Chris Potter and Dom Morley.
The Twang, Cast
O2 Academy, 19:00–23:00, £17.50
Pointless View (Enemy Poets, In By One’s) O2 Academy, 19:00–23:00, £6
Blending alt-rock with an electronic/d’n’b vibe with interesting results.
Listings
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Wired (The Bélmez Faces, Confusion) The Picket, 19:00–23:00, £5
Indie rock four piece from Liverpool, led by singer Darren Instone.
Manchester Clubs
Sun 26 May
Tue 30 Apr
Limbo (Kevin Saunderson, Inner City, h2, 5eighty6)
Bold Street Coffee, 18:30–00:00, £donations
The Deaf Institute, 22:00–03:00, £4
House clubnight Limbo returns with American electronic producer, Kevin Saunderson.
The Horse Loom (Howie Reeve)
The Unit Ama, Four Frame, Kodiak and Crane man plays solo under his The Horse Loom guise, marrying British folk, avant garde guitar and punk rock spirit.
Tue 28 May Bat Sabbath
The Shipping Forecast, 19:00–23:00, £10
The Cancer Bats perform their Black Sabbath Cover show for one night only. Jackie D Williams
East Village Arts Club, 19:00–23:00, £5
Oxford-based pop/soul musician on tour with his new EP, Unite With Me.
Wed 29 May Coasts
The Shipping Forecast, 20:00–23:00, Free
Bristol-based five-piece line-up, touring with their new EP, Paradise – as this title suggests, they make shimmery pop sounds that probably go well with cold cider and a sunny day. We just haven’t tested this theory yet, give us time.
Thu 30 May Sugarmen
The Dovedale Towers, 20:00–23:00, Free
New wave, electronic pop outfit hailing from Liverpool. The Summer Set
O2 Academy, 19:00–23:00, £10
Arizona-based five-piece making breezy pop rock – often seen touring with the likes of Yellowcard and Hey Monday, but heading out on their own for a UK-wide tour.
Fri 31 May Catalyst
O2 Academy, 19:00–23:00, £6
Classic rock five piece playing tributes to all the classic rock era greats. The Computers
Mello Mello, 19:30–23:00, £6
Visceral and hardcore bluesy punk from the Exeter four-piece, touring with their new album, Love Triangles Hate Squares. EZIO
Eric’s Live, 19:30–22:30, £10
Five-piece folk outfit hailing from Cambridge, led by singer and composer Exio Lunedei – deft at crafting deeply honest and emotional music.
Static Vibe (The Wolves Remain, Fake Focus, Infamous, Above The Noise) The Picket, 19:00–23:00, £5
Picket regulars from Liverpool, made up of five individuals with distinct influences, coming together to create some alt-rock goodness.
Sat 01 Jun
The Resolution Daes (Cold Committee, James Skelly and the Intenders) O2 Academy, 18:30–23:00, £3
Dyslexia awareness gig and afterparty with a double headliner comprising of North Wales rock’n’rollers Cold Committee and the ex-Coral frontman’s new band, James Skelly and the Intenders.
Mon 03 Jun Paloma Faith
Liverpool Empire Theatre, 19:00–23:00, £29.50
The British singer/songwritercum-actress does her glossy, retro-referencing soul-meetspop thing. Lewis Watson
East Village Arts Club, 19:00–23:00, £7
Fledgling young Oxford singer/ songwriter, best known for his stripped-down YouTube take on Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car.
Gold Teeth
Legendary bad boy, mixed-bag night that invites use of the term ‘carnage’.
Thu 02 May
Play Doubt (Skittle, Broke n English, The Eyez, Dub Phizix)
Mint Lounge, 22:00–03:30, £tbc
New monthly event moseying on to the nightlife scene, offering up hip-hop, dubstep, garage and more.
Teasers Pleasers (Tropicalla, Bongo Stompers, Freaky Beats!)
Soup Kitchen, 18:00–00:00, Free
Michael Holland (HAXAN / Fulbachop) and Robert Parkinson (Preston is my Paris) with their monthly offering of outsider pop, exotica, psychedelia, surf, freaky beats, and whatever else they happen to find.
Transpennine Express (Krysko, Will Tramp!)
Black Dog Ballroom NQ, 22:00–04:00, Free
Thursday night party train, with residents Krysko and Will TRAMP! All aboard! Murkage
South, 23:00–04:00, £3
Known for keeping everyone up all night with their killer selection of rap and electronica. Neil Diablo
Black Dog Bowl, 22:00–04:00, Free
Mr Diablo, of El Diablo’s Social Club, serving up balaeric groovers and disco hits.
Fri 03 May
Cream Tours 2013 (AN21 and Max Vangeli, Tim Owen, George Kafetziz)
Sankeys, 23:00–06:00, £12
Cream is taking over Sankeys for the night, bringing the beats with AN21 & Max Vangeli in the basement and Tom Starr in Spektrum. Top Of The Pops ‘13
Mint Lounge, 22:30–03:30, £2
Serving up a healthy mix of dancefloor fillers and guilty pleasures, from the resident and guest DJs.
Night of the Living Dread (Mikey D.O.N, Doctor C)
Band On The Wall, 22:00–03:00, Free (£5 after 12)
Manchester’s biggest and friendliest reggae party returns with Mikey D.O.N and Doctor C. Karnival
Red Rum, 22:00–03:00, £2
Manchester producer duo Atsubox bring the house and techno, along with 808101 residents.
Sat 04 May
Apollonia All Night Long (Laloop) Sankeys, 23:00–06:00, £12
Deep/soulful house with Appollnia All Night Long and Laloop, one of the last few chances to catch Sankeys before it’s gone. Resonant Manchester (Ant Brooks, The Dutch Rudder)
Joshua Brooks, 23:00–04:00, £8
Resonant returns to Manchester with some fresh faces, including house and techno producer/DJ, Ant Brooks. Funkademia
Mint Lounge, 22:30–03:30, £5
Mancunian nightclub institution – delivering a chronological history of soul on a weekly basis, courtesy of their DJ collective. Remake Remodel
The Ruby Lounge, 00:00–04:00, £4
Everyone’s favourite dive bar gets that little bit more grungy for a night of alternative rock’n’roll shenanigans, complete with outdoor bar and cinema. Mr Scruff: Keep it Unreal
Band On The Wall, 21:30–03:00, £11 (£12 door)
No less than a DJ mastermind, known for playing marathon sets, mixing a junk-shop bag of sounds and bringing his beats to life with squiggly, scribbled animations. Self Control
The Deaf Institute, 21:00–03:00, Free
Celebrating the rare and the underplayed, covering disco, soulful house, hip-hop, funk and new wave. Hip Hop Karaoke
The Deaf Institute, 21:00–03:00, £5
For the wannabe rappers out there, like regular old cheese-ball karaoke, but with a hip-hop twist. Selective Hearing (Redshape, Versa, Ghosting Season)
Soup Kitchen, 22:00–05:00, £8 (£6)
A night of techno, house and bass, courtesy of the Selective Hearing bunch. Daniel Bortz
Just Skank 3rd Birthday
Berlin-based DJ, producer and all around rising star – known for his high energy sets.
Monthly residents party, with a fusion of house music, tech-house and future bass. NQ Live, 22:00–03:00, £sold out
Eclectic night of dubstep, drum’n’bass, garage, house and hip-hop, famous for their ridiculous line-ups – now celebrating their third birthday. Moonshine Club (Boogie Belgique, Das Motz)
KRAAK, 23:00–03:00, £7
The second instalment of the Moonshine Club, with Boogie Belgique flying in for their UK debut, bringing abstract hip-hop and electroswing sounds to fill your Bank Holiday weekend. NXNW #2 (Mia Dora)
Soup Kitchen, 23:00–03:00, £5
After the success of their first event, North by North West return to the Soup Kitchen with Rob Etherson and Al Quinn in tow, better know as DJ and producer duo Mia Dora. Drop The Mustard/Zutekh: Get Physical Showcase
Gorilla, 22:00–04:00, £12 earlybird (£15 thereafter)
Get Physical and Drop The Mustard showcase clubnight, with M.A.N.D.Y and DJ T. Amen Brother (Bryan Gee, Peshay, Nanny Banton Vs Bane, Rich Reason, T Dunn, MCS, Tonn Piper, Tman)
The Amen Brother team return with another of their now infamous jungle parties, with live sets from two of the biggest names in Jungle and d’n’b, Bryan Gee and Peshay.
Listings
808101 #003 (Atsubox)
The Deaf Institute, 22:00–04:00, £5
Antwerp Mansion, 21:00–03:00, £5
58
South, 23:00–05:00, £12
Gorilla, 22:00–04:00, £12.50
Lowdown & Dirty (Stanton Warriors)
Sound Control, 23:00–04:00, £12
Monthly event in the Sound Control basement, with a selection of high-profile guests taking to the decks, with this edition featuring Stanton Warriors. Neil Smallridge
Black Dog Ballroom NQ, 22:00–05:00, Free
Effortlessly blended indie, disco, hip-hop and house served up by Neil Smallridge. Hit & Run Vs Rinse FM
Antwerp Mansion, 21:00–03:00, £5
Hit & Run residents go head to head with Rinse FM.
Sun 05 May Gareth Emery
Sankeys, 23:00–05:00, £15
Bank holiday sunday special with Gareth Emery taking the helm for a night of electo/electronic/trance. Idiosync (Nathan Fake, Jacob Korn, Morris Cowan, Setaoc Mass)
Joshua Brooks, 23:00–04:00, £11
Celebrate the May Bank Holiday with a four strong lineup, plus iDiOSYNC residents.
Melba Moore (Meli’sa Morgan, DJ Mike Shaft)
Band On The Wall, 20:00–03:00, From £18.50
A May Bank Holiday soul special, courtest of Melba Moore, the Tony Award winner, and four-time Grammy nominee.
Beat Boutique (Disco Deviance) Soup Kitchen, 22:30–03:30, £8
Underground soul night from the world famous Disco Deviance DJ, Dicky Trisco. Robert James (Digitaria, Forrest) Gorilla, 22:00–04:00, £12
A bank holiday special with Under and Vision joining forces to bring the freshest in underground house, starting with Robert James. NB Audio Vs Hocus Pocus
Sound Control, 23:00–04:00, £5
Label launch and charity event with all proceeds going to Calm – expect two rooms rammed with heavy d’n’b.
Mon 06 May Sankeys’ Closing Party
Sankeys, 13:00–01:00, £sold out
Epic 12 hour party to say farewell to Sankeys before the crew head out to Ibiza. It’s already sold out, but if you did manage to snag tickets you’ll be enjoying Joris Voorn, tINI, Enzo Siragusa and more. Switch
Gorilla, 23:00–04:00, £5
A new weekly event at Gorilla from the people that brought you Bassface, offering a mash up of house, hip-hop and bass.
Tue 07 May Gold Teeth
The Deaf Institute, 22:00–03:00, £4
Legendary bad boy, mixed-bag night that invites use of the term ‘carnage’.
Thu 09 May Pumping Iron
Common, 21:00–02:00, Free
Mixed-bag night of nu cosmic Italio, vintage avant garde disco and lo-fi rhythmic punk funk, as you do.
Transpennine Express (Krysko, Will Tramp!)
Black Dog Ballroom NQ, 22:00–04:00, Free
Thursday night party train, with residents Krysko and Will TRAMP! All aboard! Neil Diablo
Black Dog Bowl, 22:00–04:00, Free
Sat 11 May Funkademia
Mint Lounge, 22:30–03:30, £5
Mancunian nightclub institution – delivering a chronological history of soul on a weekly basis, courtesy of their DJ collective. Soul Boutique (Julie E Gordon, Tuff DT, Delite Rogue Soul, B.I.Z.Z.Y.B, Paul Mac)
Band On The Wall, 23:00–03:00, £8
GOO
The Deaf Institute, 22:00–03:00, £5
NQ Live, 23:00–03:00, £12
Monthly club night tribute to 90s indie – expect Pulp, Nirvana, Suede, Smashing Pumpkins, Pixies and more. Audioaddictz
Islington Mill, 21:00–05:00, £8
Continuing their tradition of showcasing the up-and-coming of the Psy Trance DJ world, now in a live setting, with performances from Morph, Matt G, Oly NRG, Mutated Pony and more. Floating Points (Kelvin Brown)
Soup Kitchen, 23:00–03:00, £7
Strictly vinyl set from the UKbased DJ, producer and musician, spanning house, techno, soul and disco. Reach Out
Sound Control, 23:00–03:00, £3
Following on from the success of their Motown night, Sound Control serves up a night of all things 60s, expect The Kinks, Al Wilson, Stevie Wonder and Rolling Stones. FND:MNTL (Alan Fitzpatrick)
Sound Control, 22:00–04:00, £8
Working through their impressive roster, FND:MNTL dish up a night of thumping bass with Alan Fitzpatrick at the helm. Neil Smallridge
Black Dog Ballroom NQ, 22:00–05:00, Free
Effortlessly blended indie, disco, hip-hop and house served up by Neil Smallridge. Rum & Bass Part VI
Antwerp Mansion, 21:00–03:00, tbc
A night of strictly bass heavy house. Clint Boon
South, 23:00–04:00, £5
Mixed-bag night from local ledge Clint Boon.
A new weekly event at Gorilla from the people that brought you Bassface, offering a mash up of house, hip-hop and bass.
Top Of The Pops ‘13
Mint Lounge, 22:30–03:30, £2
Serving up a healthy mix of dancefloor fillers and guilty pleasures, from the resident and guest DJs. Juicy
The Deaf Institute, 22:00–03:00, £3
All party, no bullshit night of everything from classic hip-hop to disco and funk. Cannibal Run (John Heckle, Neville Watson, Deep Space Orchestra, ASOK)
KRAAK, 23:00–04:00, £10
New club night hitting the Kraak gallery, drawing a crowd in the form of Crème Organization’s John Heckle and Use of Weapons’ Deep Space Orchestra. DJ Hunee (Jane Fitz, Rikki Humphrey, Sam Monaghan)
Soup Kitchen, 22:00–03:00, £5
The Korean-born and Berlin-based Hunee, aka Hun Choi, apparently eats bumpin’ disco for breakfast. Gorilla Club and Exhibit: Butch (David Glass, Mute!, plus Residents)
Gorilla, 22:00–04:00, £8
A pioneer and defining artist in the electronic genre, Butch (Visionquest/Hot Creations/Cocoon/ Cecille) has over 100 releases to his name, all produced within the past 5 years. A Guy Called Gerald Live
South, 23:00–04:00, £8.50
Manchester-born Gerald Simpson, famous for his early work in the late 80s Manchester acid house scene, taking to the decks for an all night set.
Top Of The Pops ‘13
Mint Lounge, 22:30–03:30, £2
XXYYXX (Beat Culture, Giraffage, Slow Magic)
Fri 10 May Noisy alternative club night, expect anything from Weezer, Deftones, System of a Down, Jimmy Eat World to Smashing Pumpkins.
Joshua Brooks, 22:00–04:00, £2
House from the Heavy Rain bunch, bringing the best in house, garage, future music and bump’n’grind. Also expect visuals from Mike J Scott. Serving up a healthy mix of dancefloor fillers and guilty pleasures, from the resident and guest DJs.
Mon 13 May
Party Hard #5
Heavy Rain (Pedro 123, The Golden Boy)
A night of glamour and drop dead gorgeous dance floor-filling tunes, featuring live performances from Julie E Gordon and more.
Mr Diablo, of El Diablo’s Social Club, serving up balaeric groovers and disco hits.
The Star and Garter, 22:00–02:00, £3 (£5 after midnight)
Fri 17 May
Switch
Gorilla, 23:00–04:00, £5
Remake Remodel
South, 23:00–03:00, £4
Everyone’s favourite dive bar gets that little bit more grungy for a night of alternative rock’n’roll shenanigans, complete with outdoor bar and cinema.
Tue 14 May Gold Teeth
The Deaf Institute, 22:00–03:00, £4
Legendary bad boy, mixed-bag night that invites use of the term ‘carnage’.
Thu 16 May Rock & Soul Stew
Trof Fallowfield, 20:00–00:00, £2
Live music and resident DJ Stevie serving up rock and soul until the small hours.
Transpennine Express (Krysko, Will Tramp!)
Black Dog Ballroom NQ, 22:00–04:00, Free
Thursday night party train, with residents Krysko and Will TRAMP! All aboard! Delphic (Egyptian Hip Hip, Stay)
Antwerp Mansion, 20:00–03:00, £5
Relentless House Partys present the ultimate house party, with live performances from the likes of Delphic and Egyptian Hip Hop, followed by DJ sets ‘til late and the Secret Folk Club out in the backyard. Murkage
South, 23:00–04:00, £3
Known for keeping everyone up all night with their killer selection of rap and electronica. Neil Diablo
Black Dog Bowl, 22:00–04:00, Free
Mr Diablo, of El Diablo’s Social Club, serving up balaeric groovers and disco hits.
Marcel Everett, aka XXYYXX, the electronic producer and musician from Florida, joined on the night by an inimitable line-up.
Martyn, Levi Love, Dan Hampson
Soup Kitchen, 23:00–03:00, £10
Holland-native, and now a Washington DC resident at the forefront of dubstep and techno.
Tue 21 May
Sun 26 May
The Deaf Institute, 22:00–03:00, £4
NQ Live, 23:00–03:00, £12
Gold Teeth
Legendary bad boy, mixed-bag night that invites use of the term ‘carnage’.
Wed 22 May Bonobo: DJ Set
Gorilla, 22:30–03:00, £7 earlybird (£9 thereafter)
Musician, producer and DJ associated with Ninja Tune and Tru Thoughts, making downtempo trip-hop and electronic sounds. Following his sold out gig at the Ritz, he’ll be heading across the road for a DJ set in Gorilla.
Thu 23 May
Transpennine Express (Krysko, Will Tramp!)
Black Dog Ballroom NQ, 22:00–04:00, Free
Excursions
Thursday night party train, with residents Krysko and Will TRAMP! All aboard!
Trof Northern Quarter, 21:00–03:00, free
Black Dog Bowl, 22:00–04:00, Free
Neil Diablo
Weekly event covering hip hop, pop, funk and soul.
Mr Diablo, of El Diablo’s Social Club, serving up balaeric groovers and disco hits.
Antwerp Mansion, 22:00–03:00, £1
Fri 24 May
Bez’s Acid House
Night of acid house in the gig room, with Drop taking care of the ball room, serving up soul, funk, ska, reggae and such.
Sat 18 May Mr C (Superfreq)
Joshua Brooks, 22:00–04:00, £8
DJ set and album launch for the innnovative producer, Mr C – launching his album, Smell the Coffee on the night. Funkademia
Mint Lounge, 22:30–03:30, £5
Mancunian nightclub institution – delivering a chronological history of soul on a weekly basis, courtesy of their DJ collective. Girls On Film
The Deaf Institute, 22:00–03:00, £5
Pink lady cocktails, disco balls, glitz and glamour – a monthly club night where you’re free to let your inner 80s child loose. Wet Play
KRAAK, 23:00–03:00, £4
Mate swapping night, the idea being that you bring a bunch of friends and make some new ones – music provided by the fun-loving Wet Play residents, plus Preston Brooks and Metrodome, dishing up disco, funk, house and techno. Wax Format: 15 Years of Lange
Sound Control, 18:00–04:00, £10
Wax format return with an epic ten-hour vinyl only marathon, bringing along with some of the biggest names on the trance and hard house scene. Neil Smallridge
Black Dog Ballroom NQ, 22:00–05:00, Free
Effortlessly blended indie, disco, hip-hop and house served up by Neil Smallridge.
Punx Inna Jungle 2013 (Outlaw, Autopsy Boys, Luvdump, Stand Out Riot, Swinelord, Like I Care, Black Light Mutants, Gunpowder Plot, Old Radio, Evil Eye) Antwerp Mansion, 21:00–03:00, £1
Loud, live, underground music from the Punx Inna Jungle crew, with a special live performances from the Whiplash Burlesque gals. WhoSaidWhat?
Black Dog Ballroom NWS, 22:00–04:00, £2
Regular Friday-nighter, packed with disco, house and funk, with a dash of hip-hop and reggae for good measure. Clint Boon
South, 23:00–04:00, £5
Mixed-bag night from local ledge Clint Boon.
Mon 20 May Switch
Gorilla, 23:00–04:00, £5
Top Of The Pops ‘13
Mint Lounge, 22:30–03:30, £2
Serving up a healthy mix of dancefloor fillers and guilty pleasures, from the resident and guest DJs. Submerged: Manchester with Love in aid of Once Upon a Smile
Black Dog Ballroom NWS, 22:00–04:00, £5
Charity event with some of Submerged’s favourite local talent, plus a special guest appearance from Chris fountain, of Coronation Street fame.
Sat 25 May Funkademia
Mint Lounge, 22:30–03:30, £5
El Diablo’s Social Club: 10th Birthday Soup Kitchen, 22:00–04:00, £6
Celebrating 10 years of balaeric groovers and disco hits.
Oldskool Throwback Live (Tammy Payne, Gold In The Shade, Bovel, Joanna Law, Dabridge) The Ritz, 22:30–03:30, £15
May bank holiday blow-out event, showcasing some of the legends of the 80s and 90s. Bill Brewster
Black Dog Ballroom NWS, 22:00–04:00, £8
Five-hour set from Bill Brewster, mixing things up with his blend of anything from house to hip-hop.
Mon 27 May Switch
Gorilla, 23:00–04:00, £5
A new weekly event at Gorilla from the people that brought you Bassface, offering a mash up of house, hip-hop and bass. Remake Remodel
South, 23:00–03:00, £4
Everyone’s favourite dive bar gets that little bit more grungy for a night of alternative rock’n’roll shenanigans, complete with outdoor bar and cinema.
Tue 28 May Gold Teeth
The Deaf Institute, 22:00–03:00, £4
Legendary bad boy, mixed-bag night that invites use of the term ‘carnage’.
Thu 30 May
Transpennine Express (Krysko, Will Tramp!)
Black Dog Ballroom NQ, 22:00–04:00, Free
Thursday night party train, with residents Krysko and Will TRAMP! All aboard!
The Ruby Lounge, 23:00–03:00, £6
Black Dog Bowl, 22:00–04:00, Free
Caged Asylum
Neil Diablo
Straight up rock and metal night with DJ Mikee Diablo on decks and a dress code that encourages fancy dress.
Mr Diablo, of El Diablo’s Social Club, serving up balaeric groovers and disco hits.
Band On The Wall, 21:00–03:00, £15
Joshua Brooks, 22:00–04:00, £10
Craig Charles Funk & Soul Club (The Renegade Brass Band)
DJ and actor Craig Charles will be manning the decks until 3am, playing his picks of funk and soul. POP
The Deaf Institute, 22:00–04:00, £5
Fri 31 May
Session Victim (Hector Moralez)
Berlin meets San Francisco via Paris, with Session Victim playing alongside Hector Moralez (one half of Appollonia’s Lotus Seven). Different Class
Pop classics in the music hall and glitzy girly disco in the main bar – all of which is designed to keep you dancing all night.
The Star and Garter, 22:00–02:30, £4 (£5 after 12)
Gorilla, 23:00–04:00, £10 earlybird (£12 thereafter)
Mint Lounge, 22:30–03:30, £2
Kumasi Music Party (Kolombo, HNQO, Matt Fear, Kreature, Sion, Erik Christiansen)
May Bank Holiday blow out rave, ushering in the summer and the the outdoorsy party season with a line-up in Internationallyrenowned DJs taking to the decks. Leftism: Ray Keith
Sound Control, 23:00–04:00, £5
New-ish monthly event in the Sound Control basement – this month sees Ray Keith topping the bill. Xpansion (Marx Romboy)
Sound Control, 23:00–04:00, £8
German techno legend Marx Romboy promised a three-hour set with CDJ and Synthesizer goodness. Neil Smallridge
90s alternative club night serving the fine folk of Manchester, offering everything from brit-pop to trip-hop. Top Of The Pops ‘13
Serving up a healthy mix of dancefloor fillers and guilty pleasures, from the resident and guest DJs. Vatican Shadow
Islington Mill, 23:00–06:00, £8
A collaborative effort between Faktion and Gesamtkunstwerk, bringing experimental sonic frequency electronics to the Mill – with live sets from Miles Whittaker and Mill residents Gnod. Gold Teeth
Gorilla, 22:00–03:00, £5
Legendary bad boy, mixed-bag night that invites use of the term ‘carnage’. Block Party
Trof Northern Quarter, 21:00–03:00, free
Black Dog Ballroom NQ, 22:00–05:00, Free
Another Mof Glimmers night, serving up block party essentials with free house punch ‘til it’s gone.
WhoSaidWhat?
Birmingham-based up-andcoming DJ Hannah Wants takes to the decks for a night of bass-heavy house.
Effortlessly blended indie, disco, hip-hop and house served up by Neil Smallridge.
Black Dog Ballroom NWS, 22:00–04:00, £2
Regular Friday-nighter, packed with disco, house and funk, with a dash of hip-hop and reggae for good measure.
South, 23:00–03:00, £4
South, 23:00–04:00, £5
Everyone’s favourite dive bar gets that little bit more grungy for a night of alternative rock’n’roll shenanigans, complete with outdoor bar and cinema.
Bank holiday special with 2 rooms of house and old skool beats, complete with scratch set from Pete Monsoon.
Mancunian nightclub institution – delivering a chronological history of soul on a weekly basis, courtesy of their DJ collective.
A new weekly event at Gorilla from the people that brought you Bassface, offering a mash up of house, hip-hop and bass. Remake Remodel
Lost and Found (Ratpack)
Clint Boon
Mixed-bag night from local ledge Clint Boon.
Great Friday (Hannah Wants)
Sound Control, 23:00–04:00, £8
The Manchester Derby
Black Dog Ballroom NWS, 22:00–04:00, Free
Techno night with four back-toback sets.
THE SKINNY
Sat 01 Jun Remake Remodel
The Ruby Lounge, 23:00–03:00, £4
Everyone’s favourite dive bar gets that little bit more grungy for a night of alternative rock’n’roll shenanigans, complete with outdoor bar and cinema. Mr Scruff Keep it Unreal: 14th Birthday Party
Band On The Wall, 21:30–03:00, £11
No less than a DJ mastermind, known for playing marathon sets, mixing a junk-shop bag of sounds and bringing his beats to life with squiggly, scribbled animations. Celebrating 14 years of Mr Scruff. Neil Smallridge
Black Dog Ballroom NQ, 22:00–05:00, Free
Effortlessly blended indie, disco, hip-hop and house served up by Neil Smallridge.
Liverpool Clubs Tue 30 Apr Dirty Antics
Bumper, 22:30–04:00, Free (£4 after 11)
Messy Tuesday-nighter designed to keep students out of Wednesday lectures. Time to dig out your dirty shoes and lose yourself – and all your friends – on the dancefloor.
Wed 01 May Revolution
O2 Academy, 23:00–03:00, £2.50
Grab a slice of the midweek rock action with a night of alt, rock, metal, punk and emo with exclusive DJ sets and giveaways. Medication
Nation, 22:30–03:00, £5
Taking over the home of Cream, with house/electro, chart and r’n’b spread over three rooms, complete with stunning visuals.
Thu 02 May Juicy
The Shipping Forecast, 23:00–03:00, £3
All party, no bullshit night of everything from classic hip-hop to disco and funk. Propaganda
Bumper, 23:00–05:00, Free (£4 after 11)
Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic indie music. Time Square
The Krazy House, 22:00–04:00, £2
Staple student night at the Krazy House, with dirt cheap drinks and a mix of music across the three floors (think: rock, indie, alternative, dance and a sprinkling of cheese).
Fri 03 May
Mr Scruff All Night Long
The Shipping Forecast, 23:30–03:00, £12
Marathon set from the DJ mastermind, known for mixing a junk-shop bag of sounds and bringing his beats to life with squiggly, scribbled animations. The Stanton Warriors
Eric’s Live, 22:00–03:00, £12
DJ and producer duo, Dominic Butler and Mark Yardley, making breakbeat sounds under their indie label, Punks Music. Waxxx 90s House Party #2
Haus Warehouse, 21:00–04:00, £4.99
Throwback to the 90s club night, with music from Jamie Haus, tacky inflatable furniture, breakdancers and 90s cocktails.
Sat 04 May
Chibuku (SBTRKT, Modeselektor, TensnakE)
East Village Arts Club, 22:00–04:00, £15
Bedlam Saturday
Propaganda
Bedlam Saturday
Garlands, 22:00–04:00, £10 (£5)
Bumper, 23:00–05:00, Free (£4 after 11)
Garlands, 22:00–04:00, £10 (£5)
Extravagant and flamboyant club night complete with Avant garde entertainers – where the crazy club kids of Liverpool come out to play.
Sun 05 May
Miami Meets Sweden (GTA, Qulinez, Whelan and Di Scala, John Ross Jnr) O2 Academy, 22:00–03:00, £20
One for the messy folk – ?deadwrong is bringing together Miami’s GTA and Sweden’s Qulinez for an all night house/electro blow out. Circus (Art Department, Damian Lazarus, Yousef, Eats Everything, Infinity Ink)
East Village Arts Club, 22:00–04:00, £16.00
Long running club night, started by DJ Yousef back in 2002, bringing together world-renowned DJs and producers at the forefront of house music.
Tue 07 May Dirty Antics
Bumper, 22:30–04:00, Free (£4 after 11)
Sat 18 May
GetDown (Jamie Trench, Cromby)
The Shipping Forecast, 23:00–03:00, £5
The GetDown crew return to The Hold for their first birthday party – Jamie Trench will be helping to blow out the birthday candles, along with Cromby (of Extended Play). Rage
The Krazy House, 22:00–05:00, £3
Mixed-bag blow-out night spread out over all three floors – indie, rock, alternative and dance tunes. Loosh
Blade Factory, 21:00–03:00, £10
Wed 08 May
Garlands, 22:00–04:00, £10 (£5)
Revolution
O2 Academy, 23:00–03:00, £2.50
Grab a slice of the midweek rock action with a night of alt, rock, metal, punk and emo with exclusive DJ sets and giveaways. Medication
Nation, 22:30–03:00, £5
Taking over the home of Cream, with house/electro, chart and r’n’b spread over three rooms, complete with stunning visuals.
Thu 09 May Juicy
The Shipping Forecast, 23:00–03:00, £3
All party, no bullshit night of everything from classic hip-hop to disco and funk. Propaganda
Bumper, 23:00–05:00, Free (£4 after 11)
Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic indie music. Time Square
The Krazy House, 22:00–04:00, £2
Staple student night at the Krazy House, with dirt cheap drinks and a mix of music across the three floors (think: rock, indie, alternative, dance and a sprinkling of cheese).
Sat 11 May Rage
The Krazy House, 22:00–05:00, £3
Mixed-bag blow-out night spread out over all three floors – indie, rock, alternative and dance tunes. Bedlam Saturday
Garlands, 22:00–04:00, £10 (£5)
Extravagant and flamboyant club night complete with Avant garde entertainers – where the crazy club kids of Liverpool come out to play.
Tue 14 May Dirty Antics
Bumper, 22:30–04:00, Free (£4 after 11)
Messy Tuesday-nighter designed to keep students out of Wednesday lectures. Time to dig out your dirty shoes and lose yourself – and all your friends – on the dancefloor.
Wed 15 May Revolution
O2 Academy, 23:00–03:00, £2.50
Grab a slice of the midweek rock action with a night of alt, rock, metal, punk and emo with exclusive DJ sets and giveaways. Medication
Nation, 22:30–03:00, £5
The Krazy House, 22:00–05:00, £3
Juicy
May 2013
Staple student night at the Krazy House, with dirt cheap drinks and a mix of music across the three floors (think: rock, indie, alternative, dance and a sprinkling of cheese).
Epic house night raising money for The Rose Farley Appeal, with music provided by John Ross Junior, Day Maguire, Liam Cooper and KidSwarve.
Taking over the home of Cream, with house/electro, chart and r’n’b spread over three rooms, complete with stunning visuals.
Mixed-bag blow-out night spread out over all three floors – indie, rock, alternative and dance tunes.
Time Square
The Krazy House, 22:00–04:00, £2
Messy Tuesday-nighter designed to keep students out of Wednesday lectures. Time to dig out your dirty shoes and lose yourself – and all your friends – on the dancefloor.
A legend in the Liverpool clubbing scene moves to a new home in the recently opened East Village Arts Club – still offering up electronic music by the bucket load. Rage
Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic indie music.
Thu 16 May The Shipping Forecast, 23:00–03:00, £3
All party, no bullshit night of everything from classic hip-hop to disco and funk.
Bedlam Saturday
Extravagant and flamboyant club night complete with Avant garde entertainers – where the crazy club kids of Liverpool come out to play.
Sun 19 May
Chase and Status (Mistajam, Joker, Swindle)
East Village Arts Club, 22:00–04:00, £15
Manc DJ duo and dance music’s hot property, effortlessly marrying liquid funk with rich ragga sounds, much to many a clubber’s delight.
Tue 21 May Dirty Antics
Bumper, 22:30–04:00, Free (£4 after 11)
Messy Tuesday-nighter designed to keep students out of Wednesday lectures. Time to dig out your dirty shoes and lose yourself – and all your friends – on the dancefloor.
Wed 22 May Revolution
O2 Academy, 23:00–03:00, £2.50
Grab a slice of the midweek rock action with a night of alt, rock, metal, punk and emo with exclusive DJ sets and giveaways. Medication
Nation, 22:30–03:00, £5
Taking over the home of Cream, with house/electro, chart and r’n’b spread over three rooms, complete with stunning visuals.
Thu 23 May Juicy
The Shipping Forecast, 23:00–03:00, £3
All party, no bullshit night of everything from classic hip-hop to disco and funk. Propaganda
Bumper, 23:00–05:00, Free (£4 after 11)
Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic indie music. Time Square
Extravagant and flamboyant club night complete with Avant garde entertainers – where the crazy club kids of Liverpool come out to play.
Sun 26 May Circus (Yousef)
East Village Arts Club, 22:00–03:00, £10
Long running club night, started by DJ Yousef back in 2002, bringing together world-renowned DJs and producers at the forefront of house music.
Tue 28 May Dirty Antics
Bumper, 22:30–04:00, Free (£4 after 11)
Messy Tuesday-nighter designed to keep students out of Wednesday lectures. Time to dig out your dirty shoes and lose yourself – and all your friends – on the dancefloor.
Wed 29 May Revolution
O2 Academy, 23:00–03:00, £2.50
Grab a slice of the midweek rock action with a night of alt, rock, metal, punk and emo with exclusive DJ sets and giveaways. Medication
Nation, 22:30–03:00, £5
Taking over the home of Cream, with house/electro, chart and r’n’b spread over three rooms, complete with stunning visuals. Kill Your TV
Bumper, 23:00–05:00, £2
An anything-goes affair – think indie, punk, ska, new wave, electro and much much more – with cheap drinks thrown in as per Bumper’s usual standards.
Thu 30 May Juicy
The Shipping Forecast, 23:00–03:00, £3
All party, no bullshit night of everything from classic hip-hop to disco and funk. Propaganda
Bumper, 23:00–05:00, Free (£4 after 11)
Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic indie music. Time Square
The Krazy House, 22:00–04:00, £2
Staple student night at the Krazy House, with dirt cheap drinks and a mix of music across the three floors (think: rock, indie, alternative, dance and a sprinkling of cheese).
Sat 01 Jun Rage
The Krazy House, 22:00–05:00, £3
Mixed-bag blow-out night spread out over all three floors – indie, rock, alternative and dance tunes. Risin’ Frenzy
Blade Factory, 22:00–03:00, £5
A proper 90s club night, dishing up all the dancefloor fillers from old skool hip-hop to UK garage, and the odd cheesy pop sing-a-long thrown in for good measure. Bedlam Saturday
Garlands, 22:00–04:00, £10 (£5)
Extravagant and flamboyant club night complete with Avant garde entertainers – where the crazy club kids of Liverpool come out to play.
The Krazy House, 22:00–04:00, £2
Staple student night at the Krazy House, with dirt cheap drinks and a mix of music across the three floors (think: rock, indie, alternative, dance and a sprinkling of cheese).
Capitol Theatre
Fri 24 May
15–18 May, times vary, tbc
Huxley (Lewis Boardman, Makes No Sense)
The Shipping Forecast, 22:00–03:00, £7
Michael Dodman, aka Huxley will be serving up house and techno in The Hold, along with Lewis Boardman (of Souvenir) and Makes No Sense (of Food Music/Circus).
Sat 25 May Rage
The Krazy House, 22:00–05:00, £3
Mixed-bag blow-out night spread out over all three floors – indie, rock, alternative and dance tunes.
Manchester Brontë
An original play by Polly Teale exploring how three Yorkshire lasses created some of the most powerful fiction of all time – by evoking the real and imagined worlds, their fictional characters come to life to haunt their creators.
Contact Theatre Works Ahead
2–3 May, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £5 (£3)
A two-day festival of dance featuring surprising new performances, with 70/30 Split, Kitty Graham, Ellen Turner, Façade Theatre, Wayne Steven Jackson, and Lena Simic all taking the spotlight.
Theatre Imitating The Dog: 6 Degrees Below The Horizon 9 May, 8:00pm – 10:00pm, £10 (£6)
An experimental new performance that blends cinema and theatre with captivating results – 6 Degrees Below the Horizon is a dark and macabre tale about sailors, chorus girls, nightclub singers, failed dreams and lost love. David Toole and Lucy Hind: Extraordinary
11 May, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £8 (£5)
A funny and moving production about a duet in which one party has no legs and the other has no clue. Manchester Dance Consortium: Platform 2.0
14 May, 8:00pm – 10:00pm, £5 (£3)
A showcase performance in support of new dance, encouraging creative collaborations between audiences and choreographers. Lois Weaver: What Tammy Found Out
22 May, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £8 (£5)
A performance lecture from one of the foremost queer performers in the world – covering education and class, feminism and feminity, and sex and ageing. Nu Century Arts: In Search of My Father
22–23 May, times vary, £10 (£6)
A dance, theatre and music performance from MOBO award-winner Soweto Kinch – delving into the past to examine the modern Black woman. UMDS Showcase
24 May, times vary, £8 (£5)
Theatre showcase performance from The University of Manchester Drama Society. Ben Mellor: Anthropoetry
29–30 May, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £8 (£5)
A spoken work jaunt through the human anatomy, trying to get the measure of modern life.
Opera House Manchester
The Rise and Fall of Little Voice
29 Apr – 4 May, times vary, From £10
Re-telling of the Little Voice tale, where a shy, sweet-voiced young girl’s talent remains a secret until she is overheard by a local talent scout.
The Blues Brothers... Approved
7–11 May, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £10
Box office record smashing hit show: suited, booted, and ready for a night of rhythm and blues to remember. Hold on to your shades! Shaolin Warriors: Return of the Master
14 May, 22 May, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, prices vary
Theatrical Kung Fu show from the world-renowned Shaolin Warriors (aka don’t try this at home). The Dreamboys: Fit and Famous Tour
15 May, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £23.50
Errr... the UK’s top male glamour show. As in, there’s more than one, and they are the best. Carnaby Street
20–25 May, times vary, From £7.50
The musical story of a generation, set against the backdrop of London’s West End in the sixties. Packed with hits from the era.
Palace Theatre Dirty Dancing
21 May – 15 Jun, times vary, From £19.50
The cult 80s film revamped for the stage, cue Baby and Johnny, plus sexy dancing and hungry eyes. Standard. Stars for Tonight 2013
4 May, 7:00pm – 10:00pm, £15
The talented performers from the Natalie Woods School of Dance and Drama take to the stage for their annual showcase performance
Royal Exchange Theatre A Doll’s House
23 Apr – 1 Jun, not 28 Apr, 29 Apr, times vary, prices vary
Henrik Ibsen’s inspired piece – which caused outrage both in its style and content when first staged in 1879 – is given a reworking, telling the story of a ‘perfect’ marriage that unravels as a series of lies are exposed. Brilliant Adventures
8–25 May, times vary, £12 (£10)
A fast-paced tale about two brothers: one’s a science genius, the other’s a little unbalanced. After getting mixed up with a wealthy out-of-towner, they’re thrown into a dangerous situation that involves breaking the laws of physics.
The International Anthony Burgess Foundation Electronic Voice Phenomena
22 May, 6:30pm – 10:00pm, £7 (£5)
Unique event exploring the idea of reading as a visual activity, with four unique performances addressing the nature of stimuli at the intersection of writing, technology and voice. Illuminating stuff.
The King’s Arms Don Giovanni
8–11 May, 7:30pm – 11:00pm, £14 (£7)
Pint-sized Opera – The King’s Arms resident opera company – present a production of Mozart’s tale about the notorious serial seducer, Don Giovanni, sung in Italian with English subtitles. Judas Was a Ginger
29 Apr – 4 May, times vary, £5
A dark comedy by Ryan Cerenko taking a stab at the pressures placed on modern men to be Mr Perfect. Norris and Parker, Sketchy Theatre
6 May, 7:30pm – 11:00pm, £5
Silly and surreal stand up from two up-and-coming comedy acts. Moving Pictures
13–19 May, not 17, times vary, £5
Local writer Cathy Crabb presents another one of her plays; the story of two sisters attempting to build a family bond later in life. The Rise and Demise of Kenneth Kennedy-Smythe
3–8 Jun, 7:30pm – 11:00pm, £7 (£5)
A brand new production of the cult dark comedy by Mike Heath – after the American’s attack France for no reason, war correspondent Kenneth is disgraced for speaking out against it and his girlfriend finds herself in a propaganda trap.
The Lowry Sweeney Todd
14–18 May, times vary, £15
Stephen Sondheim’s epic musical thriller. Dark and comic, wonderfully macabre and gruesome story of betrayal, love and bloody revenge. The Woman In Black
various dates between 23 Apr and 11 May, times vary, prices vary
Stage adaptation of Susan Hill’s best-selling novel combining the power and intensity of live theatre with a cinematic quality inspired by the world of film noir. Soul Sister
3–8 Jun, times vary, From £22
Touring West End musical inspired by the life and times of Ike and Tina Turner, following the highs and lows of their careers and personal lives. Abigail’s Party
29 Apr – 4 May, times vary, From £19
After its stint at the West End, Lindsay Posner’s revival of Mike Leigh’s ever-popular play makes its way to Scotland. The Clouds Show Riches
1 May, 7:00pm – 10:00pm, From £5
A showcase event celebrating the diversity of disablility arts practice in the Northwest and beyond.
That is All You Need to Know 2–4 May, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £10
A jaunt back to the 1940s in this stunningly visual piece of theatre – returning to the cold huts of Station X at Bletchley Park to explore the lives of the men and women who quietly changed the course of our history. I Was a Rat!
7–11 May, times vary, From £11
Stage adaptation of the Philip Pullman novel, I Was a Rat! – the tale of a scruffy young boy who turns up on the doorstep of a married couple’s house, and through humour and fantasy, it is slowly revealed as one of the most famous fairy tales. Snap Back II
8 May, 7:00pm – 10:00pm, £8
Local talent Demz presents a showcase night of song, dance, film and more. Mugableland!
16–18 May, times vary, £10
Too soon? We hope not – the Come As You Arts Northwest theatre company take a darkly comic musical romp into Mugabeland. The story follows a man served with a choice after meeting Robert Mugabe; serve him tea, or shoot him? High Tease
25 May, 8:00pm – 10:00pm, From £13
An evening of authentic burlesque, featuring razor-sharp wit and cheeky antics galore. Rising Damp
27 May – 1 Jun, times vary, From £16
Stage adaptation of the ITV’s all time top comedy, set in an unnamed Northern university town and following the plight of the landlord of a seedy and rundown boarding house, and his tenants. South
29–31 May, 8:00pm – 10:00pm, £10
A new production – written by Ian Winterton and directed by Trevor MacFarlane – following the story of a man making earth-changing discoveries in Antarctica, while missing his fiancé’s pregnancy. Ockham’s Razor
30 May – 2 Jun, times vary, From £13
A dance and theatre performance that uses aerial movement to tell a series of short stories that all deal with the concept of being lost.
The Three Minute Theatre Female Transport
8–10 May, 7:00pm – 10:00pm, £5
Six women convicted of petty crimes in late 18th-century England are confined in a tiny cabin on a ship set sail for Australia where a life of a life of hard labour awaits them – if the journey doesn’t kill them first. Mysterious Skin
21–25 May, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £8
Based on the 1996 novel by Scott Heim, Mysterious Skin is a controversial drama about two young boys and a traumatic event from their childhood that threatens to tear apart their futures. Dr Frankenstein’s Travelling Freak Show
16–17 May, 7:00pm – 10:00pm, £7.50
Tin Shed Theatre Company’s stunning take on Mary Shelly’s classic gothic horror story, as told by one cynical raconteur and his troop of gormless goons. Uncanny, eerie, darkly comical, twisted – so many suitable adjectives, take your pick.
Victoria Baths Twelfth Night
1–5 May, times vary, £12 (£10)
One of Shakespeare’s best-loved comedies (y’know, the one with a man playing a girl disguised as a boy) gets a reworking. And in the gorgeous setting of Victoria Baths, no less.
Liverpool Epstein Theatre The Soldier’s Tale/Settle
8 May, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £10
A double-bill performance featuring a re-working of Stravinsky’s folk-tale, A Soldier’s Tale, and a performance of Settle by the Manchester-based singer, Emily Howard. Scottie Road The Musical
11 May, 7:00pm – 10:00pm, £15 (£11)
A new musical theatre performance written by Keddy Sutton and Gillian Hardie, following the story of Caz and Britney, a Greggs scoffing pair of laydees, on their winding road from Primark to prison.
Liverpool Empire Theatre Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty
30 Apr – 4 May, times vary, From £10
Keeping the festive season alive, Matthew Bourne (y’know, he who is tirelessly reimagining just about every classic in theatrical existence) presents a re-telling of the classic fairytale, set to Tchaikovsky’s original score. Birds Of A Feather
7–11 May, times vary, From £10
The much-loved BBC sitcom comes to the stage with all three of its original leading cast members.
Ricky Tomlinson’s Royle Variety
16 May, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £25
Following the success of the 2012 tour, Ricky Tomlinson brings his Royle Variety performance back to the stage. Priscilla Queen of the Desert
20–25 May, times vary, From £10
New theatrical production of the O.T.T. musical adventure where two drag queens and a transsexual get a cabaret gig in the middle of the desert. Now with added Jasonbloody-Donovan.
Playhouse Theatre
Rutherford and Son
21–25 May, times vary, From £12
Written and set up North in 1912, Rutherford and Son is a brave portrayal of an industrial Edwardian family on the brink of collapse. Rebel Rant with Janet StreetPorter: A Class Act
3 May, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £10 (£8)
Part of the In Other Words festival, Janet Street-Porter is set to get all gobby about class, the rich, and the public school elite – all to celebrate the re-opening of the Central Library. Blue Remembered Hills
14–18 May, times vary, From £12
Charming and profound play by the late Dennis Potter, following the story of seven children one wartime summer as their path veers towards a tragic disaster. Beautiful Thing
28 May – 1 Jun, times vary, From £12
The award-winning play written 20 years ago by Liverpool’s Jonathan Harvey – when he was just 24-years-old, no less – an urban love story about two young men coming to terms with their sexuality.
The Capstone 1984
1 May, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £12 (£10)
Matthew Dunster’s faithful adaptation of George Orwell’s classic novel, set in the oppressive Oceania where Winston spins between hopes of love and threats of torture, as his every movement is tracked. Cubana Bop plays West Side Story
10 May, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £15
The classic 20th-century musical about love and rivalry on the streets of New york gets a reworking. The Bernstein-Sondheim originals have been arranged with a jazz twist by one of the UK’s top Latin jazz bands, Cubana Bop.
Listings
59
The Lantern Theatre
THE THING ABOUT PSYCHOPATHS
25 APR, 26 APR, 4 MAY, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY
A harsh portrayal of modern day Britain, young and ambitious Noel finds himself caught up in corporate fraud. BROKEN/A LOT OF IT ABOUT
25 APR, 26 APR, 27 APR, 10 MAY, 11 MAY, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY
A double-bill performance exploring the theme of self and the search for meaning; in Broken, May is torn between two people and two agonising choices, while in A Lot of It About, Ben finds himself on the brink of old age and argues with his younger self. LEGEND
2 MAY, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £6 (£5)
Six writers explore what it means to be a legend through short theatre pieces – written by LauraKate Barrow, Katharine Boon, Brian Charity, Hayley Greggs, Ruthie Hartnoll and Lee Thompson and directed by Freyja Winterson.
The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts AMERICAN WOMAN
16–18 MAY, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £6 (£3)
Comedy
Manchester Thu 02 May
BIG VALUE THURSDAYS (GEORGE EGG, CAIMH MCDONNELL, LEE PEART, AHIR SHAH, SMUG ROBERTS)
THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–23:00, £9 (£6)
A Frog flagship event, bringing four top circuit comedians to the F&B stage. LUCY PORTER
THE LOWRY, 20:00–22:00, £15
The Radio 4 regular and TV panel show luminary returns with her all-new stand-up show, drawing on her time spent as an anthropology student and party animal.
Fri 03 May
BARREL OF LAUGHS (GEORGE EGG, CAIMH MCDONNELL, PRINCE ABDI, SMUG ROBERTS)
THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–02:00, £17 (£10)
Three top-notch comics, a sprinkling of Frog compere funnies and a late night disco courtesy of the resident DJ. ANDY PARSONS
THE LOWRY, 20:00–22:00, £17
Dance production with a part live/ part pre-recorded soundtrack, following the story of a young songwriter in the 60s who promotes peace and freedom through his songwriting, before being sent off to war.
Mock the Week funny-man, Andy Parsons, taking in the whole of the UK as part of his I’ve Got a Shed tour.
Unity Theatre
MANCHESTER ACADEMY, 19:00–22:00, FROM £22
MIND THE GAP
30 APR – 1 MAY, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £8
Nina and her fellow passengers are trapped on a London tube carriage, Ella Carmen Greenhill, Rachel Worsley and Joe Ward Munrow invite you to immerse yourself in the experience as their stories begin to unravel. THE CELL
7–9 MAY, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £10 (£8)
Written by prison writer-inresidence Michael Crowley and developed with staff and inmates at a young offender’s institution – this brave piece of theatre tells the story of an inmate barricaded in a cell with a young officer following a tragic event. A WONDROUS PLACE
15–18 MAY, TIMES VARY, £12 (£10)
Sat 04 May TRAILER PARK BOYS
The Canadian mockumentary trio bring the pranks once more, as part of their all-new Community Service Variety Show. COMEDY MUCH? (PRINCE ABDI, SPECIAL P, TONY ‘PALEFACE’ HENDRICKS)
A dance theatre performance by Daphnis Kokkinos – the piece is a tribute to the life and work of Pina Bausche, one of the most influential figures in modern dance from the 70s until her death in 2009. FLOATING
28 MAY, 30 MAY, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £10 (£8)
THE LOWRY, 20:00–22:00, £17
Mock the Week funny-man, Andy Parsons, taking in the whole of the UK as part of his I’ve Got a Shed tour. S.O.S.
THE THREE MINUTE THEATRE, 19:30–23:00, £5 (£4)
SIMON EVANS
THE LOWRY, 20:00–22:00, FROM £11
The fearsome iconoclast is back with a brand new show from which nothing is safe from the critical glint in his tiny, tiny eyes.
Mon 06 May
BEAT THE FROG (PHIL ELLIS)
THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–23:00, £5
A 10-act long heckle-fest, as a handful of amateurs take to the stage and try to Beat the Frog – you decide who stays, brutal.
Tue 07 May
THE WORST COMEDY NIGHT IN SALFORD
A play that explores the brighter side of the NHS, covering the tales of kindness and compassion from the perspective of an overworked and undervalued NHS nurse.
Keeping expectations low with this open mic night of stand up, all are welcome to give it a bash.
1 JUN, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £10 (£8)
Thu 09 May
BEATING MCENROE
A play about rivalry, love and tennis – telling the tale of Bjorn Borg and his bitter on-court rivalry with John McEnroe – it’s theatre with balls. TROLLEY-SHAPED BRUISE
21–22 MAY, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £10 (£8)
A comic debut by Everyman and Playhouse Young Writer Laura Kate Barrow – Danielle and Kate have a chance encounter in the police station waiting room, sharing tales of friendship, rebellion, trolleyshaped bruises, among other marks from the past.
60
Listings
THE BEST IN STAND UP (ANDRE VINCENT, HAL CRUTTENDEN, JEFF INNOCENT, IMRAN YUSUF, STEVE GRIBBIN)
THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £18 (£9)
Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.
Sat 11 May
BARREL OF LAUGHS (NICK DOODY, DANNY MCLOUGHLIN, CHRIS STOKES, STEVE HARRIS)
THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–02:00, £17 (£10)
Three top-notch comics, a sprinkling of Frog compere funnies and a late night disco courtesy of the resident DJ. THE BEST IN STAND UP (ANDRE VINCENT, HAL CRUTTENDEN, JEFF INNOCENT, IMRAN YUSUF, STEVE GRIBBIN)
THE COMEDY STORE, 19:00–21:00, £20 (£10)
Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.
THE BEST IN STAND UP II (ANDRE VINCENT, HAL CRUTTENDEN, JEFF INNOCENT, IMRAN YUSUF, STEVE GRIBBIN)
THE COMEDY STORE, 21:30–23:00, £20 (£10)
Leg 2 of The Best in Stand Up – starting at a later time, so if you missed out on tickets to the earlier show, fear not!
ANDY PARSONS
Sun 05 May
ADDIO ADDIO AMORE
Three top-notch comics, a sprinkling of Frog compere funnies and a late night disco courtesy of the resident DJ.
A chance for those on the circuit to test out some new, never before heard or seen material. If you’re prepared to be a bit of a guinea pig, you could see some great stuff.
24 MAY, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £10 (£8)
25 MAY, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £10 (£8)
THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–23:00, £16 (£8)
Sun 12 May
Comedy Much? returns with a bang, featuring a line-up of Comedy Central and MTV comedians.
The Superstars on Saturday crew have assembled an evening of character comedy and sketches, featuring Peter Slater, Lee Fenwick and more.
Five companies present a range of physical and visual works for one night of highly entertaining physical theatre – including a performance by the Zambian Barefeet Acrobats.
BARREL OF LAUGHS (NICK DOODY, DANNY MCLOUGHLIN, CHRIS STOKES, STEVE HARRIS)
THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–23:00, £10 (£7)
Four writers challenge the notion that it’s ‘grim up North’ and offer a fresh perspective on four Northern cities: Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield and Manchester. FEST LIVE
Fri 10 May
THE KING’S ARMS, 19:30–23:00, FREE
BIG VALUE THURSDAYS (DOM WOODWARD, DANNY MCLOUGHLIN, RICH WALL, CHRISTIAN SCHULTELOH, STEVE HARRIS)
THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–23:00, £9 (£6)
A Frog flagship event, bringing four top circuit comedians to the F&B stage. STAND UP THURSDAY (ANDRE VINCENT, HAL CRUTTENDEN)
THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £10 (£5)
Cheat life and get that Friday feeling one day early with a night of comedic delight, delivered by three top-notch comedians.
NEW STUFF (TOBY HADOKE)
THE COMEDY STORE, 19:30–21:30, £3
LEE NELSON
THE LOWRY, 19:30–22:00, £23.50
Simon Brodkin’s alter ego, aka the chavtastic Lee Nelson.
BILL BAILEY THE LOWRY, 20:00–22:00, £27
The ever-funny Bill Bailey tours his new show, Qualmpeddler, in which he confronts such qualms as Living in a Time of Spectacular Ignorance... and muses on ‘one amazing owl’.
Fri 17 May
BARREL OF LAUGHS (QUINCY, JIM SMALLMAN, ANDY WATSON, STEVE SHANYASKI)
THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–23:00, £16 (£8)
Three top-notch comics, a sprinkling of Frog compere funnies and a late night disco courtesy of the resident DJ. THE BEST IN STAND UP (JOHN LYNN, ADAM BLOOM, PAUL SINHA, CHRISTIAN REILLY)
THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £18 (£9)
Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians. BILL BAILEY
THE LOWRY, 20:00–22:00, £27
The ever-funny Bill Bailey tours his new show, Qualmpeddler, in which he confronts such qualms as Living in a Time of Spectacular Ignorance... and muses on ‘one amazing owl’.
Sat 18 May
BARREL OF LAUGHS (STEFFEN PEDDIE, ANDY WATSON)
THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–23:00, £17 (£10)
Three top-notch comics, a sprinkling of Frog compere funnies and a late night disco courtesy of the resident DJ. THE BEST IN STAND UP (JOHN LYNN, ADAM BLOOM, PAUL SINHA, CHRISTIAN REILLY)
THE COMEDY STORE, 19:00–21:00, £20 (£10)
Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.
THE BEST IN STAND UP II (JOHN LYNN, ADAM BLOOM, PAUL SINHA, CHRISTIAN REILLY)
THE COMEDY STORE, 21:30–23:00, £20 (£10)
Leg 2 of The Best in Stand Up – starting at a later time, so if you missed out on tickets to the earlier show, fear not!
Sun 19 May
ALEX BOARDMAN’S YOUNG GUNS
THE COMEDY STORE, 19:30–22:00, £6 (£3)
BEAT THE FROG (JOHNAHAN MAYOR)
Alex Boardman, one of the writers involved with John Bishop’s Britain on BBC1 presents some fresh blood. Be nice.
THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–23:00, £5
THE LOWRY, 20:00–22:00, £26.50
Mon 13 May
A 10-act long heckle-fest, as a handful of amateurs take to the stage and try to Beat the Frog – you decide who stays, brutal.
Tue 14 May
DANIEL KITSON: AFTER THE BEGINNING. BEFORE THE END
ROYAL EXCHANGE THEATRE, 20:00–22:00, £SOLD OUT
Daniel Kitson returns with something like a stand-up show about a very specific point in time; aka good luck trying to second guess this one.
Wed 15 May ALAN FRANCIS
THE LOWRY, 20:00–22:00, £12
After 20 years on the circuit, Scottish comedian Alan Francis explores the many disappointments that modern life brings, from skinny jeans to politics, and everything in-between.
Thu 16 May
BIG VALUE THURSDAYS (QUINCY, JIM SMALLMAN, JIM PARK, MICKEY SHARMA, STEVE SHANYASKI)
THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–23:00, £9 (£6)
A Frog flagship event, bringing four top circuit comedians to the F&B stage. STAND UP THURSDAY (PAUL THORNE, ADAM BLOOM)
THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £10 (£5)
Cheat life and get that Friday feeling one day early with a night of comedic delight, delivered by three top-notch comedians.
AL MURRAY
Alastair James Belshaw once more dons his Pub Landlord persona, serving up the ale-inspired acumen and bar-room buffoonery, as per. CLARE SUMMERSKILL
THE LOWRY, 20:00–22:00, £12
An evening of music and comedy... answering all those burning questions about sex that everyone is just too afraid to ask. Being straight, being gay, being bi, Clare Summerskill imparts her wisdom through song and stand-up.
Mon 20 May
BEAT THE FROG (ALEX BOARDMAN)
THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–23:00, £5
A 10-act long heckle-fest, as a handful of amateurs take to the stage and try to Beat the Frog – you decide who stays, brutal.
Tue 21 May
THE WORST COMEDY NIGHT IN SALFORD
THE KING’S ARMS, 19:30–23:00, FREE
Keeping expectations low with this open mic night of stand up, all are welcome to give it a bash.
Wed 22 May LAURENCE CLARK
THE LOWRY, 20:00–22:00, £12
Sceptical when told climb every mountain, reach for the skies and follow your dreams? Then this is definitely for you! Star of BBC1’s We Won’t Drop the Baby tours with his new show, Inspired.
Thu 23 May
BIG VALUE THURSDAYS (MICK FERY, DAVE JOHNS, RAY BRADSHAW, KIRI PRITCHARD-MCLEAN, STEVE ROYLE)
THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–23:00, £9 (£6)
A Frog flagship event, bringing four top circuit comedians to the F&B stage. STAND UP THURSDAY (CHARLIE BAKER, STEPHEN GRANT, ANDY ASKINS)
THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £10 (£5)
Mon 27 May
BEAT THE FROG (DAN NIGHTINGALE)
THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–23:00, £5
A 10-act long heckle-fest, as a handful of amateurs take to the stage and try to Beat the Frog – you decide who stays, brutal.
Thu 30 May
BIG VALUE THURSDAYS (DAVE WILLIAMS, TONY BURGESS, TOBY BROWN, STEPHEN BUGJEA AND MORE)
Cheat life and get that Friday feeling one day early with a night of comedic delight, delivered by three top-notch comedians.
THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–23:00, £9 (£6)
THE LOWRY, 19:30–22:00, FROM £26
STAND UP THURSDAY (TOBY HADOKE, ALUN COCHRANE, CHRIS MCCAUSLAND)
BRUCE FORSYTH
Good ol’ Brucie, returning to the stage with a one-off performance for the first time in over 10 years. Expect music and comedy and the odd catchphrase.
A Frog flagship event, bringing four top circuit comedians to the F&B stage.
THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £10 (£5)
Fri 24 May
Cheat life and get that Friday feeling one day early with a night of comedic delight, delivered by three top-notch comedians.
THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–23:00, £16 (£8)
BARREL OF LAUGHS (DAVE WILLIAMS,TONY BURGESS, JASON PATTERSON)
BARREL OF LAUGHS (MICK FERRY, DAVE JOHNS, PHIL ELLIS, STEVE ROYLE)
Three top-notch comics, a sprinkling of Frog compere funnies and a late night disco courtesy of the resident DJ. THE BEST IN STAND UP (CHARLIE BAKER, STEPHEN GRANT, ANDY ASKINS, GEOFF NORCOTT, MICHAEL FABBRI)
THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £18 (£9)
Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians. GREG DAVIES
THE LOWRY, 20:00–22:00, £21
The Inbetweeners’ funnyman returns with his new stand-up show, The Back of my Mum’s Head.
Sat 25 May
BARREL OF LAUGHS (MICK FERRY, DAVE JOHNS, PHIL ELLIS, STEVE ROYLE)
THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–23:00, £17 (£10)
Three top-notch comics, a sprinkling of Frog compere funnies and a late night disco courtesy of the resident DJ. THE BEST IN STAND UP (CHARLIE BAKER, STEPHEN GRANT, ANDY ASKINS, GEOFF NORCOTT, MICHAEL FABBRI)
THE COMEDY STORE, 19:00–21:00, £20 (£10)
Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.
THE BEST IN STAND UP (CHARLIE BAKER, STEPHEN GRANT, ANDY ASKINS, GEOFF NORCOTT, MICHAEL FABBRI)
THE COMEDY STORE, 21:30–23:00, £20 (£10)
Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.
GROUP THERAPY (PAUL SINHA, WILL FRANKEN, MC DANNY MCLOUGHLIN)
GORILLA, 19:00–23:00, £10
Get your giggle fix and see off the week in Group Therapy – often includes award winning funny folk. GREG DAVIES
THE LOWRY, 20:00–22:00, £21
The Inbetweeners’ funnyman returns with his new stand-up show, The Back of my Mum’s Head. ALUN COCHRANE: MOMENTS OF ALUN
THE LOWRY, 20:00–22:00, £12
Alun Cochrane does his thinking aloud, chatty style of stand-up. You do the laughing.
Sun 26 May
LAUGHING COWS (SHAPPIE KHOSANDI, HAYLEY ELLIS, KATIE MULGREW, KERRY LEIGH)
THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–23:00, £7 (£9 DOOR)
All-female line-up of comics from the Laughing Cow bunch – a group that has helped the likes of Sarah Milllican and Jo Brand launch their careers. ALUN COCHRANE: MOMENTS OF ALUN
THE LOWRY, 20:00–22:00, £12
Alun Cochrane does his thinking aloud, chatty style of stand-up. You do the laughing.
Fri 31 May
THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–23:00, £16 (£8)
Three top-notch comics, a sprinkling of Frog compere funnies and a late night disco courtesy of the resident DJ. THE BEST IN STAND UP (TOBY HADOKE, ALUN COCHRANE, CHRIS MCCAUSLAND, DOC BROWN, CELIA PACQUOLA)
THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £18 (£9)
Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.
THE BOY WITH TAPE ON HIS FACE: MORE TAPE
CONTACT THEATRE, 20:00–22:00, £12 (£10)
Stand-up comedy from the silent comedian, it’s very simple, very charming, and very clever. He’s silent, but you don’t have to be, expect riotous eruptions of laughter.
Sat 01 Jun
BARREL OF LAUGHS (DAVE WILLIAMS,TONY BURGESS, JASON PATTERSON)
THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–23:00, £17 (£10)
Three top-notch comics, a sprinkling of Frog compere funnies and a late night disco courtesy of the resident DJ. THE BEST IN STAND UP (TOBY HADOKE, ALUN COCHRANE, CHRIS MCCAUSLAND, DOC BROWN, CELIA PACQUOLA)
THE COMEDY STORE, 19:00–21:00, £20 (£10)
Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.
THE BEST IN STAND UP II (TOBY HADOKE, ALUN COCHRANE, CHRIS MCCAUSLAND, DOC BROWN, CELIA PACQUOLA)
THE COMEDY STORE, 21:30–23:00, £20 (£10)
Leg 2 of The Best in Stand Up – starting at a later time, so if you missed out on tickets to the earlier show, fear not! ALFIE BROWN
THE LOWRY, 20:00–22:00, £10
An observational comedian, Alfie observes (occasionally screaming) hypocritical standards of censorship in popular music, the unscrupulous homogenisation of comedy and a world where greed comes before truth.
Sun 02 Jun KING GONG
THE COMEDY STORE, 19:30–21:30, £6 (£3)
The night when ordinary folk can have a bash at stand up-all in hope of being crowned King Gong, until next month. Prestigious. OMID DJALILI
THE LOWRY, 20:00–22:00, £22
British Iranian stand up comic with a knack for picking apart the stereotypes – often seen on Live at the Apollo.
Mon 03 Jun
BEAT THE FROG (KATIE MULGREW)
THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–23:00, £5
A 10-act long heckle-fest, as a handful of amateurs take to the stage and try to Beat the Frog – you decide who stays, brutal.
THE SKINNY
Liverpool
Ste Porter (Chris Cairns, Hal Cruttenden, Christian Schulte-Loh) The Slaughter House, 20:00–23:00, £15
Thu 02 May
Daliso Chaponda (Dave Williams, Liam Williams CKP, Tony Basnett)
Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15
Four top-notch circuit comedians (one of ‘em will be the compere) gathered together for an evening of hilarity.
Fri 03 May
Daliso Chaponda (Dave Williams, Raymond and Mr Timpkins, Mark Nelson)
Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15
Four top-notch circuit comedians (one of ‘em will be the compere) gathered together for an evening of hilarity.
Chris McCausland (Neil Fitzmaurice, Steve Royle, Barry Dodds)
The Slaughter House, 20:00–23:00, £15
Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.
Sat 04 May
Daliso Chaponda (Dave Williams, Raymond and Mr Timpkins, Mark Nelson)
Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £18
Four top-notch circuit comedians (one of ‘em will be the compere) gathered together for an evening of hilarity. Steve Royle (Neil Fitzmaurice, Chris McCausland, Barry Dodds)
The Slaughter House, 20:00–23:00, £17.50
Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.
Sun 05 May
Eddie Izzard: Force Majeure
Echo Arena, 20:00–22:30, £35
Force Majeure – that’s French for ‘superior force’, obvs. – the latest comedy show by cross-dressing legend Eddie Izzard, out on tour showing off his linguistic abilities and mekin us all laugh at the same time. A Rush of Laughter
The Lantern Theatre, 20:00–22:00, £10
A trio of comedy gems unite to bring on the giggles – MC Adam Rushton presents the North West’s Katie Mulgrew, actor turned comic, Rish Massara and comedy geek Barry Dobbs.
Wed 08 May
Daniel Kitson: After the Beginning. Before the End
Playhouse Theatre, 19:30–22:00, £10
Daniel Kitson returns with something like a stand-up show about a very specific point in time; aka good luck trying to second guess this one.
Thu 09 May
Ivan Brackenbury (Jan Maree, Jess Fostekew, Kwame Asante)
Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15
Four top-notch circuit comedians (one of ‘em will be the compere) gathered together for an evening of hilarity.
Fri 10 May
Ivan Brackenbury (Jan Maree, John Scott, Jamie Sutherland)
Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15
Four top-notch circuit comedians (one of ‘em will be the compere) gathered together for an evening of hilarity.
Hal Cruttenden (Chris Cairns, Ste Porter, Christian SchulteLoh) The Slaughter House, 20:00–23:00, £15
Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.
Sat 11 May
Ivan Brackenbury (Jan Maree, John Scott, Jamie Sutherland)
Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £18
Four top-notch circuit comedians (one of ‘em will be the compere) gathered together for an evening of hilarity.
May 2013
Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.
Thu 16 May
Nige (Johnathon Mayor, Geoff Norcott, Ed Easton)
Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15
Four top-notch circuit comedians (one of ‘em will be the compere) gathered together for an evening of hilarity.
Fri 17 May
Nige (Johnathon Mayor, Geoff Norcott, Jason Patterson)
Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15
Four top-notch circuit comedians (one of ‘em will be the compere) gathered together for an evening of hilarity. Roger Monkhouse (Neil Fitzmaurice, Chris Cairns, Brendan Dempsey)
The Slaughter House, 20:00–23:00, £15
Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.
Sat 18 May
Nige (Johnathon Mayor, Geoff Norcott, Jason Patterson)
Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £18
Four top-notch circuit comedians (one of ‘em will be the compere) gathered together for an evening of hilarity.
Brendan Dempsey (Neil Fitzmaurice, Chris Cairns, Roger Monkhouse) The Slaughter House, 20:00–23:00, £18
Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.
Thu 23 May
Paul Tonkinson (Mark Dolan, Gein’s Family Giftshop, Scott Bennett)
Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15
Four top-notch circuit comedians (one of ‘em will be the compere) gathered together for an evening of hilarity.
Fri 24 May
Paul Tonkinson (Mark Dolan, Martin Mor, Danny Deegan)
Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15
Four top-notch circuit comedians (one of ‘em will be the compere) gathered together for an evening of hilarity. Andy Askins (Chris Cairns, Steve Day, Jamie Sutherland)
The Slaughter House, 20:00–23:00, £15
Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.
Sat 25 May
Paul Tonkinson (Mark Dolan, Martin Mor, Danny Deegan)
Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £18
Four top-notch circuit comedians (one of ‘em will be the compere) gathered together for an evening of hilarity.
Jamie Sutherland (Chris Cairns, Steve Day, Sean Percival)
The Slaughter House, 20:00–23:00, £17.50
Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.
Wed 29 May
The Boy With Tape On His Face: More Tape
Unity Theatre, 20:00–22:00, £12.50
Stand-up comedy from the silent comedian, it’s very simple, very charming, and very clever. He’s silent, but you don’t have to be, expect riotous eruptions of laughter.
Thu 30 May
Jeff Innocent (Andy Robinson, Dana Alexander, Jay Hampson)
Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15
Four top-notch circuit comedians (one of ‘em will be the compere) gathered together for an evening of hilarity.
Fri 31 May
Failure (and other opportunities for non-linear success) Unity Theatre, 20:00–22:00, £10 (£8)
A one woman show combining comedy, social commentary, contemporary dance and an element of visual absurdity. Mary Pearson explores life when consumed with delusional fantasies of commercial success. Jeff Innocent (Andy Robinson, Dana Alexander, Sam Avery)
Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15
Four top-notch circuit comedians (one of ‘em will be the compere) gathered together for an evening of hilarity.
Seymour Mace (Neil Fitzmaurice, Phil Butler, Craig Murray)
Art Cornerhouse
Anguish & Enthusiasm: What Do You Do With Your Revolution Once You’ve Got It
various dates between 23 Apr and 18 Aug, times vary, Free
Collection of new and recent contemporary art from around the world, exploring the concept of a successful revolution and asking important questions about what defines this success. Clair Graubner: From The Ground Up
various dates between 23 Apr and 28 May, times vary, Free
Sat 01 Jun
Manchester School of Art graduate Clair Graubner presents a new collection of works which reflect the urban architecture of her environment, creating an autobiographical narrative within a landscape or scene.
Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £18
various dates between 30 May and 9 Jul, times vary, Free
The Slaughter House, 20:00–23:00, £15
Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.
Jeff Innocent (Andy Robinson, Dana Alexander, Sam Avery)
Four top-notch circuit comedians (one of ‘em will be the compere) gathered together for an evening of hilarity.
Craig Murray (Neil Fitzmaurice, Seymour Mace, Phil Butler)
The Slaughter House, 20:00–23:00, £17.50
Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.
Manchester 2022NQ
Echo: John Kiely and Sandra Lorkowska
17–31 May, not 19, 20, 26, 27, 12:00pm – 5:00pm, Free
Two photographers went into a forest with cameras and emerged with very different results – this exhibition is an incredibly green showcase of their work.
Sailor.Stannard: Launch Party
31 May–1 Jun, 6:00pm – 12:00am, Free
Launch party for creative duo Stannard and Sailor, known for their playful and colorful works with elements of traditional decorative arts, street style and religious iconography – this is their first show together since teaming up in 2009.
Bench Self Made Gallery Selling Manchester
26 Apr – 12 May, times vary, Free
An exhibition of work from Manchester’s leading designers, showing the evolution of event poster design from concept to completion. Tie-in event with Manchester School of Art (MMU) Unit X Festival.
Chinese Arts Centre Nina Yuen
23 Apr – 11 May, not 28 Apr, 29 Apr, 5 May, 6 May, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free
The first UK exhibition by Hawaiian-born artist Nina Yuen who uses video montages and melodic voiceovers to blend fictionalised personal memories with disparate accounts of the past to create alternate realities.
Contact Theatre Word of Warning: Work That Moves You
2 May, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, Free
Works ahead returns to Contact with 2 nights of performance pieces, the first featuring 70/30 Split, Kitty Graham, Joseph Lau and Ellen Turner. Word of Warning: Work That Speaks To You
3 May, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, Free
Day two of the Works Ahead series, with performance pieces from Lena Simic, Façade Theatre and Wayne Steven Jackson.
Adam Heiss and Martene Rourke: Network Traces
A series of photographs that explore the abandoned and forgotten railway lines of Britain, capturing how nature encroaches and claims back the space, or how the lines now exist with an alternative use.
Four Piccadilly Place
Salford Museum and Art Gallery Caroline Johnson: There’s a Rainbow in the Road
Ground-breaking work comprised of weavings, videos and paper23 Apr – 7 Jul, times vary, Free based scores that, when first The first solo exhibition by Salford- shown in 1977, moved the video based artist Caroline Johnson, medium beyond the television’s presenting her graceful paintings frame and into art installation. and drawings that capture the sub- Nancy Holt: Land Art lime beauty and gritty core of the 23 Apr – 16 Jun, times vary, free Manchester and Salford regions. Photography and film exhibition by land art pioneer Nancy Holt, The Holden including Trail Markers, a film Gallery made during a visit to Dartmoor, Creation/Destruction and photographs of her iconic 23 Apr – 23 May, weekdays only, 10:00am work, Sun Tunnels in The Great – 4:00pm, Free Basin Desert in Northern Utah. A joint exhibition by Anya Gallaccio, Mark Lewis and Rut Blees Luxemburg exploring the intersection between creation and destruction through film, photography and sculpture – breaking down the Arena Studios idea that the two have to be polar opposite concepts. and Gallery
Liverpool
The International Anthony Burgess Foundation Cacotopia
23–25 May, times vary, Free
Exhibition by contemporary artists Matti Islan Blind, Franziska Lantz, Rebecca Lennon, Elisabeth Molin and David Wojtowycz – exploring the theme of Cacotopia, a word used by Burgess to describe a society ‘structured on the lines of a cacophony’.
Holly Rowan Hesson: Only forward?
The Lowry
27 Apr, 28 Apr, 1 may, 2 May, times vary, Free
23 Apr – 22 Jun, times vary, free
Somewhere between an art exhibition, residency and open studio, Holly Rowan Hesson concludes her three-year MA in Contemporary Fine Art with this exhibition, Only Forward?
Instituto Cervantes
Connections: New Photography from Spain And Latin America
23 Apr – 10 May, 9:30am – 5:30pm, prices vary
A new exhibition of work bringing together British and Hispanic artists under the common language of photography. Featuring work by Adam Lee, Daniel Moore, Erik Knudsen, Fran Martínez, Ian Maxwell and Lucy Sudden Smith.
Manchester Art Gallery Raqib Shaw
23 Apr – 26 May, times vary, free
See the Manchester Art Gallery in full bloom, and discover the dark, unsettling work of Indian-born, London-based Raqib Shaw. Beyond the willows and spring flowers lie jewel encrusted artworks and a land of terrifying creatures. Karl Fritsch Jewellery
23 Apr – 23 Jun, times vary, free
The first UK solo exhibition of Germany-born, New Zealand-based contemporary jewellery designer Karl Fritsch. His highly sought after pieces combine precious with nonprecious materials for a uniquely unconventional result. Radical Figures: Post-war British Figurative Painting
23 Apr – 16 Mar, times vary, Free
A new collection of works that explores the role painters such as Francis Bacon, Lucien Freud and David Hockney played in the reinvention of figurative and realist art in post-war Britain.
Paper Gallery
PAPER #6: Andrea Cotton and Naomi Lethbridge
11 May, 18 May, 25 May, 1 Jun, 8 Jun, 11:00am – 5:00pm, Free
The latest in PAPER’s series of two person exhibitions which allow an emerging artist to exhibit their work alongside a more established artist – this series sees Andrea Cotton and Naomi Lethbridge exhibit their collections of intricate ink drawings.
Beryl Korot: Text and Commentary 23 Apr – 9 Jun, times vary, free
Lowry Favourites
A collection of over 400 paintings and drawings from one of Britain’s best loved artists, LS Lowry, including the iconic series of paintings, Going To The Match, on loan from the Professional Footballers’ Association. Centre Stage: Portraits of a Lowry Audience
23 Apr – 12 May, times vary, free
An exhibition by London-based photographer Katherine Green and Manchester-based filmmaker Hilary Easter-Jones that shifts the focus away from the stage, and on to the Lowry audience members. Developing: Photographs by Mary McCartney
23 Apr – 10 Jun, times vary, Free
A striking collection of large scale images celebrating the career of Mary McCartney; known for capturing international stars – such as Helen Mirren, Joni Mitchell and Morrissey – in a off-guard and visually vulnerable state. My Generation: The Glory Years of British Rock
18 May – 15 Sep, times vary, Free
A collection of around 60 photos by resident Top of the Pops photographer Harry Goodwin – documenting some of the most important musical stars and performances between 1964 – 1973, including Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and The Supremes.
Something to do with Death: Paul Bywater
various dates between 10 May and 9 Jun, 11:00am – 5:00pm, Free
An exhibition by studio member Paul Bywater, showcasing his highly detailed graphite portraits drawn over several months.
Art and Design Academy BLACKOUT
various dates between 18 May and 21 Jun, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free
An exhibition by an International group of artists, exploring the relationship between viewer and subject in photographs. Part of LOOK/13.
Camp and Furnace Made in Liverpool
17 May, 10:00pm – 10:30pm, Free
LOOK/13 Launch event, showcasing the very best of Liverpool’s photographers, with a slideshow exhibition of their work curated by Laura Davis and John Stoddart. A celebration of Liverpool’s culture and identity. Recurring: Not Just
18–27 May, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free
An exhibition by the Not Just collective exploring memory through dreams, loss, tributes and elements of consciousness. Liverpool Art Fair
24–27 May, 11:00am – 6:00pm, Free
A four day event allowing artists from the Liverpool area to showcase and sell their work, and buyers to pick up reasonably priced art works.
Drop the Dumbells
Liverpool, Unfinished
various dates between 17 May and 2 Jun, 12:00pm – 4:00pm, Free
The Whitworth Art Gallery
A collection of colour portraits and landscapes by Liverpool-based freelance photographer Rob Bremner – the photographs were shot by Bremner in the 80s as part of an unfinished student portfolio and capture a slice of Merseyside life. Part of LOOK/13.
23 Apr – 16 Jun, times vary, free
FACT
Michael Landy: Four Walls
Video installation exploring Landy’s father’s enthusiasm for DIY, which was abruptly halted following a spinal injury in 1977. Images in the video are overlaid with a soundtrack of his father whistling his favourite songs. Richard Long: Land Art
23 Apr – 16 Jun, times vary, free
Two stone sculptures, White Onyx Line (1990) and Tideless Stones (2008), both made from quarried stone, alongside text works which distill the action and experience of a solitary walk into words. Callum Innes
23 Apr – 16 Jun, times vary, free
The Edinburgh-based abstract artist presents a collection that is more about un-painting than painting. Innes works with oil paint and turpentine to strip away layers and reveal underlying colours.
The Art of Pop Video
23 Apr – 26 May, times vary, Free
Visual culture showcase of over 100 video clips following the history of pop video from 1920 to the present day, with emphasis placed on the recent shift in the audience’s role from passive viewer to active producer.
Grand Hall, Albert Dock
The Liverpool Art Prize 2013
various dates between 26 Apr and 8 Jun, times vary, Free
And then there were four. Local artists Kevin Hunt, Tabitha Moses, Julieann O’Malley and Laurence Payot exhibit their work in hope of winning the prestigious Liverpool Art Prize.
International Slavery Museum George Osodi: Oil boom, Delta burns
23 Apr – 1 Sep, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free
Exhibition by internationallyrenowned Nigerian photographer George Osodi, who spent six years documenting the effects of the oil industry in the Niger Delta. Osodi’s aims are not to offend or incite guilt, but to inspire change.
Leaf Leaves
17 May – 16 Jun, times vary, Free
An exhibition of portraits taken by Pete Carr in a single day in 2012, showing the many faces that make up the community at Leaf. Part of LOOK/13.
Merseyside Maritime Museum
Titanic and Liverpool: The Untold Story
23 Apr – 31 Dec, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free
A collection of previously unseen archive footage and materials that document Liverpool’s central role in the Titanic story. The exhibition marks the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic.
Museum of Liverpool
Merseystyle: Photographs by The Caravan Gallery
10 May – 27 Oct, times vary, Free
A new exhibition from the mobile Caravan Gallery, featuring photographs that explore the many elements of the Merseyside and Wirral identity. Part of LOOK/13.
Open Eye Gallery
Mishka Henner: Precious Commodities
23 Apr – 5 May, not 29 Apr, 10:30am – 5:30pm, free
Solo exhibition by Manchesterbased artist Mishka Henner; The Levelland Oil Field and Feedlots pieces explore the value of photography in a media-saturated world and question the idea of authorship. Charles Fréger: The Wild and the Wise
various dates between 17 May and 25 Aug, 10:30am – 5:30pm, Free
This collection of works by French artist Charles Fréger and Swedish artist Eva Stenram both explore the theme of identity by responding to the festival title: who do you think you are? Part of LOOK/13.
The Bluecoat
Adam Lee: Identity Documents
17 May – 16 Jun, times vary, Free
A new collection of photograph’s by Liverpool’s own Adam Lee, exploring the notion of identity and possessions. By creating largescale prints of bookcases Lee encourages the viewer to speculate on the identity of the owner. Part of LOOK/13. Sander/Weegee: Selections from the Side Photographic Collection
18 May – 14 Jul, times vary, Free
A joint exhibition with Side Gallery, Newcastle, featuring the classic works of August Sander (18761964) and WeeGee (1899-1968). The collection features portraits from 1920s and 30s German society and photographs of New York in the 30s and 40s. Part of LOOK/13. I Exist (In Some Way)
18 May – 14 Jul, times vary, Free
An exhibition of the work of 11 photographers, exploring the concept of personal and collective identity in the contemporary Arab world. Part of LOOK/13. Print Journeys
27 Apr – 25 May, times vary, Free
Collection curated by local printmaker Gill Curry, exploring different print styles and techniques.
The Gallery Liverpool Realism
various dates between 17 May and 28 Jun, times vary, Free
An awe-inspiring exhibition from the UK’s most distinguished artists in the genre of realism, featuring everything from Steve Caldwell’s hyperrealism to Pam Hawkes’ portraiture.
The Liverpool Academy of Arts Hope University Degree Show
20–31 May, weekdays only, 12:00pm – 4:00pm, Free
An exhibition of work by Liverpool Hope University final year Fine Arts students.
Victoria Gallery and Museum The Queen, The Chairman and I
various dates between 18 May and 24 Aug, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free
A visual project by Kurt Tong, exploring his heritage and family roots through photographs and writing. Part of LOOK/13.
Eva Stenram: Drape
Walker Art Gallery
various dates between 17 May and 25 Aug, 10:30am – 5:30pm, Free
23 Apr – 1 May, 10:00am – 5:00pm, free
A series of works by Eva Stenram in which found images – of vintage pin ups and old centrefolds from magazines – are scanned and then manipulated to unusual and jarring effect. The background takes centre stage, leaving the subject as an afterthought. Part of LOOK/13.
Sudley House
20th Century Chic: 100 Years of Women’s Fashion 23 Apr – 3 Jun, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free
A collection of 12 evening outfits spanning 1900 to 2000, charting the changing role of women in society throughout this period, and how these changes were reflected in the fashion of the time.
Tate Liverpool
Glam!: The Performance of Style
23 Apr – 12 May, 10:00am – 5:00pm, £8
The first exhibition to explore glam style and sensibility in-depth, through painting, sculpture, installation art, film, photography and performance. Sylvia Sleigh
23 Apr – 3 May, 10:00am – 5:00pm, free
The largest exhibition of Sylvia Sleigh’s work to date in which she presents a realist portrayal of both male and female figures in an attempt to defy objectification. DLA Piper Series: This is Sculpture
23 Apr – 30 Jun, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free
A new collection exploring the history of modern and contemporary sculpture, charting the artistic trajectory of the art-form throughout the 20th Century – traditional sculptures sit alongside less conventional forms, such as performance and video.
Jael and Sisera: Gentileschi
A rare opportunity to see the macabre depiction of Jael and Sisera by Gentileschi, on loan from The Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest. Robyn Woolston: Strangers in a Strange Land
23 Apr – 23 Jun, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free
The winner of the 2012 Liverpool art prize presents a new collection of work made from waste plastic – Woolston explores the idea of consumption, power and identity, and how connected we really are to the world’s finite resources. Every Man and Woman is a Star: Photographs by Martin Parr and Tom Wood
23 Apr – 18 Aug, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free
Photography exhibition that explores the similarities and differences between the work of Martin Parr and Tom Wood – comprised of photographs taken in the late 70s and early 80s in Liverpool and Ireland. Part of LOOK/13.
Double Take: Portraits from The Keith Medley Archive
17 May – 15 Sep, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free
Photography exhibition from the Keith Medley archive featuring portraits of Merseysider’s from the 1960s. Each sitter was shot twice using the same glass plate negative, resulting in an eerie composition of double images. Part of LOOK/13. ALIVE: In The Face of Death
17 May – 8 Sep, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, Free
World-renowned photographer, Rankin explores the theme of death and mortality by capturing images of people who know they have limited time left. Their inspirational accounts will be available to read alongside the images. Part of LOOK/13
Listings
61
Going Somewhere
With Burt Bacharach and Brian Wilson among his idols, Liverpool’s Dan Croll is setting the bar pretty high for himself – but y’know what? He’s not doing a bad job of rising to the occasion
Interview: Lauren Strain
I
t’s quite unusual to encounter a ‘local’ musician with such a clearly audible ambition to arrive whole, and wholesome. But with two cherrypolished, glossy pop singles under his belt – their melodies rolling off the tongue like familiar names – Liverpool-based singer-songwriter Dan Croll is one such newcomer. Having collared attention in 2012 with debut track From Nowhere – an emphatic, low-swinging slow romp that owed more than a little to Grizzly Bear’s Two Weeks but meant serious business with it – Croll released his second single, Compliment Your Soul, at the beginning of April. A shy, ticklish, then swooning, giving ode helped along by Swedish producer Johan Hugo of The Very Best, it sees Croll’s edgeless vocals skate a swooping, whooping patina across glassy atmospheres, slip-slidin’ guitars and cloudy brass – and strikes a pleasing contrast to its predecessor’s swagger. “My mum’s favourite saying is ‘not everything comes first time,’” he writes to me from Chicago, where he’s recovering from his first night out in America (“I think I recall a karaoke bar”) in advance of his band’s performance at Austin, Texas’ annual industry piss-up, South by Southwest. “I couldn’t agree more: I’ve worked really hard and some things may not have happened first time for me, but I’ve kept at it, and now everything seems to be going in the right direction. “Up until about 17 I was aiming for a career as a rugby player,” he explains. “I was playing to a very high level and was playing under the watch of England selectors. However, a badly broken leg ended it all. I wouldn’t say it’s fed in to my music, but maybe the competitiveness of the sport has made me driven to succeed.” A graduate of Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA), Croll credits the school with bringing him into contact with “just a small class of about 24 of us – I don’t think I would have found my current influences if it weren’t for some of those classmates.” Though he was born in Stoke-on-Trent, he counts Liverpool, where his
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family are from, as home, praising its “real strong mixture of different artists collaborating and working together,” and namechecking a huge roll call of artists and bands to check out: “Stealing Sheep, OUTFIT, Loved Ones, Eye Emma Jedi, Douglas Dare, Jethro Fox, Carnival Kids, Billie Van, Jonas Alaska, Mikhael Paskalev, The Staves, All We Are, Vasco Da Gama, Nadine Carina, James Canty, Ninetails, Dire Wolfe, Kankouran...” In Liverpool, he says, “everybody knows everybody, and artists are closer together sharing influences, sounds and techniques.” For Croll, these sounds are playful and bighearted, informed by capacious rhythms from sunnier climes and the lush layering of ‘classic’ pop writers – and though his singles thus far have been nicely variant, with From Nowhere’s cunning bounce offsetting Compliment Your Soul’s stealth, they share a welcoming palette: colourful, and with a vivid sense of wide, open-eyed wonder. By his own admission, though, it’s taken him a little while to get there. “My music has been all over the place,” he says. “I’d say it started out very relaxed and folky, then once I got in to LIPA it all changed. I started a math-rock Mars Volta-esque band, toured Norway and Germany with an electro rock-pop band, experimented a lot with African percussion and time signatures, and also played about with the production of psychedelia. “My music is still going through these changes, and I love that – I think my debut album will be a real consistent blend of genres.” A little of the Nordic flavour he mentions is on display in two From Nowhere remixes by Casiokids and Baardsen, both dusky and dusty with reverby, melancholy touches that recall the inwards, electronic pop of Jonathan Johansson – and that rolling, easy-lowing African-inspired percussion is evident in both singles. It’s become a bit of a hipster cliché to namecheck Paul Simon as an influence, and particularly Graceland, which has basically become a codeword for ‘I’ve listened to something global-sounding’: but Croll
talks about Simon – along with Burt Bacharach and Brian Wilson, natch – with an enthusiasm that defies scepticism, and prefers The Obvious Child from Simon’s 1990 LP The Rhythm of the Saints, anyway: “The vibe of the track is just incredible, and the drive of the drums throughout is just magical.”
“My music has been all over the place” Dan Croll
As for Bacharach: “This man is a genius, and I’ve always been a fan of his work, but it wasn’t until I watched Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid that I really appreciated the amazingness of his song South American Getaway. The structure and complexity of that song breaks every modern songwriting rule.” Croll’s compact, cohesive songs aren’t as overthought as you might assume from his studious dedication to the greats. “As you can guess by the title of the track, From Nowhere came, literally, from nowhere,” he recalls. “It came about while I was moving a newly bought organ (for £5 off eBay) into where I was recording at the time (an old disused school gym). I turned the organ on, hit the built-in ‘Afro’ preset on the drum machine and played those three main chords. I’d never played those chords like that and I had no idea what I wanted them to sound like: they just came out of nowhere. “Once I had those jokey organ drums down and the organ chords on top of them, I was able to build the song up layer by layer. The process felt amazing from start to finish. “I do love the process of songwriting, and for me the most important part of it is creating
MUSIC
those melodies that will leave people humming and whistling the song the following days. “I’m trying not to think too much about my album,” he surmises. “I’m just going to keep writing my songs as I do every day, experimenting with different sounds and genres, and collaborating with other musicians and producers.” Croll’s perseverance is reaping increasing rewards – most notably, in 2011 he was bestowed with the top Musicians Benevolent Fund Songwriting Award of £5,000 in recognition of his grasp of the craft. “It’s all felt incredible,” he enthuses. “It’s given me a lot of confidence in my music and my songwriting.” But he’s keen to emphasise that the success isn’t going to his head, and throughout our interview reveals himself to be, more than anything, serious about and committed to his practice: “Due to the competitiveness and ever changing sounds/trends in the music industry, my feet have definitely remained on the ground, and I’ve continued to develop and work hard on my music,” he says. “I wouldn’t say I’m putting the finishing touches [to my album] just yet, I’ve still got a lot of work to do. “It can be quite hard to decide when something is finished. I find the best way to deal with this is to just take a long break from the song, maybe a week or two, then come back to it with fresh ears. It’s amazing how your opinion can change after time away.” Above all, he says, he’s just enjoying the journey. “As long as I keep travelling and playing my music to as many people as possible, I’m happy. So far, 2013 holds some really nice festivals, some more trips out to the USA, hopefully some cool collaborations – and I suppose the rest I’ll find out along the way.” Compliment Your Soul is out now through Racquet Records Dan plays The Garage, Liverpool, as part of Liverpool Sound City on 3 May, and at Dot to Dot festival, Manchester, on 24 May www.dancroll.com
THE SKINNY
WIN TICKETS TO T IN THE PARK PLUS RETURN TRAVEL WITH CITYLINK!
WIN A FIREBALL WHISKY PARTY PACK
Fresh from being crowned International Festival To be in with a chance of winning, head over to of the Year, Scotland’s biggest music festival, www.theskinny.co.uk/competitions and correctly T in the Park, is back for its 20th year with an epic answer the following question: line-up of some of the world’s hottest musical talent. Heading to Kinross over 12-14 July are headIn which year was T in the Park first held? liners Mumford & Sons, Rihanna and The Killers Was it: plus electronic pioneers Kraftwerk, Foals, alt-J, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Frightened Rabbit, Villagers, A) 1992 CHVRCHES, Richie Hawtin, Laurent Garnier and B) 1993 many more. C) 1994
Get the party going with Fireball whisky – 'tastes like heaven, burns like hell'.
Be part of the greatest audience in the world and experience the 20th year of T in the Park: get tickets now from www.tinthepark.com. Thanks to festival organisers DF Concerts and founding partner Tennent’s Lager, we’re giving one lucky winner and a mate the chance to experience the 20th year of T in the Park with a pair of weekend camping tickets and return travel with Citylink!
Entrants must be 18 or over. Competition closes midnight Friday 31 May 2013. The winner will be notified within two working days and is required to respond within one week or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Full details of terms and conditions can be found at www.theskinny.co.uk/about.terms For more updates from The T Lady visit: www.tinthepark.com
Courtesy of Beacons, we're giving away two pairs of weekend tickets to the festival. To be in with a chance of winning one of the two pairs of tickets, head over to www.theskinny. co.uk/competitions and correctly answer the following question:
May 2013
We have a Fireball party pack stuffed full of Fireball goodies – including branded shot glasses, t-shirts, caps, buckets, wallets, bar blades and a bottle of the good stuff – to give away to one lucky reader.
Fireball is made in which country? A) Italy B) Canada C) Mexico Entrants must be 18 or over. Competition closes midnight Friday 31 May 2013. Winners will be notified within two working days of closing and required to respond within one week or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Full details of terms and conditions can be found at www.theskinny.co.uk/about. terms www.ignitethenite.co.uk For the facts about alcohol: www.drinkaware.co.uk
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WIN TICKETS TO BLONDIE AT THE O2 ACADEMY, LIVERPOOL
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Beacons Festival returns to the Yorkshire Dales for a second time from 16-18 August, picking up where last year's event left off. The inaugural Beacons received positive reviews from the likes of Pitchfork, NME and the Guardian, and this year's festival has an even bigger line up, including Django Django, Local Natives, Fucked Up, Moon Duo, Bonobo, Wolf People and Melody's Echo Chamber.
Fireball was first sparked up in Canada, when the master distiller was looking for a way to raise temperatures – and ended up raising hell. He mixed a spicy cinnamon concoction with his smoothest whisky, and the flames flew. That first cinnamon sting sent him sideways, before the finest whisky sensation pulled him back into shape. Serve Fireball ice cold to feel the burn, or as a long drink with apple juice to put out the fire.
To be in with a chance of winning, hop over to www.theskinny.co.uk/competitions and correctly answer the following question:
Whose debut album was titled Gorilla Manor?
Icons of music, style and punk-pop culture Blondie are heading back to the UK for the first time since 2011, when they released their ninth studio album, and have added a new date to their 2013 UK tour at O2 Academy Liverpool on Tuesday 18 June.
A) The Monkees B) Bonobo C) Local Natives Entrants must comply with Beacons' age policy; details are on their website, www.greetingsfrombeacons.com. Competition closes midnight Friday 31 May 2013. Winners will be notified within two working days of closing and required to respond within one week or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Full details of terms and conditions can be found at www.theskinny.co.uk/about. terms
We've got a pair of tickets to the gig up for grabs. To be in with a chance of winning the pair of tickets, head over to www.theskinny.co.uk/competitions and correctly answer the following question:
www.greetingsfrombeacons.com
What is the name of Blondie's ninth studio album? A) Panic of Girls B) Atomic C) Heart of Glass Entrants must be 14 or over. Entrants aged 14-17 must be accompanied by an adult. Competition closes midnight Tuesday 11 June 2013. Winners will be notified within two working days of closing and required to respond within 48 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Full details of terms and conditions can be found at www.theskinny.co.uk/about. terms www.o2academyliverpool.co.uk
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2013
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