Last night I was lucky enough to see the excellent TV on the Radio at Shepherd's Bush Empire. Apparently I was luckier than I knew, as tickets sold out in three hours - thanks for the early warning TVOTR mailing list! Although I'm unlikely to beat the awesome first time I saw them in the back room of Union Pool, I have to say that last night's gig was the second best - and that's high praise indeed. The guys were rocking! Previous gigs had felt a bit like they weren't comfortable on stage, but last night they owned it and offered us a mix of high energy versions of their rock out songs, and soulful introspection in spades where needed.

As usual Dave Sitek hid out back with Gerald and Jaleel - as Kyp and Tunde worked the front of the stage. Kyp's usually epic afro was only at half mast, but the bushiness of his beard more than made up for it. Together they prowled the stage, after Kyp's sit down opposite Dave for an opening intro to Young Liars - a great way to start. The set list ran the gamut of all their albums, with plenty of crowd pleasers such as Wolf Like Me. The highlight had to be the finale - a techno tinged version of Staring at the Sun. What could be better? Other than being back in Union Pool, of course.

Last night we went to see the Coen Brothers' latest, Burn After Reading, at the Curzon Soho - after an abortive attempt to go see it at the over-mirrored, off-putting Apollo Picadilly. For those of you who don't know, Burn After Reading is a dark comedy set around the 'Intelligence' scene in Washington DC, with a roster of acting stars the likes of which is normally only seen in Soderberg movies - Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, John Malkovitch, Frances Dormand and many more. With all those talents vying for space you'd think the movie might end up over-baked, but it's an amazing set of twists, turns, laughs and surprises as you might expect from such talented film makers as the Coens. Definately a must see, especially for fans of the Coens.

The Curzon was, as usual, showing an interesting range of previews most of which looked like great films. One in particular caught my eye - Steven Soderberg's two part epic Che. This true to life biopic, previously called 'The Argentine and the Guerilla', follows the life of Che Guevera from his early days as an Argentine doctor through to cultural icon that he is now. Che is played by Benicio del Toro and goes through an amazing range of body sizes along the way. All looks very exciting, although the early reviews are somewhat mixed.

BTW, How come it costs £12 or more to go to the cinema in London these days? This comes as a brutal shock after getting used to $12 in New York for, what I'd imagine, is the same film just with bigger, more comfortable seats (to fit the larger gentleman). I don't think cinema's can blame pirates for a decrease in film attendance when they're gouging us like that!

Labels: film reviews, London, movies

I've been pretty quiet blogging recently, and most of that has been down to being back in the daily 9 to 5 of a full-time position again. The lucky folks to have the pleasure of my company are Mkodo - who make one of the best mobile platforms in the biz, ready to provide all your SMS, WAP and other mobile delivery needs as and when you want. All very exciting, and only a short(ish) scenic walk from home in the center of happening Shoreditch. Splendid news indeed for all fans of Nathan Barley such as I.

Labels: Technology

Surprisingly, my joke post from the morning of the US Election turned out to be correct. We sat in the Sun and Doves and watched the results roll in till 4am British time, when Barack Obama was confirmed as the first black President of America. An auspicious night indeed, and a welcome one as witnessed by the raucous cheering whenever Obama won a state and booing when McCain did the same.

So now we just have to wait and see how Obama's winning campaign based on positive forward thinking translates into a post-Bush administration. As Obama himself says, America won't turn itself around overnight, but I believe that he's given many Americans something they haven't had in a long time, perhaps in their entire lives - hope, and a vision of a future where individuals can effect positive change not only in themselves, but in their country. One can only hope that this new vision of the American Dream, writ in human flesh by Obama, survives meeting reality. Even if it only inspires a small percentage of people, these people are likely to be in the parts of society where hope is most needed as a valuable currency.

For me the best part is that the nightmare that was George W Bush can shortly end, and not just end with a tailing off, but end with a full stop. The end. Finito. I truly believe that people will look back on his time in the White House as some of the darkest days of American history. America needs hope and positivity right now, not just for themselves, but also to restore their lost goodwill in the rest of the world, and Obama is the right choice at this time. Huzah!

Labels: america, Politics

One of the great things about being back in the good ol' U of K is that now our century old ways of doing things get regularly over-turned by the bunch of failed politicians who comprise the EU. In all fairness, some things they do are quite sensible, but other rules just seem to be rules for rules sake. For example, national supermarket Sainsbury's is currently complaining to the EU about their ban on 'ugly' veg. This ban prevents any shop from selling veg that doesn't meet certain standards - such as too small cauliflowers, forked carrots and the like. In this time of eco-policies and tight financial markets, being told to throw away up to 20% of their supplies seems a bit bonkers mental to me. What's next? EU veg inspectors setting up checkpoints down the allotment to check every vegetable you take home to your family?

Right, rant over.. I'm back off to finish reading my Daily M*il.

Labels: Being British, EU Bollox