Two middle-aged wifies having a witter. End of review.
Well, almost. There's a bit more to it of course, when the wifies concerned are motormouths Susan Morrison and Jojo Sutherland. In an hour that (somehow or other) established where everyone in the audience came from and touched on diverse subjects including family at Xmas, the first drink that made you sick, and the correct way to put a bra on.
It was random, confusing, frequently meaningless and absolutely hilarious, with never a non-laughing minute going by from start to finish. Highly recommended.
Monday 31 December 2018
Friday 21 December 2018
Emily Smith Xmas 2018, Queens Hall
An evening of seasonal songs, mixing traditional carols with folk songs and a bit of Gaelic. The wonderfully pure voice of Emily Smith backed by Jamie McLennan on fiddle, guitar and whistle, Ross Hamilton on bass and the wonderfully talented and very funny Anna massie on guitar. Plus the bonus of Gaelic vocalist Kathleen MacInnes for a few numbers. So there could be no complaints about the quality of the singing or musicianship, and the choice of songs and arrangements were decent enough. Add in a couple of instrumentals that allowed McLennan and Massie to show off their skills (with Anna's being a real highlight of the show) and this should have been glorious xmas entertainment.
So why did it feel so flat as an occasion? It certainly didn't help that Massie was clearly suffering from a nasty cough, and that McLennan had to join in at times. The setting had made a bit of an effort, with lights on the tables and lonely looking star hanging above Smith's head, but it didn't do much to say 'fun'. There were a couple of party-game type events that were well enough thought through, but never really managed to lift the atmosphere of polite applause that dominated. The band did their bit, so maybe this was just one of those audiences. A pity, as Smith is one of our best songstresses, Massie is so talented, and MacInnes' island softness was truly beautiful.
An evening that was less than the sum of its parts.
So why did it feel so flat as an occasion? It certainly didn't help that Massie was clearly suffering from a nasty cough, and that McLennan had to join in at times. The setting had made a bit of an effort, with lights on the tables and lonely looking star hanging above Smith's head, but it didn't do much to say 'fun'. There were a couple of party-game type events that were well enough thought through, but never really managed to lift the atmosphere of polite applause that dominated. The band did their bit, so maybe this was just one of those audiences. A pity, as Smith is one of our best songstresses, Massie is so talented, and MacInnes' island softness was truly beautiful.
An evening that was less than the sum of its parts.
Sunday 16 December 2018
The Felsons, Traverse
Back in the nineties and early naughties they were a weel kent country rock outfit in Scotland, but now The Felsons were back together and playing live for the first time in fifteen years. And doing so in their home town, meaning tickets being sold out some weeks in advance, to a packed and noisily enthusiastic audience.
All four members have gone on to further careers in music, but it was clear from the start that being back together after so long was a joy to them all (even if they were under rehearsed!). An acapella version of the Beatles' Nowhere Man provided a stunning opening before they launched into their own material. Interspersed with songs from the old days were some newer numbers. Band leader and singer/songwriter Dean Owens had written some new numbers for the occasion, and they also played a few of the tracks from his own solo albums. Although the old Felsons tunes still hold up well, it was a clear demonstration of who much Owens has progressed as a writer in the years since.
With Owens distinctive vocals, some tasty lead guitar work from Calais Brown and solid rhythm from bassist Kevin McGuire and drummer Dave Stewart they have a distinctive sound, but covering genres, part pop, part country, part rock, with clear Scots influences in there too. Owens is always amusing in his ramblings and provided plenty of laughs between numbers.
The second set increased the energy in the room, produced a bit of audience singalong, a revival of the single from Smile, the band that begat The Felsons, and a fun rendition of Presley's Hound Dog. Band and crowd could have gone all night, but there are limits to the time, and so we went off into the night invigorated and smiling.
All four members have gone on to further careers in music, but it was clear from the start that being back together after so long was a joy to them all (even if they were under rehearsed!). An acapella version of the Beatles' Nowhere Man provided a stunning opening before they launched into their own material. Interspersed with songs from the old days were some newer numbers. Band leader and singer/songwriter Dean Owens had written some new numbers for the occasion, and they also played a few of the tracks from his own solo albums. Although the old Felsons tunes still hold up well, it was a clear demonstration of who much Owens has progressed as a writer in the years since.
With Owens distinctive vocals, some tasty lead guitar work from Calais Brown and solid rhythm from bassist Kevin McGuire and drummer Dave Stewart they have a distinctive sound, but covering genres, part pop, part country, part rock, with clear Scots influences in there too. Owens is always amusing in his ramblings and provided plenty of laughs between numbers.
The second set increased the energy in the room, produced a bit of audience singalong, a revival of the single from Smile, the band that begat The Felsons, and a fun rendition of Presley's Hound Dog. Band and crowd could have gone all night, but there are limits to the time, and so we went off into the night invigorated and smiling.
Lau, Queens Hall
Regular readers will already be aware of my views on Lau - I'm an unreconstructed fan and have been for ten years. But that does mean I go to the gig with high expectations, and they still have to be met each time.
They were. The first set was largely given over to old favourites, and it was good to hear some choices from the back catalogue, like Unquiet Grave, that I haven't heard live for a long time. As ever the segues are clever and surprising, the musicianship of a high standard, and old favourites have been given fresh arrangements.
The second half was largely given over to new tunes and songs from the forthcoming (fifth) studio album, due out in February. Pushing in new directions, the album looks to feature a high number of songs, and electronic cleverness. Imaginative backing sounds included mewling kittens and a flock of venetian blinds taking off (or so it seemed), a wine glass acting as bell, all integrated into complex soundscapes. Morag, the demanding goddess of digital sounds, featured of course.
The night ended on the ever-moving, and sadly so relevant, Ghosts. Superb.
They were. The first set was largely given over to old favourites, and it was good to hear some choices from the back catalogue, like Unquiet Grave, that I haven't heard live for a long time. As ever the segues are clever and surprising, the musicianship of a high standard, and old favourites have been given fresh arrangements.
The second half was largely given over to new tunes and songs from the forthcoming (fifth) studio album, due out in February. Pushing in new directions, the album looks to feature a high number of songs, and electronic cleverness. Imaginative backing sounds included mewling kittens and a flock of venetian blinds taking off (or so it seemed), a wine glass acting as bell, all integrated into complex soundscapes. Morag, the demanding goddess of digital sounds, featured of course.
The night ended on the ever-moving, and sadly so relevant, Ghosts. Superb.
Saturday 8 December 2018
When Margaux Meets Margaux (La belle at la belle)
Margaux (Agathe Bonitzer) moves through her life aimlessly, dead end jobs, one night stands, useless boyfriends. She leaves her best friend Esther behind in Paris to spend some time with her parents in Lyon. Before she leaves she encounters a strange older woman who tells her not to go home with the guy with the moped.
Margaux (Sandrine Kimberlain) travels up from Paris for the funeral of her long lost friend Esther. At a party before she returns to Lyon she encounters a young woman who she can sense is heading for trouble.
On the train to Lyon the 45 year old Margaux tells what she perceives to be her 25 year old former self, about the mistakes she'll make, and what will become of her. Sceptical at first, the younger woman recognises that her older self knows things about her that she couldn't unless she were telling the truth. As they spend more time together each learns from the other, and that some mistakes have to be made to shape who we are.
A premise that could so easily fall flat is delivered here with charm, humour and surprising credibility. Avoiding any tricksy suggestions of time travel or dreams writer/director Sophie Fillières presents the story to her audience and asks us to accept what we see. She's helped greatly by excellent performances from the two leads who, despite little physical similarity, are perfectly believable as the younger and older versions their self. It's a movie I could happily watch again, aware that there are jokes and allusions I'll have missed out on first time around. Recommended.
Margaux (Sandrine Kimberlain) travels up from Paris for the funeral of her long lost friend Esther. At a party before she returns to Lyon she encounters a young woman who she can sense is heading for trouble.
On the train to Lyon the 45 year old Margaux tells what she perceives to be her 25 year old former self, about the mistakes she'll make, and what will become of her. Sceptical at first, the younger woman recognises that her older self knows things about her that she couldn't unless she were telling the truth. As they spend more time together each learns from the other, and that some mistakes have to be made to shape who we are.
A premise that could so easily fall flat is delivered here with charm, humour and surprising credibility. Avoiding any tricksy suggestions of time travel or dreams writer/director Sophie Fillières presents the story to her audience and asks us to accept what we see. She's helped greatly by excellent performances from the two leads who, despite little physical similarity, are perfectly believable as the younger and older versions their self. It's a movie I could happily watch again, aware that there are jokes and allusions I'll have missed out on first time around. Recommended.
Thursday 6 December 2018
Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot
A biopic based on the memoir by cartoonist John Callahan, this is a story of redemption through art, faith and love. If that sounds over sentimentalised it reckons without the character of the man himself, and a strong performance from Joaquin Phoenix as the man himself.
From the start there are three timelines woven together. One shows Callahan as a successful cartoonist, giving a talk about his life and work to a rapt audience. So it's clear from the off that there will, eventually be a happy ending of sorts. The second gives the story of the last day Callahan was able to walk, and the road accident that resulted in injuries which left him a quadriplegic, wheelchair bound and with only limited upper body movement. And the third, the bulk of the movie, tells the story of his rehabilitation from the alcoholism that had led to the crash (he'd handed his car keys over to s stranger who was as drunk as he was) and how that enabled him to come to terms with a troubled past that had haunted him through childhood. Much of this focuses on his time at AA meetings, and especially the relationship with the alcohol-recovery guru figure, Donnie (Jonah Hill), or the strangely unreal sexual relationship with Annu (Rooney Mara).
It's a curious mixture of a film, with periods of flatness and a lack of drama, interspersed with high points where the desperation of the addict or the frustration of the paralysed come at us strongly. Not a great movie by any means, but saved from mediocrity by Phoenix. His Callahan is no saint, can frequently be difficult to like, but you can't help but root for him when his sense of humour starts to show through in his cartooning, while staying just the right side of saccharine. Watchable, if unmemorable.
From the start there are three timelines woven together. One shows Callahan as a successful cartoonist, giving a talk about his life and work to a rapt audience. So it's clear from the off that there will, eventually be a happy ending of sorts. The second gives the story of the last day Callahan was able to walk, and the road accident that resulted in injuries which left him a quadriplegic, wheelchair bound and with only limited upper body movement. And the third, the bulk of the movie, tells the story of his rehabilitation from the alcoholism that had led to the crash (he'd handed his car keys over to s stranger who was as drunk as he was) and how that enabled him to come to terms with a troubled past that had haunted him through childhood. Much of this focuses on his time at AA meetings, and especially the relationship with the alcohol-recovery guru figure, Donnie (Jonah Hill), or the strangely unreal sexual relationship with Annu (Rooney Mara).
It's a curious mixture of a film, with periods of flatness and a lack of drama, interspersed with high points where the desperation of the addict or the frustration of the paralysed come at us strongly. Not a great movie by any means, but saved from mediocrity by Phoenix. His Callahan is no saint, can frequently be difficult to like, but you can't help but root for him when his sense of humour starts to show through in his cartooning, while staying just the right side of saccharine. Watchable, if unmemorable.
At War (En Guerre)
Two years after an agreement which saw the employees working more hours for the same pay in return for promises on job security, the Perrin car components plant in Agen is now scheduled for closure. The 1100 workers come out on strike, determined to keep the plant open, and the storyline follows their efforts to engage with the company, the parent company in Germany, and the French government.
Shot as a docu-drama, with a lot of hand held camera work, the director and editing doesn't quite get right the balance between those two approaches. We see something of the domestic circumstances of strike leader Laurent Amédéo (Vincent Landon), but otherwise the characters are presented only in their roles as protagonists in the dispute. The film is strong in portraying the impenetrability, unaccountability and basic inhumanity of the neoliberalism that has bedevilled western capitalism, and the internal conflicts that frequently beset longlasting industrial actions, but there is a sense of detachment that makes it hard for the audience to relate with individuals. And when the shock ending arrives it feels out of place with what has gone before.
For all that I found the time went by quickly enough, so the pace is well judged and there is enough of real life in there to provoke anger and frustration with the actions of the management, and the naivety of the workers. It feels like timely viewing in these times of the 'gilets jaunes', but needs an injection of dramatic tension to raise above 'worthy' status.
Shot as a docu-drama, with a lot of hand held camera work, the director and editing doesn't quite get right the balance between those two approaches. We see something of the domestic circumstances of strike leader Laurent Amédéo (Vincent Landon), but otherwise the characters are presented only in their roles as protagonists in the dispute. The film is strong in portraying the impenetrability, unaccountability and basic inhumanity of the neoliberalism that has bedevilled western capitalism, and the internal conflicts that frequently beset longlasting industrial actions, but there is a sense of detachment that makes it hard for the audience to relate with individuals. And when the shock ending arrives it feels out of place with what has gone before.
For all that I found the time went by quickly enough, so the pace is well judged and there is enough of real life in there to provoke anger and frustration with the actions of the management, and the naivety of the workers. It feels like timely viewing in these times of the 'gilets jaunes', but needs an injection of dramatic tension to raise above 'worthy' status.
Saturday 1 December 2018
Family is Family (La ch'tite famille)
Valentin D (Dany Boon) has it all. He and his beautiful wife Constance (Laurence Arné) live a sumptuous lifestyle in a stunning Parisian apartment, funded by their hugely successful furniture design company which charges the richest clientele a small fortune for the privilege of owning their pieces. All he lacks in life is a family, claiming he is an orphan.
That claim is exposed when his estranged mother (Line Renaud) turns up to celebrate her 80th birth day with him, conned into coming by her other son, Gus (Guy Lecluyse), who wants a loan from his wealthy sibling. Accompanied by Gus' wife Louloute (Valérie Bonneton) and daughter Britney (Juliane Lepoureau) they turn up at an exhibition of the work of Valentin and Constance, exposing not just the orphan lie, but his roots as well.The family speak a northern dialect that is almost indecipherable to the sophisticated Paris set, and Valentin's origins lie in a desolate scrap yard.
When Valentin gets injured, and wakes from a coma with his memory damaged and speaking that same old dialect, there's confusion all round. Can his business survive? Will Constance be able to cope with the stranger he's become? And how much does his family mean to him now?
Cue cutesy tale of misunderstandings, family surprises, love, hate and morality. Predictable at times, and often lacking subtlety (there are some tiresome recurring jokes, and the message that we can't escape our roots is battered into the audience with a mallet), it still has a lot of charm, and plenty of laughs. With so many jokes played out through differences in language I've no doubt lost a lot in having to read subtitles, but they do their best to convey the humour in the situation (even if it does get a bit "Allo Allo" at times), but there are some very funny scenes, especially when Valentin is taken to a diction coach. The performances do little to raise the script above average, although Bonneton does a good job of maximising her laughs. Not the most memorable of movies, but a decent stab at a light comedy.
Worth staying to the end however - the outtakes shown with the closing credits are genuinely hilarious.
That claim is exposed when his estranged mother (Line Renaud) turns up to celebrate her 80th birth day with him, conned into coming by her other son, Gus (Guy Lecluyse), who wants a loan from his wealthy sibling. Accompanied by Gus' wife Louloute (Valérie Bonneton) and daughter Britney (Juliane Lepoureau) they turn up at an exhibition of the work of Valentin and Constance, exposing not just the orphan lie, but his roots as well.The family speak a northern dialect that is almost indecipherable to the sophisticated Paris set, and Valentin's origins lie in a desolate scrap yard.
When Valentin gets injured, and wakes from a coma with his memory damaged and speaking that same old dialect, there's confusion all round. Can his business survive? Will Constance be able to cope with the stranger he's become? And how much does his family mean to him now?
Cue cutesy tale of misunderstandings, family surprises, love, hate and morality. Predictable at times, and often lacking subtlety (there are some tiresome recurring jokes, and the message that we can't escape our roots is battered into the audience with a mallet), it still has a lot of charm, and plenty of laughs. With so many jokes played out through differences in language I've no doubt lost a lot in having to read subtitles, but they do their best to convey the humour in the situation (even if it does get a bit "Allo Allo" at times), but there are some very funny scenes, especially when Valentin is taken to a diction coach. The performances do little to raise the script above average, although Bonneton does a good job of maximising her laughs. Not the most memorable of movies, but a decent stab at a light comedy.
Worth staying to the end however - the outtakes shown with the closing credits are genuinely hilarious.
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