The Plastic Bag Awards 2010

Yes Dear Readers, it's that time again, the annual Plastic Bag Awards. As ever, there's been stiff competition this year which, to be honest, I'd expect since everyone wants a Baggy.

In 2009 I indulged in 39 gigs, 20 theatre trips, 6 films and 5 'entertainments' but that's turned around this year with only 22 gigs but a massive 48 theatrical performances, 12 films and 3 'entertainments' in 2010. 2011 is not starting off so well since I have a grand total of zero gigs booked and only two theatre trips so far. Anyway, there you have the big numbers but now let's get into the detail , starting with...

Best Film

At only 12 films seen this year, that's rather patchy viewing on which to judge the best film but the nominees are:

• Nine
• Avatar
• Sherlock Holmes
• Nanny McPhee & The Big Bang
• London Terminus

So no 'Harry Potter', no 'Inception' and no 'Alice In Wonderland'. Although four of the nominees are big blockbuster films, the fifth, 'London Terminus' represents some of the 'smaller' films I've enjoyed this year, such as 'Beautiful Darling', the documentary about Candy Darling, 'The Chalk Garden' and 'A Window in London' a film from 1939 that depicts a London strangely without pubs or shops but featured the building of Waterloo Bridge. 'London Terminus' is only 16 minutes long and shows us a day in the life of Waterloo Station in 1944, so different to today and yet so similar.

However, the Baggie must (and probably quite predictably) go to 'Avatar'. It has some deeply serious themes about corporate greed, invasion and empire, impact on indigenous peoples and more, all wrapped up in state of the art digital effects and great story-telling. Congratulations to 'Avatar'.


With 48 trips to the theatre over the past year - nearly once a week - the theatrical awards were always going to be a problem but the jury's back and I can announce...

Best Theatre - Drama

The nominees for Best Theatre in the drama category are:

• The White Guard
  
• Shirley Valentine
• All My Sons
• The Glass Menagerie
• King Lear

These were all excellent productions and all held some secret surprise, delight or relief (such as not falling asleep during 'Menagerie'!) and all were performed by some excellent actors, not least Zoe Wanamaker and Derek Jacobi. And I'd add Meera Syal to that list of actors after seeing her as Shirley Valentine, by turns comedic and touching, stirring thoughts and tears as she plays a lost woman who gradually finds herself again. Meera's Shirley comes a close second to the overall winner, 'King Lear' with it's excellent writing and acting, the subtle pacing that kept it moving along and the spare scenery and props, putting the focus clearly on the actors and what they were saying.


Best Theatre - Musical

There have been some excellent musicals around this year and the nominees for the Baggy are:

• Hair
• South Pacific
• Into The Woods
• Five Guys Named Moe
• Passion

'Fela!' just missed out on being nominated and I decided it would be unfair to nominate 'The Harder They Come' again this year. So we have two Sondheim musicals, one classic musical, one love rock musical and a most fun comic musical that keeps a smile on your face.

If the competition was less fierce I'd happily award the Baggy to 'Into The Woods', an excellent production in Regents Park as the sun set, great singing and acting and a great fairy tale. But, it is with no little pleasure that I must award the Baggy for best musical to 'Hair'. I saw this production in New York as well as in London, with largely the same cast, and I danced on the London stage as part of the rave up at the end. It helped give me a great summer - thank you to the hippies!


Best Theatre - Comedy

As well as being a good year for musicals, 2010 was also good for comedies, and the nominees are:

• London Assurance
• Avenue Q
• Private Lives
  
• Gutted: A Revenger's Tragedy
• When We Are Married

I know it's cheating to include 'Avenue Q' but I don't care, it's a great show, is very rude and has the highest moral standards, o yes it does. And the Bad Idea Bears are an inspired creation. 'Gutted' is a show I hope we hear more from since the version I saw was a preview in advance of its run as part of the Edinburgh Festival - it would be good to see it again on a proper stage (and still with Mr Jimbob as the Pop Star please).

However, the award goes to 'When We Are Married' for best comedy, for the glorious cast with Michelle Dotrice and Roy Hudd, the elaborate set and the comedy of manners.


Best Gig

The nominees in this category are:

• Buffy Sainte-Marie (@ Shepherd's Bush)
• Blondie (@ The Indigo)
• Public Image Ltd (@ Shepherd's Bush)
• Mary J Blige (@ The O2)
• The Human League (@The Royal Festival Hall)

I saw Buffy twice in 2010 but have gone for the Shepherd's Bush gig as the nominated show, with her jokes about holding a rodeo on Shepherd's Bush Green and the tremendous rock sound and energy filling the space that has been played by everybody over the years. Mary J Blige was a spectacular experience, with Mary alone on the front of the stage holding it together and powering the show forward by the strength of her personality and music, a most impressive sight. John Lydon and Public Image Ltd and Blondie, both blasts from the past and both demonstrating the longevity of their music and they still have the power to deliver high octane songs especially, in the case of Blondie, showcasing new songs that stand up well against the classics.

But, the award for best gig must go to the Human League for being fabulous, for Phil, Susan and Joanne being the same as they were 30 years ago and still pounding out those electronic beats, singing about love and dancing the night away. The Human League also won this award back in 2008. Well done people, I'm looking forward to the new album in March.


Best Live Performance

This is a very personal and subjective category - which performance touched me, took me out of myself, was something special? The nominees are:

• Buffy Sainte-Marie @ Shepherd's Bush - 'Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee'
• Suzanne Vega @ Cadogan Hall - 'Blood Makes Noise'
• Public Image Ltd @ Shepher's Bush - 'Public Image'
• Gavin Creel in 'Hair' (1 September) - 'I Got Life'
• The Human League @ the Royal Festival Hall - 'Don't You Want Me'

Some performance have just missed out, such as Our Lady J's great delivery of 'Hurt' at the Soho Theatre and Ray Davies singing 'Lola' at the Royal Albert Hall with the audience joining in and raising the roof. But, not everything can win a Baggy.

I have to admit that the Human League is there for the moment when Susan holds out her mic to the audience to sing along to the line, 'I still love you' in her solo spot in 'Don't You Want Me' (she knows we still do). Suzanne's new version of 'Blood Makes Noise', an extended version with jittery guitar and bass dueling with each other was very special as was Gavin Creel's 'I Got Life' in his final performance as Claude, putting heart and soul into it and getting a very justified and spontaneous ovation, a definite high for the theatre.

PiL gave us a definitive version of 'Public Image' at Shepherd's Bush but it's another performance at Shepherd's Bush that wins the best performance award, and it goes to Buffy Sainte-Marie for 'Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee'. Pounding music, Buffy's words, the powwow singing building up to a mad crescendo and creating a sound and a feeling that Shepherd's Bush has quite probably never heard before sent a shiver of joy down my spine that sealed the award for Buffy.


Best New Album

This is a difficult category this year since I haven't indulged in too many new albums as in new music newly released - I've invested in a lot of new albums, but most have been around for a while or are re-mastered so don't really count in this category. The nominations are:

• The Imagined Village - 'Empire & Love'
• Suzanne Vega - 'Close-Up Vol 2: People & Places'
• Amanda Palmer - 'Amanda Palmer Performs The Popular Hits Of Radiohead On Her Magical Ukulele'
• Paul Smith - 'Margins'
• Kim Wilde - 'Come Out And Play'

The Imagined Village collective worked its magic on updating some traditional English folk songs as well as creating some new ones and Suzanne Vega's second volume of stripped down and re-recorded classics was excellent. Amanda's 'UkuleleHead' record was a mad flight of fancy that worked and Paul Smith's first album showed another side to his song-writing.

But the winner of the best album award belongs to Kim Wilde's 'Come Out And Play', a feast of power pop, all new songs and new classics, with Kim rocking out just as she did 29 years ago when 'Kids In America' was released. The album has only been released in Germany as far as I'm aware so I got it on import - it deserves a proper release and a tour to promote it. Track it down and give it a listen, you won't be disappointed.


Best New Song

There are six nominees in this category - I couldn't whittle it down to just five:

• Laura Marling - 'Devil's Spoke'
• Paul Smith - 'Our Lady Of Lourdes'
• Kim Wilde - 'King Of The World'
• Poly Styrene - 'Black Christmas'
• The Human League - 'Night People'
• Amanda Palmer - 'Map Of Tasmania (feat The Young Punx)'

These are all great new songs, atmospheric and bouncy by turns and two herald the return of legends of yesteryear. Amanda comes a close second with the new sound for her latest single to celebrate her tour of Australia and New Zealand and new album. All the songs deserve to be nominated but I'll cut it short by declaring 'Black Christmas' by Poly Styrene as the winner, not only by the sheer amount of times I've played it since it's release in November but by it's quality and simplicity of the song-writing and performance and for what it hints at for an excellent new album in a few months time. Congratulations Poly, and welcome back!


So there you have it, the Plastic Bag Awards for 2010 finishing on a high with the much welcomed return of Poly Styrene. What does 2011 hold in store that might feature in the Baggies next year... ?