The Plastic Bag Awards 2018

The awards season is upon us again and it's no different in the Plastic Bag. It's been a very difficult years for the independent judging panel but, hey, that's their problem not mine. So here we have it, the Baggies 2018! The categories and nominees are:

Best Shakespeare

It's been a good year for seeing Shakespeare plays, particularly plays I haven't seen performed before like 'The Two Noble Kinsmen' and 'The Merry Wives of Windsor'.  The 'biggies' were produced as usual and I liked the Globe's version of 'Hamlet' with Michelle Terry as our prince and her bringing new life to Shakespeare's poetry. The nominees are:

Macbeth @ National Theatre
The Two Noble Kinsmen @ Shakespeare's Globe
Hamlet @ Shakespeare's Globe
The Merry Wives of Windsor @ RSC Stratford upon Avon
Anthony & Cleopatra @ National Theatre

The winner is 'Anthony & Cleopatra' at the National Theatre for the great performances and great staging. The two leads were excellent, particularly Sophie Okonedo, and I also really liked the two main supporting actresses of Gloria Obianyo and Georgia Landers.

Best Drama

A bumper year in the theatre with revivals and new works and I'm pleased to see that three new plays have made it into the nominations. I saw 'The Humans' in Boston earlier in the year and was pleased to see it again at Hampstead. 'The Lehman Trilogy' was a mammoth production with three actors and many, many words telling the story of the rise of the Lehman brothers in America. On the other hand, we had some great revivals of Oscar Wilde plays and my favourite was 'Lady Windermere's Fan'. The nominees are:

Red - Wyndham's Theatre
Lady Windermere's Fan - Vaudeville Theatre
The Lehman Trilogy - National Theatre
The Human's - Hampstead Theatre
The Inheritance (parts 1 & 2) - Noel Coward Theatre

The winner in this category must go to 'The Inheritance', a great piece of writing and acting over six hours on stage and spread across two performances. I never knew where the play was heading but it was a cohesive narrative and a thoroughly believable tale of modern life. Well done to everyone involved in the play.

Best Musical

It was a a bit of a mixed year on the musicals front with big names and new productions, some having a lot of hype built around them and not always living up to expectations. 'Caroline, or Change' was outstanding with its serious themes alongside a fun production and 'The King and I' was a glory from start to finish. The nominees are:

Caroline, or Change @ Hampstead Theatre
Hamilton @ Victoria Palace Theatre
The King and I @ London Palladium
Company @ Gielgud Theatre
Hadestown @ National Theatre

The winner is 'Hamilton' for it's novel approach, great songs and unbridled energy. Be prepared for a series of copycat musicals in the next few years until the next big thing arrives.

Best Entertainment

This category is for staged events that don't necessarily fall into any other categories. To show the diversity there's a great interview with Linton Kwei Johnson followed by Linton reciting some of his poetry; Zippo's Circus in a big tent; Bianca del Rio swearing all over the shop; a production of dance, music and words telling the tale of Elizabeth I;  and a political dance show by Scottee about what it's like to be a fat bloke.

Linton Kwesi Johnson @ Queen Elizabeth Hall
Zippo's Circus @ Figges Marsh
Elizabeth @ The Barbican
Bianca del Rio @ Hammersmith Odeon
Fat Blokes @ Purcell Room

This is a difficult category to judge since, by its nature the nominees are all very different, but the Baggie goes to Scottee's 'Fat Blokes' and their brave performances, sharing their personal stories, dancing and making the audience laugh as well as cry. Well done chaps!

Best Dance

I saw lots of dance this year, from experimental modern dance in Florence to a version of 'Romeo & Juliet' choreographed by John Cranko in Boston. The Royal Ballet feature strongly in their productions at the Royal Opera House with their one act ballets in triple bills as well as full length ballets. The classic 'Swan Lake' was updated by Liam Scarlett and Matthew Bourne updated his own great version of that tale.

Romeo & Juliet @ Boston Opera House
Manon @ Royal Opera House
Swan Lake @ Royal Opera House
Les Patineurs @ Royal Opera House
Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake @ Sadler's Wells

The winner is the Royal Ballet's new production of 'Swan Lake' which was a wonder to see. Great dancing, great staging, some beautiful scenes and the tragedy at the end. A very spectacular and engaging production.

Best Gig

I didn't go to many gigs this year but they were all very good and special in their own way. Kim Wilde was touring her latest album with as great band and stage show, Suzanne Vega delivered a set of hits and the Human League with synthtastic.

Kim Wilde @ The Sage, Gateshead
Suzanne Vega @ Queen Elizabeth Hall
The Dresden Dolls @ The Troxy, London
The Human League @ Hammersmith Odeon, London

The award for best gig must go to the Dresden Dolls for their first London gig in12 years, full of old songs and some new songs with the tease of a new record.

Best Performance

This award is for that one-off performance by a particular individual which could be acting, singing, reciting, just something a little bit special. Kelli O'Hara was magnificent as Anna Leonowens with her marvellous voice, particularly touching when singing 'Hello Young Lovers'. Jennifer Saunders was perfect as the Duchess of Berwick in 'Lady Windermere's Fan', coming out at the start of each act with the servants to do a comedy song. David Troughton was a formidable Falstaff, all fat and half-cut, especially when he demanded there was no pullet sperm in his drink. And Sophie Okonedo as Cleopatra delivering the Queen's final speech was spot on, she is an imperious queen, not some mere courtier.

Sharon D Clarke for 'Caroline, or Change' @ Hampstead Theatre and The Playhouse
Kelli O'Hara for 'The King and I' @ London Palladium
Jennifer Saunders for 'Lady Windermere's Fan' @ Vaudeville Theatre
David Troughton for 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' @ RSC Stratford
Sophia Okonedo for 'Anthony & Cleopatra' @ National Theatre

The award has to go to Sharon D Clarke for her blistering final song in 'Caroline. or Change' when she lets rip and the anger and frustration of a lifetime pour out onto the stage, a masterclass in how to deliver a song.

Best Exhibition

There have been a lot of top class exhibitions this year and it's been very difficult to whittle them down to just five nominations, let alone one winner. From the variety of the collection of Charles I to the Burne-Jones exhibition - and it was a delight to see so many of his works for a change, rather than the two or three he gets whenever there's a Pre-Raphaelite exhibition - there's been so much to see. Travelling to Boston to see four reliquaries by Fra Angelico reunited for the first time in hundreds of years and the treasures of Mantegna and Bellini.

Charles I: King and Collector @ Royal Academy of Arts
Fra Angelico: Heaven on Earth @ Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Picasso 1932 @ Tate Modern
Mantegna & Bellini @ National Gallery
Edward Burne-Jones @ Tate Britain

After much deliberation, the Baggie goes to the Picasso exhibition at Tate Modern for the sheer range of works Mr Picasso produced in only one year, how experimental he was and the careful curation of the exhibition. I particularly liked dating each exhibit to the actual day it was created. Such a great idea for an exhibition.

Best Film

I've seen more films this year than i have for several years, both documentaries and blockbusters. I particularly liked 'McQueen' the documentary about Alexander McQueen which was a thing of beauty in and of itself.

Punk & The Pistols
McQueen
Black Panther
Avengers Infinity War
The Happy Prince

The winner has to be the blockbuster to end all blockbusters (until the next one, of course) in the shape of 'Avengers: Infinity War'. What big film and such great special effects and that ending ... ah yes, whatever can happen next?

So there you have it, the Baggies 2018! During the year it often didn't seem like it was all that good, but, looking back over it, there have been some spectacularly good productions and exhibitions with actors giving the performances of their lifetimes with lots of good memories. Thanks everyone and congratulations to the winners.

The Dresden Dolls at the Troxy, London

Sometimes magic can happen. Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione are the Dresden Dolls. I discovered the Dresden Dolls in 2005 shortly before i started this blog. I saw them play live twice in 2005 and twice in 2006 and that was the last time they played in the UK until 30 October at the Troxy when I saw them again. It's been a long 12 years without them but they were a delight to see again.

The queue to get in was huge and it seemed like everyone had turned up early to make sure they got in in good time. The strange thing was the absence of weirdos - where were the costumes and make-up? When I saw the stage it seemed so familiar - an empty stage apart from two risers, one with Brian's drums and one with Amanda's keyboards. And taped to the front of Amanda's keyboards were flowers, as is right and proper.

The first song was 'Girl Anachronism', a signature song from their first album, followed by 'Good Day', I was particularly pleased by 'Good Day' since it was the first Dolls song I heard them play at a free gig in the Clore Ballroom  in the Royal Festival Hall after they'd appeared in a revue show as part of Patti Smith's Meltdown festival in London in 2005. That's when I bought their first album and met Amanda for the first time when she signed the record.

They went on to play classics like 'Sex Changes', 'Backstabber'. 'Mrs O', 'Pirate Jenny', 'Mandy Goes To Med School' as well as a couple of new songs with the hint of a new record to come. I'll buy it! Towards the end of the set we also had 'Coin Operated Boy' - of course. It was great to see Amanda swigging from a bottle of beer again during 'Amsterdam' and the final encore was 'Sing' from 'Yes Virginia. I have fond memories of this song from the last night at their Roundhouse gigs in 2006 - you can catch that performance on the DVD and YouTube if you look.

Thank you for the benediction of the punk cabaret Amanda and Brian - don't leave it so long next time!

PS: photos nicked from the internet.

My Big List of Gigs

I blogged about lists a couple of weeks ago and promised you a big list of the bands wot I have seen. It's not complete and I keep thinking of others, but here it is (in no particular order):

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, SLADE, 10cc, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, The Who, The Clash, Lene Lovich, Rachel Sweet, Wreckless Eric, Jona Lewie, The Ramones, Gary Glitter, Lindisfarne, Marianne Faithfull, The Sex Pistols, X-Ray Spex/Poly Styrene, Siouxsie, Brenda Holloway, Chris Clark, Mabel John, Sandie Shaw, Lynsey de Paul, T.Rexstacy, Glen Matlock, The Human League, ABC, Heaven 17, Alison Moyet, Boy George, The B-52's, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Maximo Park, Art Brut, Theoretical Girl, Mystery Jets, Pete & The Pirates, Viv Albertine, Lulu, Shelby Lynne, Suzanne Vega, Petula Clark, Madonna,

Bananrama, Scissor Sisters, New York Dolls, The Dresden Dolls, Amanda Palmer, Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra, Evelyn Evelyn, Jason Webley, Christian Silva, Sandi Thom, The Simple Pleasure, Sinead O'Connor, Yoko Ono, Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band, Patti Smith, Eliza Carthy, The Imagined Village, Ronnie Spector, Carole King, Donovan, Roger Cook, Jessie Malin, Richard Thompson, Ray Davies, Uncle Monk, Public Image Ltd, Sugababes,

Prince, Dr & The Medics, Buzzcocks, Pet Shop Boys, Tom Tom Club, Victor Romero Evans and Chris Tummings, Janet Kay, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Dennis Bovell, The Unthanks, Rachel Unthank & The Winterset, Jimmy Cliff, Jean Binta Breeze, Thea Gilmore, John Cooper Clarke, Suzi Quatro, P!nk, Our Lady J, Justin Vivian Bond, Gavin Creel, Angie Stone, Linda Lewis, Belnda Carlisle, Novice Theory/Geo Wyeth, Ojos de Brujo, Morrissey, The Mummers, Michelle Shocked, Mary J Blige, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas,

Marc Almond, Kiki Dee, Mammas Gun, Steeleye Span, Macy Gray, Liza Minelli, Ladyhawke, Laura Marling, Kim Wilde, Kim Weston, Kid Creole & The Coconuts, Indigo Girls, Alela Diane, Grace Jones, Goldblade, Gladys Knight, Gabrielle, Anastacia, Bad Lieutenant, Barbara Cook, Beverley Knight,

Carl Barat, Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine, Blood Red Shoes, Carroll Thompson, Cerys Matthews, Estelle, Blondie, Emily Barker, David McAlmont, McAlmont & Butler, Comanechi, Cher, Chaka Khan, Bitter Ruin, Fascinating Aida, The Tourists, Alphabeat, Anita Harris, Alan Price, The Funk Brothers, Mary Wilson, Madeleine Bell, Alvin Stardust, Shakin' Stevens, Gregory Porter, Thelma Houston...

... and probably lots more bands from the late 70s and early 80s.

Amanda Palmer at The Roundhouse 2006

I took this photo of Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione, aka The Dresden Dolls, at the Roundhouse on 4 November 2006. They were playing 'Mein Herr' from 'Cabaret' at the time and you can see the performance in the DVD of the show, 'Live at The Roundhouse'. I have the show poster framed in my hall with the legend, 'Fuck the Rock'n'Roll Circus, this is the Punk Cabaret' - the Rolling Stones' 'Rock and Roll Circus' was filmed at The Roundhouse in the '60s.

 
I mention this morsel of information for two reasons:

1. This is one of my favourite photos of Amanda that I took myself; and
2. Amanda returns to The Roundhouse tomorrow night for her first gig there since 2006 and I shall be there (obv). She won't be with Brian, but she'll be surrounded by the Grand Theft Orchestra and they make a fine noise.

I'd better charge up the battery for my camera...

Eliza Carthy - 'Wayward Daughter'

Festivals of all kinds can be a great way of discovering new art. I have a lot to thank the Patti Smith curated Meltdown festival in 2005 for. She introduced me to the punk cabaret ragamuffins that are The Dresden Dolls. She also introduced me to Eliza Carthy. I was sort of vaguely aware of Eliza but had never paid any attention and then Patti put her on stage right in front of me and she opened her mouth to sing and I was entrapped. Since then I have bought records and seen her play live and her latest record is 'Wayward Daughter'.

'Wayward Daughter' is a new 'best of' of Eliza's work over the last couple of decades to coincide with the publication of a new biography of her under the same name. Interestingly, it's a collection of her vocal work with a wide variety of artists including her family and a range of bands she's worked with. She hints at another collection of her as a musician in the liner notes.

If there's something Eliza more than adequately demonstrates on this record it is that she's not afraid of genre. Moving from the 'pure' folk of Waterson:Carthy to the Latin beats of Salsa Celtica to the fusion of styles of The Imagined Village and her own solo work. The record moves easily from the synth-laden 'Space Girl' to the voice, fiddle and horn of 'May Song'. All unified by the power and purity of her voice. It's that voice that does it for me.

As the scion of the Carthy and Waterson folk dynasties you'd think she had it made but she's done it all on her own terms. She works with her dad in The Imagined Village collective and she released a record with her mam a few years ago, just the two of them singing stripped back songs.

Give it a listen and enjoy that voice, if only as a change from the auto tuned voices we hear all the time. This is real singing.

Amanda Palmer at the Roundhouse

If you didn't already know, Amanda Palmer is returning to the Roundhouse on 12 July.

She last played there in 2006 and recorded the live Dresden Dolls DVD there. The Dolls played two nights to record the DVD and I'm pleased to say that I was there on both nights (I also blogged about both nights so use the search function to track them down). It was a fantastic experience and I have no doubt that seeing Amanda and the Grand Theft Orchestra will be an experience worth seeing. I saw them play three times last year and was well wowed!

I (naturally) bought tickets as soon as they went on sale. Take my advice and get tickets while you can - you won't be disappointed!

Nineteen Sixty

I've just taken a look at my blogger dashboard and it tells me that I've published 1960 blog posts since I started the Plastic Bag in 2005. That's a lot of posts. The odd thing is that I was born in 1960 (yes, I am that old).

This blog really is a bit of a plastic bag, a bit of this, that and t'other. It's named after a song by X-Ray Spex, punk heroes from the 1970s, in which Poly Styrene sings about her mind being like a plastic bag. It includes gig and theatre reviews, think-pieces about age and punk sensibilities, records I've bought, complaints and moans, stories from my travels around the world, the London Olympics 2012 and a host of other things. Readership jumps around quite radically and I'm currently in a downturn in the numbers but I still post. Maybe its an addiction.

I've never had a problem with my age and I'd hate to be young these days. The travels across the years have made me who I am today and I quite like who I am. That leads me to another coincidence: I first saw Amanda Palmer play live in 2005 (as half of The Dresden Dolls), slightly before I started this blog. She wrote a gorgeous song about being who you are called 'In My Mind' and here is the video for your delight.



And this is blogpost number 1961...

Poly Styrene - Two Years On

Two years ago tonight Marianne Elliot Said - Poly Styrene - left us for a higher plane. Pop stars come and go but Poly's death was significant to me, personally. I never met her but she was an enormous influence on my younger self and I was delighted when she released her album, 'Generation Indigo', full of magnificent three minute pop songs, only for her to leave us a matter of weeks later. This is what I blogged when I heard the sad news. Strangely, I can still get upset when I think about her. Some artists touch you.

I was delighted to read a post from Brian Viglione on Facebook this evening announcing a tribute concert for Poly in aid of War Child in New York in June. Good on you Brian! He said:

X-ReSpects - Poly Styrene Tribute Concert! I'm proud to announce today which marks the 2 year passing of legendary vocalist, Poly Styrene of X-Ray Spex, a tribute concert charity event I've put together with David Siffert for JUNE 30th at the Webster Hall Studio! Our band is features:

Holly Brewer - ( The Folks Below, HUMANWINE) - Vocals
Amy Klein (Titus Andronicus) - Guitar
Hailey Wojcik (Wojcik) - Guitar
Aileen Brophy ( The Space Merchants ) - Bass
Carrie Anne Murphy (Bad Credit No Credit) - Saxophone
Brian Viglione (The Dresden Dolls) - Drums
Proceeds from this event will go to the War Child Foundation, a charity close to Poly's heart. War Child International is a family of independent humanitarian organizations which work together to help children and young people affected by armed conflict.
More official news and support bands TBA. Tickets will be $12-15 and it's a 16+ show. So help spread the word! 

Brian is half of the most wonderful Dresden Dolls with Amanda Fucking Palmer, purveyors of the punk cabaret. I can't help but think that Poly would approve. 

Much as I rejoiced at the idea of a tribute concert and wished I could be there on the night, a small part of me thought, 'so what are we doing?'. Last year there was a tribute album from America, 'Permanent Wave - Rebel On The Underground' and this year is the tribute concert in New York. What are we doing here in London? Two years on and nothing has happened it seems.

I can't help but make the comparison with the passing of Kirsty MacColl in 2000 (and if you don't know who she was then shame on you). Kirsty's fans arranged for a bench to be placed in Soho Square in 2002 in remembrance of her and of one of her songs and have got together on her birthday every year since then (I've been a few times). The event has got onto the TV news now and then. An anniversary concert two years ago has even been released on CD. 

That makes me feel guilty. What are we doing to keep Poly's memory and art alive?

Can it be that difficult to arrange a tribute concert? or get her previous albums remastered and re-released? I've no idea but maybe we should find out?

The Dresden Dolls at 'Stand Bravely Brothers', Meltdown 2005

The first time I saw Amanda Palmer was when The Dresden Dolls performed at Patti Smith's Meltdown festival on 23 June 2005. I've mentioned this before but I've now found a video of the evening on YouTube. Some of the Meltdown events were filmed but have never been released - I well remember Patti's performance of her first album, 'Horses', being filmed by Don Letts in the Royal Festival Hall and Patti jumping off the stage and running into the audience just a few feet away from me. 

The Dresden Dolls performed as part of the 'Stand Bravely Brothers' evening of songs as a homage to Bertold Brecht, Amanda banging away on her piano and Brian thumping his drums and zinging his cymbals. They played 'The Ballad Of The Soldiers Wife' in the first half and Amanda came on in the second half to sing another song but I can't remember what it was. The bill that night included Marc Almond, Martha Wainwright, The Tiger Lillies, the Finn Brothers, Sparks and, of course, Patti and others.

After the show there was a free gig by the Dresden Dolls in the open performance space in front of the bar at the Royal Festival Hall. It was crowded - there must've been a couple of hundred people sitting on the floor waiting for the Dolls to appear. I was curious - I liked Amanda's voice from the two songs I'd heard her sing in the Brecht homage and wanted to hear more. On they came on, settled down and opened with 'Good Day'. That was the first Dolls song I ever heard. They played a short set including 'Girl Anachronism' and 'Coin Operated Boy' and I remember Amanda swigging beer during 'Amsterdam'.

After the gig I headed to the merch stand to buy 'The Dresden Dolls' album on 8ft Records. Amanda was wandering round greeting people and she signed the record for me, adding an extra flourish under her name and giving me an arch look. That was the first time I met her and, even though I didn't get a hug that night, it sticks in my memory. 

I've seen Amanda play every time she's performed in London since then and met her afterwards most times. I've even met her coming out of a theatre on the Strand with Neil Gaiman when we just happened to be at the same performance of an Alan Cummings show. I shall meet her again in June when I attend her art show to celebrate her new album. I'm hopeful of an Amanda Hug that evening.Click the link on the right to get your ticket to the show.

Anyway, here's the video of 'Stand Bravely Brothers' I mentioned - scroll in to about 4:45 minutes to see the Dresden Dolls.  Leave it running and you'll also see Patti Smith raise her skirt to do a little dance to 'Mack The Knife'. Enjoy.

Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra

Amanda Palmer's been busy recently what with going on tour with Neil Gaiman before Christmas and more recently with Bran Viglione as The Dresden Dolls but she'd now got some 'me' time. She's just released a new, re-recorded version of 'Polly' (she contributed a version to the Nirvana tribute album last year) which is available through her Bandcamp page for 50c + donation. She's also released a rather harrowing video to go with the song.



Of greater importance is the news today that Amanda is heading back into the studio to record a new album! She's recording it with her band, The Grand Theft Orchestra, that supported her on her tour last summer (and I saw at Heaven in September). She's recording it in Australia in a few weeks time after a couple of weeks of rehearsals and a week of live shows to get the songs just right. She reported that she had about 20 songs to choose from, many not played live before. She also says that there'll be synthesizers on the record.

I'm really looking forward to this record, her first full album since 'Who Killed Amanda Palmer' in 2008. Since then she's released some singles, the UkeleleHead record and 'Down Under' (and 'Down Under' has some excellent songs on it) but not a full album. I'm also assuming there'll be a promotional tour and lots of new merch.

Amanda's started talking about us, her fans, as her record label since she doesn't have one at the moment and doesn't seem to want one after her Roadrunner experience. She'll be crowd-sourcing what she needs for this record and I, for one, will be happy to contribute and buy pre-sales and whatever else. I assume that, since she's not tied to record label schedules that she can probably release the album in whatever format she wants, whenever she wants, so I'm expecting a summer or autumn release (that's my assumption, not Amanda's) even though not a single track has been recorded.

I'm really looking forward to this.

The Dresden Dolls & Richard O'Brien - 'Time Warp'

My punk cabaret raggamuffins of choice, The Dresden Dolls are touring down under at the moment and have done Oz and Tasmania and are now in New Zealand. Amanda Palmer was wandering round Auckland yesterday and popped into a juice bar for refreshment. A bloke noticed her eyebrows and asked her if she was going to see The Dresden Dolls that night. The bloke turned out to be Richard O'Brien who is opening his own show in Auckland. So he joined them on stage and here's the result - 'Time Warp'!



This made me smile and I couldn't help but grin when Brian channelled Little Nell for her lines in the song. Amanda doesn't know it but her job is to make me happy and she's doing it nicely. Magical things happen around her and she generously shares the magic. Thank you.