The Olympics Arriving in London

The Olympics are getting closer to London. There's less than a month to go before the opening ceremony and London has started to pretty herself up.  We have banners appearing on streets around London and Olympic rings hanging from Tower Bridge. It looks quite spectacular. I'm waiting for pink and purple hanging flower baskets to start springing up everywhere.

I've noticed new signage on the Tube network, at least in central London stations. Bright pink signs pointing the way to Olympic and other venues rather than to tube lines (a great improvement).

No doubt there'll be more to follow.

Rain Of Poems, London 2012

The Southbank in London is hosting the Poetry Parnassus, a celebration of poetry from around the world, as part of the London2012 Festival. The opening ceremony was as spectacular as it was fun - the Rain Of Poems over Jubilee Gardens.

The Rain of Poems was created by Chilean arts collective Casagrande and it pours poems over cities that have been bombed in previous military conflict. Poems are printed onto cardboard bookmarks in two languages (in this case English and Spanish) and thrown out of a helicopter at twilight. The event has previously been held in Berlin, Warsaw, Guernica, Dubrovnik and Santiago. According to the leaflet I was given, "This performance creates an alternative image of the past and is a gesture of remembrance as well as being a metaphor for the survival of cities and people." I thought it was marvellous.

It sounds quite serious but the whole event shrieked joy, followed by a fit of giggles. Jubilee Gardens was full of people of all ages at nine o'clock when the event was due to start and then at ten past nine a cheer rose as people spotted a helicopter approaching the Southbank and the cameras emerged, taking photos of the helicopter as it came closer and then the poems were thrown out into open air to float and flitter away in the breeze. It seemed to take an age for the poems to get close enough to see and then we could see individual bookmarks lit by the spotlights and people started getting really excited.

People were running here, there and everywhere to try to catch poems, big grins and laughter everywhere. Competitions started as to who could collect the most poems. People read their poems out to friends and strangers alike. People swapped poems and offered spare poems to others who didn't have any. It was a lovely atmosphere, there was daftness and happiness in the air, infectious smiles all over and everyone wanted a poem. Before the event started I'd wondered who would clean up all the paper afterwards. I needn't have worried, there was no chance of any stray poem being left behind.

Out of the 100,000 poems dropped from that helicopter I managed to secure four. One was mine by right (as in I reached it first), two were mine but were grabbed by others before my fingers could reach them but were then given to me as a mark of generosity, and one was from a security guard who collected so many he just handed them out. My poems are:

'Author's Prayer' by Ilya Kaminsky
'Cityscape' by Andrew McMillan
'In Search Of The Other' by Ashjan Al Hendi
'The History Of That Tree' by Dhabiya Khamis

If Shakespeare, Yeats, Byron or Marlowe had been there, I bet they'd have been running round grinning and trying to catch a poem or two. My abiding memory of the Rain of Poems will be joy and exhilaration.Well done Southbank and well done to Casagrande for a first class experience. I shall treasure my poems from the sky.

'Torch Song Trilogy' at The Choccy Factory

Last week I went to see 'Torch Song Trilogy' at the Menier Chocolate Factory. The Choccy Factory has a good track record of productions transferring into the West End and, sometimes, to Broadway ('Sunday In The Park With George', 'La Cage Aux Folles' and 'A Little Night Music') so it's always interesting to see one of its new productions. This was directed by Douglas Hodge who starred in 'La Cage Aux Folles' at the Choccy, in the West End and on Broadway.

'Torch Song Trilogy' is just that, a trilogy of short plays that focus on the life of Arnold, a drag queen in New York. It was written by and originally starred Harvey Fierstein so it's hard not to think of it as being at least partly autobiographical and with some of the phrasing you can almost hear his voice saying the lines. In this production Arnold is played by David Bedella, the physical opposite of Harvey and some of the lines could've been amended to reflect this (such as references to how fat he was when David is a skinny little thing).

I could also be terribly picky about the second play set on a giant bed with the four protagonists hiding under the duvet one minute and saying lines in different formations of the four characters the next. This isn't terribly enlightening or do much to carry the plot forward but I could've forgive much if it wasn't for the increasingly exuberant somersaulting across the bed. Rather than pay attention to the play I was worried they might bounce off the bed onto the hard floor.

Anyway, Arnold is gay and out in late 70s New York and we follow his life from finding Mr Right to being dumped in favour of a woman. Ed is bisexual, you see. Or wants to be. Arnold finds a young man while Ed marries, then the marriage flounders and Arnold's lover is killed for being gay. The final play sees Ed staying with Arnold as his marriage folds, along with Arnold's foster-son, when Arnold's mother arrives from Florida. Cue lots of misunderstandings and arguments. The play has obviously dated in parts but I can well imagine how shocking it must have been to theatre-goers in the early-80s, seeing aspects of gay life that weren't broadcast, particularly with HIV and AIDS just around the corner.  

I enjoyed it. I've seen David Bedella in 'Jerry Springer: The Opera' and in 'Roadshow' (at the Choccy Factory last year) and he carried off the lead role with a knowing nod to the audience. I also liked Joe McFadden as Ed and he clearly grew and developed during the three plays. My favourite though, was Sara Kestelman as Arnold's mother and she played it to a T. She knows her son is gay but can't understand it no matter how much she pretends she does. After a blazing row the night before she leaves as her son is filled with joy that his adopted son has a record played for him on the radio - her look as she closed the door clearly signalled that once tempers have cooled she'll be back to heckle her son again, the relationship is intact.

This is definitely worth seeing - it doesn't seem to be revived very often so take advantage while you can and see this quality production.

Yoko Ono - 'To The Light'

I went to see the exhibition by Yoko Ono at the Serpentine Gallery the other day, a retrospective called 'To The Light'. It includes a range of her older pieces from the 1960s alongside some more recent art.

As well as the physical works are aural pieces as a hawk screech welcomes you as you walk into the first gallery, followed by a heartbeat in the next room as it mingles with the hawk call. Yoko's art isn't always terribly serious and, I suspect, she likes to raise a smile and a chuckle, such as her 'Sky TV' piece that is a flat-screen TV with a static picture of clouds. The original piece was on a bulky TV set in 1966. The 2012 version is more elegant and developments since 1966 adds to its potential.

She recreates the step-ladder piece, 'Ceiling Painting', leading up to a magnifying glass that John Lennon famously climbed and looked through and saw the word 'yes' when they first met at one of her shows in the '60s. There are other Lennon references in the show, including video footage of his naked bum and, elsewhere, their footprints walking up a wall.

You've got to pay attention to what Yoko is doing with her objects. 'Helmets' is a series of 11 war helmets hanging from the ceiling but look inside each of the helmets to see small blue pieces of jigsaw with 'y.o.' printed on them.  I wonder what the jigsaw will show if all the pieces were taken from the helmets and put together on the floor? Tempting.

I didn't walk in 'Amaze' a see-through maze in one of the rooms but other people did and banged into the walls when they met a dead end. On the wall beside the maze are some plasma screens showing clips from her film, 'Fly'.

I liked some of the framed, hand-written short poems, such as 'The Room Without A Window I':

"Draw a window on the wall
to remind you of the sun.
to remind you of the rain that taps
to remind you of the sunset that makes you smile
to remind you of the moonlight that sneaks in your room
to remind you of the snow that covers the world."

The onochord is mounted on the roof of the Serpentine but you're not allowed up there. The onochord is a light piece so I assume is seen best at night. Outside by the entrance are four wish trees in big planters and beside that is a small stand with labels to write a wish on and tie it to the trees. A handwritten note in a frame says:

"Wish Tree for London

Write your wish
on a piece of paper
Hang the paper on the Wish Tree
Ask a friend to do the same.
Keep wishing.

Yoko Ono 2012"

I made a wish.

Amanda Palmer's Rock Show, 20 June 2012 in London

Amanda did a free ninja gig on Tuesday but I saved up my awe for Wednesday when I saw her full-on Rock Show at Village Underground in Shoreditch. The place looked very different from the bare artscape of Monday, with speakers and lights hanging from the rafters, a stage filling the back wall and, not least, a packed, sold-out house. The art was gone from the walls and Amanda was noticeable by her absence which was just as well since she would've been mobbed.

I got there at about 8:15pm with my name on the guestlist as a Kickstarter supporter, to find the place already well filled and the support acts about to start. Amanda came on stage in a kimono to introduce the support acts - once again we had the swirling strings of Jherek Bischoff who was followed by a comedian in a dress. Amanda seems to have a thing about men in frocks on this visit. I was happy to watch from a distance in the bar area and when the comedian left I got ready for the main event of the evening and scooted round for a much better view from the top of the few steps where Amanda had played 'Ukelele Anthem' at the Art Show a few nights before.

Once again introduced by the bagpipes, Amanda Palmer and The Grand Theft Orchestra took the stage and stayed there for about two hours. Amanda stripped off her kimono during the first song to reveal her black rock goddess gear underneath, black bra, basque and skin-tight trousers, long gloves and warpaint on her face, with a sparkly band in her hair. The band launched into 'Do It With A Rockstar', a great opener and the song Amanda had released to Kickstarter backers.

The band played mainly songs from the new album - that's what it was about after all - some of which we were already familiar with, others were brand new. After starting with 'Do It With A Rockstar' we were given 'The Killing Type', 'I Lost My Wallet', 'Trout Heart Replica' and 'Want It Back', all from the new record. For Dresden Dolls fans she played 'Missed Me', 'Half Jack' and 'Girl Anachronism' - who can believe guitar solos in those songs? and the band all swapping instruments three times during 'Missed Me'? She brought the songs to life again in a new reincarnation, no longer just piano and drums, but a full band.

The new songs from the record are all terribly good and work well both stripped back as at the Art Show and with full electric backing at the Rock Show. Rather special was hearing 'The Bed Song' with a full, trembling, backing and 'Berlin', a new song that involved a crowd-source horn section playing along - this seemed like a traditional Amanda song with loud parts and quiet parts but blown away when the horns blared for the chorus, a magical experience. Husband Neil Gaiman came on to sing 'Psycho' with two saws duelling to give him the best weird soundscape.

There were no songs from her first album, 'Who Killed Amanda Palmer', and I thought that odd until the encore that was made up of 'Astronaut' and a mad 'Leeds United' with the horns back on stage and a host of friends dancing and singing along on stage. Once again I regretted not getting up that Sunday morning four years ago to take part in the filming of the video for that song.

Amanda has evolved. She is now a Rockstar and is ready to be Rockstar. This record and these shows will move her up to the next level. Gone are the long, rambling stories and random commentaries and we were presented with an artist that knows how to give her audience what they want, a solid show with herself at the centre. Being at the front of a band brings different responsibilities. She's split herself in two - art Amanda and rock Amanda and I like both visions. She's going to go big with the new album and I suspect that means we'll lose the goddess who gives away free hugs at the end of gigs but if anyone can keep that aspect of her shows going, it's Amanda Fucking Palmer. Go get 'em Amanda, show us all what you're made of.

I will treasure my past hugs and celebrate the birth of a Rockstar.

Picasso's 'Vollard Suite' at The British Museum

The British Museum has recently obtained a complete set of Picasso's prints that make up the Vollard Suite and has put them on public display in a free exhibition. It's made up of 100 prints in different themes, sometimes side by side with the works of other artists that inspired him (such as Ingres and Rembrandt). The most famous of these prints is probably the blind Minotaur led by a girl and this is the first print that greets you when you get to the gallery rooms.

A large majority of the prints fall into the 'sculptor's studio' theme of the sculptor and his models and/or works. The majority of these are simple line drawings, outlines that create the scene. It's astonishing what a few lines on a page can create. These are, I think, my favourites, simple line drawings brought to life, given size and being in a simplistic but very powerful way.

We're given Picasso as sculptor, artist, minotaur, rapist and lover, naked and sprawled drinking champagne with his lover. The minotaur was the dark side of his personality and he uses it to explore possibilities. The rape scenes were massively cross-hatched, dark and brooding, bodies colliding and joined in violence. I preferred the minotaur at repose.

The exhibition includes two larger prints with nine panels each, titled 'Dream and Lie of Franco' part 1 and part 2. The small panels tell a story of pain and fear, being populated with Guernica-esque people and animals. Compared with some of the more classically inspired prints these are a wrench away from the sublime and into terror. I wouldn't want them on my walls.

The exhibition takes up two rooms on the fourth floor of the Museum and is well worth a visit. The strong vision behind these prints is both a delight and a dream, stepping into Picasso's world for a moment or two.

 

Amanda Palmer's Art Show, 18 June 2012 in London

Amanda Palmer graced London with her presence for a few days this week, firstly for her Kickstarter Art Show on Monday, a free art-viewing and ninja gig on Tuesday and then her Rock Show on Wednesday. I was there for the Art and Rock shows. Amanda gives good show.

All shows were at Village Underground in Shoreditch, an art and performance space in what looks like an old workshop, all brick walls and high ceiling. The art for the new album and book was hung around the walls along with a few photographs from Neil Gaiman's 'Bed Book' (photos of naked couples in bed). The artworks were mainly of Amanda, either portrait or whole body, with some reflecting songs from the new album, including the cover art with its evil pink background. They were in all sorts of media and sizes and some more expressive than others.

Doors opened about 7:00pm when Amanda's bagpipe playing cousin came out in tartan regalia to serenade us and we duly trooped in. We were given drinks tokens and a black AFP-GTO goodies bag. Mine included a copy of Brecht's 'Life Of Galilieo', a purple felt pen, stickers, a black mask and a flick-comb. Amanda later said that she and Neil had gone to Charing Cross Road that morning to buy 100 books to put randomly in the bags and that we could swap them with each other if we wanted.

Then it was time to get a glass of wine and wander round the gallery looking at the art nailed to the bare brick walls. My favourite was a portrait of Amanda in oils on wood by Cassandra Long. It looked real, a little piece of Amanda's spirit captured in that painting as she looks you straight in the eye. I also liked the multiple exposure photographs Neil had taken of Amanda with their vivid colours and Amanda wandering round topless (there's a theme building here). And then the entertainment began with Princess Hans and Jorg that she'd picked up in Berlin. Amanda announced them and stayed out to watch the show with the rest of us.

Princess Hans is a New Zealander transplanted to Berlin with a shaved head, beard and sparkly silver frock with Jorg playing keyboard. They're a cabaret act and had some nice moments but I've seen beardy men in frocks before. He certainly put a lot of effort into the act and was soon glistening with sweat. Jorg kept his jacket on.

Then we were given Jherek Bischoff and a string quartet he'd recruited from local musicians. Jherek is the bass player in The Grand Theft Orchestra and also does the string arrangements for the band. He's also just released his first solo record and played some of the songs from it. Some of the songs sounded very cinematic, grand and lush while another one sounded like it was string arrangement for the song without the song.

Just as the final notes from Jherek's last song faded there was a blaring and a wailing and a clashing and the lights went down as Amanda Palmer and The Grand Theft Orchestra strode into the room led by the piper and Amanda with a megaphone. They soon cleared a space in the middle of the room with people sitting on the floor shuffling around, some being handed torches to use as spotlights and the main lighting during the show. This was an acoustic show (other than the teeniest of baby amps for Jherek's bass), with Amanda's keytar, banjo and buckets and pans for drums. Amanda was in a cream silk dress with loose straps that kept falling down exposing her black bra (but we've all seen that before).

They opened with 'The Killing Type' from the new record with Amanda scraping a knife along a metal sharpener for some percussion while banjos were strummed an buckets thumped and Amanda's strong voice overlaying it all. It sounded great stripped right back. She then moved on to 'Trout Heart Replica' and used the knife to chop up a beetroot while Jherek's string quarter made the room swirl and her hands turned red with the beet juice. That was washed off with Amanda kneeling on the ground, hands together and she kept them together, almost tied at the wrist for her eerie version of 'Polly'... It was a very theatrical performance.

The theatrics continued with Amanda cross-legged on the ground one moment and then wandering round the crowd singing 'Walk On The Wild Side' with Princess Hans following with the megaphone. Amanda spread out sheets on the cold concrete floor to represent beds during 'The Bed Song', a touching song about a relationship growing cold and old as the participants grow and buy bigger and better beds but finally realise they left their love behind. It's a bit of tear-jerker as only Amanda can do. We were also given 'Idioteque', the 'Wallet' song and Neil Gaiman came on to sing 'Psycho' with Amanda leaning against his leg and lazily strumming her ukelele.

After the audience participation of 'Want It Back' Amanda ran up a few steps so all of us could see her properly and sang 'Ukelele Anthem' with a big grin all over her face. I was standing right beside the steps so had a great view. She then said she was nervous and would the reserved British take part in the next stage of the show... at which point she shrugged off her dress and undid her bra and was naked, raising her arms and asking us to take out the felt pens in our goody-bags and write on her. Of course we took part and, since I was already beside her, I was one of the first to write to my name on her left shoulder! She was giggling and jiggling away as more people crowded round to initial her, draw on her or just make a colourful mess. I moved out of the way to let others have their moment with a naked Amanda Palmer.

After the show she and Neil came out to chat, have their photos taken and sign stuff. As ever, there's never enough time to meet and greet everyone but I managed a few words with them and got the 'An Evening With...' CD signed and could wander off into the midnight streets to Old Street tube station. I didn't get a hug (drat!) but I'd written on Amanda's shoulder instead. How many people can say that?  A lot more after this tour, I'm sure!

The Rezillos - 'Out Of This World'

A comment on an earlier bloggie pointed me to this fun video from The Rezillos for their last single, 'Out Of This World' with fast drums and power chords all over the place. And Faye jumping round like a loon as ever. Go for it!



One of the comments on YouTube suggested they should tour with The B52s. This idea had never occurred to me before but wouldn't that be a fab line-up? I suspect The Rezillos would win the jumping round and making a noise competition but The B52s would get the wierdness medal. Mmmm I wonder ...

The Olympic Torch in Newcastle

The Olympic torch has reached Newcastle and has been travelling around Northumberland and Durham.

The Tyne Bridge has been decorated with the Olympic rings to celebrate the torch and the fact that Newcastle is a host city to the Olympic football competition. Jack Charlton carried the torch in Newcastle and Bear Grylls slid down a wire with it from the top of the Tyne Bridge. It's getting closer ...

Here are a couple of photos I've stolen from the internet:

Maximo Park - 'Write This Down'

Here's the video for 'Write This Down', one of the songs from Maximo Park's new album, 'The National Health'. It's a great performance video with the band playing in a white space and then the pink appears - such a simple idea for a video and so effective. And a great song. Enjoy!