7. - Wessex Scene

Letter from the President
Union President Steve O’Reilly gives the low down of the academic year. e
highs and the lows with the best bits and the not so glamorous moments.
Travel Centre closes after
another year of losses
As you will all now know, earlier this year we closed the
Union Travel Centre.
As an independent travel provider, we have been un-
hiccups. e “Grad Ball Fiasco of 2010” was a major pain
der pressure from internet travel operators for many years
the students that elected me last year. is year has been
in the backside and rightly upset many students for which
and it’s clear that the forecast for high street operations is
tough, it’s been stressful, but it’s been an amazing experi-
I have done, but will apologise again. ere was also the
not set to improve. We have always taken pride in the per-
ence and the team and I, we’ve achieved a lot. Whether it
case of some rather poorly chosen content for a Women’s
sonal, professional service we have offered, as well as the
was extension of Library hours, finally closing down the
Day poster, women in bikini’s probably not being one of
independent, expert advice we have given, but we were no
Travel Centre, or being a founding member in the creation
the best ways to promote a day about international femi-
longer able to continue to trade at a loss.
of USU a national collaborative network of like-minded
nism (who knew?).
What an amazing year, and what a privilege to serve
Unions, the year has been a busy one.
e biggest challenge of this year has by far been stu-
e Travel Centre has been under threat of closure
for some years. Union Council set clear financial targets in
dent apathy. Students seem to forget that they can make
June 2008, which required a declining deficit, accumulat-
a student election hitting a turnout of over 7000 people
a difference and of course they can. All it takes is deciding
ing to £60k over 4 years. In the first two years the com-
(even if we were beaten by Sheffield and Edinburgh the
to do it. My leaving plea to the students of Southampton
bined deficit was £47k, with a further £25k estimated this
following week) and really quite aggressively stamped
University, and of course of our Union, as our members
year. We had been working with the University to ensure
a place on the national scene for a non-NUS affiliated
and owners, is to remember you have power, you are the
e Travel Centre business was transferred to a third
Union.
power. If you don’t like something, make yourself known
party supplier of travel products to the University, but the
because you are the ones who decide. And if you have
University has decided not go ahead with this planned
SUSU in the right shape for the new decade. We have put
good ideas, hell if you have bad ideas, get involved. Have
travel management project, due to the recently announced
in place new staff structures this year, rejigged the budgets
pride in your Union, we are you.
reorganisation within the University, which will prove too
We smashed the UK record for voter participation in
is year we have tried to make decisions that will put
in a fairer and more efficient way and increased staff sup-
So despite the challenges, and despite the hiccups the
port in area’s that will either benefit from expansion or
team has been fantastic this year and really worked hard
are severely lacking in the first place. So the Union of next
to get the most for students out of their University. So as
year can look forward to more staff support at Winchester
you read over the next few pages please bare that in mind.
and a brand spanking new Democracy and Representa-
We are students, for students.
disruptive to allow the project to work well at this time.
“In the first two years, the
combined deficit was £47K”
tion staff member poised to take student representation to
So with much presidential love, and gratitude
the next level among many other important changes.
Yours,
As an organisation, it is important for the Students’ Union
Steve O’Reilly
to improve our efficiencies and become more cost-
We have one of the best Unions in the country, certainly top 10. We have one of the largest amounts of clubs
effective. We are also keen to ensure that our resources
and socs in the country and involvement levels like you
are targeted on our core business activities, particularly
wouldn’t believe, but the year has not been without it’s
in the light of our imminent charity registration, which
precludes the use of charitable funds to subsidise noncharitable activity. So whilst it was a tough decision for us
to make, we are sure that it was the right one.
Raving Later
One of SUSU’s aims at the start of the year was to extend
e Cube’s openning hours to 4am. After hours of meetings and solicitors we applied for the required licence in
the hope of improving what the Cube has to offer.
Unfortunately, despite the support given to us by
the University, we were denied our application for a later
license. We strongly believe that students want a later
license and want to patron the club later as many of them
do in other venues with later licenses than our own. We
also think that it would help us to re-invigorate the venue.
Over the weekend of the 16th of October, Becky Maclean
We initially decided to appeal the decision, but then chose
and Steve O’Reilly took a trip to Birmingham for a confer-
to withdraw our appeal and direct our attention to work-
ence with the other non NUS affiliated universities. e
ing on our relationship with the local residents and our
conference was attended by us, Aston University, Impe-
other community relations until such a time that we think
rial College London, Durham and Sunderland with St.
another application will be successful.
Union Finances 2009/2010
is year as been a year of both positives and nagatives
e shop is great news, as per usual with both profits
for SUSU. Cafe SUSU has made another loss despite the
increasing from £148k in 2009 to £160k in 2010, we hope
make over although it should be noted that the Cafe was
that this rise will continue into 2011.
closed throughout the summer whilst building work was
Finally, our grant continues to exceed our expenditure
Andrews sending apologies. e result was the formation
of USU, a non-lobbyist, non-political national coalition of
separate SUs designed to help each other out and allow
each Union to function better than if separate but without
political agendas.
Development of USU is going well, and we hosted
a conference for delegates here at SUSU on the 18th of
as it did in 2009, a great improvement from 2008 when
January which was very exciting. Also we had St. Andrew’s
we had an unfortunate year of severe overspend which
University Students’ Union attending which was extremely
but this was due to the cost of closure in April and will not
damaged the Union’s reserves. e reserves now stand at
positive at these early stages.
be a bill that SUSU has to foot in the future.
£230k compared to £48k in 2008.
taking place.
e Travel centre made more of a loss than in the past
Your Union is Evolving
Earlier this year we kicked off a survey for all students
to have their say as to what they thought a great student
union should do, what we did that was great, and what we
could do better. We had 200 respondents and the data was
extremely valuable, which meant that Union staff together
with all of the Sabbaticals could come up with a strategic
direction for the organisation as well as a mission, a vision
and some key aims for the coming years.
Next term we will be making public the document
stating all that we have come up with and will offer all
students the opportunity to respond and give feedback on
this draft. Keep an eye out for it in October; after all, it’s
your Union.
Hartley Library
SUSU’s Accessibility this year
Your VP academic affairs Becky Maclean explains how she has improved student resources this year regarding the library.
After hours of talks, we have acheived longer opening
Brown, has informed us that part of the library’s strategy
hours in the Hartley library. This is something that pro-
is to digitise books. They are currently working their way
spective sabbaticals have put in their manifestos for years,
through the reserve collection at Hartley and have already
without much success after getting into post. We’re very
digitised the books that could be done at Avenue campus.
proud of this achievement and can confirm that the library
is now open from 7:30am until midnight (mon-fri).
This will stop all those last minute book grabs ending
in disaster!
To try and make the VP education and representation
role more accessible, Becky Maclean became SUSU’s blogging star and blogged on scrapbook: scrapbook.susu.org/
vped. She also joined the masses on twitter and has been
tweeting (or is it twatting?): www.twitter.com/VPEducationSUSU. Here are just a few of her tweets:
Motion on officer manifestos going on
internet ‘passed’
The library also agreed to extend hours from 8th June
– 5th July to cover 3rd year medics’ exams. Previously,
don’t forget to vote for your school
after 8th June, the opening hours would be 9am – 9pm
Monday to Saturday and closed on Sunday. However, the
president if you’re in Biological
hours for 8th June – 5th July will now be 7:30am - mid-
Sciences, Social Sciences or Geography
night (mon-fri) and 9am - midnight (Sat & Sun). We’re
hoping that this will make the medics far happier as
recently they have been feeling pretty forgotten!
Just interviewed david cameron. Will
Further to all of the above The Head Librarian, Mark
Ed and Rep Highlights 2010
General election campaign
Vice Chancellor’s Question Time
With the help of many volunteers, we ran the ‘rock the
we organised the Vice Chancellor’s question time in the
vote’ campaign. We encouraged students to register to
Cube to allow students to ask the Vice Chancellor any-
vote, we organised a debate with candidates standing to be
thing they like about the University.
be on susu.tv soon
last chance to nominate yourself for
School President....www.schoolpres.
susu.org
an MP in the local areas and we put on free busses to take
students to polling stations.
Know your rights
Just met with someone from Uni in
With the revision campaign we included a ‘know your
NSW Aus. They wanted to know all
Assesment Feedback Policy
rights’ document, highlighting what students are entitled
A draft policy on assessment feedback has been developed
to expect from their time at University and also showing
with the University and we hope it will be passed in Uni-
where they can get support from if they need it.
versity committees and become policy by next year.
out our rep system. I felt very proud of
ours after disucssion. go susu
Revision Space
Education Survey
This year we put on extra revision space in SUSU; we had
We ran a survey on core texts, personal tutors and assess-
extra space in the clubs and societies room (above the
ment feedback to gauge opinion as we know these are hot
stag’s head), and on bar level 3. We also booked out extra
topics. We may use these results as a kind of ‘alternative
space in rooms across the University so that students
prospectus’ where we gather student opinion on what they
don’t have to fight as hard for library seats first thing in
think about the schools and university.
the morning.
Going to London on Weds to question
political parties on Education. Want
me to ask anything for you? Let me
know
School Presidents 2009/2010
With the help of Chris Pidgley (Schools Liaison Officer)
we’ve had a successful year for School Presidents, they’ve
all worked amazingly hard and we’ve now created Vice
President positions in larger schools to support the School
President and ensure students are properly represented.
5 Firsts for School presidents in 2010:
•
Branding: We introduced some branding to help raise
the profile of presidents.
•
Site Surgeries: We ran these at NOC, Highfield and
Winchester. Not that well attended but at least we
tried!
•
Training: We provided training for School Presidents
to help them in their roles and we have expanded and
improved it for 2010/2011 School Presidents
•
Online voting: this year you were all able to vote for
your School President or Vice President online.
•
Awesomeness (no offence to last year’s School Presidents, and despite what our stat says, Bradley was
awesome too.)
Representation and your voice
Chris Pidgley (Schools Liaison Officer), Martin Under-
dent voice on a number of issues. •e main points are:
wood (PostGrad Officer) are working hard with Becky
•
•e University strategy and Education strategy
Maclean to make sure you are all represented on academ-
•
Course cuts
ic issues. We’ve strengthened and expanded the course rep
•
Compulsory field trips
and school president system but also:
•
Late coursework penalties
Developed a representation plan for reps for
•
Timetable clashes/lecture hours
PostGrads as well as Undergrads
•
Postgraduate space
Are currently re-vamping the website to have
•
Video conferencing for students at satellite sites
up-to-date information about who your reps are
On top of this, SUSU has arranged 2 large scale de-
•
•
•
•
on it.
bates that students were invited to attend and pose ques-
Have passed a paper at University Education
tions to various panels. •e first of these debates was Vice
Committee (where education policy gets passed)
Chancellor’s question time where students could pose any
to ensure that we measure how good each school
questions to the VC regarding future plans for the univer-
is in allowing the student voice to be heard.
sity.
Are looking towards developing a system of
•e scond was the Rock the vote debate (for which a
international course reps for Winchester and
spin off campaign was also run). In this debate we invted
potentially other schools.
on represetative from all parties in the Southampton area
Further to all of the above, Becky has also raised the stu-
to accept questions from the floor.
15 school presidents elected
this year.
0 number of School VP
positions last year
17 number of School VP
position filled this year
12 school presidents in place
this time last year.
19 school presidents in place
throughout 2009/2010
18 good school presidents
in place throughout 2009/2010
(sorry Bradley Fitchew)
PG Tips. Top changes.
Martin Underwood (post grad officer) writes of this
year’s three top changes at the University and at the
Union that will affect post grads thanks to him and Becky
Maclean.
Top 3 changes at the University:
•
PG space now recognised as a priority for investment next year! Whoop.
•
•ere’s a review of Postgraduate Taught courses
and provision!
•
Recognition of the paper arguing for Alumni
discount for postgraduate courses.
Top 3 changes at the Students’ Union:
•
Students Union committed to actually holding
postgraduate student events
•
Developing a new representation plan
•
Planning a Freshers’ Week for all postgrads
SUSU Media stars 2010
Tom Stacey: Tom’s outstanding work
with SUSU TV and Surge since he joined
Southampton have been a real asset and he
has supported SUSU in all of it’s media endeavours.
Dax Wood: Recognition is deserved
here purely as a result of a stirling effort at
directing elections night live from behind
the scenes. Dax is also an incredibly dedicated com-
‘SUSU TV set the standard’
Your VP Media and Communications, Jamie Ings explains how SUSU TV
could lead the way for UK student Media through pioneering technology.
After many hours or bureaucracy this year I secured
mittee member.
Lydia Teague: e Scene’s assistant
editor whose writing is different, out there,
and brilliantly put together. Her eye for
creative design shows up professionals!
e team also went to the National Student Television
£28,000 of funding for SUSU to build a TV studio for SUSU
Awards in March and were constantl y congratulated on
TV.
the quality of the elections broadcast. Unfortunately we
Charlotte Woods and Dan
Webb: e twosome that always pull
didn’t win any awards this year but we’re feeling extreme-
together a sports section to perfection.
e aim of this studio was to increase the amount of
student engagement in SUSU TV. For the last few years it
ly positive about next year.
has been the most poorly engaged and neglected depart-
Emily Sheldrake: is year’s news
ment, despite those that were involved working extremely
show has been fantastic and Emily has
hard.
managed her news team with flare.
is year’s break through has already had an impact
Harriet Ellis: Surge’s assistant
on student involvement within the station with student
numbers skyrocketing. We used the studio to broadcast
station manager who has shown faultless
elections night 2010 and became the first organisation
commitment to the department and always
to carry out an online high definition broadcast. Ahead
rises to the challenge.
of the BBC too, which is pretty big news. is broadcast
During the Summer break we produced the DVD and
alone led to a variety of other opportunities for the SUSU
magazine for all freshers for the third year running. ere
Will Hay: SUSU TV’s tech guy who is
TV team, including the filming of a question time event in
was more footage than ever before on the DVD and we
so committed, he was willing to strip half
London with the former secretary of state for education,
implemented a new format for the magazine which made
naked and run into the Bournemouth Sea
Ed Balls.
it go from good to awesome. ese were circulated to
in mid winter. All in the name of good TV I suppose.
7,000 students and really set the standard for SUSU Media
“We became the first organisation to carry out an online, high
definition broadcast.”
for the rest of the year. Fortunately we have maintained
Ryo Tabussa:
our great record for producing slick publications and are
theatrical guru. Ryo has gone above and
constantly asked for advice from other student unions
beyond the call of duty to ensure the PAU
across the UK, which makes us feel very special.
It is safe to say that SUSU TV is in a positive position
to become the UK’s leading student TV station and with
some fantastic material currently being produced, it would
appear that this has already started to happen.
7,000 the number of DVDs
and magazines produced
SUSU TVs own
has had maximum coverage on the station.
Matt Whitaker: DJ of the year at
the EVAs, head of production on the Surge
committee and an all-round nice bloke.
SUSU became rather Gift-Ed
3,500 the number of
Our all new Gift-Ed card has been well received by stu-
dents with over 3,500 online sign ups. Whilst this is great,
we know we can offer you more. and bring you some
fantastic deals. We are now working with Gifted themselves to improve the card and its services to ensure that
next year you’re all flashing your cards all over the shop
(or shops hopefully!). e card carries zero risk to the
students registered on website
150+ number of deals
available on the gifted card
Surge radio: e good and the bad
e Bad
AM transmitter broke.
Servers Crashed leading to temporary death of the studio.
students’ union and gives you lot that discount that you
all need to protect the wallet, so it’s a win win situation all
e Good
round. is is a great venture of SUSU and all of its mem-
An awesome, very professional committee that dealt bril-
bers as it can potentially give great deals and create SUSU
liantly with every hurdle they were faced with. We salute
an extra income, so keep an eye out as we’ll be pushing
you.
this lots next year too!
Superb FM broadcast lasting two weeks. Leading to the
securing of funding from the University for more FM time
next year. Huge surge in student interest for shows.
More listeners than last year
is year’s Wessex Scene has been rollercoaster of ups
lighter this year as our money saving idea was to trim
More long distance listeners (furthest to date is New
and downs. Due to the current economic climate there is
some weight off each copy, saving us enough over the year
Zealand)
much less interest in print media advertising than there
for all 9 issues.
ree nominations for student radio awards in November
has been in previous years. Seeing as the Wessex Scene’s
Year highlights for the scene and e Edge have been
income is made through this channel, the situation is far
the expanded sex issue, the fantastic blog, the new design
from ideal and over the summer, it looked as though we
of both publications and of course the huge range of out-
were going to have to drop at least one issue due to lack of
standing interviews that have been printed.
funds.
The University of Southampton’s Finest Entertainment Publication
Issue 4
3rd December 2009
We looked into various ways we could work round
The University of Southampton’s Finest Entertainment Publication
2 the number
of clinical nervous
breakdowns during
elections night live
Photo: Jon Speed
e aim was to set this up for this academic year but due
to various logistical and financial issues we have postponed to November 2010. SUSU is working hard this term
ested in a career in the media. We’ll be pulling in the pros
powers then you may have noticed that the paper is
the amount of money
donated by the
University for our
new TV studio
SUSU Media Conference 2010
to ensure that this event is beneficial for all students inter-
this and the end result was genious! If you have super
£28,000
The University of Southamptonís Finest Entertainment Pub
Issue 1 24th September 2009
Broke the highest listener number on surge twice!!!!
Issue 8
29th ``April 2010
from TV, Radio, PR, Marketing and of course, print media.
Juicy SUSU Media stats
2grams
6,000 people 5 the number
the weight we
tuned in to watch
elections night live
2,500 the
number of students
that responded to
the Wessex Scene
sex survey.
of hours we were
wetting ourselves
when the Surge
servers crashed
trimmed off each
copy of the scene to
save money for all
nine issues
36,000 copies of the Wessex Scene
printed this year
SUSU Media stars 2010
Tom Stacey: Tom’s outstanding work
with SUSU TV and Surge since he joined
Southampton have been a real asset and he
has supported SUSU in all of it’s media endeavours.
Dax Wood: Recognition is deserved
here purely as a result of a stirling effort at
directing elections night live from behind
the scenes. Dax is also an incredibly dedicated com-
‘SUSU TV set the standard’
Your VP Media and Communications, Jamie Ings explains how SUSU TV
could lead the way for UK student Media through pioneering technology.
After many hours or bureaucracy this year I secured
mittee member.
Lydia Teague: e Scene’s assistant
editor whose writing is different, out there,
and brilliantly put together. Her eye for
creative design shows up professionals!
e team also went to the National Student Television
£28,000 of funding for SUSU to build a TV studio for SUSU
Awards in March and were constantl y congratulated on
TV.
the quality of the elections broadcast. Unfortunately we
Charlotte Woods and Dan
Webb: e twosome that always pull
didn’t win any awards this year but we’re feeling extreme-
together a sports section to perfection.
e aim of this studio was to increase the amount of
student engagement in SUSU TV. For the last few years it
ly positive about next year.
has been the most poorly engaged and neglected depart-
Emily Sheldrake: is year’s news
ment, despite those that were involved working extremely
show has been fantastic and Emily has
hard.
managed her news team with flare.
is year’s break through has already had an impact
Harriet Ellis: Surge’s assistant
on student involvement within the station with student
numbers skyrocketing. We used the studio to broadcast
station manager who has shown faultless
elections night 2010 and became the first organisation
commitment to the department and always
to carry out an online high definition broadcast. Ahead
rises to the challenge.
of the BBC too, which is pretty big news. is broadcast
During the Summer break we produced the DVD and
alone led to a variety of other opportunities for the SUSU
magazine for all freshers for the third year running. ere
Will Hay: SUSU TV’s tech guy who is
TV team, including the filming of a question time event in
was more footage than ever before on the DVD and we
so committed, he was willing to strip half
London with the former secretary of state for education,
implemented a new format for the magazine which made
naked and run into the Bournemouth Sea
Ed Balls.
it go from good to awesome. ese were circulated to
in mid winter. All in the name of good TV I suppose.
7,000 students and really set the standard for SUSU Media
“We became the first organisation to carry out an online, high
definition broadcast.”
for the rest of the year. Fortunately we have maintained
Ryo Tabussa:
our great record for producing slick publications and are
theatrical guru. Ryo has gone above and
constantly asked for advice from other student unions
beyond the call of duty to ensure the PAU
across the UK, which makes us feel very special.
It is safe to say that SUSU TV is in a positive position
to become the UK’s leading student TV station and with
some fantastic material currently being produced, it would
appear that this has already started to happen.
7,000 the number of DVDs
and magazines produced
SUSU TVs own
has had maximum coverage on the station.
Matt Whitaker: DJ of the year at
the EVAs, head of production on the Surge
committee and an all-round nice bloke.
SUSU became rather Gift-Ed
3,500 the number of
Our all new Gift-Ed card has been well received by stu-
dents with over 3,500 online sign ups. Whilst this is great,
we know we can offer you more. and bring you some
fantastic deals. We are now working with Gifted themselves to improve the card and its services to ensure that
next year you’re all flashing your cards all over the shop
(or shops hopefully!). €e card carries zero risk to the
students registered on website
150+ number of deals
available on the gifted card
Surge radio: e good and the bad
€e Bad
AM transmitter broke.
Servers Crashed leading to temporary death of the studio.
students’ union and gives you lot that discount that you
all need to protect the wallet, so it’s a win win situation all
€e Good
round. €is is a great venture of SUSU and all of its mem-
An awesome, very professional committee that dealt bril-
bers as it can potentially give great deals and create SUSU
liantly with every hurdle they were faced with. We salute
an extra income, so keep an eye out as we’ll be pushing
you.
this lots next year too!
Superb FM broadcast lasting two weeks. Leading to the
securing of funding from the University for more FM time
next year. Huge surge in student interest for shows.
More listeners than last year
€is year’s Wessex Scene has been rollercoaster of ups
lighter this year as our money saving idea was to trim
More long distance listeners (furthest to date is New
and downs. Due to the current economic climate there is
some weight off each copy, saving us enough over the year
Zealand)
much less interest in print media advertising than there
for all 9 issues.
€ree nominations for student radio awards in November
has been in previous years. Seeing as the Wessex Scene’s
Year highlights for the scene and €e Edge have been
income is made through this channel, the situation is far
the expanded sex issue, the fantastic blog, the new design
from ideal and over the summer, it looked as though we
of both publications and of course the huge range of out-
were going to have to drop at least one issue due to lack of
standing interviews that have been printed.
funds.
The University of Southampton’s Finest Entertainment Publication
Issue 4
3rd December 2009
We looked into various ways we could work round
The University of Southampton’s Finest Entertainment Publication
2 the number
of clinical nervous
breakdowns during
elections night live
Photo: Jon Speed
€e aim was to set this up for this academic year but due
to various logistical and financial issues we have postponed to November 2010. SUSU is working hard this term
ested in a career in the media. We’ll be pulling in the pros
powers then you may have noticed that the paper is
the amount of money
donated by the
University for our
new TV studio
SUSU Media Conference 2010
to ensure that this event is beneficial for all students inter-
this and the end result was genious! If you have super
£28,000
The University of Southamptonís Finest Entertainment Pub
Issue 1 24th September 2009
Broke the highest listener number on surge twice!!!!
Issue 8
29th ``April 2010
from TV, Radio, PR, Marketing and of course, print media.
Juicy SUSU Media stats
2grams
6,000 people 5 the number
the weight we
tuned in to watch
elections night live
2,500 the
number of students
that responded to
the Wessex Scene
sex survey.
of hours we were
wetting ourselves
when the Surge
servers crashed
trimmed off each
copy of the scene to
save money for all
nine issues
36,000 copies of the Wessex Scene
printed this year
‘Why I killed Housing Week’
Campaigns at a glance
Your VP Welfare & Societies Sophie Paterson explains why she ditched the
age old tradition of Housing Week, and how she changed it for the better.
Just before the January exams there has always been a
find rats in the kitchen; and even how to ensure you get
mad panic, as people try to sign up for houses for the fol-
your deposit back at the end of it.
lowing year. On the tail end of this panic came Housing
I also ran talks in the evenings at every single hall of
Week, our campaign to inform students about the pitfalls
residence for a week, meaning we still kept the most help-
of rented accommodation.
ful part of the Housing Week format.
is wasn’t good enough. For some students it was
too late, as they had already found houses. Other students
took it as a signal that they should hurry to find a house.
In reality there’s no rush.
“Since launching the scheme,
SUAIC has seen a two-fold
increase in housing inquiries.”
To tackle this problem, I introduced a series of housing days, to better reflect the needs of students throughout
We hope to continue this format next year, expanding the
the year.
scheme to take excellent housing advice to students at
is covered signing for a house; moving in; sharing
bills; what to do when you come back after Christmas and
satellite campuses too. is year has demonstrated that is
worth persuing .
Grub Club: On the 29th October we launched a
healthy living initiative in conjunction with the BBC
and with celebrity chef Gizzi Erskine. e grub club
promotes healthy (and cheap) home cooking and
seeks to address some of the taboos surrounding
mental health. We also had some great feedback
from a series of delicious Grub Club dinner parties.
Money Doctors: A joint ongoing project with the
University for proactive money management. e
5-week waiting list to see a debt advisor in SUAIC
shows just how important this kind of campaign is.
For budgeting tips, visit life.susu.org/money
Breast Cancer Awareness Day: We kicked this one
off in our bras & pants, raising money for Wessex
Cancer Trust. It’s a local charity providing unparalleled support for families affected by cancer. £200
ensuring students a single point of access to all volunteering at the University. As a result, volunteering in South-
was raised thanks to some enthusiastic crossdressing.
ampton is stronger than ever. If you want to volunteer or
want to recruit other students for a project get onto the
Community Volunteering website: cv.susu.org.
Last summer, Sophie joined her predecessor Dan Francis
in meetings with University staff to discuss the future of
volunteering at Southampton University. e result was
the Community Volunteering department, a joint venture
£125,000+ the value
of time given by our volunteers
Marrow Clinics: 743 people signed up to the Bone
Marrow Register at Southampton University Students’ Union this year. e event proved so popular
it even received coverage on local TV. A huge thank
you goes out to everyone who signed up!
Clamping down on Chlamydia
THE
MAY
An outstanding team effort from the AUC and Welfare
Committee saw over 300 students peeing into pots up
and down Portswood high street. This may sound like an
2010
ordinary Wednesday night, but it was infact the ‘Great
Chlamydia Pub Crawl’.
As the poster (left) attests, it was merely a matter of
Sam Ling writes...
posting their samples to the hospital and awaiting a text
This year Sophie and I set out to build on the success of
message. We also gave out loads of condoms on the night.
last years Community and Societies Festivals. We com-
Acondom is the only surefire way to protect yourself from
bined the two, getting a whole host of societies, sports
sexually transmitted diseases like this.
clubs, and student groups involved to put on SUSU’s big-
300 of you completed
gest ever festival.
chlamydia tests in March
16 of you tested positive –
that’s half the national average
We don’t mince our words when it comes to STIs...
With funding from the Cultural Olympiad, we were
able to create a vast and varied selection of entertainments and interactive workshops. From rock climbing to
salsa dancing & ice-cream making, there was something
for everyone.
In spite of uncharacteristically wet May weather, the
event was a huge success and we were delighted to see so
many students and local residents enjoying the event.
Performing Arts stage a profitable return
SUSU’s underwritten performing arts societies – Theatre
Group, Showstoppers & LOpSoc – worked closely with
Sophie Paterson & Sam Ling this year to ensure that their
shows made a profit.
This meant some stringent budgeting and innovative
marketing ideas were needed, but thanks to their hard
work, shows by these three societies have generated a
combined profit of £8,000 so far this year.
Performances included Showstoppers presents Foot-
Photo: Jon Speed
loose; Theatre Group presents Whitechapel; and LOpSoc
Nick Beall writes...
presents Princess Ida. None of these performances could
This year we helped the University to retain its Fairtrade
have gone ahead without the hard work of StageSoc, so a
Status, showing that as consumers Southampton students
huge thank you to everyone involved.
can make the socially aware choice to benefit producers in
£8,000 profit has been
the developing world.
created by our Performing Arts
societies so far this year.
In other news, we helped set up the Allotment society,
who aim to find space around the Uni to grow sustainable
produce. You can find them on facebook if you’re interested in getting involved.
Students alarmed by SUSU
After a frightening attack on Church Lane, we responded by launching the
‘Safer Students’ campaign in November.
As the clocks went back and the nights grew darker in
November, we ran a campaign across satellite campuses
Rebecca Hall writes:
to promote student safety. is included selling subsidised
e highlight of the year has to be Southampton Uni-
attack alarms and promoting free self-defence classes
versity’s first ever RAG week. It was an amazing seven
at SUSU and in Halls of Residence. e alarms were a lot
days, jam-packed with fundraising activities and loads of
more attractive in their design than in previous years, with
students who’d never done anything with RAG before got
a few people mistaking them for sex toys. Nice.
involved. It was brilliant to see so many new faces helping
We also created business cards with local taxi
out.
numbers and promoted the sale of the attack alarms in the
We also have a shiny new Street Team, which anyone
Students’ Union Shop, where you can get them today. As
can join. At one rain in Southampton City Centre recently,
ever, we joined forces with martial arts clubs to teach self
the team managed to raise over £1,000. at’s a fantastic
defense classes in the Students’ Union. We hope you feel
achievement!
safer as a result!
£1000 was raised in a
JCRs are super-charged
single RAG-raid on the city centre
this year. Let’s beat it next year!
One of the biggest changes we made this year was to
move the JCR elections to before Christmas. is means
they hand over at the end of semester one, so your JCR
now lives with you in halls for half of their time in office.
As a result they are better placed to represent you, and
have more experience by the time the new intake arrives.
We’ve also made great steps towards empowering
the JCRs this year. Instead of being at the bottom of the
union’s hierarchy, your JCR representatives now have the
Emily Rees writes:
knowledge and contacts they need to deal with issues as
As Equal Opportunities Officer, I worked with our Dis-
they come up.
abilities Co-ordinator Frankie Fry to organise the Dis-
I’ve been working with JCRs to write a new JCR con-
Y
CM
MY
CY
K
for everyone they represent. Max writes...
condoms given out by VP Welfare
& Societies so far this year. Don’t
forget they are available in the
bars as well as from the Sabbs
M
CMY
We’ve made loads of changes to the JCRs this year, to make them even better
9456 the number of
C
ability Awareness Day in February. It took place on the
stitution, put RAG representatives in halls, and for the first
union concourse, and we got the University to attend and
time in years, JCRs are no longer in debt! ank you to all
provide information about how you can get support dur-
involved for helping us to achieve this, it has been a key
ing your time at University for disabilities of all kinds. e
year for JCRs moving forward.
day was brilliantly well received. Good news!
Fighting for sport in the AU
AU President Allan Steynor and AU Officer Will Harvey explain how they
have put the gloves on and fought for sport this year.
AU Events at a glance
AU Ball: A huge success yet again and as per usual
we had alumni superstar John Inverdale making an
appearance to present awards and deliver one of
is year we heard the unfortunate news that the Univer-
work. e University and Vice Chancellor have made it
sity were to close the Sports Programmes here at South-
known however that they are keen on the topic of Uni-
ampton. With this impacting on numerous individuals and
versity sport and will support teams in any way they can.
the future of sporting academia, we felt it important to
show our feelings at the decision in the hope of preserving the courses and supporting not only participation but
studying sport.
his renowned speeches.
Athletic Union
Awards
400 the number of students
Ball
2010
affected by course cuts
e decision was eventually made during March 2010,
and despite opposing the option taken with the support
of lecturers, students and a range of Unions , action was
Bunfight and taster weekend: the yearly events ran
taken to implement the withdrawal from sporting degrees.
smoothly as ever and were key to the clubs recruit-
A lot of time and effort was dedicated by a great deal
of people, all of whom deserve recognition for their hard
ing new members.
New AU Exec
is year we introduced a new AU Executive team which
includes three positions, all elected at the start of the year.
e positions are:
•
AU Club Development Officer,
•
AU Media & Promotions
•
AU Social & Events.
Varsity: is was a highlight for the AU in 2010 just
as it has been in many previous years. Once again
we took on pompey on our own turf and saw a
commanding victory. It’s always nice to show up
the rivals!
e idea is that they will provide more direct support to
the AU President and AU Officer in their specific areas of
interest, hopefully making a more productive Athletic Union. We elected these positions in October and they have
been a huge asset this year,.
Figures from the AU
300 Number of
1 The number of public
committee volunteers
trained by the AU
18-52 This year’s
varsity score
apologies made by John
Inverdale to the Vixens
1,500 Number of
students participating in
sport this year
Medics vs Wessex: A New event for 2010 saw the
sports teams from MedSoc take on clubs in the AU.
e event was received extremely well and plans
are already starting for next year’s competition.
Alumni Day: Another first for 2010. We invited exstudents back to play on their old home soil. ere
is much potential for future development for this
event.
The University of Southampton’s Finest Entertainment Publication
Issue 9
20th May 2010
EDITORIAL
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THIS ISSUE OF THE EDGE
INSIDE..
Records
- Meatloaf
- Foals
- Against Me!
+ More!
Live
- Shy Child
- John Butler Trio
+ More!
Film
- Iron Man 2
- A Nightmare On Elm Street
+ More!
Features
- Ash Interview
- The Pacific
+ More!
Games
First Listen To Foals’ New
Album ‘Total Life Forever’
THE EDGE PLAYLIST
What’s Been Playing On The Edge Radio Show..
- Super Street Fighter IV
The Edge Team..
Editors - Tom Shepherd & Emmeline Curtis
Features Editor - Dan Morgan
Records Editor - Kate Golding
Live Editor - Hayley Taulbut
Film Editor - Stephen O’Shea
Games Editor - Joe Dart
Editor-In-Chief - Jamie Ings
Edge Radio Playlist (Surge)
- Saturday 1pm - 2pm
1. Katy Perry - California Guurls
2. Example - Kickstarts
3. Gaslight Anthem - American Slang
4. Canterbury - Gloria
5. The Morning Of - Ones That Fall Apart
6. Kids In Glass Houses - Undercover..
7. LCD Soundsystem - Drunk Girls
8. Not Advised - The World’s Not Ready
We are constantly on the look out for new writers that want to get
Want To Get Involved? involved
with The Edge. For more info email; theedge@soton.ac.uk
ENTERTAINMENT
THE EDGE is almost sure
it looks like these people..
“This show continues MTV’s history of
documenting various subcultures, rites of
passage of young people, and the ways they
self-identify.”
If only self-identification didn’t include
ethnic stereotyping, bar brawls and light misogyny, then MTV would have certainly classified its latest reality show, Jersey Shore, in
a befitting manner.
“The summer comes
to resemble a tragically infantile display
at its most devastating level.”
Following the aftermath of Jersey Shore’s
pilot episode, sponsor’s Domino’s Pizza immediately pulled their advertising. Clearly the
rites of passage, or hot-tub frolics depicted,
weren’t quite to the respectability and taste
of even capitalist ethics...and to be quite
frank, they trouble my own enjoyment in a
dizzying mix of both repulsion and laughter.
JERSEY SHORE
On the edge of New Jersey sits the Jersey Shore, a hotspot of youth culture on the
East Coast...or alternatively, the ideal place
for this culture to exhibit various examples
of either hilarious, or sometimes frightening,
depravity. Typically this would fail to merit
much controversy...but, reducing the ethnic
identity of the entire Italian-American community to a debasing stereotype just might.
The eight housemates selected for MTV’s
‘documenting’ each inform the audience of
the true Italian–American, or to use their
equally courteous and in no respect restrictive terminology, the ‘Guido’. Housemate
Pauly D apparently perfectly encapsulates
the identity of a ‘Guido’. Concealing my
laughter toward his over-zealous: “I have a
tanning bed in my house...that’s how serious
I am about this lifestyle”, his later gestures
toward hair gel and a Scarface poster fully
informed me of the complex cultural identity
that MTV can faithfully represent. I also have
to question if Pauly D knew that although Al
Pacino may in fact be Italian, that in Scarface he portrays a Cuban immigrant? But the
ignorance only becomes more astounding.
Pauly D is joined by an equally obnoxious, over-pumped and over-tanned group
of men and women, scantily clad and declaring their fervent respect for their Italian
roots. Whilst housemate Snooki surprises
her new housemates in a leopard print bikini and forces herself upon them in the hottub, self-proclaimed Guido ‘The Situation’ is
describing the appeal of his tight abdominal
muscles. It’s going to be a long summer at
the Jersey Shore... and one that comes to
resemble a tragically infantile display at its
most devastating levels.
“They trouble my enjoyment in a dizzying
mix of both repulsion
and laughter.”
In a later episode of Jersey Shore, female house-mate Snooki is physically as-
saulted by an unknown male,
transporting my feelings of
complete disgust toward this
reality show to new levels.
That MTV can dare to trivialise
such acts of violence is deeply disturbing
and more importantly, reducing a serious incident to so-called ‘reality’ entertainment is
ultimately unforgivable.
Perhaps there is something deliciously
addictive in watching a bunch of morons
spending their summer together fist-pumping, punching and grinding...and a newly
commissioned second season of the show
seems to suggest its effects. Maybe these
self-proclaimed ‘Guidos’ and their female
counterparts the ‘Guidettes’ feel positive
about their self-identity, but I feel uncomfortable with it. If modern rites of passage
involve drunkenly slipping down stairs in a
thong then I mourn the representation of
youth culture. And if I was Italian-American,
I’d give these kids of history lesson – minus the Protein shakes and the tanning
bed. “I’m going to the Jersey Shore bitch!”
Snooki excitedly declares...all I can say is
thank goodness I’m not.
Hadley Middleton
INTERVIEW
THE EDGE CAN DO A MEAN IRISH ACCENT...
Ash
Interview
With a massive 8 million albums sold
worldwide, ASH are one of Ireland’s most
successful exports ever. THE EDGE’s
Alex Payne caught up with bassist Mark
Hamilton and drummer Rick McMurray
for a chat.
ic releases, like Podcasts but for music. We
approached iTunes with this idea but they
turned us down as they said they didn’t have
the infrastructure to do it. I just think they’re
waiting for a bigger band, like a Coldplay or
someone like that.’
First of all, you have a new album out,
A-Z Vol.1, which is a collection of singles,
where one will be released every two
weeks, rather than an album. Why did
you decide to do it this way?
In order to create an album of singles
you had to create your own label. How
did you find that process?
MH: ‘There was a demand for the subscription to download the music [but also]
there was a need for an album; a digital and
a physical demand.’
MH: ‘It was a lot of logistics involved.’
RM: ‘A physical copy of the singles was
needed as downloading music isn’t as big
in some cultures, such as Japan, Europe or
South East Asia and there was also a demand for artwork.’
Do you think more bands will follow
you and release material in the same
way?
RM: ‘It was a lot of work, a lot of admin.’
RM: ‘For our last album, we didn’t quite
get marketed right. Now we have more control but there is more financial risk involved.’
MH: ‘There was a lot of logistics, [for example], we had teething problems in the first
week or two with the subscription service
that had to be ironed out, but it turned out it
was down to the distribution company.’
Did you find writing 26 singles hard
work?
RM: ‘Yeah, some bands have said to
us they wish they could do it like this. We
were just lucky we have our own studio [and]
we’re able to do it.’
RM: ‘It was a huge challenge – every one
had to be good quality.’
MH: ‘We originally wanted to have period-
RM: ‘We could go straight back into the
MH: ’54 songs were recorded in the end.’
studio and record again.’
MH: ‘Its good to dip in and out of the studio.’
RM: ‘An album feels like you have two
separate jobs; one in the studio and one outside the studio.’
“We’re criminally
under-rehearsed;
it gives us an edge...”
What has been the response of the
fans? Has this new concept gone down
well?
RM: ‘The fans were sceptical at first,
mourning the loss of the album. There were
essays posted on our website about why we
shouldn’t drop the album. It took a while.’
MH: ‘A band makes an album every three
years and this creates anticipation, a buzz
for a while. However, releasing a single every two weeks creates a buzz for a longer period, it becomes something to look forward
to, like your favourite TV programme. It also
creates a bigger range of songs that are different.’
Do you miss writing an album?
MH: ‘Songs that get written don’t necessarily have to link together.’
RM: ‘We have always been seen as a singles band anyway. When we first started out
as teenagers we only recorded singles as
that’s all we could afford at the time.’
MH: ‘Songs recorded for previous albums
that didn’t fit were cut but this way it creates
more diversity.’
Do you think you have accomplished
what you set out to do?
RM: ‘Yeah, we originally were going to
release a single every month but found out
that Wedding Present have already done
this so we decide to release a single every
two weeks instead.’
MH: ‘We recorded over 50 songs, more
than ever before and they will get released.’
RM: ‘We took our time and the music
started flowing.’
What would you say are the stand-out
tracks?
MH: ‘Return of the White Rabbit’ – it’s
good live and we’ve got a good response
from it, however, we should have gone with
‘Arcadia’ as the first single instead of ‘True
Love 1980’.
RM: ‘Dionysian Urge’ is a good song but
we haven’t played it live yet, only an acoustic
version.’
You’ve just started touring again, how
does that feel?
RM: ‘It feels good. Russell from Bloc Party has joined us live to make it a four piece,
which fits really well. Having two guitars
again has become a big talking point.’
“We’ve played some
pretty f*****-up
places though; yeah,
this place is quite
nice”
Do you still get nervous before a gig?
MH: ‘You still get a little anxious before
playing. You start getting anxiety dreams just
before a tour starts, such as being naked
on stage or there’s only three people in the
crowd or things just aren’t working.’
RM: ‘Yeah, but we haven’t played them in
the order of the setlist.’
Do you find playing uni gigs different
from other gigs?
MH: ‘No, not really but it’s good to hang
out with the students. We’ve played a lot of
f***ed up places though.’
RM: ‘Yeah, this place is quite nice.’
What’s next for Ash?
MH: ‘We still have 5 months of releases
and touring the rest of the world with some
festivals lined up, then Vol. 2 at the end of
the year. We’ll probably be touring until the
festival next year then try and record again.’
RM: ‘We do have a new plan but we can’t
say what it is yet.’
MH: ‘Yeah, it’s very novel.’
RM: ‘We just try to keep challenging ourselves.’
MH: ‘If we were still signed we wouldn’t be
able to do this kind of stuff. We approached
the music company with the A – Z idea but
they didn’t like it.’
Do you have any plans to retire?
MH: ‘No, not a set plan’.
RM: ‘If we did retire we would probably have to get other jobs and I don’t think
there’s any other job I like.’
Do you miss the stage when not touring?
RM: ‘You can’t beat the reaction from the
crowd. You end up missing the countdown
to the soundcheck and start looking forward
to it.’
Are you all ready for tonight?
RM: ‘Yeah it’s the first date of the UK tour
and we’re criminally under rehearsed, but it
gives us an edge.’
MH: ‘I wouldn’t say we’re criminally under
rehearsed, we’ve played all the songs live.’
Editor Suggests:
Knocking on Heaven’s Door
Guns N’ Roses
It’s very rare that a cover version completely outclasses the original, and even moreso when the original was recorded by one
of the greatest artists ever. Guns n’ Roses
managed to do so in such spectacular fashion in 1987 however, with this cover of the
Bob Dylan classic.
This song perfectly showcases the worldbeating combination of Axl Rose’s howling
vocals and Slash’s virtuoso guitar playing.
Despite the absence of a classic riff, such
as that on Sweet Child o’ Mine, Knockin’ on
Heaven’s Door contains two of the best solos ever to issue from under Slash’s trademark silly hair-hat combination. A true rock
classic.
Follow Us On Twitter!
FEATURE
BLACK POWER:
30 years after
Back in Black
So it’s 1980, your band is riding high on
your last album release and you are preparing to record again, until the unthinkable
happens. Your lead singer dies, who just
happens to be one of the greatest front men
of all time. What do you do? Do you disband
and give up? Or do you go onto to record the
second biggest selling album of all time, only
beaten by Michael Jackson’s Thriller? Well,
AC/DC did exactly that.
This year marks the thirtieth anniversary
of Back in Black, an album that not only defined an era but the entire genre of rock and
metal. AC/DC’s own brand of pub rock, as
they called it, was simple rock ‘n’ roll, but it
had intensity, entertainment and a feeling of
euphoria that epitomises rock. But it almost
came to an abrupt end when their singer,
Bon Scott, died of misadventure, or rather
pulmonary aspiration of vomit, at the age of
33 after a heavy night out drinking in London
on 19th February 1980.
Bon Scott was part of what made AC/DC
what they were. His lyrics were idiosyncratic
and his voice was very distinctive. However,
AC/DC was left with a dilemma. To continue
with a new singer, or disband? Fortunately,
they continued and in stepped a Geordie by
the name of Brian Johnson. Johnson fitted
in with ease, and although his voice wasn’t
quite the same as Scott’s it was nevertheless
distinctive and gave AC/DC a new sound.
The band immediately started recording
the follow up 1979’s Highway to Hell. Two
tracks on the album were dedicated to Bon
Scott. Firstly, ‘Hells Bells’, which is one of
the few rock songs that has bells in it, it is a
great opener for the album. Second is prob-
Some Might Say
Oasis
It’s true! You can now follow
The Edge on twitter; @theedgesusu
ably one of the most famous AC/DC songs,
‘Back in Black’. The song ‘Back in Black’ is
simple yet effective, following the style that
made AC/DC famous, and is a great song
and tribute to the legendry Bon Scott.
Back in Black showcases AC/DC at their
height of song writing. To complement Angus and Malcolm’s raw guitar sound, Johnson added more sleaze and bite to the lyrics
and gave us songs such as ‘Shook You All
Night Long’ and ‘Let Me Put My Love Into
You’. Along with this, classics such as ‘Have
A Drink On Me’ and ‘Shoot To Thrill’ gave the
album more bluesy credentials.
“A great song and
tribute.”
30 years on Back in Black is as fresh as it
ever was and the album almost seems timeless. It still has a major influence on bands
today, especially one called ‘Airbourne’, who
have taken the AC/DC formula and cranked
it up a notch or two. AC/DC are one of the
few bands who have left a lasting mark and
influence on music and it shouldn’t be forgotten that this album nearly didn’t happen.
With the music scene the way it is, with
downloading songs and a drop in albums
sales, I can’t see Back in Black being beaten and it shouldn’t. It is one those albums
where every song is great and everything
comes together for that one special moment; I doubt AC/DC will ever reach that
point again.
Alex Payne
At the risk of sounding needlessly
flowery, Cometh the hour, Cometh the
band. There can be no better example of a
band arriving just when it was needed than
that provided by britrock legends Oasis.
The Gallagher brothers’ strutting arrival
into the pop wasteland of the mid-nineties
sent ripples through the whole music
industry.
Some Might Say, released in 1995, gave
Oasis their first No. 1 single and cemented them as the greatest true rock and roll
band in a decade. With Noel’s over-gained
guitar track and Liam’s sneering, arrogant
vocals, this track is one of Britain’s best
ever bands best songs.
FEATURE
FROM THE DIRECTOR OF BAND OF BROTHERS..
THE PACIFIC
In 2001 Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks,
the pair who together brought you the war
epic Saving Private Ryan, introduced us to
the ten part mini series Band of Brothers.
This series chronicled the allied invasion of
Nazi occupied Germany in World War Two
by following the fortunes of E Company, a
group of paratroopers who were amongst
the first to drop into France. The entire series
was a huge success and was some of the
greatest television ever produced. It thrust
the audience straight into the action with
the soldiers and made them feel every bit of
the horror of war. But what made the series
great was how you began to feel and care
for the characters as you watched them and
hoped for them on a regular basis. This was
made all the more epic by the fact that you
never knew who was going to survive and
who wasn’t, an appeal not present in shows
such as 24. The success of the series left
people crying out for more, and now almost
nine years later our prayers have been
answered with The Pacific.
The Pacific moves away from the war in
Europe and instead focuses on the war in
the Pacific against the Japanese after Pearl
Harbour. The story is told through the eyes
of around five marines who vary in when
they enter the war and in how much screen
time they have. However, despite this slight
difference with Band of Brothers the battles
and cinematography of the series is no less
graphic or powerful than its predecessor.
Real footage begins each episode and a
Tom Hanks narration describes how the war
is progressing and some of the challenges
many of the soldiers faced. This whole aspect is not only interesting but also necessary as a lot less is known about the Pacific
war than the one in Europe, especially on
this side of the pond. However, these pieces
often feel like a history documentary and can
detract from the connection that the audience
feels to the characters. The Pacific has kept
one element, among many, that made Band
of Brothers great, with brief interviews and
discussions with actual war veterans, many
who are being portrayed by the actors on
screen. And yet again the names of the veterans are not revealed to maintain the suspense of who will make it back home alive.
The programme also maintains the winning
formula of a cast of relatively unknown actors with a couple of sterling cameos.
“If Band of Brothers
was 10/10, The
Pacific is 9/10”
Despite its great aspects and often nail
biting scenes The Pacific feels like there is
something missing, something which put
Band of Brothers above anything else made
before. It may be because the war in Europe is so much more familiar in Britain and
so much more prevalent in our culture, but
when watching there feels a distinct distance
with the characters and the world in which
they are inhabiting. I believe that this comes
from the very core of the programme. It is derived from the fact that we are not watching
a group of men fighting as a unit across Europe but instead watching individuals island
hop their way closer to Japan. With Band
of Brothers, although there were specialist
episodes and episodes which concentrated
on certain characters, you saw the same
men week in week out fighting and dying
side by side. With The Pacific you can go
entire episodes without seeing some characters and so although you may not forget
about them they do slip towards the back
of your mind. Band of Brothers is undeniably one of the greatest television shows
ever created and so almost anything would
pale in comparison, but such comparisons
were always to be expected with the arrival
of The Pacific on our shores. Although the
series has not finished yet and it would be
wrong to write off this still brilliant piece of
television as lacking something, especially
when, arguably, the best Band of Brothers
episode was its penultimate one. However,
at least for now, it may have some notable
performances from James Badge Dale and
Jon Seda but it is still a programme of individuals and not one of a team in which the
true heart of such a programme lies. And so
if Band of Brothers is ten out of ten then The
Pacific is nine out of ten.
Jack O’Neill
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RECORDS
Good: FlyLo returns
with an improved
sound which continues to excite.
Bad: Flawless!
9.
LISTENED TO SOME RECORDS THIS WEEK
Flying Lotus
It’s been two years since the release of
Flying Lotus’ second album Los Angeles,
and it is clear that FlyLo has been using
his time between the two to create something good. Although there are hints of his
old album in Cosmogramma, FlyLo has
definitely developed his musical talent to a
whole new level. Whereas heavy bass beats
were a common occurrence in Los Angeles,
hints of jazz, soul and an orchestral vibe are
more prominent in Cosmogramma. This album boasts an array of complex beats and
sounds, showing a fusion of FlyLo’s loves;
jazz, hip hop and videogame sounds, creating a very unique style.
It is hardly surprising that there are so
many jazz melodies and beats in this album,
as FlyLo is the nephew of famous jazz musician Alice Coltrane. Harps, piano and slow,
laid back baselines feature in many of the
tracks, especially ‘Drips/Auntie’s Harp’ and
‘Arkestry’, which remind me slightly of some
of The Cinematic Orchestra’s creations.
The content of the album arguably makes
it sound more like one complete track. Although the first couple of tracks are typical
of his overly complex distorted collection of
beats that can be frustratingly hard to find
continuity in, from about ‘Zodiac Shit’ more
continuity is created. ‘Zodiac Shit’ and the
6 tracks after flow well into each other, and
Cosmogramma then concludes once more
with distorted, fragmented melodies, in
tracks such as ‘Recoiled And Dance’ and0
‘Pseudo Nymph’. The album is quite easy
listening after you’ve heard it a few times, as
sometimes it takes a while to get your head
around the rhythm of FlyLo’s beats.
‘Computer Face/Pure Being’ makes
good use of synthesized melodies to create a mix of laid back uplifting beats with
more upbeat tempos. This track then flows
nicely into track 7 ‘...And the Whole World
Laughs With...’ which contains guest vocals
from Thom Yorke. FlyLo does not overdo
the vocal element in this track, allowing it to
compliment the orchestral sounds. Although
critics have argued that this will be one of
the biggest tracks on the album, my personal
favourite is ‘Do The Astral Plane’ because
it contains just the right mix of everything;
synth, jazz, a really good beat, orchestral
melodies and slight vocal undertones. ‘Do
The Astral Plane’ also works really well having ‘Mmmhmm’ (which features Thundercat)
before it, as the tracks complement each
other well.
It is clear to say that FlyLo has definitely
progressed since 2008 and he uses Cosmogramma to expand his inventive musical
talent. The jazz and orchestral aspects conjoined with carefully manipulated rhythms
make it a perfect laid back album for summer.
Laura Fear
Beachcomber’sWindowsill
4AD
RELEASED May 24
Stornoway are a 4 piece band from Oxford. The likelihood is, if you’ve heard of
them you’ve heard ‘Zorbing’ which is exactly
where their first album Beachcombers Windowsill starts. The song is a huge opening
statement, clear crisp vocals combined with
scintillating harmonies give the impression
more of a 0mens choir than a popular music
band. Fact is Stornoway are ‘nu-folk’ following along similar veins of popular contemporaries such as Mumford and Sons. ‘Zorbing’ delivers a feel good injection which is
matched well with their second single and
second album track ‘I Saw You Blink’. You
Cosmogramma
WARP RECORDS
RELEASED May 3
Stornoway
would be forgiven for suggesting that the
band had played their best songs too early
but even though they are probably the most
mainstream (I use this term fairly loosely),
with both tracks well centred towards the
pop side of folk, they are not spent just yet.
Third track ‘Fuel Up’ is strangely reminiscent
of The Beautiful South - the first down-tempo
track evolves into a powerful ballad about
a travelling man, their lyrics evocative and
on par with recent Elbow. ‘The Coldharbour
Road’ uses rolling melody with some rather
alternative lyrics to good effect, although
fails to deliver in the same way the first three
tracks do. Given that Beachcombers Windowsill was recorded on a budget of around
£250, the sound does not suffer.
‘Here Comes the Blackout’ is the shortest track and does well to punctuate the flow
and avoid monotony. Penultimate track ‘The
End of the Movie’ is a poignant, melancholy
juggernaut that demands your attention because of its raw power and beauty. On an
album which lacks any general direction it
helps bind the whole collection of songs together with cheeky in-references to earlier
tracks. Altogether Stornoway’s first offering is a fine one, any lovers of Mumford &
Sons, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver or Elbow would
be wise to give Beachcombers Windowsill a
listen, it might just make your summer.
Tom McKenna
Good: Another great
album contributing
to the growing popularity of folk.
Bad: None - this
album satisfies the
taste buds.
9.
Meatloaf
ALBUMS
Who doesn’t like a bit of Meatloaf? Well
we all do, but we really only like one bit of
Meatloaf. ‘Bat Out of Hell’ made Meatloaf
more or less a household name, and he’s
ridden that concept through a trilogy of albums, a nine year long chart position and all
the way into the comfy recliner chair of classic rock fame.
After only a four year break following the
platinum selling Monster Is Loose, Meatloaf
is back with Hang Cool Teddy Bear, which
strikes me as a deceitfully cuddly and sweet
album title considering that the songs are
all futures envisioned by a lone soldier. But
apart from the slightly less monstrous or
paranormal subject matter, you can expect
more of the same from this album. Aside
from brief contributions by the likes of Jack
Black, Justin Hawkins and Brian May, this
album is pretty much just Meatloaf being
Meatloaf, bellowing theatrically in some sort
of competition with the unwavering guitars.
You may be pleasantly surprised by
tracks like ‘Love Is Not Real’ which, whilst
having an acoustic blues character, has a
dose of spoken word angst that has more of
a Beastie Boys feel to it. And just when you
think the repetitive tempo and slightly predictable guitar work of the following ‘Like A
Rose’ and ‘Song Of Madness’, along comes
‘Did You Ever Love Somebody’, which is the
closest song to a ballad on the album and
helps put some meat on the album’s bones
– if you’ll excuse the pun. There are also
songs to watch out for like ‘California Isn’t
Big Enough’ that have a fairly weak intro but
then have Meatloaf wailing into action about
a minute in, so it’s worth hanging there.
As a result of only three or four tracks
breaking the classic rock mould, this album
doesn’t scream variety and won’t be a favourite for a fan of the experimental or the
weird. Nevertheless, this is one of those
rare rock albums that is genuinely fun to listen to, and doesn’t make you feel guilty that
you’re not dressed in metal studs or sporting
an ear piercing the size of an elephant tusk.
It’s not an album to be shocked by but neither is it one by which you’ll be disappointed,
and that middle ground of enjoyable listening
is surprisingly rare in contemporary rock –
but an area in which Meatloaf is an indisputable master.
Sam Thomas
Hang Cool Teddy Bear
MERCURY RECORDS
RELEASED April 19
Good: A guilt free
trip to rock heaven,
with a few highlights.
Bad: Some filler
tracks let the album down slightly...
but come one, it’s
Mealoaf!
8.
ALBUMS
Catch Foals at this years
Reading and Leeds Fests!
Foals
Total Life Forever
TRANSGRESSIVE
RELEASED May 10
Two years ago, Foals attempted to show
the world that alternative/math rock could
be delivered in an accessible, mainstream
way with their debut album, Antidotes. They
achieved this with great success, with the album peaking at the number three slot in the
UK Albums Chart, bringing the band extensive radio play and securing slots on all the
main festival stages. Antidotes made great
use of funk rhythms, math melodies, and reverb-heavy vocals, creating something quite
unique in terms of the other music which was
entering the charts at the time. The album’s
successor, Total Life Forever, looked set to
be a great follow up, from a band whose music had an exciting youthful element to it.
Total Life Forever, however, seems to
be a step in the wrong direction for Foals.
In the two years since their first release, the
band seem to have mellowed out, and lost
that exciting sound which grabbed so many
people first time round. The album lacks any
obvious singles, which is a bad thing when in
their place are rather dull songs, almost all of
which seem to go nowhere. That funky dance
feel from the first album has gone, and in its
place stands an indie sound which could
have come from any other band around today. The math-rock guitar melodies do make
occasional appearances throughout the album, but they are not coupled with the thrilling energy which Antidotes so brilliantly produced. Saying this, however, the album does
open on a positive. ‘Blue Blood’ begins with
the calm sound which is present for the rest
Against Me!
No one wants to be the guy shouting sellout; it’s a defunct concept anyway. But listening to White Crosses, there is a nagging
feeling that this is not the same Against Me!
that recorded As The Eternal Cowboy. For
a start, this sounds more like a Butch Vig
record than an Against Me! record. Everything is very big; vocals and guitars are overdubbed, every song has a massive hook,
the mix is aggressive and in your face. Coming from a band for whom production used
to mean turning the treble all the way up to
ten and then thrashing away, this is a big
change, and one that is difficult to get used
to.
White Crosses is certainly a progression;
while New Wave added a veneer of majorlabel respectability to the band’s folky punk,
this record obliterates any notion that this was
once a band that played beaten up acoustic
guitars in basements. This is most apparent
on tracks like ‘We’re Breaking Up’, a pass-
able power ballad complete with slightly dubious 80s sounding synthesizers. An ode to
a broken friendship, Gabel sings, “We used
to like all the same bands/ We used to have
all the same friends” in his trademark bellow,
but the song is simply too mid-paced to really affect the listener. Likewise, ‘Suffocation’
begins with a new-wave guitar riff, but ends
up sounding plodding and laboured, while
Gabel thunders against “Suffocation/ Modern life in the western world”. Stripped of the
untrammelled fury of their older work though,
his anger sounds strangely empty.
However, when Against Me! crank up the
volume and ramp up the tempo, the album
does deliver some impressive moments.
The title track provides a powerful opening
to the record, proving that Against Me! can
still draw on the raw edge that made them so
exciting. The band has always been at their
best when angry and politicised, and ‘White
Crosses’ is no exception. Gabel roars and
Want More? Course You Do!
of the album, with Yannis Phillippakis’ vocals
almost sounding like Fleet Foxes for the first
few bars of the song. A fantastic bass line
then slides in, along with the drums, and
the song is carried to the end as a hybrid
of the old and new sound of Foals. The album peaks again with ‘Spanish Sahara’, a
delicate crescendo which climaxes with an
epic mix of strange melodies, sounding like
an entirely different band from the start. ‘This
Orient’ is another strong song, beginning like
some 1960s acid-induced song, but soon
becoming a great up-beat number.
But between these three highlights, the
space is filled with bland indie tracks, creating an album which would make more sense
if it had been the band’s debut, before the
great Antidotes had been written. Foals have
definitely moved on from their math-rock
roots, but what they have become is not particularly interesting. Total Life Forever is just
another indie record, rather than an exciting
new collection of songs which would have
been expected from the band.
Will Hayes
Good: A few highlights make up for
the rest of the album.
White Crosses
SIRE RECORDS
RELEASED June 7
rails against an abortion monument, “White
crosses on the church lawn/ I want to smash
them all”, confessing to being “strung out on
the amphetamines that you gave to me”. The
sense of danger and urgency that informed
their best work of the past is palpable. ‘High
Pressure Low’ is lyrically ambitious, the best
example of Gabel’s verbose, sometimes
awkward lyrical style. From describing an
approaching hurricane to debating forgiveness for Robert McNamara, the song is
full of ideas, backed up by enough musical
punch to hammer the message home.
On an album full of songs striving to sound
anthemic, the one that comes the closest is
‘Because Of The Shame’, which borrows a
delicate, tinkly piano part from Springsteen,
before delivering a rousing tribute to a fallen
friend. The Springsteen worship doesn’t end
there; the “woah-ohs” on the refrain are lifted
straight from ‘No Surrender’. Then again, if
you’re going to borrow, you may as well bor-
7.
5.
Bad: A disappointing
come back for Foals
with no stand out
songs.
row from the best.
The last word should go to Tom Gabel. On
‘I Was A Teenage Anarchist’, released as the
first single, he sings on the chorus, “Do you
remember when you were young and you
wanted to set the world on fire?” The trouble
is, most Against Me! fans do remember that
time. On their earlier work, the band gave
the impression that they were capable of
changing the world with their music and their
politics. Even for those of us cynical enough
to understand the impossibility of their
task, it was an intoxicating feeling. As they
have grown older, they no longer present
that same burning passion, and punk rock
is poorer for it. White Crosses is not a bad
record; as far as mainstream alternative rock
goes, it’s pretty good. But Against Me! are
capable of so much better.
Duncan Smith
Well, good news! There are even more record reviews
available at; www.wessexscene.co.uk/the-edge
SINGLES
The
Futureheads
Heartbeat Song
Nul Records
6.
It seems an eternity ago when The Futureheads energetically burst onto the scene
with their self-titled first album, featuring the
classics ‘Man Ray’, ‘Decent Days and Nights’
and the incredible cover of the equally brilliant Kate Bush’s ‘Hounds of Love’. Three
albums later ‘Heartbeat Song’, is the newest
single from the English post-punk band. It’s
cute, poppy but seems to push the band further away from their post-punk roots. It will
remind you of the disappointing over driven
anthems found in their last album This Is
Not The World. It might appeal to the middle of the roaders (those people who like the
generic, safe pop songs which command
most radio air play), but those who wanted a
repeat of the unique hits from early Futureheads, ‘Heartbeat Song’ will surely be disappointing.
Having said this the track does tick some
of the boxes of what we love about the band:
short high energy, sounding angry yet melodic and serious but light-hearted. If ‘Heartbeat Song’ leaves you disappointed with
the bands latest work don’t worry, this song
seems to be the anomaly of the album.
Ed Kennedy
Marina And
The Diamonds
I Am Not A Robot
Atlantic
9.
‘I Am Not A Robot’ is the third single off up
and coming artist Marina and the Diamonds’
first full length album, The Family Jewels. Although this song was originally included in
Marina’s first EP, it has been re-released as,
according to Marina, “people seem to empathise and relate with the song”.
Regardless of all that excellent PR work,
the song is actually quite good. In fact, it has
become a firm fixture in my recent playlists.
The song is full of contrasts and has a really
good upbeat feel to it. Her voice goes from
sounding vulnerable and feeble to empowered and strong.
‘I Am Not A Robot’ feels inspirational for
some reason - it feels like she is telling a story. The song goes through clear stages, her
voice changing in strength and character. It
feels like she’s is trying to encourage us to
stand up for who we truly are. Indeed Marina
is not shy of the more unusual - check out
the dungarees she wore for her performance
on Jools Holland recently. Overall this song
is great. Not only does it offer a bit more than
the usual indie-pop artist, it feels like it invokes thought and sending out a tangible
message.
Kate Golding
Example
Kickstarts
Data
8.
Since his transformation into ‘Dysfunctional Electro-pop’ Example has so far not
failed to impress, his previous two singles,
‘Watch the Sun Come Up’ and ‘Won’t Go
Quietly’, the namsake of his upcoming album, have gained him critical acclaim and
relative chart success, gaining a number 1
and 3 with the aforementioned singles.
New single ‘Kickstarts’ is an absolute
banger. Produced by Sub Focus, Example
himself describes it as a mix of Snow Patrol,
Dizzee Rascal and MGMT, which makes it in
its own right a track you need to hear, being
able to appeal to a broad audience. The single originally started its life as a poem. But
in all honesty, the lyrics are really a backdrop to the incredible rhythm this song has.
The power of it hits you straight away - make
sure your headphones are turned down!
The ‘electro’ aspect really works with this
style of music, with the electric keyboard
ringing out over the pulsating aforementioned beat. The low bass which Example
sings over builds the tension up, but this is
released nice and quickly and one can continue enjoying the song! You’ll be tapping
along without even realising it! A sure-fire hit
all summer long.
Tom McKenna
Keane ft.
K’NAAN
Stop For A Minute
Island Records
9.
Stop. Wait a minute. When did Keane
start flirting with the alluring beats of hip hop?
And more to the point, when did this relationship give birth to a song such as ‘Stop For A
Minute’? Rapping in a Keane song? Really?
Surprisingly, the result is a rather catchy
track; blending the trademark Keane melancholia with a healthy dose of sunshine from
Somalian MC K’NAAN. ‘Stop For A Minute’
is a tragicomedy of a song, with lyrics as
depressingly emotive such as “Sometimes I
want to shout out till everything goes quiet/
Sometimes I wonder why I was ever born”,
sung over a sunny synth hook.
The chorus is hope-filled, with a singalong quality to it. The football chant-like
riff at the beginning morphs the song into a
sort of modern-day anthem; one that is full
of lament but holding on for happier days.
K’NAAN’s rap flows really well with the overall composition of the song, and without Tom
Chaplin’s vocals overlayed on the top you
could probably mistake it for any other polished hip hop track. All in all, Keane seem
to have outdone themselves by successfully
managing to branch out and form alliances
with genres unlike their own; creating a hybrid genre that could suit a multitude of music tastes.
Kat Bawmwang
THIS IS WHAT’S IN THIS WEEKS ISSUE
LIVE
LOCAL AND LIVE IN SOTON..
Ash
GARDEN COURT
SOUTHAMPTON
MONDAY, APRIL 19
Ash has been getting some bad publicity in recent weeks, what with it causing the
closure of British airspace and leaving many
people stranded around the world. Fortunately Ash, the band, were not stranded and
made it to Southampton University Garden
Court to kick start their tour in support of their
collection of songs they are releasing every
two weeks, and the recent release of A – Z:
Volume 1.
Ash have been off the radar for most people in recent years, but they are back and
with a very strange concept. Ash no longer
produce conventional albums; they are releasing music at a rate of one single every
two weeks to download via a subscription
service. However, luckily for those who still
buy CD’s, that’s me included, a CD with artwork is still available. With this in mind, Ash’s
new material should be very good if they are
prepared to release it all.
After enduring the support act, El Raccoon, I was beginning to doubt the ability of
the acoustics in the Garden Court - it wasn’t
looking promising. Nevertheless, and to
much satisfaction, when Ash came on my
doubts were waved away by the sound. Ash
were also sporting a second guitarist, something they’ve not done since the days of
Charlotte Hatherley, in the shape of Russell
Lissack from Bloc Party.
Ash blasted open their set with an Ash
classic, ‘Projects’, and then played a new
track called ‘Dionysian Urge’, which went
down really well and sounded like the Ash
we know and love. However, the new track,
‘Neon’, set the premise for much of their
newer material and most likely why they
have recruited Russell - he plays the keyboard lines in the songs. With all this, the
song was enjoyable, but with any band if you
don’t know the song it’s hard to get into it.
Ash reeled off some of their bigger hits
including, ‘Goldfinger’, ‘Petrol’ and ‘Shining
Light’ before playing another new song ‘Joy
Kicks Darkness’. This was probably one of
my favourites from the new material showcased and went down well with the crowd.
This was followed by one of my favourite Ash
tracks, ‘Orpheus’, which drew my attention
to drummer Rick McMurray. His drumming
was outstanding, with variety of drum beats
keeping the songs interesting, and playing
with intense ferocity.
Although I wasn’t an expert on Ash’s back
catalogue, I found it quite easy to distinguish
the newer songs such as ‘The Dead Disciples’, ‘True Love 1980’ and ‘Arcadia’, from
the older Ash material including ‘Angel Interceptor’, ‘Walking Barefooot’ and ‘You Can’t
Have it all’. However, what really struck me
was the diversity in the songs, particularly in
the new material. Ash could go from the rather mellow ‘Return of the White Rabbit’, which
they closed their set with, to causing a mosh
pit in the crowd for ‘Girl From Mars’, which,
in my opinion, they should have finished on.
Ash finished to a raucous applause, which
they managed to sustain from the crowd until
the crashed back onto stage with ‘Lose Control’. However, the excitement they had created became flattened by ‘Dare to Dream’,
their latest release. The song was a good
song but perhaps not suitable for an encore,
and neither is ‘Twilight of the Innocents’.
Both songs were trying to be epic with Ash
trying to capture a big soundscape, which
they did achieve, but for an encore it felt a
little out of place. However, they redeemed
themselves with perhaps the ultimate Ash
song, ‘Burn Baby Burn’, which capped off a
great night.
Ash have hopefully returned to form. Their
new material has taken them in a new direction whilst retaining their sound, and fits well
with their older material. Careful set planning
by surrounding the new material with the older, well-know Ash songs gave the new songs
some support. On the other hand, they need
to re-think their encore as it could be much
stronger and didn’t really do them justice. All
in all, it was good to see a band that came
to prominence as I grew up and I would recommend seeing them live, especially if you
were a fan of their earlier albums.
Alex Payne
Good: Range of new
material with classic
crowd pleasers.
Bad: Choice of encore felt a little flat.
7.
John Butler
Trio
LIVE
GUILDHALL
SOUTHAMPTON
MONDAY, APRIL 19
“You’ve been ace!” cries eponymous front
man John to the plethora of adoring fans
crammed into the Southampton Guildhall,
after a set so impressive it’s hard to know
where to begin.
The atmosphere in the room was incredible. Never have I seen a body of people so
engaged with an artist, especially not one
who insists on playing for nearly two and
a half hours with almost no respite. But tonight, John Butler and his trio truly excelled
themselves, capturing the attention and the
groove in every person striving to find space
to dance in.
There is no question that John Butler is a
very talented man. On guitar he was perfect,
emulating the sound on his many records
almost flawlessly, whilst somehow maintaining the magic of a live performance that is
often so hard to come-by. Challenging numbers were tripped over with an ease that only
seasoned players can boast of, with a personal highlight coming in the form of ‘Treat
Yo Mamma’, whilst lengthy crowd pleaser
‘Peaches and Cream’ had an emotive edge
that screamed brilliance. Vocally he was
also stunning, soaring through the octaves
effortlessly with his voice straight from the
gravelly depths of his soul. It truly was a
beauty to listen to.
And considering the Guildhall was packed
beyond belief, the mood of the crowd soared
along with the John Butler Trio from start to
finish, demonstrating not just an impeccable
standard of playing, but an acute sense of
performance. Absent of huge stage decorations, or even a light show to write home
about, JBT relied on performance alone to
engage the crowd. Although not extensive,
their interaction with the crowd provoked a
strong reaction, each person hanging onto
every string bend or half screamed address, culminating in a sing-a-long unlike
anything I have ever seen. Rarely can the
audience carry a song alone, but the crowd
this evening were sensational, singing the
lyrics back to an astounded trio for several
minutes.
The John Butler Trio were astonishing
from start to finish, demonstrating how true
musical geniuses go about executing a live
show, to the extent of which they have irrevocably raised the bar to which I measure
performances. I’m going to need elephants,
lasers, and God himself to take up the guitar
to supersede the performance tonight, and
somehow, it still wont be ‘Better than This’.
Hayley Taulbut
Good: A summery,
sugary set that left
you desperate for
more.
Bad: Very little...
9.
The Best of John Butler..
GRAND NATIONAL
Atlantic Records, 2007
Fourth studio album offers sing and dance-a-long
tracks a-plenty, with ‘Used
to Get High’ and ‘Groovin’
Slowly’ standing out.
THREE
Independant, 2001
Second musical offering
lasting only eight tracks, all
are highlights. Listen out for
‘Media’ and ‘Betterman’
and see if you can spot the
didgeridoo.
LIVE
Shy Child
JOINER’S ARMS
SOUTHAMPTON
FRIDAY, APRIL 23
Despite being relatively inconspicuous on
the music scene, electronic duo Shy Child
have been around for quite a while. At least
ten years on from their debut they’re back
on tour, showcasing their latest album Liquid
Love – a brilliantly mellow yet buzzy synthsaturated masterpiece. I was curious to see
this shift in their sound translate into a live
setting, considering their music had previously been a sort of delirious nu-rave dance
style (listen to third album Noise Won’t Stop).
The last time I had seen them perform was
when they supported Muse in 2007 at Wembley Stadium, where I’d liked their sound but
been really bored by the sameness of the
songs.
With a modest crowd gathering in The
Joiners, Pete Cafarella and Nate Smith aka.
Shy Child strolled casually onstage in t-shirts
and jeans. Launching into the album’s title
number, Pete thumped out booming synth
lines with an almost hypnotic repetition
whilst Nate pounded the drums at almost
double the pace of the album version. Gone
were the gentle falsetto vocals and chilledout ambiance found on the record – instead,
a loud off-pitch wailing from Pete erased all
traces of subtlety and a sense of urgency
was put in its place. I was definitely not expecting such a change, but the sheer energy
and thrill-fuelled drive on that stage was a
damn good alternative.
The pair raced through the set at lightning pace, playing a selection of new and
old songs, including fan favourites such as
‘Drop the Phone’ and the wonderfully catchy
recent single ‘Disconnected’. Pete would occasionally look over at Nate with a gleeful
grin plastered over his face; he was clearly
loving every second. After a couple of songs,
however, the show began to bear a definite
resemblance to the one at Wembley – I wondered if this was actually all they were going
to offer, and hoped in vain for something a bit
more Liquid Love and a bit less Noise Won’t
Stop.
Shy Child closed the set with ‘Criss Cross’
- a 7-minute drawn-out song on the record,
with an almost sinister edge in its electronic
drowsiness, but played live it was a different
story. Halfway through the song, the newlyimposed throbbing pulse of energy suddenly
subsided. Nate stopped playing and lay
down on the stage while Pete seemed oblivious and intently focused on a synth solo,
after about a minute of which Nate stood up
and re-entered the song with a drum crash
that could only be called epic; it was the sort
of moment which can’t help but make you
smile.
Sarah Colson
Editor Suggests...
We Are The Ocean ‘These Days I Have Nothing’
Melodic and stunning
vocals, ‘These Days I Have
Nothing’ is a refreshing
track from the post-hardcore quintet.
The show was intense, but I wasn’t really
convinced. By increasing the pace and energy, the new songs were just made to sound
like the old ones. Yet if their original mellow
edge had been retained it would have provided some variety and a welcome contrast
to their more frenetic side, a side which can
become overwrought and frankly boring
when there is too much of it.
Still. I would definitely recommend that
you give Shy Child a listen if you haven’t
already because they’ve made some great
music, particularly on Liquid Love. Their
live show is lacking, however, because they
smooth over every shred of variety and lump
all their songs – even the very different ones
- into one mood and one sound. And really, if
you make a new album which is distinctly different and progressive you should stay true
to it, right?
Broken Social Scene ‘Texico Bitches’
Suprisingly chirpy for an
act that have been notorious for their look on the
dark side. Nodding to the
current electro scene, this
is pure musical genius.
Take a listen.
Good: Energy...lots
of it.
Bad: Very samey,
and almost no interaction with the
crowd.
6.
Bowling
Bowling For
For LIVE
Soup
Soup (Acousti
(Acoustic)
c)
WEDGEWOOD ROOMS
PORTSMOUTH
TUESDAY, APRIL 25
‘Bowling for Soup’ and ‘acoustic’ are not
two words I would usually have put together.
Secret track at the end of Drunk Enough to
Dance aside, Bowling for Soup hardly seem
to be the act who would be best suited to
a prolonged foray with acoustic music, let
alone a whole set. Yet this is what Jaret
Reddick and Erik Chandler went on a tour
of the UK specifically to do. And somehow
it worked.
Even the support to the tour came in
the form of Texan singer-songwriter Bob
Schneider, who perhaps would never have
been associated with the BFS guys had it
not been for this acoustic tour. At first, Bob
appeared to be just another generic artist
with an acoustic guitar that jarred with my
expected aesthetic of the evening. But as he
settled into his set, it soon became apparent
that Bob is anything but generic or clichéd.
Mixing overnight success ‘40 Dogs (Romeo
and Juliet)’, with tracks that describe Bob’s
secret life as Batman or his girlfriend’s yeast
infection, I realised that this is a man that is
a master of all genre trades. He even managed to grab the attention of the crowd who
couldn’t originally give him the time of day,
and succeed in teaching them the lyrics to
‘Tarantula’, a song that turned into a personal highlight of the whole set.
Yet, despite my endless reservations,
nothing could surpass Bowling for Soup this
evening. With subject matter that reflects
their schoolboy humour, I was convinced that
this set was going to be a disappointment
from so many different standpoints, sound-
ing like a show comprised of songs dragged
kicking and screaming to the acoustic guitar. Yet, opening with ‘Ohio (Come Back
To Texas)’, Bowling for Soup demonstrated
their mastery of the acoustic genre that was
wholly unexpected.
There was nothing at all contrived in their
performance - indeed all tracks sounded like
they were originally written for two men and
a guitar, whilst the harmonies that are often
lost amongst the plethora of sounds that
usually populate their records came through
with clarity. It was also a chance for Bowling for Soup to show their more sensitive
side, with tracks such as ‘Belgium’ and ‘Me
With No You’ sounding absolutely stunning.
It also gave Jaret and Erik a chance to perform solo, with previously unreleased track
‘Guard My Heart’ sung and played by Erik
making a beautiful addition to the set, and
demonstrating vocal talents that go somewhat unnoticed in the usual BFS set-up.
But where they really succeeded is in
subverting the expectations of what it means
to play acoustically. Usual crowd pleasers
‘1985’, ‘My Weena’ and ‘Trucker Hat’ came
across fantastically, whilst the banter you
expect from BFS was not lessened despite
the more subdued nature of their performance. They even spent at least the first 20
minutes of the set discussing each other’s
penises, coming to the amusing conclusion
that they both had ‘inadequate wieners’ in
comparison to Steve from Son of Dork. Their
relationship with the crowd was also second
to none, engaging in a repartee with one
individual that solely involved exchanging
Anchorman quotes with one another. To top
it all off, they even managed to squeeze in
a cover of Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believing’,
bolting it onto the end of ‘Two-Seater’ almost
seamlessly.
Overall, it was a set that surprised me. I’m
not sure I can say I enjoyed it as much as
other BFS shows, but for an acoustic set, I
was deeply impressed and shocked. It was
hilarious, musically brilliant, and a complete
success, but for me, nothing can replace the
madness that ensues when a full BFS outfit
comes to town.
Hayley Taulbut
Good: A set that still
ticket all the boxes,
and contained all the
hits
Good: All the classics with an emoBad: Couldn’t help tional twist.
but miss the usual
BFS banter
Bad: Couldn’t help
but miss the usual
BFS banter.
7. 7.
But Wait! There’s More!
That’s right! You can find even more live reviews and upcoming gig news at; www.wessexscene.co.uk/the-edge
FILM
ALL THE LATEST FILMS..
Jon Favreau
Robert
Downey
Jr,
Gwyneth Paltrow, Don
Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Mickey Rourke
and Sam Rockwell
Released April 29th 2010
Rating: 12 A
Iron Man was a good third of a movie.
Fact. Everything after Tony Stark/Ironman
(Robert Downey Jr.) was captured by a terrorist group in the Middle East and forced to
manufacture his company’s own weapons
for them, but instead created the suit that he
haphazardly used to escape, was devoid of
any of the intrigue the first third had created.
Sat in the bustling cinema screen, 45 minutes in to Iron Man 2, I couldn’t help but have
a feeling of déjà vu.
The initial set-up is interesting. We start in
Russia where Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) is
nursing his father who is dying due to an asyet unrevealed history with Stark Industries.
After his father passes away, Vanko starts
work on creating his own weapon attire to
avenge the death. Action then moves to
Washington as Stark appears in court, encouraged by the Senate to give up his Iron
Man suit because of its potential to cause
more harm than good. Stark playfully debates with the panel, arguing that he has
“successfully privatised world peace”, much
to the disapproval of his long-suffering assistant, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow).
Enter arch-rival weapons manufacturer,
Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), desperate
for Stark’s technology so as he can create
his own. He is followed into court by Lt. Col.
Rhodes (Don Cheadle, replacing Terence
Howard from the first film) who provides his
report on the situation, visibly torn between
Iron Man 2
his friendship with Stark and his duty to his
job.
However, by the time Vanko has taken his
revenge at a Formula 1 race in Monaco, and
Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson
have turned up as members of secret superhero organisation S.H.I.E.L.D., the volume
has been turned up to eleven, multiple story
archs are introduced and the film becomes
convoluted and somewhat messy, detracting
(yet again) from a genuinely engaging, humorously scripted opening segment.
Robert Downey Jr., however, seems less
mumbly than in the first instalment (perhaps
because there is so much else going on) and
is starting to hit his stride in the franchise,
deftly delivering humour and weight to the
character in the first section where Stark is
growing too dependent on the suit, drinking
and partying too much. He begins to teeter
on the verge of self-destruction. Rockwell
also effectively embodies Hammer, a sleazy
locust to the success of Stark, but is in the
end overwhelmed by the requirement for
drawn-out, bamboozling action set pieces,
regardless of the pristine special effects involved in realising them.
Essentially, then, what I want is Iron Man
2 as a courtroom drama. A slow-burning
thinker that thrashes out the moral predicaments raised from owning and using a nuclear-powered suit, which really scrutinises the
character of Tony Stark and gets to the heart
of his addictions. Ang Lee’s Hulk and Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins, to varying
degrees of success, did just that. Somehow
though, I just can’t see any of this happening with the third instalment in the franchise,
which is as inevitable as the setting of the
sun (or a carefully created explosion in an
Iron Man movie).
AdamVaughn
Good: An engaging
and witty opening
third.
Bad: It’s plodding,
meandering, convoluted and (dare I say
it) a bit dull.
5.
Hotjob
opportunities.
Graduate
RecruitmentFair
Tuesday 15 June 2010
11.00–3.30
Garden Court, Building 40
Highfield Campus
Open to all Undergrads and Postgrads
www.soton.ac.uk/careers
This event is kindly supported by Ernst & Young | Employers attending: Abercrombie & Fitch | ACCA | Bloomberg L.P | BUNAC | Deloitte LLP | Dstl | Ernst & Young |
Explore Learning | Graduate-jobs.com | Graduate Jobs South | Graduate Recruitment Bureau | IBM | ICAEW | JP Morgan | Matchtech Group | Money Doctors | National
Grid | NDS Ltd | Pitman Training Southampton | PricewaterhouseCoopers | Royal Air Force | The College of Law | TDA | University of Southampton Research &
Innovation Services | University of Southampton Postgraduate Recruitment Office | VectorCommand
FILM The Master Of
Suspense And
Psycho 50
Years on
Alfred Hitchcock
Anthony Perkins and Vera
Miles
Released August 4th 1960
Rating: X
Its source material was a little known book
by a little known crime writer from Chicago.
It was initially snubbed by the studios with
Paramount reluctant to part with any funds
to finance it, and producers had to fight for it
to get made. Nobody thought it would work.
Yet, 50 years later, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho has become one of the most recognisable and influential films ever made. So how
did it come about? How did the movie that
almost never happened, end up taking the
film world by storm, and keeping things that
way five decades later?
Its story is simple: a woman steals
$40,000 from her boss and lays low in an
isolated motel. It is owned by a disturbing
young man who, after musings on taxidermy
and mental institutions, murders her in the
shower. Her sister and the woman’s boyfriend (with the help of a private detective)
investigate and the killer is arrested. Credits
roll. Sounds straightforward enough? However, where Psycho sets itself apart from
your average ‘thriller next door’ is not so
much down to its subject matter, admittedly
tame by our modern standards, as it is Hitchcock’s virtuoso direction.
‘The Master of Suspense’, before his
death in 1980, had been making films on
both sides of the Atlantic since the twenties,
carving out a reputation as a mastermind behind the camera – his trademark suspense
and black humour bringing him huge success in the Studio System of post-war Hollywood. He was a visionary; a master storyteller, gifted with the ability to create powerful atmosphere: white-knuckle rides with
sinister, sordid characters; flawed heroes
and beautiful icy blondes; complex, perverse
psychologies; real edge-of-your-seat stuff.
Psycho was no exception. Before it even
made it into cinemas there was controversy.
The theatrical poster, which features Janet
Leigh, sultrily poised in her underwear was
scandalous. The opening scene oozes sex
and infidelity at a time when the American
prudishness of the censors had much more
of an authority on the content that could
make it into cinemas. People were shocked
and appalled. The various plot twists and
surprises that lay ahead for Psycho’s audiences were closely guarded. Hitchcock ordered his team to buy up copies of the novel
in bulk to prevent people from reading it and
spoiling the shock ending. Movie theatres
were instructed to refuse entry to any latecomers – tongue-in-cheek posters placed by
the doors read: “The manager has been instructed at the risk of his life, not to admit to
the theatre any persons after the film starts”.
Hitch wanted people to see every second.
And the result? At the first screening,
“sustained screaming” during the infamous
shower-scene (from the audience no-less)
drowned out the noise from the soundtrack.
It took a week to film the 45 seconds of pure,
violent terror that followed, equaling one of
the most famous scenes in history. Yet owing to the suggestive power of Hitchcock’s
montage, we never actually see the knife
make contact with Janet Leigh. Just a lot of
quick cutting, coupled with the 77 different
camera angles and the infamous and everimitated screeching violins of Bernard Herrmann’s score that make this screen classic
what it is. In the UK it was given an adult
X certificate. Yet nonetheless, viewers were
caught unawares by its visceral power, its
very ability to shock and unsettle. In comparison to the blood-splattered ‘torture porn’
of the Noughties, the level of violence isn’t
to the extent that you couldn’t watch it with
your parents on a Sunday afternoon. But you
wouldn’t want to. It is erratic and unpredictable as well as menacing. Even if you think
you know what’s happening, you can’t help
but feel unsafe as you try in vain to anticipate
the next bout of gruesome violence.
Hitchcock’s career may have peaked at
Psycho, but that isn’t to say that his influence
stopped there. Indeed, despite its legendary
status, most critics concede that it was not
his best film. But it was his most important;
the first modern horror film. Without Psycho
there may well not have been a Sixth Sense,
a Reservoir Dogs or the many incarnations
of Saw. From Bonnie and Clyde, to Jaws,
to Scream and everything remotely dark or
terrifying in between in video games, novels
and of course film; his techniques were revolutionary and his ideas continue to influence
a thousand writers and filmmakers to this
day – and cause countless more to feel on
edge as they stay at home alone, or step into
the shower and close the curtain...
NilesDavies
Summer
Blockbusters
Although it’s coming to the end of the
academic year and only a few exams lie
between students around the country and
their freedom for another summer, the movie
world does not stop. And so as I pass the
baton of Film Editor on to Adam Vaughn, I
leave you with a tantalising look at what
great summer blockbusters will be showing
at cinemas all around the country while you
take some well earned time off this summer.
First of all, for the kid inside all of us there
is the absolute must see of the summer Toy
Story 3. That’s right, Woody, Buzz and all the
rest of Andy’s toys are back for another adventure with a whole host of new characters.
In the third instalment of the original Pixar
creation Andy is going away to college and
has to decide what to do with his beloved
toys. This will undoubtedly be the final chapter in the legendary series, and I for one am
hoping that it doesn’t disappoint.
Girls up and down the country will once
again be screaming at cinema screens as
Jacob and Edward go head to head when
the latest of the Twilight series, Eclipse, is
released. The newest film will undoubtedly
shatter box office records once more, and
one of the most successful franchises of all
time will continue to cast its spell over movie
goers.
But boys have no fear; despite this blip
the summer looks set to be aimed at the
guys. With The A-Team and The Expendables shaping up to be two of the most boyish
films ever created, the latter sporting Arnold
Schwarznegger, Bruce Willis and Silvester
Stallone in the same scene. The trailers for
both seem completely outrageous and brilliantly good fun. The only question is…which
one will you choose? Continuing the male
trend of the summer months we will be presented with Robert Rodriguez’s Predators
which seems set to sweep away the shameful memories of the AVP franchise, coming
back to the roots that made the Predator
name great and Arnie a star. Angelina Jolie
steps into the shoes of Evelyn in Salt, an FBI
agent who must prove her innocence when
Calling All Film Buffs!
FILM
accused of being a Russian spy. Prepare for
a very sexy version of the Bourne films. In
completely the opposite direction but still a
film undoubtedly aimed at a male audience
comes The Other Guys. A film that boasts
some excellent action but completely mocks
the entire buddy cop genre, brought to us by
pair of McKay and Ferrell, of Anchorman and
Taledega Nights fame.
Hollywood’s love affair with the comic
book genre is set to continue through June
and July with two offbeat comic based films.
Jonah Hex stars Josh Brolin as a cowboy
out for revenge against John Malkovich, with
Megan Fox providing the eye candy. And as
far away from the wild west as it is possible
to get there comes Michael Cera’s new film,
Scott Pilgrim Vs The World. In this funny
actioner Cera reprises the type of character
that has made him famous as he faces off
against the evil ex-boyfriends of the girl he
wants to date, in fights to the death.
Finally we have what is undoubtedly my
pick of the Summer, and it’s a film for both
the sexes. Inception is the new film from
Christopher Nolan, the director responsible for reinventing the Batman series. It is
a psychological thriller starring Leonardo
Di Caprio as a thief. But as with any Nolan
film, nothing is as it seems and what Di Caprio steals is something far more valuable
than money, he steals ideas. The trailer is
extremely confusing and the entire project
has been shrouded in secrecy, but the story
sounds fascinating and some of the visual
effects we’ve been treated to so far look
stunning. This may prove to be the movie of
the summer, if not the year, and is one film
that should not be missed.
Stephen O’Shea
If you love films as much as we do, you can find even
more film reviews at; www.wessexscene.co.uk/the-edge
Film A Nightmare On
Elm Street
“One, Two, Freddy’s coming for you...”
We heard some creepy children chant these
words in a movie trailer a few months back
and suddenly every diehard horror movie fan
started salivating. Classic movie remakes
have become staggeringly big business over
the past few years and it would seem that
Hollywood heavy-hitter Michael Bay is ready
to cash in yet again. You may remember other horror remakes that Bay has churned out
of his production company Platinum Dunes,
such as Friday the 13th and Halloween. Well
now he’s turned his hand to the Wes Craven classic about the dream-invading trilbysporting burn victim Freddy Krueger.
This time around the nightmare king is
being played by Watchmen star Jackie Earle
Haley, who discards much of the campiness
that made the original Kreuger so entertainingly sinister, and replaces it with a new kind
of dark grittiness that makes him just...well,
sinister. You’d expect this to make the film
Samuel Bayer
Producer: Michael Bay
Released May 7th 2010
Rating: 18
“Bay’s new Nightmare is at least an
entertaining makeover and worth watching.”
scarier, but sadly you’d be mistaken. Seeing
as this film is a remake and not a reboot as
we found with Batman Begins and the like,
a lot of people are bound to compare it to
the 1984 original and how true it stays to
the concept. Luckily, Bay’s remake carries
enough of the original in iconic scare moments, including heroine Kris Fowles (as
portrayed by Katie Cassidy) defying gravity
and her curfew by being dragged upwards
out of her bed and onto the ceiling. Needless
to say the dream sequences, which were always going to be fundamental in making or
breaking the movie, were masterfully done,
being terrifying and beautifully inviting exactly when they needed to be. It has to be said
that this film is arguably impressive as a film
in its own right, and audiences that aren’t too
committed to their 26 year love affair with the
Craven original will doubtlessly enjoy being
scared by Haley’s creepy clawed character.
Even so, this is a remake and a lot of
horror fans are going to be a little bit disappointed when they leave the theatres. This
is partly going to be due to our generation’s
love of flashbacks and back stories to characters in the films we watch, and Nightmare
on Elm Street is no exception. Obviously
some people would be pining for a sneak
peek at what Kreuger used to look like preface melting, but in my opinion the sequence
of seeing him crying and pleading to be left
alone makes him a hell of a lot more difficult to hate. The problem with films like this
one and Bay’s other horror remakes is that
most people want them to be an evolution
from the original movie, but secretly don’t really want anything to be different. Therefore,
in the remaking business where you really
can’t please everyone or recreate a film just
right, Bay’s new Nightmare is at least an entertaining makeover, and worth watching if
you have exams right now and really don’t
want to fall asleep.
Sam Thomas
Good:
make.
A solid re-
Bad: Won’t be to the
liking of those in love
with the original.
7.
Super Street
Fighter IV
Super Street Fighter IV harks back to a bygone era. Capcom’s Street Fighter II was
subject to several minor updates in the form
of new retail games which added various
new characters and game mechanic updates. The first example of this was Super
Street Fighter II. With the prominence of
downloadable content, some may argue that
Capcom’s tactic of releasing Super Street
Fighter IV (essentially a retooled version of
last year’s Street Fighter IV) as a retail game
is an outdated, money-making ploy. Is an
updated version of last year’s best fighting
game worth a purchase?
Attempts have been made to make the
package more appealing, even to those who
already own Street Fighter IV. The game retails for a budget price of £29.99 and those
who have a SFIV save get the added bonus
of two extra character colours. On top of
that, several new stages have been added
as well: the Solar Eclipse level, brimming
with African wildlife, is especially impressive.
The game increases the already impressive playable roster of Street Fighter characters to 35. This includes eight fan favourites
from previous games, as well as two new
characters; Korean Tai-Kwon-Do expert Juri
and Turkish oil wrestler Hakan. These additions to the roster are welcome and add
further diversity to an already varied cast of
GAMES
characters.
This iteration has seen little update to the
core mechanics of the previous game; good
news for those already accustomed to how
Street Fighter IV plays. Additional characters have brought about distinctive new play
styles, whilst older characters have been
tweaked slightly in the interests of balance.
Additionally, all characters now have access
to a second Ultra Combo, which can be selected before a fight.
The area where the game really has
made massive strides forward is in its online
component. The network multiplayer experience has been significantly improved upon
compared to its predecessor. Impressively,
in the matches I have played against those
within the UK, there was little to no lag, which
is always a bonus.
Ranked matches make their return, but
with the twist that fighters gain both Player
Points and Battle Points for victories. This
means that players aren’t punished as much
for attempting to use different characters as
the Battle Points gained with other characters are unaffected after a loss. This tends to
result in a greater variety of characters being
used online. The days of constant streams
of Kens spamming Shoryuken are seemingly over.
The introduction of Team Battles allows
Hadoukens At The Ready, SF Returns
up to 4 vs. 4 fights, with players taking turns
to measure a team’s skills. The new Endless
Battle mode sees up to eight players entering a room and watching two of them battle in
a ‘winner stays on’ scenario. Waiting players
can chat and watch ongoing matches whilst
waiting for their turn to battle, which really
emphasizes Capcom’s attempts to recreate
an authentic arcade experience online.
An interesting addition to the online aspect of the game is the new Replay Channel.
Fighters are now able to browse a large array of replays from around the Street Fighter
community. Players also have the ability to
save replays of online fights to their HDD
and can upload their battles for everyone
online to watch. The inclusion of replays is
a neat touch; watching the replays of others
in action can be a useful resource for those
wanting to gain a better understanding of the
competitive aspects of the game, as well as
just for entertainment purposes.
Online play is a pre-requisite for achieving the full SSFIV experience, but a strong
offline mode is offered as well. Arcade mode
makes its comeback, now with the addition
of Street Fighter II style mini-games, as well
as new animated storyline cinematics for all
characters. Trial mode remains as well, a
useful mode for teaching players moves and
combos for their favourite characters. Versus mode is as strong as ever, good news
for friends who just want to beat the living
crap out of each other for a reasonable price.
Super Street Fighter IV is a must buy for
fighting game aficionados. Sufficient new
content has been added for those who already own a copy of Street Fighter IV to
more than justify a purchase. A much improved online mode with touted free Tournament mode DLC on the way offers a great
experience to casual and competitive Street
Fighter fans alike.
Joe Dart
Good: Significantly
improved
online
mode.
Bad: Minor updates
may not justify the
cost for some.
9.
TUESDAY
The Unthanks @ The
Brook 20.00
TUESDAY
TUESDAY
8
Breathe Carolina @ Joiners
19.30
1
The Candle Thieves @ Joiners
19.30
Tim And Sam’s Tim And Sam
Band @ Hamptons 19.00
25
WEDNESDAY
26
Cracktus Jack @ Joiners
19.30
Vanna @ Talking Heads
20.00
WEDNESDAY
9
2
Start Of The Search Party @
Hamptons 19.00
RX Bandits @ Joiners 19.30
WEDNESDAY
April/May TheGigGuide
MONDAY
24
Chapel Club @ Joiners 19.30
Justin Currie @ The Brook
20.00
MONDAY
31
This Is Atlantica @ Joiners
19.30
MONDAY
7
Reaktors @ Joiners 19.30
THURSDAY
A Wilhelm Scream @
Joiners 19.30
You Had Me At Hello @
Talking Heads 19.30
20
Not Advised @ Hamptons
19.30
THURSDAY
27
Every Avenue @ Joiners
19.30
THURSDAY
3
The Longest Day @ Joiners
19.30
This Time Next Year @ Unit
19.30
FRIDAY
21
SATURDAY
Dreyfus Band @ Joiners
19.30
22
The Program Initiative @ The
Talking Heads 20.00
Subdued @ Joiners 19.30
Timshel @ Talking Heads
19.30
Starman @ Unit 22.00
Underground Heroes @
Joiners 19.30
SATURDAY
Kids Can’t Fly @ Joiners
19.30
5
29
SATURDAY
28
FRIDAY
Faithless @ Guildhall
20.00
Moneytree @ Hamptons
19.00
Die So Fluid @ Joiners 19.30
FRIDAY
4
Le Martells @ Joiners 19.30
SUNDAY
23
The Wonder Years @ Joiners
19.30
SUNDAY
22
30
The Xcerts @ Joiners 19.30
Nina Nastasia @ Talking
Heads 19.30
SUNDAY
6