Do you take Plastic? – Gorillaz play Glastonbury

I’ve always had great sympathy for people with back ache or back problems, I mean I’ve had them myself.  It ain’t big and it ain’t clever, BUT for once I am thankful to the the great rock Gods in the skies, who have decided to temporarily (hopefully), in Bono’s case ,to cause him to suffer the pains and arrows of outrageous backache, in order to give us the Gorillaz to headline Glastonbury on Friday night 2010.  

Bono gets a twinge

It’s not that I don’t appreciate and to some extent enjoy U2’s music and performance.  I’ve been to see them live and they were excellent, perhaps the best live act I’ve seen in the stadium rock genre,(although the Rolling Stones may have pipped them to the post). It’s just that I’m getting a bit sick of them.  

I know this statement will cause consternation amongst die hard U2 fans but I think I have a good case.  Their last album was certainly a disappointment, (with certainly the most boring front cover in the history of rock, see above). The music revealed a proficient rock group who had started to run out of ideas.  The hype surrounding ‘No Line in the Horizon,’ and the excessive and unnecessary publicity the album created was nauseous to say the least.  I think the public started to detect a self satisfied smugness from the group, and certainly Bono, that has begun to cause us to turn on them.  Nobody likes a big head. 

I was recently listening to The Word podcast on itunes and the same attitude enschewed.  No one wished Bono any harm but the overwhelming feeling from the rock press as a whole was that Bono has begun to nauseate people with his advice giving to less successful bands and that the Rock gods have intervened.www.wordmagazine.co.uk/podcast

Mark Ellen and David Hepworth put the Rock world to rights on The Word Podcast

And so we discover who have replaced the Irish supergroup, the wonderful and eclectic Gorillaz, who are a perfect replacement for Glastonbury and it’s 40th anniversary celebrations.  Check out this brilliant youtube clip which is promoting the Gorillaz’s recent O2 gig in London. 

Apparently Damon Albarn offered the Gorillaz’s services after he had heard the news about Bono.  It is no secret that he found Blur’s headlining experience a thoroughly enjoyable experience and all I can say is thank you Damon for volunteering.  I like the idea of the Gorillaz.  They are something new.  Not only is their music highly enjoyable and listenable but they also are an extremely clever invention, which allows Albarn to play at being in a rock band, without the hassle but with all the extras attached. 

Gorillaz are perfect for Glastonbury with their host of guest stars to call on.  Paul Simonon, Mick Jones, Shaun Ryder, Mos Def, Bobby Womack, Mark E Smith etc., etc., with maybe an appearance of Lou Reed.  I also like the idea of the cartoon group with Jamie Hewlettt’s clever take on a modern rock band based on the excesses of the Rolling Stones with Murdoc, 2D, Noodles and Russell.  It is an inspired concept and the inventiveness of the multilayered music also helps. Gorillaz, Demon Days, Plastic Beach all albums that deliver in different ways.

As mentioned I don’t wish Bono or U2 any ill.  Bono is a great reinventor of himself and maybe some of the critcism from this will allow the group to take stock and grow.  However, I am really looking forward to Gorillaz performance at Glastonbury.  If all goes well I think it will be a memorable night.

A Day in the Life – On this day…..

May 27^th 1966 – Lennon meets Dylan

On this day 1966 John Lennon filmed a sequence in the back of a limousine with Bob Dylan as part of Dylan’s largely unseen “Eat the Document,” documentary chronicling Dylan’s latest European concert tour which he had hired D.A. Pennebraker (who had directed Dylan’s groundbreaking documentary, ‘Don’t Look Back’, in 1965).

As you can see Dylan and John Lennon were filmed riding in the back of a chauffeured limousine, driving in to central London-to the Mayfair Hotel in Stratton Street- from John’s house in Weybridge Surrey. Unscripted and with no direction the piece was long, incomprehensible and somewhat self indulgent, probably because of Dylan being obviously high and both Lennon and Dylan unwilling to let the cool shutters down. 

Lennon is obviously less high than Dylan and seems to be tolerating Dylan.  Dylan announces that he felt ill and needed to puke.  There is little wonder the sequence was cut down in the original film and Pennebaker’s documentary only had a week screening at a small New York cinema in 1969. In the finished film the long sequence is thought to have been edited down to 2 or 3 minutes.

Whilst this is hardly an auspicious meeting of the two men.  It is still a document of two of the most influential artists of the sixties.  Lennon had obviously been influenced by Dylan with songs such as, “You’ve Got to Hide your Love Away,” and, “Help,” whereas Dylan was undoubtedly influenced by The Beatles and his move away from folk to his ‘electric period’.

Tate Modern, London

Tate Modern is now 10 years old and after having been to the gallery a number of times I am beginning to understand and like it.Perhaps the best way I can express it is that it is like Turkey stuffing at Christmas in the fact that it is something I am beginning to appreciate the more I try it,(bizarre simile I know but I could not think of anything  better).

My relationship with the gallery surrounds it’s structure, in the fact that it has always been a little unclear to me, and I thought that it was based on some artistic metaphor which only the few were allowed to understand and enter. A little like a very exclusive art movement that was letting you observe what they did but didn’t want to tell you all the secrets. However, after closer inspection there is a really clever sense of structure which really fits into the whole of the gallery, the structure of the building and what the collections are trying to achieve.

The first thing that definetely hits you is the sheer vasteness of the Turbine Hall, the space is overwhelming and something Tate Modern’s curators have used to startling effect with such installations as Olaffur Eliason’s,’The Weather Project,’ or Anish Kapoor’s, ‘Marsyas’.  The effect allowing visitors to appreciate modern art on a huge scale.

As a nation it has taken us some time to come to grips with modern art and this also reflects in the Tate’s attitude to buying modern art during the 20th century.  As such when the Tate Modern opened it had gaps in the collection that other countries such as France did not have.  Tate Modern has therefore developed a much more transient approach to it’s modern collection as it acquires and moves its pieces according to the themes it decides to show.  This in itself is a very modern approach to showing art and has moved away from the traditional chronological approach that most gallerys adopt.

The main themes of the gallery therefore look like this,

Level 3 – Material Gestures

This focuses on abstraction, expressionism and abstract expressionism featuring work by Claude Monet, Anish Kapoor, Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko, Henri Matisse and Tacita Dean.

Level 3 – Poetry and Dream

The displays in this wing are devoted to surrealism and works exploring themes and techniques closely associated with the surrealists. 

Level 5 – Energy and Process

This focuses on Arte Povera with work by artists such as Alighiero Boetti, Jannis Kounellis, Kasimir Malevich, Ana , Mario Merz and Jenny Holzer.

Level 5 – States of Flux

This focuses on Cubism, Futurism, Vorticism and Pop Art. containing work by artists such as  Pablo Picasso, Roy Lichenstein, Andy Warhol, and photographer Eugene Atget.

The success of Tate Modern is a simple process of seeing how many people have gone through the doors over the 10 year period and the visitor numbers of 5 million a year have shown Tate Modern to be the most popular modern art gallery in the world.  There is a real sense that the British have finally got the whole process of modern art and like most things we have had to catch up on, like cookery for instance, we are now competing at the top of the world. 

Twenty or even ten years ago we were a nation who scorned modernity.  I admit to this myself and still sometimes adopt Tom Stoppard’s observation,

“Skill without imagination is craftmanship and gives us many useful objects such as wickerwork picnic baskets. Imagination without skill gives us modern art.”

However, having said this, Charles Saatchi, the YBA’s (Young British Artists movement) and Tate Modern has brought the nation kicking and screaming into the twenty first century and we are a nation who can now embrace modern art into our pysche and culture.

Happy Birthday Tate Modern.

Enron, Noel Coward Theatre, London

Whilst in London I had a number of choices of plays that I could see, the one that polarised my decision making was Enron.  Enron has been deemed as a huge success and keeps cropping up in various newspapers and magazines as the play to see, with lofty banner headings such as,

“Funny, inventive, exhilarating, entertaining. Not to be missed.” (The Times)

“It’s the gold standard show – that everyone wants to buy into.” (Time Out)

“This perfect gem is right on the money.” (The Observer)

“This will send the west end’s stock rocketing high.” (The Evening Standard)

So, on the face of it a must see event which has excellent reviews.  However, there were a couple of things which I was unhappy with.  The first was the subject matter.  In the current recession ravaged environment did I really want to see a play about the rise and spectacular fall of an American organisation in the 1990’s? My second misgiving was that I had mistakenly thought that the production was primarily a musical and therefore did I want to see a musical about the rise and spectacular fall etc., etc. However, the reviews and the feedback I had got from various sources persuaded me, if not a little reluctantly, to try it. 

Having made my decision and having seen the play, the hype, for once really did live up to its promise.  Lucy Prebble’s writing with the combination of Rupert Goold’s expert direction make this play an era defining experience.  The stagecraft of the production uses dance, music, technology and an ensemble of gifted performers to create the mood and atmosphere of the corporate disaster that was Enron.  The story of Enron is also a microcosmic glimpse into the unregulated running of a company, controlled by greed, which ultimately had a catastrophic effect on thousands of people’s lives. 

The play shows how the Texan energy giant, Enron, moved from a gold standard top 50 company to a bankrupt disaster with debts of $38bn. Chief instigator is Jeffrey Skilling: a charasmatic, ambitious and ultimately disillusioned leader who boldly announces,

 “We’re not just an energy company, we’re a powerhouse for ideas”.

His basic idea is to trade in energy as well as supply it. But, as his dreams expand to include video, internet and even the weather, the gap between stockmarket perception and reality grows ever greater. As profits fail to materialise, Skilling turns to his sidekick, Andy Fastow, to create shadow companies to conceal mounting debts. Once the market loses confidence, Skilling’s schemes are revealed for what they are: a fraudulent fantasy. Twenty one thousand staff in Huston, Texas were given $4,500 severance pay and 30 minutes to clear their desks after Kenneth Lay, the chairman, Skilling, the chief exec and other execs had urged Enron staff to invest their pensions in the stock of the company.  This house of cards was bound to fall and fall it did, dramatically.

The subject matter could therefore be deemed as a little dry but Prebble and Goold provide a combination of clever writing and expert direction to capture the universal themes of greed, avarice, vanity and incompetence. The shows energy and movement is a combination of excellent use of dance and stagecraft which contributes to the feeling of frenetic activity which is evident before the spectacular fall. 

There are a number of clever touches which includes the dubious contributios of the Lehman Brothers and Arthur Andersen accountants who ultimately became victims as a result of their associations.  Apart from a few questionable southern American accents the acting is superb with a particular mention to Samuel West as Skilling, Tim Piggot-Smith as Kenneth Lay, Tom Goodman-Hill as Andy Farlow and Amanda Drew as Claudia Rose.

I cannot really give the play justice, all I can say is it was not a traditional musical, but music and dance were included in the play, it was not boring, it was invigorating and thought provoking and ultimately left me wiser and more informed about the corporate world and man’s potential for greed.  Certainly not a con and well worth the time and money spent.

A Day in the Life – On this day……

For all you Beatles fans out there I will be starting a new feature called ‘A Day in the Life – On this day…’ , which will look at what The Beatles were doing during their career together, on that particular day.  So if say for instance the day I post the blog is the 12th May the selection may come from the 12th of May from any period from 1957-1970. 

So for instance on this day 12th may 1967, The Beatles were at Studio 2, EMI studios, Abbey Road recording ‘All Together Now,’ for the ‘Yellow Submarine,’ soundtrack. Depending on what they were doing I may even give a synopsis of the song they were recording or a gig they were playing etc. 

Again please feel free to contribute I know there are some crazy Beatles fans out there. I may be a Beatle geek but I know there are some who are even worse.  I have no problems with a bit of correction.  Ooooooh Matron!

The Habit of Art, Lyttleton, The National Theatre

Michael Billington’s review of ‘The Habit of Art,’ gives us a great insight into this new work by Alan Bennett.  As he says, the play does not have the ‘universal resonance,’ of ‘The History Boys,’ but for a play within a play based on the dotage of WH Auden and Benjamin Britten and their artistic challenges at this late stage in life, it is doused with the wit and humanity of Bennett and has become an unlikely smash hit at the Lyttleton at the National theatre. 

Here is a short preview of the play for NT Live on youtube where they have put a series of plays on youtube live.  The Habit of Art has already been on the site but it gives you a feel for the play.

Leo Benedictus’ piece in the Guardian also mentions the unlikely success of the subject matter,

‘I’m no Cameron Mackintosh, but a blockbuster play about rehearsals for a play about the old age of Benjamin Britten and WH Auden? It doesn’t quite ring up pound signs across my eyeballs.’

Smash hit however it is and this is down to the cleverness of Bennett’s writing, showing the frailties of the artist in later life, the curmudgeonly baseness of Auden and the fragile ego of Britten mixed with the petty goings on of the actors who play the parts in rehearsal.

Richard Griffiths although not physically resembling Auden brings his superb comic timing to the play; Alex Jennings plays the anal and prissy Britten excellently with superb performances by Frances De La Tour and Adrian Scarborough as the world weary stage manager and the pained writer.

Interestingly, the part of Auden/Fitz was to be played by Michael Gambon who probably resembles Auden closer. Due to ill health he pulled out.  It would have been interesting to see what Gambon brought to the play. However, Griffiths’ still pulls the part off superbly giving his slant on the actor in rehearsal and the poet in old age.

As expected from a Bennett play it is full of wit and cleverness and well worth a visit.  The only criticism I would have is that it ended with a whimper rather than a bang.  I think the ending where the stage manager turns off the lights at the end of the rehearsal lacked a crescendo and a natural arc, which probably points out that we were most interested in the play within the play rather than being able to fully identify with the rehearsals and the actors within it.  A tricky one to pull off, but overall the production works well. 

Please read Michael Billington and Leo Benedictus’ reviews in The Guardian as mentioned above.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2009/nov/18/alan-bennett-the-habit-of-art

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2009/nov/18/alan-bennett-habit-of-art-reviews

The National Gallery – London

The National Gallery of Great Britain is of course located in Trafalgar Square in the heart of the capital.  It is such an institution and national treasure that I guess most people who have travelled down to London will have been into the gallery and seen the collections at some time or other.  This blog is therefore not going to be an explanation of the gallery and what it is but more of a personal and emotional response to some of the paintings and the experience I had when viewing the gallery. 

When I arrived at the gallery I went to the information desk and discovered I had a number of viewing options.  I was given a floor plan (see below), and within the plan was again a number of choices of how to view the gallery.  The gallery have provided a quick tour looking at some of the more famous paintings and then a more robust tour, where you have the option to have an audio guide round the gallery.  I chose the latter, as I wanted to spend some time in the gallery taking in what it had to offer. 

As you can see from the floor plan the gallery has a colour coded option and a numbered option which is a chronological journey through the history of art from the 13^th to the 20^th Century.  I decided to follow this route using the plan as an aid memoir and particularly focusing on the prized collections in the gallery.  My main focus was the Leonardo Da Vinci work known as the ‘Burlington House cartoon’ which depicts the Virgin, St Anne and child blessing John the Baptist.  I was particularly interested in this piece after I had been to the ‘Da Vinci Genius’ exhibition at the MOSI in Manchester (see archive). 

As it turned out the whole experience was a joy seeing masterpiece after masterpiece and to be honest with you at the end of the experience I was utterly exhilarated at the treasures that the gallery has to offer. As an art lover this was comparable to a child being let loose in a sweet shop.  Room after room of the finest pieces of art the world has to offer.  I could virtually spend the rest of this year writing in detail about some of the paintings that are on show.  The historical, technical and biographical detail that is in this gallery is infinite and books could and have been written about individual paintings alone.

My personal highlights were Boticelli’s, ‘Venus and Mars,’ Bellini’s, ‘The Doge Leonardo Loredan,’ Leonardo’s cartoon, Michelangelo’s, ‘The Entombment,’ Titian’s, ‘A Man with a Quilted Sleeve,’ Rembrandt’s self portrait, Constable’s, ‘The Haywain,’ Turner’s, ‘The Fighting Temeraire,’ Stubbs’, ’Whistlejack,’ Renoir’s, ‘The Umbrella’s’ and  Van Gogh’s chair. 

At the end of the visit I have to say I was truly exhilarated. The intellectual and historical journey through the gallery is challenging in itself, seeing how art has gradually evolved throughout the centuries and how that links in with the history of the time, however, for me the emotional experience was the thing that most stood out.  The paintings were hung so everyone could get close and get a palpable feel of how they were painted.  To be close to the swirling paints of Van Gogh, or the sublime drawing of Da Vinci, to the skill of Titian or the beauty of Renoir is the closest I am ever going to get to the minds and hearts of these great artists. 

If you have never been to the National Gallery check out the website, plan well and give a good amount of time to it as this is truly one of our national treasures.

http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/

Twenty Five Years of Misery – Les Miserables, Queens Theatre, London

Yes its twenty five years since the musical ‘Les Miserables,’ (probably better known as ‘Les Mis’), was opened and performed for the first time under the successful directorial partnership of John Caird and Trevor Nunn and under the capable production of Cameron Mackintosh.

All I can say is, both the music and the production, have lasted the test of time.  The formula is set, the design and staging the same and the characters as strong and as compelling as they have ever been.  The theatre is still packed out and the story is still as moving as before.  In fact second time around it was even more a joy as these songs and the story have become a musical theatre institution.

The message of poverty, hopelessness and despair juxtaposed with the message of grace and forgiveness is as alive as the original writer Victor Hugo intended it.

The skilled interpreters Alain Boubil and Claude- Michel Schonberg aided by the lyrics of Herbert Krezmer have created a classic within a classic.  The inspired collaboration of Mackintosh, Nunn and Caird, have provided a show that is a rare commodity, the mixture of populism with a universal appeal. 

I don’t even like musicals, but this is something more.

The Comedy of Errors, William Shakespeare, Manchester Royal Exchange.

In preparing for this review I thought I’d read former reviews from the broadsheets and have been left agog.  Here are a couple of links to the Independent’s review and Times On line review of The Comedy of Errors at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. 

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/the-comedy-of-errors-royal-exchange-theatre–manchester-1938507.html

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/stage/theatre/article7090636.ece

In her review dated the 8th of April Lynne Walker from The Independent states,

”The problem lies more in the fact that, in trying to reflect the multi-cultural society of the Turkish trading port, Silbert has assembled a multi-national company in which a melting pot of accents makes it difficult to pick up enough words.”

I’m sorry Lynne but the words ‘ear’ and ‘trumpet’ come to mind either that or a good de waxing.  She also goes on to state,

”Even in the hands of the experienced Fred Ridgeway as Egeon, it’s not always easy to follow the solemn tale of his sad quest. The words of those in several smaller roles, all deftly acted, are even harder to decipher. Bold though Silbert has been in her concept and casting, the focus surely has to be on the coherency and lucidity of the language.”

I can but disagree to me the actors were quite proficient in speaking the iambic pentameter and the only diverse cultural background I could see were perhaps a Turkish actor, a black British actress, an Asian British actor, a Welsh actor who plays one of the twins and an Irish actress.  Surely this is just a cross section of the Britain we live in today.  As far as I could hear there were no problems with their delivery of speech as most of the actors, although being from a diverse background, were as far as I could hear from a British upbringing.  Lynne I’m sorry you should be ashamed of yourself. 

Jeremy Kington’s review for Times Online is also a little hard to comprehend and seems to dwell more on the merits of the play and it’s lack of characterisation than the actual production itself.  Two words, Lazy journalism.

In my opinion the play was cleverly imagined with an intelligent cutting of the text to a healthy one and a half hours.  Roxanna Silbert’s production presented us with a bare, white stage in a freshly minimalist presentation.  The stage, in a simple round design subtley rose to a crescendo towards the end of the performance. 

The play did have a multi cultural feel probably precipitated from the diverse cultures within the cast.  For me this only added to the play and concentrated our minds to the cosmopolitan port the play was set in.  The music also gave us a subtle feel of diversity with its Moroccan/ Turkish undertones.

 The highlight of the play was the twins work.  Especially the Dromio twins played by Owain Arthur and Michael Jibson who played the slap stick and confused twins so well.  I have to say Owain Arthur particularly stuck out for me, an actor to watch for the future. 

 In my opinion the play deserved a four out of five with a couple of minor quibbles disallowing a five. The comedy was good, the production was well conceived and the only bad delivery I could fathom were the reviews from The Independent and Times Online, which shows you can’t believe all you read in the papers.

Walls Are Talking: Wallpaper, Art and Culture – Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester

Having never been to the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester I have to admit  I did not know what to expect.  Visiting a museum and art gallery in your own city can be  an eye opener as it is something you never quite get around to.  I have quite often spoken to people who live in London and the same applies, after questioning them on what plays or music they might have seen in the capital they look at me a little esconce as they have simply not had the time or life has got in the way.  I was therefore determined during my break to put some time into looking at some of the art at the Whitworth Art Gallery and to get a feel for the gallery in my own city. 

The gallery itself is a superb example of old Manchester with its red brick outside and its strong vision which is explained very eloquently in the gallerys website.

”The Whitworth was created to inspire the region’s textile industry, give pleasure to Manchester citizens and to instruct students and artists about the visual arts.  As a university art gallery, with research collections as well as a year round programme of public activities, we still do all these things.  We look after historic and contemporary collections, with a little over 50,000 objects; our collections of works on paper, wallpapers and flat textiles are amongst the finest outside London.”

It is therefore not a traditional gallery which takes you on a chronological journey of  art throughout the ages.It has a much more themed approach and is linked strongly to the vision as explained above.

The current main exhibition within the gallery is  ”Walls are talking: Wallpaper, Art and culture,”  is the first major exhibition of artists’ wallpapers with work by over 30 artists including Andy Warhol, Sarah Lucas and Damien Hirst. This is a truly fascinating insight into how wallpaper can be used as a bona fide work of art and covers such diverse subjects as warfare, racism, cultural conflicts and gender. 

As the gallery website states.

” Wallpaper has long been thought of as a backdrop to the main event. With so many prominent designers and artists using the medium as their primary method of expression, this exhibition provides a timely exploration of the possibilities and power of print.”

From the outset you get to see the famous Andy Warhol cow wallpaper and you are then taken on a journey through a vast array of wallpapers with their subtle and startling themes.  Thomas Demand’s Ivy wallapaper dedicated to imprisoning beauty which is on the entire south gallery walls, Sonya Demon’s Clapping wallpaper with its black and white images giving you a feeling of claustrophobia and menace.  Some of the wallpapers had bold statements such as Bashir Makhoudi’s bullet ridden walls commenting on the war in Afghanistan.  Catherine Bertola’s work is stunningly intricate and beautiful concentrating on aesthetic conditions of a domestic interior. 

Simply put this exhibition is a bold and stunning statement and covers a wide range of topics.  The fact that it is not a traditional chronological gallery, which of course has its place, makes the journey concentrated and opens you up to the potential of what wallpaper can contribute as an artistic device.  I would suggest this will become an increasingly important art form as you can see the possibilities of the repeated statement as a backdrop to every day life. 

The exhibition runs until August 30th 2010 at the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester