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On screen and stage

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I stayed up on Sunday night to watch the Oscars, it was on ordinary telly for the first time in the UK and I had a good feeling. And yay, Emma Stone picked up Best Leading Actress, totally deserved! I went to Poor Things for a third time earlier in the evening (as I’ve previously mentioned I would), there was a reasonable size audience for it, good to see (apart from the person who was eating out of a very noisy packet). I’m sure Stone will have a long, successful career but I reckon Bella Baxter will be one of her top performances. Oppenheimer picked up the most Oscars but Poor Things did also get the awards for Make-up & Hair Styling, Production Design and Costume Design, again all three richly deserved.

Oo, I went to see Wicked Little Letters a few evenings ago, what fun!! Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley are both on excellent form, well, the whole cast are a delight. The film is based on a true story that happened in a little English seaside town in the 1920s, but be warned, some of the language is very fruity, okay, there’s long strings of swearing and obscenities like you’ve never heard! Best leave that person behind again, maybe the next film will be nicer and proper. Wicked Little Letters is hilariously funny but there are dark sides around the events too, I thought the balance was played really well.

On the small screen I’ve just watched the final two episodes of Our Flag Means Death, man, that was brilliant telly! Just so many great elements to it, so of course it’s been cancelled, no series three, boo. Mind, this way it remains a beautiful gem, no overstaying and sinking into the mediocrity of weaker stories (though with Taika Waititi at the helm that could have taken quite a while).

In other news, the first batch of tickets for this year’s Edinburgh fringe are on sale, not that I’ve bothered to look, all in good time. What I have had a ganders at was the line-up at the Leicester Comedy Festival in February; good to see plenty of WIPs (Work In Progress), hopefully they’ll be all polished and sparkly by August. Grubby Little Mitts have yet another new show, yay, Luke Rollason too, two for my definites pile, well I assume they’ll be coming to Edinburgh. Very exciting, I see that John Robertson was trying out a new show, I really hope that makes it up here.

I also had a peek at who’s been at the Adelaide Fringe Festival. Eric’s Tales of the Sea – A Submariner’s Yarn is still doing the rounds! I wonder if it’s still the same as when I saw it many years ago or has he tweaked it over time? Manbo and Yippee Ki Yay, two great shows paying homage to two classic 80s movies, popped over. The fabulous Aidan Sadler has been having a whale of a time out there, first time in Australia, first time in drag – I follow them on Instagram, very entertaining stories!

Starting this week and going on until the end of March is the Glasgow International Comedy Festival. I haven’t looked to see what’s on, hopefully plenty of shows being nicely honed for Edinburgh in August. Oh, I do know of one, Napoleon’s 100 Days on for two shows Monday 18th and Tuesday 19th, by the same chap who totally captivated me with the marvellous tale of Mark Twain’s The Stolen White Elephant last year. I’ll be away otherwise I may well have popped across, but hey, it’s going to be at the Edinburgh Fringe, I shall definitely see it then.

Well, my friend, its now very late, so I’ll bid you good night and sweet dreams.

Did I say tomorrow?

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I never did get round to writing more about Poor Things as I said would, oh, three plus weeks ago?! Life, huh. Since then Emma Stone has won Best Leading Actress at the BAFTAs, and quite rightly, her performance as Bella Baxter is possibly the best work she’ll ever do, I totally bought into the premise of Bella. Like I’ve said previously, Poor Things is an adult fairytale, it’s not some harrowing real-life scenario, apparently some folk were real hung up on parts, hmmm, I don’t think they got it!

Bella Baxter sees life with all the glee, curiosity, simplicity of a child; there’s also the petulance and innocent self-centeredness of a child yet to discover the wider world. She’s uninhibited and unaffected by societal norms, and so doesn’t react to situations as those around her would expect; the two villains in the tale are completely undone by Bella’s simplistic pragmatic ways. Yes, there’s lots of sex, or “furious jumping” as she calls it, but as Kenny Everett would say, it’s all done in the best possible taste!

Poor Things also won BAFTAs for Make-up & Hair, Costume Design, Production Design and Special Visual Effects, which doesn’t surprise me in the least; PT is stunning in all visual aspects. Two more things, Mark Ruffalo is tremendous as Duncan Wedderburn, cad and bounder, played to the max; and I found that occasionally Bella’s turn of phrase reminded me of Amy Farrah Fowler when she first turned up in The Big Bang Theory, anyone else get that?

If Cineworld puts on all the Best Film Oscar Nominations this year I would go back and see it again, hell yeah. Would I go see Oppenheimer again? No, I did enjoy it but once was enough. Oh, I saw American Fiction last weekend, picked from just a quick glance at the blurb; good call, I thoroughly enjoyed it! Turns out it’s up for a few Oscars and won Best Adapted Screenplay at the BAFTAs.

Tonight it’s time for something completely different – in honour of it’s 48½ anniversary Monty Python and the Holy Grail is showing on the big screen. Of course I’m going! And from the ridiculous to the sublime, tomorrow evening sees Babyface and the Beltin’ Boys back at Stramash, yay!

Promise my next post will be sooner than this was! Toodle pip!

An unlikely double bill

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January hasn’t been a month for doing much, certainly not outside anyway, lucky for me there’s been things to see in the cinema. Mind, I let a few go by, awkward times or appalling weather to battle through; just two shone through as seriously worth seeing – and how, I went and saw both a second time! Just as Barbie and Oppenheimer made an unlikely double act so too do these two, Wonka and Poor Things!

Just sticking this here, just because

Okay so Wonka is PG and Poor Things is 18 but they’re both fantastical fairy tales, just one has more adult themes (probably not for a prudish relative nevermind the children!). Both have glorious cinematography, stunningly sumptuous sets; and the hair, make-up and costumes were pretty damn fine too! The music in each is so perfect to the stories, Poor Things has been nominated for the Best Original Score Oscar, along with about ten other nominations.

The music in Wonka is so so wonderful 💛 Yes, it gets a golden heart from me. Really, I cannot believe that A World Of Your Own hasn’t been nominated for Best Song Oscar, it’s so utterly charming and joyous, with a touch of bittersweet. All the songs are deliciously sharp-witted but when you have Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy writing them, well, it’s to be expected (he’s also responsible for that Eurosong entry My Lovely Horse on Father Ted).

I have little, well, no love for Tim Burton’s film in 2005, it was all so wrong; but hearing this film was being made by Paul King (who made the Paddington films) as a prequel to the original 1971, oh yay, definitely promising news. Oh, my heartses, when the film opened with those familiar notes! A very charming bow to the original, and an orange and green Oompa-Loompa singing his Oompa-Loompa ditties too!

The whole cast are brilliant, the big musical numbers, just jaw-droppingly wow. Timothée Chalamet is perfect as a young Willie Wonka who’s sweet, quirky and a tad naive; an irrepressible optimist who’s come to town to open his dream chocolate shop….. Mean, unscrupulous baddies at every turn, but Willie’s winning smile makes friends and sells chocolates. As the story unfolds he becomes smarter and wiser but never loses his childlike sense of joy, it was like the mix of these created who he became; I fancied his eyes sparkled a little brighter (and wilder!?) and his tone had a more confident edgy smile in it by the end of the film. I reckon Gene Wilder would have approved!

Okay, I seemed to have prattled on somewhat about Wonka, oops. I’ll leave saying more about Poor Things until tomorrow. I’ll leave you with few pics from the Innocent Railway Tunnel today, the graffiti gallery has all been refreshed, so…..

Toodle pip!

So, any highlights in 2023?

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January 2024, Edinburgh is a tad cold; not that it’s stopped my walks in Holyrood Park, if anything it’s spurred me on! Early mornings up on Nethers Hill in minus degrees temperatures, biting winds. Not quite early enough to see the sunrise but hopefully I’ll make it one of these mornings, that is, if the weather stays clear, hmmm. Early mornings aren’t really my forte any more, Wednesday morning was a real challenge as I wasn’t abed until nearly three. Yes, it was a Scat Rats Late at Binkies Tuesday (generally fortnightly), I needed my fix and the interweb is only showing one more Rats outing for January (another Whistlebinkies but, well, have they actually mentioned it to the lads?!)

I just couldn’t resist a little dig there – some calendars are more reliable than others. Having said that, looking back over 2023, I saw The Scat Rats nineteen times in Whistlebinkies so I can’t really complain (twelve times in Stramash). I’ve been contemplating my highlights of 2023, funny how it starts with, errrrm, what did I get up to? to, ooo that, and, aw that was great! Let’s face it, seeing Marah & Rough on stage is always a highlight for me – a shot of their sound, bliss. I still say a live recording would be awesome!!

The fine weather in April 2023 saw a particular highlight of my year performing in the sunshine on Waverley Bridge – Ol’Times an awesome rock band from Galway. With a sound very reminiscent of 70s rock and a wiry, charismatic frontman, these guys were an absolute blast! They played to a packed out Whistlebinkies twice, I even went through to Glasgow to see them too! August saw them back again briefly, back on Waverley Bridge, back in Binkies, and in Stramash too. Hmmm, so when the summer comes, will the boys be back in town again?!

Another highlight in April was the three days of glorious weather for my road trip up to Melvaig on the West Coast. The scenery was stunning and with great tunes on the stereo, so good! It was just a shame the weather took a turn while I was at Melvaig, the drive back down was as quick as I could make it.

Checking back, I saw 36 films in 2023, erm, two of the titles I have absolutely no recall of, yup, that memorable. Top two film highlights are definitely Renfield and Barbie. Is it just that I only saw Spirited last month or it might possibly class as a highlight? It was highly entertaining – ask me about it in June.

So what about Fringe 23 highlights four months down the line? Grubby Little Mitts splashing about in little paddling pools comes immediately to mind!! Finally entering The Dark Room presided over by the magnificent and shouty John Robertson. Two brilliant impeccable performances by the Voloz Collective in one day. Seeing Aidan Goatley do 10 Films With My Dad again (one of my all-time favourite Fringe shows). More memories are popping up as I think back, but I’ll stop with those that came to mind first or I’ll end up recounting half my Fringe!

Of course, the biggest highlight my year was getting my mitts on my favourite band’s debut album, that’s Heart-Shaped Jacuzzi by Logan’s Close, in case you weren’t aware. Oh, and all the various videos, top spot to Babestation, stylish and retro, hilarious with slapstick violence, big moustaches, green screen guy, there’s a lot to love in there! LC ended 2023 with a sell-out show at the Liquid Room, an epic way to end the year!

No more highlights spring to mind, adieu to 2023, good night to you, and may your god smile upon you in 2024 💛

Goodbye ’23, Hello ’24

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When I woke up on the 1st it was raining, oh I was so tempted to go back to sleep but no, and sure enough by the time I was ready to head out the rain had stopped. The proof of the pudding is in the picture….

Yes, that is a traffic cone on top of the trig point!

Yay, my New Year tradition completed again, no thanks to the high winds – I was lucky not to get blown over to Fife! My concerted effort to be up there relatively early (about 10am) paid off, the hordes had not yet ascended, probably still their beds. After the annual pic, I found a slightly sheltered spot in the rocks for my brunch (chicken sandwich and christmas cake washed down with whisky), just taking time to admire the view and exchange new year greetings with passers-by.

I mentioned in my last post that The Scat Rats were playing Whistlebinkies at 3 in the morning on the 2nd (or technically the 3rd), I didn’t make it. The soul was willing but my flesh and bones decided otherwise, a shame. And I bet you’re wondering how the LC gig went on the 29th – totally and utterly bloody awesome!! Mind, I wouldn’t have expected it to be anything less.

It’s been many years since I was last in The Liquid Room, nothings changed; nice that the stage has enough height to allow plenty of the audience a decent view of the band. There is a balcony round the sides and back, tempting (I’ve never been up there) but I’d got myself a good spot close to the front, so was fine.

The lights dimmed to four scattered spotlights, SeanKeys started playing the opening bars of Dans Le Jardin over and over as the rest of the band came on stage and readied themselves (to rapturous applause, natch); Carl next joined in with a lush guitar sound, followed by Scotty’s velvet vocals (and a natty new top he got for Christmas). And they were off!

The set for the evening was Heart-Shaped Jacuzzi in reverse order, so next up was the magnificent Mock Marble Linoleum, yes! Back for the evening was original bassist Ollie Turbitt (he’s definitely acquired some italiano cool), slotting in fine, obviously enjoying himself, sharing plenty of laughs with SeanKeys.

In the absence of Stu, Gavin picked up some of the harmony vocals (there will be four part harmonies in the future, I hear). Great that he was actually visible, and he is a drummer worth watching.

After the chirpy cheeriness of Merry-Go-Round the rest of the band left the stage to Scott and Carl for Calculations + Guesses. It struck me that by the end Scott’s body language seemed to be trying to belie the emotion of the song, distancing himself from it, perhaps? Next, our two troubadours took us way back to an early tune they wrote, very Beatlesque!

The rest of the band returned with two Logan’s Close classics, Lost In You swirling straight through into Give It To Me, what a night!

From there we plunged back into the new album and Curious Terrain, the other grand baroque opus (the studio version is powerful, live it loses none of the nuance and gains from a full-on performance from the band). From there on to the big guns, Babestation then Heart-Shaped Jacuzzi, gotta say this way round really works well live.

It was around this point I get fuzzy, I think it was after the title track that we were treated to a new song (called So Cold, possibly?), I remember a bottle of Buckfast appearing, Scotty saying something like “I’m changing it”, the band going into I Want You which seemed to throw Ollie and Sean a tad. Well, that all happened, though not necessarily in that order!

I do remember the evening ending with Hot Blondes In Your Area Tonight and the whole place going hyper. Oh lordy, what a grand evening! And what a way for LC to end the year! Can’t wait to see what happens next in 2024 ❤️

Oh, if you’re new to this blog, do yourself a favour and check out Logan’s Close on Spotify or wherever you listen to music, hear what I’m making such a fuss over (and see why on my Instagram reels).

Wishing you all an excellent 2024! Toodle pip!

Nearly time to get Close again

bruceonthefringe 2023, Edinburgh, Live bands in Edinburgh, Logan's Close, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Aaand he’s back in the city! Another Yorkshire Christmas done, the luggage back is always lighter but my tum somewhat heavier, hmmm. A few walks up to Arthur’s Seat should sort that out. I was up near the top this morning, it’s frightening how quickly one’s stamina drops from inertia. Got to be back on form for New Year’s Day, you know.

A few folk were up there today

I arrived back yesterday early evening, in time to catch The Scat Rats at Stramash, okay, so a couple of numbers in, as is my usual. Oh, they were so good, gearing up for tonight in the Liquid Room no doubt, both on top form (and no alcohol even for Mr Rough, serious stuff). Loved that they did Paint It Black again, like, WOW!! And You Send Me too, such velvety crooning and exquisite guitar, oh my heartses.

The crooning didn’t end there, oh no, next up were Babyface and the Beltin Boys, yay! This is the third time I’ve seen them in Stramash, hopefully they’ll be over some more next year; they’re rather good. Julen Santamaria has a very distinctive voice, kinda old-fashioned, an almost plaintive tone that’s belied by a throwaway delivery (erm, I know what I mean, not sure you will). The guitar sound is moody and quite atmospheric. If you like a little old-time Americana this is a band to catch.

All in all, a fine evening back in the Old Town. A sweet prelude for tonight. Ah yes, in just half an hour the door into the Liquid Room will be opened, a half hour later the support Night Caller will get the room nicely simmering, ready for a full-on boil when Logan’s Close take to the stage at eight thirty. It’s gonna be so good!! Oh, and I’m having a cheeky wee aperitif of a few numbers from Nicole and the Back-up Crew in Stramash on my way there.

Must go and eat something, just one last thing, the Whistlebinkies listing of The Scat Rats at 3am next Tuesday (2nd Jan) is correct! I checked with them last night. So if you’re in Edinburgh with nothing to do on the 3rd, come and have one last blow-out for the New Year!

Have yourself a Merry Christmas

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Why have a little one? Make it as big and brassy as you like! It’s gone midnight so I must away to my bed before Santa gets here. Here being down in Yorkshireland again, a family affair; I’m on veg duty in the morning!

Wishing you all a Happy Christmas wherever you may be 💛

A wondrous thing indeed

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Messaging with a friend the other day, I mentioned I still hadn’t written a review for Heart-Shaped Jacuzzi, “they must think you hate it by now,” he replied. WHAT!?! NOOOOOOO! I love it to pieces. How good to hear the whole album together, Logan’s Close had been slowly dripfeeding us singles and videos since last October, now all the pieces of the jigsaw are in place, yay.

Ten vignettes, ten tales of human frailties and harsh realities; the lyrics are brilliant, pulling no punches with touches of world-weariness while the music swirls around, setting and shifting scenes, completing each picture. To borrow from David Lynch, these ducks all have their eyes in the right place. Ten tunes that will make you feel, build you up, deplete you, cocoon you in a euphoric haze, shatter your heart to pieces – or is that just me?

Starting off with a bang, Hot Blondes In Your Area Tonight gets your toes tapping, shoulders jiggling, hips swinging, before you know it you’ll be doing the Slosh (a dance from the early 70s). The banging bounciness of the music belies the story in the lyrics, not much of a life being lived here. From one stuck in inertia, to a tale of a relationship turned sour.

Heart-Shaped Jacuzzi paints a vivid picture, like a 60s sitcom in 4 minutes, do check out the video, both sound and vision are beautifully stylised and lush (Read Never leave the dishes for more) . Next up another disillusioned life, Babestation, already a Logan’s Close classic, first performed on the LimbicTV recording, now a regular part of The Scat Rats acoustic set; sublime vocals already especially Carl’s, how did Dennis Rux get them sounding even better?! Atmospheric, sparse with a soft seductive rhythm.

The sense of despondency ratchets up in Curious Terrain, a relationship seriously on the rocks, but don’t let that put you off it! It may take a few listens, but there’s so much to absorb here; foreboding harsh monotones, plaintive harmonies, Scott’s vocals and words cut deep on this one. The rich, brooding guitars and swirling keyboards have a very Deep Purple feel to me.

From the grand baroque of Curious Terrain to the sparse bleak beauty of Calculations + Guesses, if this track doesn’t move you, maybe check you have a pulse. So ends Side 1 on the vinyl; after the sublime inner torment of Calculations + Guesses you may need a moment or two before getting up to turn the record over.

Side 2, new day, new scene; as Gavin sets a jaunty rhythm going I picture a bright sunny morning, our chap steps out his door, and cue the keyboards. Oh yes, for me Merry-Go-Round is like a 60s film musical number, even down to the tempo change at the interlude when a different set of bright young things would dance briefly into shot; that, or a montage scene, someone get Edgar Wright now!

After all that frivolity, it’s time to crash back to reality and Gouching On The 33. Languid and soporific, the spaciousness, the deliciously delicate harmonies, Scott’s velvety tones; a serene portrait of another casuality of life. This is one of the songs Marah and Rough play regularly, it never fails to move me, hmmm, to still me more like. Half & Half has a lot to recommend it, but for me it’s all about the bass, love it; it’s another track that requires a few listens to really tune into and appreciate all it’s charms, but so worth it.

Track 4 (or 9 on the CD) Mock Marble Linoleum is another grand rock opus to match Curious Terrain; again, parts are very reminiscent of early Deep Purple. So many layers and textures to pick up on here, and Scott really goes for it on this tale of a self-delusional, self-loathing character; the sudden ending suggests a car wreck in my mind’s eye.

Dans Le Jardin brings Heart-Shaped Jacuzzi to a bitter-sweet end. A cool, almost nonchalant, wind-down after all the more turbulent tales. And though it’s not a favourite of mine, goddammit, there’s a whole can of earworms in there, bits and pieces of it forever popping up!

So is the album what I expected? You know, I didn’t place any expectations on how it would sound, this is a new thing, a step forward, Logan’s Close were taking a bunch of new songs into a studio, serious time. There was potentially a chance that in the studio LC could become something other; ha, I was 99.5% sure that whatever came forth from Hamburg would be utterly brilliant (0.5% still critically brilliant, but with a but). Oh yay, how right I was!

Treat yourself for Christmas! Order your own Heart-Shaped Jacuzzi on vinyl, CD or digital download. If you’re in Edinburgh between Christmas and New Year, do yourself a favour and grab a ticket to see Logan’s Close at the Liquid Room on the 29th ( I think there’s still some available). It will be awesome!!!

Now I must away to my bed. Good night, sweet dreams!

A post starts with a single word

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Hey! It’s been three weeks since my last post. I seem to have lost the ability to communicate, not sure where I put it! I’ve tried a number of times to start a new post (two drafts are as far as I got) but everything empties out of my head, numbness, or my old enemy procrastination takes over. So, one word at a time, like those single steps in a walk.

The last two evenings I went to the cinema. Even cinema-ing has slipped by the wayside recently, mind, the miserable wet dark nights may have had a hand in that. Tuesday night I saw Bottoms and while it was “a teen sex comedy” the title is meaningless, like it was a working title that they forgot to update. Once I got in the rhythm and pace of it (fast, high schoolers speak really fast, hardly drawing breathe, with a weird logic of their own) I really enjoyed it. Two high school girls set up a girls fight club in hope of some girl action for themselves; ooch, please don’t judge me as sleazy! Bottoms was just on my maybe-watch list, then Edgar Wright said it was tops on Instagram, that’s what swung it for me.

Last night I procrastinated again, going off to see Five Nights at Freddy’s anything rather than sitting staring at my tablet. I’m aware that it’s based on a very popular video game, a video game I’d never heard of, let alone ever played. Somehow I was under the impression it was a comedy horror (no, I have no idea why), and it’s rated 15, how scary could it be? Not particularly scary as it turned out but the first five minutes had me wondering! The threat of gore and violence is never far away but not actually seen much. FNaF turned out to be more of a supernatural horror film slowly revealing the truth bit by bit, it certainly kept my interest. The animatronic puppets were very creepy but what really made the film for me was the lack of annoying “give away” incidental music. Certainly the quietness cranked up the suspense in the film, but maybe it helped that I had no foreknowledge of what was on the cards.

Okay, so I’ve managed to break my own silence, maybe tomorrow I’ll get on and write some more. Time to pop up to Stramash as Baby Face and the Beltin’ Boys are on at ten.

Toodle pip!

What my procrastination gets up to at it’s worst….