7thSun Live at the Head of Steam, 12/12/2013

Set list:

01. Atomic [Blondie]
02. BeginAgain
03. Silent Night [Franz Xaver Gruber]
04. Purple Rain [Prince and the Revolution]
05. Beyond the Headache Zone (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Brussels Sprouts).

Download our last E.P. for free at www.7thsun.co.uk/

All Tomorrow's Parties, End of an Era Part 2

29/11/2013 - 01/12/2013
Pontins Holiday Park, Camber Sands, Rye, Sussex

We saw:
Les Colettes / Om / Shellac / Slint
A Winged Victory for the Sullen / Fennesz / The Pop Group
Michael Rother presents the music of Neu! and Harmonia /
Superchunk / Il Sogno del Marinaio feat. Mike Watt / Mogwai

Om

 Camber Sands

A Winged Victory for the Sullen

 Rye

Michael Rother presents the music of Neu! and Harmonia

Mogwai

Russian Circles in Manchester

25/10/2013
Gorilla, Manchester
Support from Chelsea Wolfe

01. 309
02. Harper Lewis
03. 1777
04. Geneva
05. Deficit
06. Carpe
07. Mlàdek

Encore:
08. Memorial (feat. Chelsea Wolfe)
09. Youngblood.

7thSun: European Grey E.P. coming soon

Firenze - July 2013

Viareggio, Toscana - July 2013

Viareggio and Lido di Camaiore.

7thSun Live at Bar Loco, 29/05/2013

Thank you to the Edison Project for asking to support them. And thnak you to everyone who came.

7thSun Live 2013 #2

Tonight! At Bar Loco (formerly Barkollo). FREE entry.

7thSun Live at The Bridge Hotel, 02/05/2013

01. Into the Starscape
02. Acid Rain
03. Insight [Joy Division]
04. Pictures of the Sky*
05. Opolska*
06. Mandragora*
07. Pulse/Rust
08. Judaswiege#
09. Resignation
10. Kangaroo [Big Star]
11. A Light Fall of Snow#*
12. Little Red Corvette [Prince]*
13. Beyond the Headache Zone (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Paranoia)#*.

* Featuring John McKechnie on bass guitar
# Featuring Rich Kelly on synth/guitar

A huge thank you to:
David Newton (sound)
John and Rich (guests)
The Washy Modes and Prussian Intervals (support)
Michael Keller (compère)
Graeme J. Baty (photography)
Alistair, Kevin and John (front of house)
Pat and David (transport)
The audience for their support, patience and generous donations.

This concert was held in aid of The Stroke Association and The Lullaby Trust. We raised around £100 for each charity.

'You people out there, you are the stars!'

The next 7thSun show is on Wednesday 29th May at Bar Loco; we are performing with The Edison Project. 

7thSun Live 2013

This Thursday, 2nd May at The Bridge Hotel.

Full details available here.

Tomorrow night

Review: King Lear at The People’s Theatre, Heaton

The Excellent Foppery of the World

Friday 15^th March 2013

 

Image: www.peoples-theatre.co.uk/

Nature, reason and mortality are themes explored by Shakespeare’s bleakest tragedy, played out tonight at The People's Theatre on a bare brick stage populated by beggars and scraps of rubbish.

Tony Childs gave a powerhouse performance as Lear, perhaps more convincing as the distraught madman of later scenes than as the blustering monarch at the beginning of the play, but was consistently engaging and line-perfect.

One of the best performances came from Sam Hinton, who was clearly enjoying himself immensely as the thoroughly villainous Edmund, savouring his monologues as if they were rare delicacies. Sarah Scott and Rye Mattick acquitted themselves well as the scheming Regan and Goneril, cackling and strutting the stage like analogues of Disney’s Maleficent.  

Some unfortunate technical glitches affected tonight’s performance, and elsewhere some of the dialogue was a little lost. However, this was compensated for by a committed and well coordinated performance by the ensemble cast.

I did wonder if the modern dinner dress and Joanne Kelly’s female (wise) Fool were intended as a statement on contemporary patriarchal society; the People’s production of Lear, like the best Shakespeare, is the beginning of a discussion.

The final performance of King Lear is at 7.30 pm tonight. For full details, see http://www.peoples-theatre.co.uk/

Highlights of 2012 / The Year Ahead

Music, Films and Television - in no particular order. 

Robin Guthrie - Fortune (Soleil Après Minuit)

Listen to 'Circus Circus'.

Russian Circles - Empros (Sargent House)

Listen to 'Schiphol'.

Swans - The Seer (Young God)

Listen to 'Lunacy'.

Beach House - Bloom (Sub Pop)

Listen to 'Myth'.

Tusk Festival 2012

Visit the website. Highlights were Graham Lambkin & Jason Lescaleet and Hild Sofie Tafjord.

The Master (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)
Watch the trailer. 

The Imposter (dir. Bart Layton) 

Watch the trailer.

Berberian Sound Studio (dir. Peter Strickland)

Watch the trailer.

The Dark Knight Rises (Christopher Nolan)

Watch the trailer.

Les Revenants (Canal+)

Watch an advert.

Africa (BBC)

Watch a clip.

Things I'm looking forward to this year:

• My band 7thSun is performing live at The Bridge Hotel on Thursday 02/05; it promises to be our biggest show to date. The Washy Modes and Prussian Intervals are also playing.
• I'm going to see Robin Guthrie Trio live at The Cluny tonight. 
• The V&A is hosting the 'David Bowie Is' exhibition from 23/03 - 28/07.
• Michael Gira is curating the 'Mouth to Mouth' Festival at Koko in London on 06/04. Swans, Ben Frost and Grouper are on the bill.

2012 in Twelve Photographs

Once upon a time, I started a blog. 

And now and again I remember that I have one. 

2012 has been and gone. 

Here are twelve of my photographs from the past year.

 

The Brecon Beacons, Wales.

Thank you to Jude and Sheryl once again. 

The V and A, London.

One of my favourite museums.

 

Lindisfarne/Holy Island, Northumberland. 

Eskdale, Cumbria.

Scene of Rich and Rachel's wedding. Congratulations, and thanks for a great day!

'Mariner 9' installation by Kelly Richardson.

Inside the reopened Spanish City dome at Whitley Bay.

Autumn.

Benwell, Newcastle. 

Overgrown gravestone, Westgate Road, Newcastle. 

More gravestones. 

 Opolska, Kraków.

 This is the route I walked to the city centre.

 Auschwitz II: Birkenau, Poland. 

Cathedral, Kraków.

Heavy mist seen from Brantwood, home of John Ruskin.