The event issue 240 23 02 2010

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Pu1 uP RI~O\VNf: 1, Guildhall Hill Norwich NR2 1JH Tel: 01603 664866 A fine collection, including pieces from Liberty of London, Diesel, Replay, Vivienne Westwood, Fred Perry Vintage, Lyle & Scott, Junk de Luxe, Adidas Originals, Victorinox and other underground, up and coming designers.

This is a metrosexual's emporium with well-

3 Lower Goat Lane Norwich NR2 2EL Stocking labels unique to Norwich, such as Emily and Fin, Trollied Dolly, Pixie, Crayon and beautiful accessories by Kate Garey and Stolen Thunder, this quaint boutique is definitely worth a peek.

The clothes can simply be described as charming. Each piece has that specially handmade quality with fine material, v'intage patterns,

cut suits, exquisitely printed shirts and piles of dark washed jeans. The downstairs fitting room is decorated in the style of a man who expresses good taste, wealth and a celebration of masculinity with hard-wood floor and an electric guitar leaning against a dominant leather sofa, surrounded by music labels and posters. Upstairs the atmosphere morphs into a city slicker feel with white walls and neatly hanging suits.

This is definitely a shop to be embraced by men so take full advantage of this luxury find whilst in Norwich.

feminine bows and delicate embellishments.

The boutique has that romantic, chocolate box vibe wh1ch makes us scream out for darling garments like the chic evening dresses, printed blouses and unique knitwear which Daisy and Lola's has on offer.

So brace the horrible rain outside and step into this little ray of sunshine.

Jon>>> Richard James Saville Row suit>£725, Liberty "bramble print" shirt>£135 Sam>>> Lace dress. £40

ALIXANDIR McQuiiN>A RoYAL Srnn Orr L[[ ALruND[R

McQu[rn> 1969-2010

Upon hearing the tragic news of Alexander McQueen's suicide last week, Plum Skyes of American Vogue stated that "he always did the opposite of what everyone expected." With this thought in mmd, The Event is not going to write about how tragic, shocking or damaging his death was, but instead, how much of a maverick he was whilst alive.

Discovered by Tat/er fashion director lsabella Blow, Alexander McQueen, although a proud man, never lost sight of his working class Cockney roots. Starting with nothing, he dared fashion followers to dream. His shows echoed escapism. From h1s controversial "Highland Rape" collection to his final posthumous "Magnificent Seven", McQueen's designs were pure drama. ' A fantastical visionary, his catwalks were consistently ingenious. His spectacular 2004 Spring/Summer show was the hit of the season; based on the 1969 film They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, he had models dancing interpretatively down the catwalk. McQueen was brave, with a passion for shock tactics; he loved the fantasy he could capture in his pieces. During his Spring/Summer 1999 show, a dishevelled model on a revolving plate was spray-painted by robots, providing a striking and unforgettable moment in the history of fashion.

Upon their release, his much coveted silk skull scarves hung round the necks of the fashion elite. Unsurprisingly, sales of the aforementioned accessory have soared up by 1400% since McQueen's death.

The first port of call for those who wished to make a statement, McQueen's talent had no boundaries. A ground breaking gemus and four times winner of British Designer of the Year, Alexander McQueen's star will burn bright for a long time to Hannah Britt

fashion

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The label-loving fashionista, Sarah Jessica Parker, championed Alexander McQueen both and off screen. She teamed this tulle gown adorned with feathers with a hat by one of McQueen's greatest collaborators, Philip Treacy.

With Cameron Diaz's beautiful sun-kissed skin, this floor length gold dress really enhances her complexion. The · elegant sequins convey a luxurious glamour and their application in strategic patterns emphasize her trim figure.

The light, wispy material plays effortlessly with Nicole Richie's petite frame. The cut gives her height while the floating layers exude woma!"'IY curves. Black and white is always a winner as is this exquisite, detailed print.

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LIT£RATUR£> D£RAT£>PARANORMAL RoMANC£ Vampire literature will make you get your cross out ...

to shreds and enjoy it is kind of... horrible. Is this new obsession worth worrying about?

Paranormal romance nove ls often start out as yo ur basic boy meets girl plot line. Boy is a bit messed up (perhaps he gets a bit wol fi sh at the ful l moon), gi rl soot hes his pain (often mysterious ly without having a personality). This formu la has always been a favourite, among women in pa rti cu lar, appea ling to the ste reotype that every woman wants to tame and take home a man. Yet it is this formula that makes paranorma l romance nove ls so dangerous, as mixed in with the banality of girl meets boy is a subtext of violence and submiss ion that cannot be avoided. The constant threat of violence is exciting, yet brings to mind the very real situation of domestic violence.

Most paranormal romances are written by women and, more often than not, have a

Move over Darcy and Rochester, and make way for a new batch of literary heartthrobs. But wait!

These handsome, brooding males come with an added bonus - they're the un-dead! With many a high street bookstore announcing that a section of their stores will now be devoted entirely to the genre, 'paranormal romance' seems to be becoming more and more popular.

The success of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight and LJ Smith's The Vampire Diaries among young people, for example, are proof that paranormal romance has surpassed its old status as a subgenre of romance and has branched into the realm of young adult fiction. These novels are dark, exciting, sexy - and just a little bit disturbing. After all, everyone loves a bad boy, but a bad boy that at any moment might rip you

Things you wish you didn't know ...

Paranormal romance authors have the incentive to continue writing as they may win the aliusive P.E.A.R.L (Paranormal Excellence Award for Romantic Literature) which has been around since 1999. Charlaine Harris has won twice for her collaborative work; Stephanie Meyer doesn't even get a mention!

Despite the popularity of vampires at the moment paranormal romance is not exclusive to the un-dead but also includes werewolves, shapeshiftsers, time travel and even aliens!

Apparently it's only the Brits and our stateside cousins who really like paranormal romance; in fact the Poles and Russians prefer normal historical romance to the twisted world of vampires.

Despite all the steamy relationships and implied sex, most paranormal romance au t hors

female lead. While it is positive to see so many female authors on the scene, the heroi nes they create aren't helping t he femin ist cause. Their lives centre on protecting/comforting/adoring their respective monster, with litt le room for personal deve lopment. What's more, there is the fear that ho rror novels by female authors wi ll automatica lly be assumed to be paranorma l romance- a concept that Mary She lley wou ld sure ly bla nch at.

Like Harry Potter, we all wi ll eventual ly tire of Edward Cullen and will move on to t he next big thing. So while their popu lari ty is disturbing it will undoubtedly be a short- lived phenomenon. In the meantime, maybe it's inevitable that teenagers wi ll be drawn to the faux-rebelliousness of these bad boys, and we should allow them their fantasy.

Susanna Wood

have strong religious beliefs. Stephanie Meyer is a straight-laced Mormon and Charlaine Harris is senior warden for her church I Although paranormal romance may be gaining in popularity, the first defined novel of its kind published by a mainstream romance publisher,

was Jayne Ann

Krentz's Sweet

Starfire in 1986.

If you meet a true paranormal romance

fan you'll discover that they don't really care about the hyped authors and they are more like ly to discuss Susan Grant or Marjorie M. Liu (who won the P.E.A.R.L for best author twice).

Queen of the genre Anne Rice, who wrote Interview with a Vampire, (turned into a film starring Brad Pitt) has disallowed fans writing fan fiction based o n her wo rk.

One last question: what's with all the apples? Answers on a postcard ...

DEAD UNTIL DARK

W hy not si nk your teeth in?

The sex injected, vampire infused romance novel Twilight, written by Stephanie Meyer, has taken the world by storm. Since the publication of the first book of the series in 2005, the novels have gathered a huge globa l following, selling millions of copies. it tilled the great void that had been left by the ending of the ever popular Harry Potter series, and in a world where technology rules over the young mind, it can only be a good thing that, instead of staring at a television screen, teenagers are once again staring intently at the pages of a book.

Prior to the Twilight series paranormal romances have had a fairly decent following.

However, Twilight did more than the other novels of th is genre ever did; it appealed to t he masses. With a focus so heav ily on a love

·.

story, rather than on anything else, even those who weren't keen on novels in which vampires held the stage found Twilight enticing.

Twilight has been so successful that the popularity of this genre has grown; suddenly vampires are everywhere. The first Twilight film hit our screens in 2008, and the entertainment industry jumped on this opening for sexy vampire themed television. The following year the American show True Blood aired in Britain; another human and vampire romance based on the novels by Charlaine Harris. The series The Vampire Diaries has also started in Britain this year, again a vampire romance based on the books by L.J Smith. it seems Twilight has created an epidemic.

Although books of this kind (Twilight, Harry Potter etc.) have been said to be poorly writte n, t hey have encouraged millions of children,

teenagers and ad ults to read, and isn't that the basic point of literature in the first place?

The Harry Potter series was criticised for being rubbish literat ure, and now the same t hing is happening to Twilight. Yet both have done something great, and this cannot be denied.

In her day, Jane Austen was the 19th century's most pop ular romance writer, and now she is seen as one of the greatest authoresses in history. it isn't unfeasib le to suppose that one day Row ling may be seen in the same light.

We are taught to treat such things as a guilty pleasure so as to avoid being frowned upon by people too pret entious to app reciat e them for what they are; a good, moving, and absorbing story. If you like them, if they grip yo u, t hen wh y not?

Helen Jones

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An Introduction to the Art Nouveau Movement

The Anderson Collection of Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau, 'The New Art', was an innovative movement known for rejecting previous styles whilst drawing from their influences. lt is hard to say when it span from, but it is roughly given as the period between the late 19th to early 20th centuries.

Art Nouveau emerged first in Belgium but a simultaneous birth across Europe was seen: notably in Brussels, Paris, Vienna, Barcelona, Prague and Munich. Artists and designers included Emile Galle, Antonio Gaudi, Archibald Knox, Alphonse Mucha, Victor Horta, Gustav Klimt, Hector Guimard and many more.

Art Nouveau encompasses an eclectic mix of ideas, styles and mediums. lt closely connects the natural environment with man, disregarding ·convention and steeped in symbolism . lt is said to reflect an ideology of a changing period in time; an art of optimism and narcissism, expressing fantasy within function.

The rapid development and modern styles of Art Nouveau are echoed in the rapid pace of societal and scientific modernisation.

Art Nouveau left a strong legacy found in architecture, ornamental design, glasswork,

If you have spent many an afternoon aimlessly wandering around Norwich, you may be more aware of Art Nouveau than you realise.

At the front of the exhibition a black and white slide show seeks to remind us that the colours and curves of Norwich's own Royal Arcade and Jarrold's department store employ elements of this idiosyncratic design, as well as showing architecture from the more classic homes of the style throughout Europe, including Paris and Prague.

The rest of the exhibition, owned by UEA and brought out every three or so years for the public's pleasure, is full of informative wall panels and colourful and intricate vases. For the layman, it's interesting how the curvaceous furniture, striking artwork and glittering dragonfly jewellery can all be so different in form and yet link so seamlessly. Particularly mesmerising is the video projection of Loie Fuller, a dancer whose fluid movement and flowing costume influenced many of the artists on display.

One will recognise many designs and motifs

jewellery and fine arts; The metro signs of Paris, stair wells in Munich, lithographs of Prague and cities cascading with countless feats of architecture. lt can be found in the least expected of places, leaving an imprint for future influence.

Hannah Speed

LITbRATURb> rnA WRIT£R's CoRN£R> IlAzuo lSIIIGURO The MA in Creative Writing here at UEA continues to churn out great novelists and poets. Booker prize winner Kazuo lshiguro is one such author. Originally from Japan, Britain is now lucky to claim this impressive author as a British citizen . lshiguro graduated from the MA programme in 1980 and has been sending shockwaves through the literary world ever since. Gaining popularity in the late 1980s and 1990s he first found fame in his short works published in Granta before wowing the world with his Booker prize winning novel Remains of the Day, set in a English Country house in the period around World War 11. • His most recent novel Never Let Me Go, which was nominated for a Booker Prize before losing to John Banville's The Sea, is his first futuristic novel and the second of lshiguro's works to be adapted to film. The novel concerns protagonist Kathy G as she regales her childhood at an unusual boarding school.

The novel takes places in a dystopian Britain and lshiguro's writing style evokes a sense of loss and misunderstanding throughout that is hard to escape. Despite the science-fiction nature of the novel, lshiguro's writing style and sensitivity to the characters means you can't help but get engrossed in his work, even if you aren't usually a fan of the genre.

If you don't like reading, or don't like reading slightly depressing novels, you could always wait until November when the film is

meant to be released . lt will star everybody's favourite English rose Keira Knightly and star of the moment, the BAFTA winning Carey Mulligan. lt will be directed by famous music video director Mark Romanek, and we wait with bated breath to see his first major film since 2002's One Hour Photo.

Fiona Howard

RITTEN IN AMERICA One of the UK's finest chamber orchestras, Britten Slnfonia, with a diverse programme including a new work by wunderkind Nico Muhly (composer of the score for the film The Reader).

Featuring Rnnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto and celebrated tenor Mark Padmore.

Student Offer: Top price seats for £5 Subject to availability

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from the popular art prints that add a touch of turn of the century glamour to many a student's bedroom . You may go in thinking you know nothing of the form, and find it all pleasantly familiar. Or if you're not an expert before you see the exhibition, a stroll through Norwich, or Paris if you're the metropolitan sort, will bring your mind back to the room of treasures in the Sainsbury Centre.

Kirsten Peter

GENERAL ELECTION 2010 \NW\N.voteforsttJdents.co.ttk

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How easy it is to just hold your hand.

We have tried everything else.

Grass hides beneath the snow occasionally daring to peek out from underneath.

A couple of leaves notes from autumn sit by the side of the path.

The stone you threw chinks on the frozen pond.

A sudden thought that this may be it.

If I was a poet I could tell you how a butterfly fluttered away, a speck of white against the sky like the stars yet to appear.

But what are these words but another way of saying things.

So let us lie and look at clouds, watching them move.

I left you today, quietly, while you slept; I packed myself up around you. I took my photos, that lamp you hate but I love, my clothes.

Our lives trussed up in little bundlesI'll forget you soon, memories like tears on cheeks, skin on sheets. I left you the chocolate digestives only out of the goodness of my heart. And on that short antique table that you put by the front door where our keys used to sit, I left a note.

And I left you a lemon.

I stand in the water and look out on the Lake The horizon fills me with both dread and hope I wish that I hadn't waded in this far But I can't turn back now I have too much to loose But I'm scared that if I go any deeper Into the darkness of desire and love I will be consumed by the pain and misery that awaits me Like a predator awaiting its prey The water swirls round my feet Swishing with the movement of the tide I look out on the lake The moon glistens on the water And its light warms my face I think of you, your smile is like the moon Filling me with light from my head to my toes I am prepared to keep on going And so I take one more step Further into the lake.

Hannah Griffin

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Robert Van Egg hen

Issu e

I considered leaving her letters and her underwear there too, just to let you know, I found them, butThat would not impact the same way that shapely lemon must have when you found it there that morning. You see, I went to the cupboard yesterday and picked out the prettiest lemon; the one with the saturated tinge of happy yellow and perfect curved lines- a beauty in itself (much like a painting whose name I have forgotten), just like you.

Tough but malleable, it takes considerable force but you can pierce its patchy skin; remember that day when you turned away and wept? I had broken through .

Split it open -lying there is a constellation of frozen tears, each singularly symmetrical and surrounding the ribbed heart of our lemon. Tastes refreshing at first but then it claws at the back of your throat; the bitter sting of betrayal, can you feel it? lt makes my teeth hurt. I hope it makes your eyes water and your soul pucker.

Perhaps I am mad, but I wanted to give you a parting gift.

A lemon says it best I think.

What is behind eyes?

Fearlsee Hope I dare Or tears hide anger

In the court of Athens, standing are you?

Hoping to find some route to your Other Held still by a Theseus, you believe to be true That your failings keep you alone 'neath your cover

Eyes throw beats Hearts follow thy eyes Tears hold your lips Thy eyes reveals past

But in loneliness, be not the Helena of woe And look not for Demetrius, who is surely the worse And must be swayed into love, and never shall know That before the coercion, you were merely his curse

Or my love past Soul strong in thy eyes No difference, green or black it's what you draw on its back

And while you look for this feeling you covet so much Be wary of hatred and envy and lies Find not one that forces, but who earns your touch Not Oberon who gladly anoints your eyes

Is it sorrow?

Is it hurt?

Alii hope never let them vanish Keep them light or flourish

And while you scramble to look for this feeling you seek Remember it's fleeting and gone oft too soon Be certain she holds and cares and weeps And is not your Titan ia, ill met 'neath the moon

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' They guide hearts Forgive that life Touch that rose See it in thy eyes.

So find the one, who for freedom has fought That for you would elope to beyond the trees And risks the wrath of an Athenian court And kisses your hand upon their knees

lbrahim Abdelkareem

For that person is yours and worth surely the pain Of nights in solitude, fearing the cold He is your Lysander, in all but the name And you are his Hermia, to have and to hold

You are my nourishment.

Your eyes are the darts which made my heart bleed.

Joe Odran Doran

You are my angel.

Your lips are my wine Which made my mind exceed .

You are my fair queen.

Your hair is my night Which made me proceed.

You are my warm sun.

Your beams are my life Which I strongly need.

Ashraf Zidan

l .... llt~l A quick kiss Only on the cheek But it means so much to me More than he can ever know I zip my feelings up inside my coat And watch him walk away

Suck on that!

I hate him I love him

Kirsten Tostevin

Julia Sanderson

llm£ ts Mv li£AIH Here is my heart, you can have it lt is made of something delicate, so don' t break it lt belongs somewhere safe, not your back pocket Or the bottom of your bag or a compartment in your wallet.

Wrap it in cotton wool or cover in bubble wrap And know I have given it to you because I can And want to; but if you think by some mishap You might break it, don't take it. lt is fragile; lt is the solitary string of a violin And the lace of a wedding dress draped wjth satin lt is a single slight piece of tissue paper, it is an egg shell Frail as gold leaf. And I want you to have it, So please treat it well.

Here is my heart, you can hav~ it But it is only for you, so don't break it.

Georgina Pursey

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TASTÂŁLÂŁSS TV SIIOWDOWN Television scores some of the least palat ab le documentaries in the name of good taste.

TL\I~S, TI A I~t\S AN I) TI~ANS[Xl 1 ALS The title says it all- or at least it tries to. In fact, like the su rpri singly convincing contestants in the transgender pageant, the manipulative might of this documentary needs to be seen to be believed.

To save time let's get the positive out of the way. The show actually does a service to its subjects in providing them with a platform to tell in a candid way a life story which is rarely depicted on television in anything other than a sitcom punchline. Childhood traumas are shared and a little understanding is gleaned from what are largely quite tragic lives.

That said, this documentary is disgusting.

Not in the sense of its subject matter but in the show's treatment of it. lt purports to be a sensitive approach to a traditionally ridiculed demographic and yet when the contestants are getting changed for contests the camera is right in there, getting more anatomical footage than your average colonoscopy. If these are truly women th en surely they dese rve the sa me privacy biological women do? Aher all, this is meant to be a story about beauty pageant entrants rather than a picture show of the

Having carefully charted how desperate they are to have approval from their peers, in the moment of truth when the winner is announced the camera is off their breasts and into their faces, asking exactly how distraught they are and why they feel they've been rejected.

Throw in the obligatory Prisci/la references, this is a documentary that works through cliches and freak show rather than genuine journalism, but then tastefulness was clearly never the point. Tune in for the spectacle and to be more than a little confused, but don't expect to be remotely enlightened.

Josh Butl er

As documentaries go, Having A Baby exemplifies why so me strange people avoid all except scripted fiction television. lt features two families, each with a child who suffers from a rare disease affecting their bone marrow so they long for a healthy child with matching bone marrow to be the 'saviour sibling'.

The show is gruesome because it has a rich coup le who go through about five cycles of IVF during the course of the one hour documentary, at a stark contrast to the other couple who have already lost a child to this illness and are hoping to save their son who sad ly is also a sufferer, but can ' t afford to . The whole hour is intended to make you feel miserable, there's no two ways at looking at it. Maybe it's to dispel some myths about saviour siblings (no they don't kill them in a pagan ritual aher the child has been saved) and maybe to confront realities about the strong IVF debates among the relig io us world (the richer parents are Catholic). What it certainly isn't here to do is show how the story ends, finishing abruptly with little closure or news on how the families are today.

Whatever the documentary makers say the reason for the show is, there's no doubt they are looking for some heartstrings to tug on. If only a secret millionaire where on hand to he lp these poor people, that would in no way be demeaning and exploitative ..

M icha Butl er

6/ 10 - RL\SONA I~ L [

average transexua l's mammaries.

Aside from that the way it treats clearly insecure and mistreated people is horrifyi ng.

Baby Bible Bashers presents the lives of three chi ld evangelists so viewers ca n judge their parents and feel shocked that such people exist in this world. One of the main emphasises of the programme is the fact that they are children who have been forced to act like adults. Both boys' abilities were discovered at the age of three and Samuel (aged seven) preaches outside of abortion clinics for the people to "stop killing

children" when it's doubtful he knows how they were created in the first place. Nine year old Terry is said to perform miracles at every single sermon he holds; one being that he's a painfully shy child normal ly yet a confident 'man' w hen on stage .

The programme has big reservations about the fathers of these child ren. Samuel's ma in concern in life is obedience to his parent s, as otherwise he'll go to a Hel l fi lled with worms - "long worms" - and this is apparently wo rse than the burning part . Terry's dad is apparent ly only on the scene now tha t his son is becom ing a brand ('Litt le M an Of God' wi t h t-s hirt s, signed photos, hats, etc), wanting to push t his busi ness opportunity further to more expensive churc hes. And fin ally, 12 year old Ana from Brazi l strangely wors hi ps her fat her wh o 'choreographs' her speec hes and w hom she

compares to God. The programme shows parents pushing vulnerable children to do things they might not agree with when they're older. The vulnerability of the children and ridiculousness of t hei r parent's demands natura lly inspires aw kward watch ing, but t he t rue ma ni pulati on at wo rk is by the latter rat her than t he fi lm makers.

Nevert heless, how t he documentary makers ga in ed t he trust of such m isguided peop le to get such insight begs the question: if you were in that situation, could you stand back and j ust film?

Natalie Stephenson

8/ 10 - DIR[

1.

If you can, put the word ' baby' in your title. Anywhere . If you can't, put a baby in your documentary.

2.

Fa iling that find a good solid controversial word to really kick things off. ' Her maphrodite' is a good one, as is 'foetus '. Don ' t be afraid to go ethnic, j ust know where the line is.

3.

Rememb er the rul e of thre e: ' Duh , d u-duh and duh', and don' t forget to save your best your last. Hit that t hird wo rd hard .

4.

Rhyme. Rhym e t o you r heart's co nt ent . Don't go overboard though . If it sounds like a docum entary by Dr. Seuss yo u' re doing it wrong.

5.

All ite ration is th e nam e of the game . And don ' t be afraid to get the thesauru s ou t if you ' re struggling for another word for gender bender. Like rhyming, it makes your title both memorable and impossible to say.

6.

Start your title ' Louis and'. The next step is then to get Louis Theroux to present it . Don't worry, the man lives for thi s work and has a very empty schedule.

7.

If someone's beaten you to Theroux, put another name in the title - either the subject or the interviewer. If their name's a little obscure be sure to add a subheading to really drive home why you should care about them .

8.

Tell a story. If people can get the jist without actually watching it then everyone's happy.

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PRIMITIM[> SKINS If plans to remake E4's award-winning dramedy, Skins, for an American audience are true,

they have a significant amount of work to do.

While the original show has admittedly always carried tropes and conventions from the teen/ high school drama mould (something that the US has honed to perfection), its bleak realism, periodic surrealism and frequent sex, drugs

and swearing places it far away from the Gossip Girls and One Tree Hills of the TV world. As it starts its fourth series in the UK, this is a chance for the second generation to make a bigger impression.

From the start, the brainchild of father and son team Brain Elsley and Jamie Brittain set itself up as the anti-Hollyoaks but never fully recovered from the disdain and eyerolling inspired by its uninspiring pilot episode.

DoWNLOAD > RoNÂŁS However, this was just the shiny wrapping to the far more interesting chocolatey contents. At its peak, Skins has achieved moments of poetry and helped to launch the careers of Nicholas Hoult and award winner Dev Patel.

The second generation had a hard act to follow and yet have largely surpassed the low expectations given to them. While recurring characters Effy (Kaya Scodelario) and Pandora (Lisa Backwell) were bumped up to regular status, new additions included a love triangle with bad-boy Cook (Jack O'Connell) and laidback stoner Freddie (Luke Pasqualino), lesbian Emily (Kathryn Prescott) and her homophobic twin sister Katie (Megan Prescott), topped off with autistic loner JJ (OIIie Barbieri) who served as the only semi-rational perspective as his friends self-destructed around him.

Having already discovered the few hidden layers the shallow characters possessed, the second series became far too soapy for much of its audience to handle; this time around it seems to be taking the opposite approach . The first episode set the tone with a drug-fuelled suicide, while last week's Cook-centric episode favoured personal tragedy over bed-hopping, perhaps signalling the ironing out of some annoyances in instalments to come. We have been promised darker storylines this year, so let's hope that this generation go out with a bang rather than a whimper.

Caroline Preece

The fifth season of Bones is well under way and the team continue to sail through every case thrown at them . Mixing dark humour with the morbidity of post-mortem mysteries, the show focuses unusually highly on character relationships, especially that of the title character, forensic anthropologist, Dr. Brennan (Emily Deschanel)- 'Bones' to her friends - and her partner in crime-fighting, Special Agent Booth (David Boreanaz) whose faith and heart make him the foil to Bones' rea son and science in their supposed 'working' relationship.

The upcoming lOOth episode will focus on the pair's 'will they, won't they?', Ross-andRachel relationship, but whether anything will be truly resolved is questionable. The writers have invested a lot of time in the sexual tension between them, and so saving it for the show's big finish seems more likely. After all, Boreanaz can no longer rely on the 'perfect happiness will take his soul' Buffy conceit to keep their relationship chaste.

The other relationship between workers at the Jeffersonian Institute is clearer, and entomologist, Hodgins and forensic artist, Angela continue to go strong despite pesky upsets like prior marriages. Amongst the other highly-educated characters there is Zack, the former brilliant assistant-turned-nutcase who's been replaced by a revolving door of guest stars.

This must be intended as a refreshing twist, but it dispenses with the familial dynamic of the team and fans will resent Zack's sanity being

overestimation of their abilities. it's clearly a dream come true for the few adrenaline junkies but even the less inclined join in, some proving more unsuccessful then others. This provides an opportunity for the creators to subject the audience to endless repeats of the worst crashes

known to man. There's a lot of spinning mainly ending in off track steering. it's not riveting but then it's hard to be judgemental towards good natured holidaymakers who are there to have nothing more than a holiday in the limelight.

There are heated discussions over dirty tactics by others on the tour which gives the show an X Factor reality genre tilt, as the audience is very much involved - although on Coach Trip it is the contestants who get to vote each other off. This makes for an interesting twist on the original holiday programme as it promotes the place rather than creating the impact of having people experience it themselves, and not just a specific element of

RilliTY>(OACII TRIP Seven couples on a 50 day tour, surely a recipe for disaster? Apparently not, because not only are there 'catchy tunes' to keep viewers entertained but also top notch cuisine with lots of French Fancies. Among such mouthwatering delicacies is battered snail, which admittedly begs many questions, including why the chef sees fit to keep the spoon attached.

The history lessons prove less than fascinating, so it's just as well that their first stop is racing. it's full speed ahead as they partner up and face the challenge like only true travellers might, with enthusiasm, energy and a peculiar

Nor STRiaLY A DANeÂŁ CRAZÂŁ Britain loves to dance. At least that is what TV keeps trying to tell us. Since Strictly first tangoed into the studios of the big British castle only 7 years ago - actually, admittedly that's quite a while. Nonetheless, since then the schedules have slowly become more obsessed with dance, from Strictly to Dancing on Ice, even Britain 's Got Talent (although not strictly a dance show, when 2 of 3 winners are dancers there is no surprise it's been heralded as The X Factor for your legs).

But 2009-10 we've gone dance crazy, with shows like So You Think You Can Dance and Gotta Dance (the actual X Factor for people with

talented legs - both middle and working class, respectively). The most interesting new show to jump on the dance-wagon, is the controversial Dancing On Wheels . The concept is bizarre, at fi~st sounding terribly demeaning but somehow in practise the result is genuinely intriguing; to get six disabled people to learn to ballroom dance using wheelchairs, with C-list celebs who have been on Strictly, or have, by some miracle, learnt how to dance. it's the sort of show you begin to watch out of gross curiosity, but you will find yourself getting hooked in no time. lt attempts to be cutting edge and politically correct simultaneously, which is odd to watch,

and doesn't entirely mesh.

The host Brian Fortuna (of Strictly fame) has a no nonsense attitude, he doesn't treat the dancers like disabled people that we should all pity, he treats them like any other dance student.

tarnished . A surprising face seen as a guest intern has been Ryan Cartwright; an English actor better known for Mad Men and Martin Freeman's Hardware, and it's amus.ing to see a British sitcom personality working alongside stars like Boreanaz. On the other side of the guest star spectrum is Bones' real life sister, Zooey Deschanel. The more recognisable sister plays a long lost relative and from the beh indthe-scenes footage on YouTube, it appears that their interactions made playing the serious Dr.

Brennan difficult for Emily. lt is unclear how much the relatively stable show will change in season five - or in season six, as the series has received a rare two season pick-up - but what is clear is that Bones is a series that is getting better with age . The characters benefit from their familiarity to the audience and from the actors' practised comedy dynamic which is unrivalled in any other procedural, and is a key reason to choose the series over any incarnation of CS/ and NC/5.

Natalie Stephenson

it but the accommodation, the cu isine and the adventurous activities on offer. it may seem like just another boring attempt to wet our appetite but it has a unique quirkiness which gives it charm and an ability to intrigue the audience further.

The show has definite pulling power for any new viewer who enjoys the positive vibes that flow from it. There is a nice diversity amo.ng the contestants as well, which, aside from the obvious aim (to cause discord), manages to provide a genuine intermingling of variou s Brits on this intriguing coach trip .

Ella Fairhurst

Dancing On Wheels isn't just a nice piece of

entertainment that will inspire the average ignorant viewer saying "Aww!" and "Bless! ". lt is a moving show that makes you feel that you know so much about all of the volunteers, and there's even an insight into the celebrities and what they think about the experience. it's nice to see the dance show genre progressing; from the famous, to the masses, and now to a much respected da':lce form almost unheard of in the UK: ballroom on wheelchairs. The next obvious step to smack the zeitgeist of British TV dance horse right in the mouth, and have some sort of a vampire/ballroom combo. The Event will be first in line to review that bad boy.

Micha Butler

12

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<GAMING> <RMfWS> The year is 1968, you're bits and pieces of a human fused into a cross between a diving suit and a tank and your job is to guard small girls as they suck 'ADAM' out of corpses. This is the basic

events of the first title and adding depth to the 'splicers' you encounter in the main narrative.

Overall this game is seeking to do something different to the first title. With BioShock, we were introduced to a first person shooter that had more to it than just blasting your way through hordes of terrifying creatures. For this game the story could never be as groundbreaking, so instead 2K have rightly decided to focus on tweaking the original, updating the graphics, making things a little bit smoother and adding in a Multip/ayer mode to up the replay ability of the title. This is a great game, with lots of customizable features, six different possible endings, depending on what choices you make. BioShock 2 will never shake you to the core the way BioShock did, but as a stand alone game, and as a sequel, it is more than worth the price tag.

plot of BioShock 2, the successor to, arguably, 2007's biggest first person shooter, BioShock. For anyone not familiar with the first title, the games are set in an alternative dystopian history based aroun d an underwater world, Rapture. Andrew Ryan creates a city without rul es and develops a world where genetic adaptation and magic powers are commonplace. Unfortunately, this also causes mass insanity among the residence of the city. Jump forward ten years and here we are again, in Rapture.

This time however, you're taking on the role of the first Big Daddy, Subject Delta. This guy is the daddy of all Big Daddy's, and with the guidance of your notably absent Little Sister, Eleanor, the resurgent Dr. Tenenbaum and her ally Augustus Sinclair, you have to defeat the maniacal Sofia Lamb. Anyone familiar with the first game will notice the decidedly similar plot; a slight let down, and this isn't where the similarities end. There is still the moral question of whether to simply devour the Little Sisters, or take the time to adopt them and have them do all your harvesting for you. Each choice has pros and cons and, as with the last game, there are multiple endings. The main differences are that, because you are a Big Daddy, there is something more than a slight twinge of guilt if you consume your partner. Also, seemingly as a reaction to this very problem in the first game, 2K have added far more defensive weapons and traps, which make protecting Little Sisters less of a grinding effort. Another more than welcome change is the adaptation of the hacking system

from the original game; it is now slightly simpler and happens in real game time, making it seem more realistic.

Generally there has been no major overhaul of the game dynamics, but, as the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. But don't feel cheated; 2K have given us a much improved upgrade system, so taking the time to customise your tools doesn't feel like a chore so much as a reward. Additionally, you will be happy to hear that the cumbersome shifting between the plasmids and weapons has been removed; you can now dual-wield, allowing for smoother game play, and forcing you to try new combinations in the search for a perfect combo. These are the only major changes in game mechanics.

More generally, the whole feel of the game has been tweaked and upgraded, and it's nothing genre changing but going back to BioShock after

playing BioShock 2 does make you feel like you just hopped in a time machine. In terms of the actual game, the addition of a new rival, the Big Sister, is nice, and there is a slightly wider array of 'splicers' to hack (and suck) through. Again, nothing out of the ordinary for a sequel, but judged on its own merits this game is pretty darn good.

What really justifies this game as a full title is the multiplayer mode. On top of the standard fare you would expect, 'Capture the Sister (flag)' and 'Last Splicer Standing', there are various other modes that exploit the unique story of BioShock. You get both single player and team modes, so you can play with or against your friends. More generally, the multiplayer mode really enriches the whole BioShock universe by offering a back story to the original title, setting the competitions during the civil war before the

eleven months, Perfect Dark ha s been remade for Xbox Live and will be out next month, ready for download. For those who spent weeks playing and loving PO ten years ago, (yes; 2000 was an entire ten years ago now, so it qualifies as nostalgia) this is a 'must get'. Even for those who missed the best console Ff'S game of the generation, buying this is definitely worth it considering the price- 800MSP/ÂŁ6.80.

Perfect Dark, by Rare, was their successor to the runaway success that was Goldeneye for the N64, the first landmark console FPS as well as being one of the first proper 3D shooters, using polygons instead of sprites for textures.

Perfect Dark took everything that was good

amazingly diverse and interesting weaponry,

Available on : PC, 360, PS3 Price: ÂŁ25 (PC)

I ÂŁ50 (360/PS3)

-Good story line -Graphically fairly impressive -More developed gameplay as Big Daddy -Less survival horror, but still screepy

U.\ll S11 '11 -Somewhat similar story to first game

8.7/ 10 back in the N64/PS1 days. it has a special place in many garners' hearts.

Ken Lobb - Creative Director for Microsoft game studios, gave a preview last week . The remaster for XBL has upgraded/up-ressed textures, most noticeably on the character models' faces, new geometry on guns/model faces/skyboxes, all the old Goldeneye weapons, awards for speed runners, eight man multi player and splitscreen online - that includes co -op, counter-op and the usual deathmatch modes. it has options for Halo and CoD controls too, in the forms of "S partan': and "Duty Calls" button layout. it still maintains the classic PO auto-aim pan though, so it's still Perfect Dark . it's a solid nostalgia play, but Ken Lobb expressed that it would also feel accessible for people who aren't

For the more nostalgic garners of you out there, you may be interested to hear that, over the last

from Goldeneye, improved it, added all sorts of super crazy fun elements such as aliens,

lochlainn Coyne

and was one of the first games ever to have AI

in single and multiplayer, had immense replay

as comfortable with FPS's in general due to the

in multiplayer. Perfect Dark offered a degree of customisability unseen in any other game

value, and was the game of choice for playing with your friends if you wanted to play a shooter

auto-aim .

Richa rd Joslin

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< TfCIINOLOGY> We've all been there. You've just got your new computer and the thing's running fast. But after only a few short months, or perhaps even less, the whole system's slowed to a crawl. Slow boot times, slow loading when you finally get to the desktop, and slow performance all round.

There are a few simple things you can do to ensure that your PC keeps running just as fast as you know it should, and none of them involve removing components and poking around the inside of the computer.

Firstly, look at what you use your computer for. You've got Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, Xfire, Steam, Skype and all those other instant messengers that run every time you turn on your computer. Do you use them all every time you start Windows? Probably not.

All these programs that swamp your desktop immediately after start up impede your efforts to start browsing the internet, opening your office applications or whatever you actually want to do by eating your system's memory and hogging your processors resources unnecessarily.

How to stop them running on start up? Many of them, such as Windows Live Messenger will have a 'run on start up' option in one of the program's menus. For others, access the Run line- either through your Start Menu or by pressing the Windows Key+R and type msconfig. Then press enter. You will be presented with your computer's System Configuration window. Click on the Start Up tab. Programs you do not need to run on start up will most likely include iTunes, Quicktime, Adobe Acrobat, qttask, iTunesHelper, realsched, GoogleDesktop and GoogleToolbarNotifier.

Try disabling some of these programs (and possibly others too, at your own discretion) and restarting your computer (although you do

Fact: we make better adverts than America. OK, there are duds {Up Your Viva, anyone?), but, generally, we are blessed with more subtle, humorous ads than the blunt-force-trauma commercials our pals in the US put up with.

However, some campaigns slip through the net. Sometimes it's a catchphrase, like the classic Budweiser 'Wassup?' ads. Some follow a winning template, which we steal and then improve, such as the Mac vs. PC campaign .

But both of these have been blown out of the water, through a series of trees and then a ski lodge. Debuted at Superbowl XLIV, the Old Spice 'Manmercials' are swiftly becoming a word of mouth sensation.

If you haven't seen them, get to YouTube, pronto. Each ad features a manly man telling you how Old Spice products make men more manly. Not the most original idea, granted, but the key is the writing, the delivery and the

not have to do this immediately after making your changes). Be careful, though . Be sure not to disable a process if you do not know or are uncertain what it does. For example, disabling 'Microsoft Windows Operating System' would be bad .

Hopefully things will be running more quickly now, and remember that all you are doing here is disabling programs on start up. If you do need to use them later, you can always open and close them manually through your start menu and other shortcuts.

Similarly, you should take a look at your System Configuration's Services tab . Most of the Services there will be in place because they should be. However, it's very possible for unnecessary Services to be running on your PC. Possibly the best example of this is the 'Apple Mobile Device' Service, which Apple helpfully included in an iTunes update several months ago. The purpose of this Service is to help your computer interact more efficiently with your iPhone or iPod Touch. However most of us do not own one of these expensive devices, and

execution.

The surrealism is hilarious: men fly through trees, golf clubs are edible, oysters turn to diamonds. The deadpan deliveries only improve on the genius scripts, and the slick direction is demands repeat viewings. Check out Old Spice's You Tube channel, and get ready to man up.

I'm on a horse.

Duncan Vicat-Brown

if you fall into that category you can certainly disable this service.

Finally, if you are still looking for speed up your system, you can reinstall Windows, or whatever Operating System you run. This has the advantage of removing software and registry data which is no longer used or could be corrupt, however it is probably the most lengthy way to speed up a computer even if it is also the most effective and surefire way of doing so. Be aware though, all data on your computer will be deleted should you do this and must be backed up before the reformat. lt is possible to make all these changes and find very little or no difference to performance .

This may well be because the computer hardware in question is not up to the task of running newer software. For example, whilst 512MB of Random Access Memory (RAM) was more than enough to run Windows XP smoothly, it certainly is not sufficient to run Windows Vista, despite what Microsoft claim .

The same can be said for the newer Windows 7. Even systems equipped with 1GB of RAM can be found struggling, particularly when being asked to deal with demanding programs such as Adobe Photoshop or newer games.

However, besides buying and installing more RAM (a simple process, but one that can be a little costly, especially to students), there are methods of reducing the demand on your system.

A first suggestion would be to right click on your desktop, click on personalize (it will no doubt be spelt with a 'z' on your computer, given Microsoft's American roots), Appearance Settings, and choose the Vista Basic theme or Windows 7 Basic theme. This disables Aero the collective term for all the shiny visual effects employed by Windows Vista and Windows 7 to

improve the aesthetic of the OS. The effect of this can usually be seen instantly, just by looking at the resource use of the Desktop Windows Manager process (dwm .exe) in Task Manager, under the Processes tab. Normally one of the most memory-eating processes, with Aero off it will become one of the least expensive resources instantly.

Also recommended is keeping your computer clean of old, unneeded and temporary files . This reporter uses two programs developed by Piriform: CCieaner, and Defraggler - although this is not to say these are the only applications that will do the same job.

CCieaner locates files that the user will never interact with directly, and which the computer will never need to use again, and deletes them. Users can choose exactly where it looks for these excess files too. Defraggler is a defragmenter. Data stored on Hard Disk Drives (HOD) are stored in blocks, and are often not stored efficiently. Because loading data from a HOD requires physical movement, it can be very slow. lt is slower still when one part of a file is stored in one place on the drive and another is stored elsewhere and so on . Data distributed in this way is fragmented. By defragmenting it the time it takes to load data is decreased.

Ultimately these are tweaks that on well maintained machines will have little impact.

However, they can be very effective on older computers that have never had their Operating Systems reinstalled and are in dire need of simple maintenance. Of course, whilst most of what is described here is relatively straightforwafd. you should only implement any of it if you feel confident in your understanding of it and what you are doing.

French games developer Ubisoft, creator of such titles as Assassin's Creed, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter and Far Cry, will soon be implementing their new form of Digital Rights Management (DRM).

The company say that no CD/DVD will be required to play under the new system, and that garners will be able to install games to as many computers as possible, loading all their save files from Ubisoft's servers. To the average PC gamer, this sounds great.

However, this DRM will also only allow garners to play their games when connected to the internet. If the connection to Ubisoft's servers is lost, so too is the ability to continue playing.This means that not only will a connection to the internet need to be established and maintained to play games but, should anything happen on Ubisoft's end like

unexpected server downtime, garners could be left unable to play their games and with no way to fix the situation.

Ubisoft claim that, should the connection be lost, games will pause while the connection is reestablished, and if this fails it should allow players to resume without the connection.

However, presumably this means that there will be no way to save progress to Ubisoft's Cloud network.

Of course DRM is vital for PC games development to continue, but there has always been opposition to extremely invasive controls and the form seen in this new system is the most intefering to date. Whether it is successful in helping stamp out piracy is yet to be seen .

•

Sa m Taylor

William Moran

•

•

14

MAIN tÂŁATUR[ TIIf

wOltMAN

The Wolfman was once part of Universal Pictures' unholy

trinity, along with Dracula and Frankenstein's monster, during the studio's horror movie heydays in the 1940s.

This take on the story, directed

by Joe Johnston, looks to update the character for modern audiences, whilst paying homage to the Lon Chaney Jr. original. Benicio Del Toro stars as Lawrence Talbot, a successful stage actor estranged from his family who return s home to Blackmoore to investigate his brother Ben's ~ appearance

at the request of Ben's fiancee, Gwen.

After his brot her's co rpse is found muti lated, Lawrence hears rumours of a demonic

Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief follows a high school student who discovers that he is Poseidon's son. He

goes on a journey to rescue his mother and then attempts to find Mount Olympus so that he can stop Zeus from starting a celestial war.

The film, as expected, has some excel lent special effects which cou ld have easi ly been over done and distracting. Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief, however, manages to balance the effects so that it does not detract attention away from the plot.

The film also jumps straight into the action instead of a long dull introduction; the action begins within the first ten minutes, really managing

creature from the Blackmoore villagers and vows not to leave Blackmoore until his brother's killer is brought to justice.

However, after Lawrence barely survives an attack by the creature at a local gypsy camp, he is faced with the greater challenge of his own bestial nature . Del Toro also served as executive producer and is said to be a great fan of the 1941 original. Del Toro's respect for the original is evident throughout the film; it is littered wit h references to the 1941 production , from Lawrence's silver wolf's head cane to Gwen's occupation running an antiques shop. The Wolfman serves as an effective homage to the Chaney Jr.

original, but as a film in its own right, it falls a little short.

While it has its flaws, The Wolfman does get a few things right.

Firstly, the film looks and sounds great; cinematographer Shelly Johnson makes pretty much every shot sublime, particularly scenes taking place in the woods where moonlight creates sinister

to grab attention from the start.

Despite the film containing

A Single Man

some big names such as Uma Thurman, the acting seems rather amateur at various points. Also some parts of the story felt rushed, as if the characters had too much to do and too little time to do it in.

Overall, the film is quite interesting in regards to the treatment of ancient myths in the modern world; it does, however, feel like a junior version of Clash of the Titans.

Although entertaining, it is not by any means an epic film.

it to a 99 minute advert for perfume, while its advocates have exalted Tom Ford's imaginative culmination of style and substance.

Originally a novel written by the criminally underrated Christopher lsherwood,A Single Man follows a day in the life of gay middle-aged Englishman in LA, George Falconer (Firth) .

Still reeling from the death of his long-term partner, he sets about systematica lly planning his suicide while enduring intensely unique flashbacks of his dead lover.

The film does seem oddly familiar; themes of mortality and mourning hJve been

RacheiCoxon

5/10

opinion: slammed

its the

has divided critics have film, likening

shadows and in a Victorian that has been London, recreated beautiful ly. Danny Elfman's score is suitably gothic and grand without seeming over the top, whilst the set and costume design are lush in their detail. The make up artist for the film , Rick Baker, was apparently inspired into his profession by the 1941 original and his enthusiasm for

the project shows.

However, for all the cast and crew's enthusiasm for the film, The Wolfman seems to fall short of its mark. For one thing, the cast, despite being impressive, do not really give a performance worthy of their calibre. While Del Toro is fine as Lawrence, the rest of the cast do not really get an opportunity to shine.

Emily Blunt's Gwen has too little to do in the film ; her character goes from grieving widow to love interest and saviour for Lawrence, with so little explanation that her character feels flat. Anthony Hopkins also suffers from lack of character development: for a large proportion of the film

explored before, as has the figure of the unrecognized gay

Garry Marshal!, the director of Pretty Woman, has got

lover, yet Ford manages to very much reconsider these ideas rather than rehash them.

The film feels beautifully left-field and individual. The only faltering block, which is perhaps why it has been castigated with the 'long advert' label, is the sometimes clumsy soundt rack.

Creatively stunning and compositionally competent, A Single Man is sure to keep you captivated and provide Colin Firth with multiple gongs when it comes to awards season.

it right again. Following the actions of several people living in Los Angeles, the fi lm charts their movements throughout Valentine's Day, as they expe rience the highs and lows that only being in love, or single, can truly bring.

With echoes of He's Just Not That Into You, so many storylines to follow could have made the plot quite messy.

The young-boy-falling-in-love storyline lacks skill due to poor child-acting, but elsewhere efforts cannot be discredited .

Friendships blossoming into love, cheating partners and timeless love are all frequent themes, proving that love can exist at any age.

Hannah Livingston

9/10

he looks out of place. Hugo Weaving's Inspector Abbe rline comes off even worse; he has such little involvement in the film that it is a wonder that such a high profile actor was cast in the role.

The overall problem with the film is that the plot is not particularly inventive. The storyline is so straight forward that many people are going to know what happens at the end, an hour before they get there. This ruined the suspense that the film cou ld have potentially offered.

Bert Ward low

5/10

The

acting

is fantastic,

with Taylor Swift being surprisingly well cast, whilst Ashton Kutcher's character in particular really stands out. Scenes where Anne Hathaway's comical character moonlights as a phone sex worker, Bradley Cooper trying to shut the aeroplane window shutter with his foot and a failed attempt at a naked guitar seduction are worth the cinema price alone . Although correctly compared to Love Actually, this nonetheless stands out brilliantly on its own, as a funny, feel-good film.

Eliza beth Poole

8/ 10

I

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The Lovely Bones, adapted from Alice Sebold's novel, is about the murder of 14-yearold Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) in the 1970s America .

Serial child-killer, George (Stanley Tucci), meticulously plans an underground room to lure Susie into on her way home from school. Susie relays the lead up to her death while existing in 'the in-between'.

From this limbo-like place, she watches over those left behind and puts her father on George's trail.

Director, Peter Jackson, implements CGI effects that move from being visually stunning to mere indulgence.

A hybrid landscape of waterfalls, glaciers and cornfields becomes a cartoon-

like backdrop that jars with the film's subject. To Jackson's credit, other scenes are deployed with strict precision, such as Susie's fatal encounter with George. Tucci is chilling as his mellow and benign exterior quickly dissolves, revealing psychopathic urges.

The grief of Susie's parents is equally affecting. Lighter relief is offered in the form of Susie's Grandma Lynn (Susan Sarandon).

Although the sentimental aspects brush over the horrific theme of child murder, Ronan and Tucci's gripping performances are definitely worth a watch .

Emma Featherstone

Pixar clearly believe that the key to telling any great story is a good beginning, because the opening ten minutes of Up is an absolutely astonishing passage of cinema. In a delicately animated, almost wordless sequence, Up charts the birth, growth and maturity of the love between hero Carl Fredrickson and his wife Ellie. In mere minutes, the film conjures moments of genuine emotion, crafting a deep human connection with the stylised CGI couple.

In a beautiful example of cinematic synthesis, everything - direction, animation, music - comes together to evoke believability in ten minutes that most movies could not muster in two hours.

But the trouble with an opening as flawless as this is that it is difficult to top. And it is here that Up hits a slight snag, because the remainder of the movie never truly manages to scale such heights again. This is exemplified by some notable weak spots - the movie lacks a

6/10 DVD R[L[AS[S

I

Crazy Heart is the tale of Bad Blake, a 57 year old broke Country and Western singer.

Led by Jeff Bridges, the film follows this guitar picker essentially doing nothing.

Well he does do something, lots of things actually, it is just that nobody cares. Writer and director Steve Cooper seems to have taken the allegory of the tumbleweed blowing in the wind a bit too far; as Blake drifts from town to town, the film drifts in and out of consciousness as to what's going on .

The film tries to save itself with the entrance of its ensemble cast; first with love interest Maggie Gyllenhaal, then with Slake's musical nemesis Tommy in the form of

Colin Farrell. Both, however, fail to inspire any craziness, but only offer unnecessary character building reminiscent of No Country for Old Men .

The film is reminiscent of The Wrestler, as Jane (Gyllenhaal) comes from the same stock as Marisa Tomei; lonely women who pick up strays. Blake has a child he has not spoken to in years and is travelling a self-destructive path towards a heart. attack.

Blake strums on his guitar "The days and nights all feel the same"- that is how it feels for audiences.

truly great villain, and the story occasionally meanders when it should surge forward.

Ultimately, for eighty minutes, Up is wonderful film making that reeks of quality and invention in every frame.

However, in those opening ten minutes, Up soars above wonderful - and is absolutely spectacular. liam O'Brien

Based on the best-selling book

by Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Trove/er's Wife relays the lifelong love between artist, Clare (Rachel McAdams) and a Chicago librarian, Henry (Eric Bana). The only spanner in the romantic works is Henry's genetic disorder, Chrono Impairment, or, in much plainer terms, his unnerving ability to time travel.

Constantly appearing and disappearing throughout her life, Clare is left battling to stay connected with Henry,

8/10

Catherine Watts

4/10

Based on the pulp fiction character created by Robert E. Howard, Solomon Kane is a tale of a mercenary, who upon meeting the devils reaper renounces his violent and greedy ways, taking refuge in a monastery. However, Kane is forced back into violence in order to rescue a girl and England from the clutches of an evil sorcerer which will earn his redemption .

The film is aesthetically pleasing, set in the background of the 60th century; the historical details are mostly accurate, giving the film a sense of realism and also setting the dark tone of the film, which is additionally helped by the continuous rain fall. In addition to the overall

detail, each shot seems to be composed with a careful and artistic touch, as if they were meant to be captured as a still,.

Whilst this film has many good points, it has a weakness which lies within the narrative structure. The action scenes peak and then lull soon after; there are some excellent bloody battle scenes but then the story slows, including scenes which do not progr ., the narrative any further.

Overall this is a good film which is worth watching for the blood, style and James Purfefory's performance as Kane .

RacheiCoxon

always unsure when and if she will see him again and, if so, which version of him it will be. Director Robert Schwentke faced a difficult task with this adaptation, cramming quite a complicated plotline into 103 minutes of screen time. Yet, he pulls it off with an evident flair for keeping the heart of the original tale alive.

Rachel McAdams creates an engaging, intelligent character in a performance which is much to her credit, as Clare could easily have

been made too much of a drippy, dependant wife.

Equally, Eric Bana may surprise audiences with his convincing performance as the romantic lead. This romantic drama should live up to its audiences' expectations but, a warning; you may well find yourself unashamedly shedding tears.

7/10

Lorna Pontefract

8/10

•

16

W"ooo'W

CtN[MATH~ CtASSH~S Illl~ (()NVl]~S!\T[()N (1974)

RAT[D OR SLAT[D? ANIGf[T}1AR[ ON [LM SIR[[[ The rumours are true; 2010 will see the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street. The classic 1984 slasher film was directed

by Wes Craven, featuring Johnny Depp in his campy film debut. The film followed Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) whose life was blurred by the distinction between dream and reality; the former conta ining the infamous Freddy Krueger who was intent on acquisitioning his revenge on the residents of Elm Street who burnt him al ive.

While A Nightmare on Elm Street was extensive ly psychological and multifarious for a slasher film, its eight S.eA;;uels eventually proved that even the world of dreams has a boundary, ultimately subjecting the latter films to typical slasher conventions.

Significantly, the remake is to be produced by Michael Bay, the director of Armageddon and Transformers. This suggests that a key motive to producing

that even Craven has admitted.

If it has not risen to the surface thus far in this era of horror remakes, it is almost unfeasible that a contemporary slasher remake can compare with its original. The slasher sub-genre had a unique period in cinematic history which simply is not compatible with 21st century cinema.

Not only are they so heavily compared with th eir original, but cont emporary culture is

this remake is to connect the with Nightmare franchise Bay's infatuation for modern ci nematic technology. Whilst the thematic principal of the original film may have ~.; n emotionally complex, avai lable the technology at the time was unable to complement it; something

slasher film is limited to now, but also a new set of political guid elin es which impact upon the physicality that the film can convey to the cinematic viewer.

According to producer Brad Fuller, a key motive for creating this remake is to "focus more on trying to craft a

The Event got the chance to talk to Robert Kenner and Eric Schlosser, the producer and director behind the recently released documentary-film, Food, Inc. taking an inside look at the food industry. We sit down for a chat about the film makers' intentions, and the challenges behind making such a controversial film.

our food production. Many of the people who could finance this film wanted nothing to do with this topic; the big food companies refused to be involved or interviewed.

There was a surprising lack of access - a film about nuclear terrorism would have better access. The companies just do not want the world to know how they operate.

Eric Schlosser: it 's not really a film about food , but a film about power.

y th Robert Kenner : was fascinated in tracing back how food gets to our tables, what goes on behind the curtain with

now too politically aw are of the unpleasant affects of the slasher film, which impedes the entire production process of the film itself. it is not only stMct conventions that the

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horrifying movie" as opposed to focusing on the campy, flamboyant nature of Freddy Krueger as the latter films in the series explored. To many fans of the original, it so unds as if the new Freddy will be somewhat unrecognisable.

Not only will he be the victim of a new technological era, but his infamous persona is being severed. This will turn a once fascinating character into something more sombre and uninteresting.

Wh at worked so well with the original film was the idea of a villain whom we actually cared for. Although Freddy committed some of the most brutal murders in cinematic history, he was still characteristically alluring which was an uncommon facet in the slasher genre.

Now, however, it sounds as if A Nightmare on Elm Street is merging with the more stern nature of Friday the 13th or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which will dispose of the excl usi ve element that once underpinned the series. lt is almost time to prepare ourselves for what could be one of the most disappointing horror remake s in cinematic history. If only the idea of this film was a horrible nightmare.

Adam Scales

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Of the four films Francis Ford Coppola directed in the 1970s - The Godfather ports 1-2, Apocalypse Now and The Conversation - the latter is perhaps the one that is most easily forgotten. A modest picture by all accounts, it conceals itself between the towering peaks of his two Godfather films. Similarly, it lacks the luridly psychedelic extremes of Apocalypse Now and its star, Gene Hackman, has never possessed the box office clout of Marlon Brando or AI Pacino. Yet it is a highly notable picture and, of Coppola's quartet, it is the film which. has proved most incisive and prescient.

American politics had entered a tumultuous period in the early 1970s; the Vietnam War was raging and, with Richard Nixon's disgrace in the Watergate Scandal, where the president used surveil lance technology to spy upon political opponents, faith ir: U.S. leaders was at an all time low. The Conversation was born from these times.

Released April 7th 1974, four months before Nixon resigned his presidency, the film coldly reflect s a world where even the President of the USA could be found tapping phones and ·orchestrating criminal acts.

The Conversation tells the

and

differeflt

companie

di5tance the message from RK: it's part of a movement. it's not just film but books as well.

ES: You can see this in people responding to things like the Vietnam War. When something angers people they group together to protest against it. There is a growing awareness that there is a problem and people wish to do something.

E1t nt Do you feel t'l f+n will be well rece1ved n •h uuntry or w I th d1ff £ rt produrts

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RK: You have to remember that this is first and foremost a film - not a message. We want to entertain, educate and inform.

ES: Foreign films can be enjoyab le even if they contain

story of surveillance expert Harry Caul (Hackman) who is employed by a high ranking executive to spy on a young couple who appear to be engaging in an adulterous liaison. Caul comes to believe that his espionage may lead to the murder of the couple should he hand over his recordings.

Like Coppola's other 1970s releases, The Conversation deals with institutional corruption, though perhaps more explicitly than his three epics. Difficult through its icy detachment - Caul lives in a world of gleaming, exposed skyscrapers and anonymous hotel rooms - its relative unpopularity is perhaps due to its lack of geographical or historical displacement. For the audience of the 1970s, Harry Caul was clearly a character of the present. He was not a 1940s gangster, nor was he a philosophy spouting tyrant lifted from a late 19th Century novella, but a modest everyman finding his

alien concepts. This is not to say that what we say the film is not applicable to a European audience.

RK: Smithfields have just recently bought up a number of hog farms in Romania; what has happened n America is now happening in Eastern Europe.

You may not have GMO crops in this country, but chances are the meat you eat has been fed on them and in due time these crops will start to be introduced.

Tt•Ec Event w s

D1d you ee 1t necessary to i elude

identity torn apart by constant surveillance and manipulation by figures of authority.

The Conversation was very much a film of the 1970s, burd ened with the doubts of the Vietnam generation and fear of those who wield power. it heads a legion of similarly themed thrillers from the 1970s -All the President's Men , Klute and Three Days of the Condor to name but a few. Yet it is also relevant to the culture of today. Perhaps the fragmentation of the individual's identity under surveillance that Coppola's film depicts is continuing as masses of personal information flood s the Internet and antiterrorism measures begin to invade people's privacy. The Conversation is all about being seen and not being seen; almost forty years on it is arguable that the technology may have advanced, but the film 's message remains just as ·important.

Luke Nash

potentially shocking images or were you worried about alienating sections of the t.

•

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RK: it's remarkable how sanitised the film is - there are not many gory images in the film itself. Not a fraction of what we filmed at the Smithfields hog farm made it in. We don't want people to close their eyes, but to open their minds.

ES: Variety said that the film does for the supermarket what Jaws did for the beach.

Luke Nash

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SIIOCKWAVIS NM[AWARDS 2010 The Event's Sean Harris grabbed the guys from Bombay Bicycle Club for a chat before their performance in this year's NME Awards Tour at the LCR ...

You played Norwich last year, how does it feel to be back?

Suren: We love Norwich! We've played here 3 or 4 times and we did Latitude festival last summer, which was really fun .

Ed: Everyone is really nice to us. This area seems to like us!

You've played your fair share of festivals. How is that experience in comparison to your regular gigs?

E: Festivals are kind of fun. The sound-check is immediately before you play and then you're only on stage for around 40 minutes. After that you just chill out at the festival. Our favourite venue to play though is a place called the Union Chapel in London. it's like a little church, or, indeed, chapel, and we all really like it.

J

2009 was a big year for Bombay Bicycle Club, but you guys have had big things predicted for you since you were 15 years old. How has it been coping with the hype?

E: I don't think we really noticed it to be honest. We still hang out with the same people we've always hung out with and we do the same things. it's just that whilst other people have jobs, we go off and do this and then come back, but things are as they always were.

Jamie have though and they're really pleased to be here.

S: We love the other bands. The Maccabees are really good live!

The Big Pink and The Drums are lovely guys too.

Do you have any band tips of your own?

E: A band called the Dutch Uncles.

S: Yeah! Listen to them!

E: They supported us on our last tour. Also watch out for a band called The Flashguns. They should be big!

Once this tour is finished, what's next for BBC? There are rumours of an acoustic album ...

S: Yeah .. We've been meaning to finish that ...

E: For about a year now ...

S: But the final deadline is in two days time. So it will be finished ...because it has to be. And once that is done we're in talks with producers about our next proper album, so there is

The NME tour has featured some high calibre bands in the past. How do you feel to be a part of it? And what do you think about the other bands on the bill?

S: it's quite a privilege I guess.

E: I've never been to any of the NME tours before ... Jack and

Ill~ DRUMS

•

• I

The musical heritage that precedes The Drums in the opening slot of the NME tour contains more than a few heavy hitters: Coldplay, Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs fo name a few. With the buzz surrounding the band after being named in various critics as a band to watch for 2010, there was a decent level of expectation heading into the gig.

But, like the English national football team, British summertime and the Royal Mail, high expectations can only lead to greater

much more to come!

Having put in an appearance at last'year's Latitude Festival and more recently playing the Waterfront, Bombay Bicycle Club are no strangers to this part of the world and their fan-base here is rapidly growing. The teenage rockers were able to rouse yet another spirited response from their Norwich following as they performed as part of this year's NME awards tour at the LCR. Jack Stead man and the rest of BBC sprang into their set with an enthusiasm and energy the like of which the Londoners have built a reputation around . What was perhaps more impressive, however, was not their ability to generate such excitement within the grateful crowd, but the controlled manner in which the band delivered their performance; demonstrating a level of maturity far beyond their years. , Rattling through a list of fan -favourites such as Magnet, Dust on the Ground, and the sing-along anthem, Always Like This, it was clear that Stead man had managed to capture the attention of his audience much more effectively than the bands before him (a sizeable achievement considering the standard that had been set). Though it could be said that the initial reaction was a faintly reluctant one, possibly due to an unfamiliarity held by a significant portion of the crowd, it was clear that Bombay Bicycle Club were not content with simply acting as a final warmup act for The Maccaabees. The young indie-rockers remained unrelenting as they blasted their alternatively trendy, geek-rock brand into a venue that, by the end of their set, was sorry to see them leave. This typically edgy performance is sure to push the band closer to the success that they so clearly deserve.

Ill[ MACCAR~[S disappointment. The New York lndie-Pop rockers' weird blend of sunshine Americana and dour miserablism seemed to create nothing more than a candy veneer of charm that begun to grind on the audience by the end of their short, but bombastic set. Front man Jonathan Pierce's flamboyant, if awkward, arm movements seemed as rehearsed and prepared as the overproduced backing track to their latest recent single Let's Go Surfing- a deliriously sugary pop affa ir.

Not to say the foursome were without their charms. The delicate balance between the anodyne pop and the poignancy of their set made for an interesting sound but one the band have not learned how to effectively air in a live performance as well as it comes across in their critically acclaimed EP Summertime! Perhaps, like many bands touted for big things that have preceded them, The Drums have failed to properly flourish under the hype, or perhaps they will come into fruition when their debut album is released in June this year- don't buy into the buzz, just yet anyway.

Michael Bond

You'd have been forgiven for thinking you'd stumbled into an episode of Skins. With jeggings and plimsolls as far as the eye could see, the unfeasibly young crowd had clearly dressed to impress. However, despite their youth they were a tough crowd to win over and remained pretty lifeless throughout the two support acts; and despite their best efforts and a frantic performance from guitarist Jacob Graham, The Drums failed to elicit more than a whimper.

The Big Pink faired slightly better but lead singer Robbie Furze was still forced to shout out "Are you there Norwich?" it was only during their respective 'hits' - I Felt Stupid and Dominoes - that either band managed to raise the heart rate inside the packed LCR .

The stage was set for headliners The Maccabees, who entered to rapturous screams and Neil Young. Last time Concrete had seen the band was their 2007 Reading set at which they seemed hugely deferential to the crowd .

Here they owned the stage and showed their confidence by covering I am Kloot's Because and throwing away Toothpaste Kisses (during

•

which singer Orlando Weeks exhibited some pretty impressive whistling), before the encore. The onstage set up, comprising of a brass section and an extra member to bash the keyboards also showed that the band weren' t taking any prisoners. Poppy classics from the first album such as Precious Time and First Love were played alongside the slightly darker new material. Both sets of songs were well received, but the cro.wd really went crazy for the songs they could bounce around to . Ultimately it was a gig that offered few surprises, but surprises were not what the crowd had braved t he snow for. Scrawny, sensitive boys playing gu itar were enough to send us home happy.

Lucy Moore

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The Event's Shaun Kitchener and Duncan Vicat-Brown debate th e relevance and significance of the British institution of the BRIT Awards, 30 years on from it's inception as the biggest event in Britain's music calendar.. .

Things go wrong, stars behave badly, some of the winners seem bizarre choices - but for 30 yea rs the Brits have been Britain's answer to the Grammys (granted, with a lot less grace and elegance), and that's not go ing to change an ytim e soon.

Each year the ceremony is bound to split opinion, but it does (on the whole, at least) reflect what is popular at that moment in time.

A few years ago the 'Best Pop Act' category was wiped out upon the realisation that pop wasn't really " in ", and landfill indie was showered with gongs left, right and centre. Now in 2010 the trend has more-or-less reversed, with pop sweeping the board and the only indie victory going to the well-deserving Best British Group winners Kasabian . .,.. Of course when one genre take s over the

selling millions of records despite them being average at best, Cheryl Cole is se lling based on her personality and performance rather than vocal ability, and Liam Gallagher is still behaving like Oasis are the biggest band in the country. lt may not please everyone, and yes the show itself is prone to disaster; but it 's a British institution, and will be for a long while yet.

industry you ' re always going to alienate those who favour different music, and yes you could argue that, like the Grammys, the Brits should include various genre-specific categories; but as it is the ceremony is a great snapshot of the contemporary music scene. Lady Gaga proving overwhelming popular whilst wearing a ridiculous outfit? Check. JLS winning publicvoted awards, thus succeeding on fanbase size rather than quality of musica l outp ut? Check.

Cheryl Cole miming with fo rce through a we llchoreographed, pretty decent so:1g? Check.

Liam Gallagher behaving like it's the 1990s?

Check. This is how the British music scene is at !.Qe moment- Lady Gaga is everywhere, JLS are

Shaun Kitchener

After last Tuesday's festivities, some of you may be shaking your heads and exclaiming 'The BRIT Awards are dead!', suggesting that, perhaps, Britain's most beloved Music Award s Ceremony may have jumped the shark somewha t. Peter 'Not Famous Anymore' Kay as the host? Three awards for Lady 'I'm SO affected by McQueen's death, I can only sing album tracks' Gaga? Two for JLS, who, let's not forget, couldn't even win the X Factor? The Spice Girls (never knew there were only two of them) given an award for the best BRIT's performance ever? For a so-called '30 year extravaganza', a celebration of three decades of British music, it was a bit... wet.

What about the glory days? Where was the celebration of genres we basically invented, like Brit-pop, trip-hop and grime? Remember the year when Blur won four? The one when Jarvis Cocker upstaged Michael Jackson?

That Goldigger performance? Yes, when seen through hazy, nostalgic eyes, the BRIT's appear to have taken something of a nosedive of late. But.. . have they? Or has it always been a superficial money fight, where the big label execs slap each other's backs, then go home for coke-fuelled orgies amongst big piles of cash?

The answer: of course it has. The fact is that members of the 'academy', who choose the winners, are all members of the BPI. All one thousand -ish of them. The BPI itself is entirely made up of industry representatives, and accounts for around 90% of the UK's musical output. Ever noticed what happens after The

BRIT's each year? Lots of people see who the winners are, then they go out and buy lots and lots of their music, and the UK music industry makes lots more delicious money (no surprise to see Gaga and Florence's albums back in the top five this week) . And who represents the music industry? The BPI. The plot thickens ...

The simple fact is that The BRIT's have never handed out their little statuettes based on talent . Even the critically acclaimed winners from the days of yore, such as Oasis, Blur, The Verve, Franz Ferdinand, and Arctic Monkeys, were rare examples of unique talents who also happened to make oil-strike levels of money for their labels. Other than that it's been Robbie, Dido and Blunt, writ large.

Final point: want to know who has won more awards than anyone else? Annie friggin' Lennox. No, I don't know why either.

Duncan Vicat-Brown

Oluwatobi Amadasun and Preena Tanna discuss the impact of pan -African sounds in contemporary music and the UEA's adoption of the genre .. .

The exotic Na'vi tribe who inhabit Pandora, in the highest grossing movie of all time, Avatar, have captured the hearts of the public with their endeari ng qualities and incomparable love for all things to do with mother earth and nature.

A similar exoticism is casting its spell over the music world as music moguls like Jay Z , Wyclef Jean and Akon have all emb raced pan-African influences and even demonstrated this in some of their own music. lt is not, however, their attention to this genre of music that has created this excitement but the current buzz African hip-hop artistes are generating around the world.

Asa, a smooth melody singer can be compared to Sade Adu (who wa s on the French top 100 album charts for 79 weeks with her self titled album ASA), Nigerian supe rstar D'banj (aka "African Michael Jackson") and chart-topping Duo P-square (who thrilled the world with their hit single Do Me in 2006).

This proves without a doubt that Afrobeats are becoming increasingly popular amongst music fans fro m aro und the globe.

Afrobeats are a combination of traditiona l African me lodies,

whose unique sounds and beats can be likened to RnB and Hip -Hop. As a result of events organised by AvivaXtacy Promotions, which strictly provide Afrobeats music, students at the UEA have also caught on to this and have reciprocated with immense enthusiasm. Due to the intense anticipation of events hosted by Tunji " DJ Papaz" Yahaya, a second year Law student, he and his team have stepped it up a notch to give the whole university a taste of Africa through music.

Plato once said, "Music is a moral law. lt gives sou l to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, gaiety and life to everything; it is the essence of order and lends to all that is good, just, and beautiful.' This characterises Afrobeats quite well and defines what this beautiful genre stands for.

Livewire radio is brave and ready for change; Afrobeats Live wi ll bring all the newest songs out of Africa. With DJ Papaz in control, it's only a matter of time before we have an all A fro beats event at the LCR. Catch Afrobeats Live on Livewire 1350 (www. livewire1350.com) every Thursday from 22.30pm -OO.OOam.

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LIVf RM[WS > > > "Anyone heard of us?" questions Tom Jenkins, lead singer of first support act Straight Lines.

Apparently not, from the silence that greets him from the audience. However, if tonight's performance is anything to go by, this is soon set to change. With their energetic pop-punk songs, catchy lyrics, instrumental skills and friendly attitude, Straight Lines are instantly likeable. Originating from Pontypridd in South Wales, home of Lostprophets, Straight Lines appear set for great things. Their debut album, Persistence in This Game, came out Monday 15th February and is 'bound to gain them some popularity. In contrast, second support act White Light Parade are far less memorable.

Their repetitive music and lyrical content makes for a disappointing performance, and the aggressive manner of lead singer Danny Yates is more than a little off-putting. lnMe, however, are the real stars of the evening. Aptly naming this their "Revival" tour,

they are clearly hoping to create an impression following the success of their greatly esteemed latest album, Herald Moth, released 14th September 2009. For this reason they play predominantly from Herald Moth, showcasing the fast-paced and progressive rock songs.

New member Gary Marlow, although only announced as their second guitarist 11 days previously, fits in seamlessly, creating an impressive live performance from the fourpiece.

Despite focusing mainly on their new material, the band also play a selection from their first three albums, including Underdose, their first ever single. Highlights include the popular Faster the Chase from second album White Butterfly and the hugely catchy Single of the Weak from their latest album, a song that was surely made to be performed live.

Although their livelier songs demonstrate the band's musical talent and induce an

enthusiastic reaction in the audience, the slower songs are where Dave McPherson's vocal talent shines through. The true highlight of the evening comes in slow song Chamber from their second album, where McPherson's powerful vocals and emotional response to the song create a striking and evocative atmosphere.

A hardworking and talented band who have released four critically acclaimed albums, it is a shame In Me never seem to quite achieve the recognition and popularity they deserve.

When McPherson thanks fans for their dedication and declares the band will continue doing what they love "no matter how bankrupt we get", it only makes them more likeable.

In Me are a thoroughly genuine and loyal band; they visit Norwich annually and one can only hope to see them play to larger audiences in the future.

Den Bartlett

TWisT£D tOLK > ARTs CooR£ > SATURDAY 13TII t£RRUAR

Alessi's Ark settled into the Birdcage perfectly, surrounded by the quirky decor that is so reminiscent of her unique voice and style.

The back room of the pub became a music venue for the night, and half the floor space accommodated a makeshift stage, with tables and vintage chairs around the room seating the audience of no more than 30 people drinking tea; a slightly odd choice for a gig, but strangely fitting to the kooky folk outfits and the venue's distinctive vintage atmosphere.

Adelaide's Cape, a.k.a. Sam Taylor, opened the gig with a heartfelt, yet unfavourably long and winding set. Although obviously talented and committed, his music tires easily in such a small space with a set as stripped down as the venue allowed (voice and electro-acoustic guitar), and the songs began to merge and the audience grew restless.

The mention of folk music sends most normal people running, or in extreme cases, leaping off bridges. Quite often it isn't without good reason . Twisted Folk aims to set the story straight. Mixing 'adventurous folk and twisted pop', they promote the kind of thing that has far more in common with Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear then the lutes and mandolin led groups from Britain's murky past.

Beth Jeans Houghton is a woman who quite clearly loves her wigs. Tonight she sports a large blonde one, continuing to fuel speculation on what her real hairstyle may be. Her backing band, the Hooves of Destiny,

are also well dressed for the occasion with shirts, ties and pencilled moustaches that wouldn't be out of place in a renaissance era cafe meeting. Maybe they're a bit too chatty and slightly twee, but their witty orchestral art pop resonates in the church setting of the NAC. Final song, I Will Return, I Promise could be a hit in the making, although Houghton's creativity may prove to be a double-edged sword as it may be the one thing that keeps her from breaking into the ma·instream. eo-headliners Stornoway featured in the nominations for BBC's Sound of 2010. They failed to -place in the final five but by tonight's

Nonetheless, the interchange between opener and first headliner .Rachael Dadd was mercifully quick. Using the battered upright piano fused into the background of the setting, Rachael initiated her almost magical set on banjo, progressing to piano and, finally, guitar. Confident and completely at home on stage, if not slightly oddly dressed (yellow dress, red waistcoat, neon turquoise trousers), she played true to her appearance with unconventional bells tied to her legs, stamping to make rhythm, and breathy vocals forming a constant smile on her face. Claiming inspiration from working at the Bristol docks, songs about geese and advanced pianist skills set the scene for Alessi's forthcoming fairytale stories.

Completely humbled but jittery and nervously chatty, Alessi connected immediately

with the audience, abandoning her setlist and instead. asking fans what would be suitable to play. Starting with a new song from a promised forthcoming EP, followed by the popular The Horse, she slipped effortlessly between banter and song, her perplexing musical vocals providing a surreal experience. Songs from her debut album Notes from the Treehouse were stripped down to near-accapella, but still retained the depth and talent of the fully orchestrated arrangements on record .

Slightly disappointing was· 'forgetting how to play' the album opener Magic Weather, yet the performance was faultless, the performer friendly, interesting and modest. Alessi became a friend rather than a musical superior at the Birdcage, and her show a timeless memory.

Helen Thomas

showing they're certainly not disappearing into obscurity anytime soon. Melodic, confident vocals from frontman Brian Briggs coupled with appropriately Scottish-highland -sounding backing chants make every song seem like an anthem, albeit one better suited to pastoral fields than to stadiums. Their inexperience shows at times as they struggle to get equipment working or mix up the days -4( of the week, but for the most part Stornoway are first in line to make folk music cool again .

Wait, come back!

Michael Blunt

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More than an entire decade has passed since Built To Spill released the phenomenal Keep it Like A Secret. Despite following it with two _____..average releases, the lack of material to rival that classic or indeed 1997's Perfect From Now On may contribute to the band's relative

obscurity on these shores. it is fortunate then that with There Is No Enemy, the Idaho mdierockers return with an album to bring them firmly back into the spotlight and may have even score d them the hat trick of landmark records .

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Martsch to reclaim past glories is clear from the offset. Opener Aisle 13 is a pounding introduction for tho se unfamiliar with BTS's previou s work, for long tlme fans it is clear inkling that they are back where they belong.

Nowhere Lullaby is Mercury Rev drenched in heavier guitars, while the post-punk Pat condenses all the energy of Keep it ... into two and a half pulsating m mutes. The real standout is Things Fall Apart, a psyc hedelic epic with superb lyrics ("Stay out of my nightmares/ Stay out of my dreams/ You're not even welcome/ In my memories") and just as it appears to be all over, the hypnotic refrain is suddenly pierced by a haunting mariachi breakdown. lt is quite possibly, after almost 20 years, the best song that BTS have ever written.

There Is No Enemy does not radically invent the wheel but then you suspect that's because BTS had a hand in inventing it in the first place.

Whether or not this, their seve nth album, will see them finally reach the acclaim they deserve remains to be seen. it is, however, a defiant statement that they stlll have what it takes to stay, at th e very lea st , in contention as one of the best Amencan indie bands of all time.

Owls are wise - pretty cool. Cities are cool - at least southern, vibrant ones are. Living in a city inhab1ted by owls would definitely be cool. Yet sadly Ocean Eyes doesn't quite live up to the grand fantasy of living in an owl utopia.

Owl City, the brain child of Adam Young, originated in 2007 as an escape from the drudgery of corporate America; the premise of a city of owls seemingly the ideal escape from a job with Coca Cola and incessant insomnia.

Ocean Eyes is Young's third album and first major relea se, and the saccha rine production of the record is indicative of label backing. This

wfth sugary faux sentiment, delivered in a comically creepy whispered style similar to Trace Cyrus and distractingly punctuated with clumsy electronic beats . Young is seemingly like a child in a sweet shop, aroused by endless possibilities and a bit too much pocket money. Hello Seattle, another future single, is a stand-out track due to the fact that it is merely less clumsy than most of the album and thus seemingly less conceited.

Ocean Eyes was physically released on July 28, 2009 in America, entering at number 27 in the billboard chart and now certified Gold. The vast majority of the success this album has already achieved, one presumes (if not from the merits alluded to by owls and cities) is due to lead single Fireflies, which reached number one in America, Canada and the UK; a single tolerable due to its blatant similarity to every Postal Service track ever. The Postal Service are most renowned for their song Such Great Heights, and love it or hate it, Owl City is flying at such a height on a wave of hype.

Young has admitted in seve ral interviews to being heavily influenced by The Postal Service, but dismisses th e similarity. Clearly his senses are not as in tune as his owl friends.

Michael Blunt

sentiment is best encompassed by future single

Oliver Brooks

Strawberry Avalanche, which literally cascades

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7/ 10 hearts. This, be it good or bad, sets the tone for the rest of the album.

Understandably devoid of any sort of brass, The Sea presents itself as a much more downbeat and melancholic work than what came before it. Even the fun jumpy tracks like the brilliant Paper Dolls, which harps back to a bit of early 70's funk, are underpinned to a lost

it's been a good few years since Corinne Bailey Rae slipped into obscurity. A seminal self-titled debut album and one of the better live ensembles in the industry were quickly forgotten following the tragic death of her husband and saxophonist, Jason Rae. Bailey Rae's recent appearance on Later with Jool s Holland saw her performing a teary rendition of I'd do it of/ Again, the first single to be taken from the album. Her uneven voice, clearly not ready to be singing about her late husband was enough to melt the coldest of

and disturbed sounding voice.

Whatever way you look at it, Bailey Rae is not ready to be performing again, she's still got a lot of pain to carry and this is where opinion on the album can spl1t. Is it an artistic endeavour that re ally should have been left for another year, or is it a fantastic testimony to her character that she's beanng her shattered soul on stage?

Regardless of how you look at it, it's still a fantastic album. it's one of the few albums without any specifically bad so ngs and there are too many memorable songs to pick just a few, but something still seems inexplicably wrong and jarring about the whole thing.

Perhaps these days it's just too difficult to see something on it's own merits without absorbing stories in the press left, right and centre.

Alex Dalligan

But it's between those listens that the songs improve - melodies get stuck in the head and the whole record becomes much more approachable.

There's much more to this record than just noise . Hyunhye 's Theme has some soothingly delicate guitar while atonal swells

Jamie Stewart's seventh effort at the helm of Xiu Xiu could have been an uncomfortable transition after the departure of a long term collaborator, his cousin Caralee McEiroy, and critical success with electronic prOJeCt Former Ghosts. Instead he has created a record with a scope greater and a unity more focused than any of his previous albums.

Though opening track and the band's most accessible song to date, Grey Death, hints at a lighter mood than earlier effo-rts, like most Xiu Xiu albums the first listen s are hard going.

flow underneath it, never breaking the fragile beauty. More of a shock than any crash is the almost alarmingly straight-up version of traditional banjo tune Cumber/and Gap. If the synths elsewhere ever feel overwhelmingly inhuman, just remember that they were largely created on a pink Hello Kitty Nintendo DS. That sums up the whole record: however bleak and unrelenting it can seem, it has a heart at its centre- one which is more cheerful than on earlier efforts.

This album feels like Stewart is refreshed by the line-up's shake-u p and his side projects.

Nothing is rad1cally different, but more of the same is fine with suc h a high standard. This isn't the truly great record he's so obviously got in him (which might be Former Ghosts's Fleurs anyway), but it's a strong effort from a unique artist.

Will Donovan

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8/ 10 Mumford and Sons, the latest nu-folk offering (and quite possibly the best yet), have presented their fans with yet more tunefully astute sounds in the shape of their third studio single. With The Cave, Marcus Mumford and company have produced a record that has both an instantly recognizable style and an unusually alternative sound. The track has the familiar jiglike opening riff, a lonely but strong vocal throughout its verses and the typically climactic feel about each of its choruses. Yet there is something that sets it apart from other Mum ford and Sons records, or indeed records produced by bands functioning withjn the same genre.

Perhaps The Cave could be considered a less lyrically recognisable single, and it is the absence of any clear cut sing'C!Iong moments that individualises it. However, within this folky tune there remains an earthy happiness, the like of which has become synonymous with this impressive folk rock band. A record that allows its listener to transport themselves to a rustic village built within a leafy countryside in which it is the norm to dance around with rolled up trousers, a loose brown waistcoat and no shoes can only be one tliing. A winner!

Sean Harris

7/ 10

Wu Tang Clan veterans Method Man and Raekwon follow up a 15 year old hip-hop classic with a fantastic single from their upcoming album with Ghostface Killah, Three The Hard Way. Riding high off of the release of long awaited album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx.. . Pt 11, The Chef is at the top of his game, and battling with Method Man brings out the best in both. They fight it out in alternate verses in their usual misogynist and highly referential style, throwing out everyone from AI Capone to Jay-Z before settling on plain, old fashioned 'your mum' jokes. If you like Wu Tang Clan you can't help but love this. One of the only downs ides to the song is the production, handled by long-time Wu Tang collaborator Mathematics. While he is a very talented producer and there's no questioning the quality of the production, it lacks the signature gritty style used by RZA on the original single Meth Vs Chef pt I, from Method Man's classic first solo album Tical. .

Clearly both Method Man and Raekwon love making music and their enjoyment really adds to just how fun the track is. If Meth Vs Chef pt 11 is any indication, Three The Hard Way is going to be one of the more exciting releases this year.

Trying to review the new Fan Death EP provides something of a challenge. Initially one is drawn to this record because of the fantastic album cover. When you first listen to the EP the first thought to spring to mind might be "it's very 80s." And it is. There are the somewhat ethereal female vocals, such as on Reunited and Cannibal, but which really characterise the album as a whole, which are almost reminiscent of Annie Lennox. The electronic and digital instrumentation, particularly noticeable on the track 'Soon', is returning to an almost Kraftwerkian resonance.

However, alongside these throw-backs, there are real strings and a lyrical content that concerns more than just sex and an overly romanticised image of everlasting love.

Fan Death hark-back to the musical direction of eighties electronica, a look at their top Myspace friends shows us their admiration of the Cure and Depeche Mode. However, they are a band very much aware of the time frame in which they exist. The eighties were a starting block from which they have plunged into the current musical scene. Fan Death are an acquired taste, but worth a curious glance, even if it is just for the fantastic cover.

Christopher Mills

Jonathan Parr

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Every year Livewire1350, UEA's student radio station, host a charity fund raising event, called Hearing Aid, held in the Blue Bar on the university's celebration of St Patricks Day, this year on the 16th March. Last year they raised a record breaking £2300, with a combination of on-day games and a Jarlbreak event. With that success, they opened the Jailbreak up to any society. With a total of nine teams participating, the event in which teams must escape from UEA and get as far away as possible without spending any money was tipped to be exciting.

The winners will be declared the team which managed to get a combination of furthest distance from UEA and which raised the most money.

The event was organised and ran by last year's winner Tom Dolton, who was hoping that the teams would be able to beat his winning destination of Paris. With the nine teams lined up in the square a horn was blown at 12:00 noon on Friday and the teams rushed off and clambered aboard various modes

To PARIS GRATUIT>>> Pao lo Albertella describes his adventure to Pari s w ith his housemate Joe Oliver, aided by the kindnes s of st ra ngers ...

Our original plan was to get to Lohdon and to try and get on the Eurostar; if that failed we were going to try Heathrow; if that failed we :Jia were going to try and get to Dover. On our way to London, a man we were talking to gave us some Tube day passes so after not getTing on the Eurostar at St Pancras, we used those to get the Tube to Heathrow. That turned out to be two hours wasted as none of the airline staff had the authority to put us on any flights so we got back on the underground and arrived back in London at about 6:30pm.

We headed to Victorra where we hoped to get on a Euroline coach but the staff there were less than useful. Someone suggested getting the train to Dover and whilst we were in the queue, a man offered to buy our tickets to Dover.

We got to Dover at around 10:30pm and after a long walk we got to the port itself, where we nearly got arrested for trying to hitch hike.

After two hours of trying to get on a ferry, Joe phoned some relatives who lived nearby and we stayed with them overnight before getting dropped off at Ashford m the morning for another attempt on the Eurostar.

Luckily we soon met a businessman m a charitable mood who bought us return tickets to Paris. Parrs was incredibly busy and the few people we cou ld stop to talk to us didn't really understand what we were trying to do.

The Eurostar staff we talked to tried their best to get us on another train but due to the huge volume of travellers at the Gare du Nord there was little they could do but suggest we went to the Gare de Lyon and tried to get on a train to Marseille, the furthest south were likely to get within France.

Gare de Lyon was equally as chaotic, full with harassed looking holiday makers who we felt far gu iltier for pestering than the rich business commuters at Ashford or the Gare de Lyon. We soon accepted that we had little luck of getting out of Paris so decided to go sightseeing, stopping off at the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe before headmg back to t he Gare du Nord at around 7:30pm.

We were unable to use our tickets to get back to Eng land that night so we trawled the city for somewhere cheap to stay. We contemplated sleeping at the Gare du Nord but were too tired and agitated and sick of the sight of transport so we found a cheap 2 hotel where we stayed before heading home in the morning.

The experrence overall was exhausting yet exhilarating. The thrilling feeling when someone says yes to your pleas is just brilliant. I was surprised by th e charity of the businessmen we met yet disappointed by the reluctance of multimillion pound companies to give anything for charity.

of transportation, in a scene that was more reminiscent of Wacky Races than a charity event. The winners will be announced at thrs year's Hearing Aid event. For a more detailed blog of the Jailbreak 2010 event check out the Facebook group (search Hearing Aid 2010 Jailbreak Blog) or via www.livewire1350.com.

All funds raised by the Jailbreak will go to the Haiti earthquake appeal.

Tom Dolton

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Vmu£> Ill£ SIGIITS & SoUNDS ot Ill£ CITY *Sports Night> t *Salsa Lesson>Hiv >5:30>£2 *UEA Literary Festivai>Joshua Ferris>LI >6:30>£6 *Apartment House>( I School of ~ I I >7:30>£4 *Bar b4 LCR> LC I >8pm>free *Toga Party> >10:30>£3.50

*Union Councii> Ll >7pm *Film>Fantastic Mr Fox> I> 7:30 >£2.75 *An Evening of Clairvoyance > >7:30>£10 *Horses Brawl> >8pm>£6 *Salsa Night> >8pm>free

*Bleeding Through> q >7pm >£10 *Hot Chip> >7:30>£18 trr >8pm>£10 *Lau> *Sports Night> I r>9pm>free

*Film>Coco Before Chanel> I >7:30 >£2.75 *Giggs & Devlin Live> >7:30>£8 *Passerelle Catwalk Fashion Show>l ,, nlil' 1 n ' >7:30>£6 *The UEA Factor> h J>8pm>free *Fionn Regan>Ar1 ( « n >8pm>£8

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*Nominations for Union Council close *Film>9> >7:30>£2.75 *SocNight> >8pm>free >8pm>free *Bar b4 LCR> *WombatWombat> >8pm >£6 *Ministry of Sound> >10pm>£6.50 *Non-Stop 90s & Loaded> "' >lOpm

Along the back Lanes of Norwich City centre on Pottergate and overlooking St. Gregory's historic church, the Birdcage pub and live music venue boasts a quirky themed interior ringing true to everything airborne. From wallpaper of birdcages to actual birdcages, dried flower bouquets, tasselled lampshades, curtains and vintage tables and chairs, it stands as Norwich's number one attraction to the chic vintage young adult, and the middle-aged worker's chill out zone.

Claiming to have achieved the perfect pub combinations of wines, wi-fi, work and play, coffee, cupcakes, cabaret and cocktails, board games, bloody Marys and a bit of bohemia, the Birdcage stands apart from the typical Unthank Road pub, or the standard Irish pub of the city.

With almost nightly special events, such as 'Late Night Disco Party' and 'C*A*B*A*R*E*T', as well as daytime jumble sales, the venue implores directly to those with a creative flair. For example, it is hosting 'Stitch and Bitch' on 2nd March, where you are invited to 'knit the night away with your fellow scarf creators and needle

>9pm>free

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>£3.50 *Baby Dee> *B~r b4 LCR> >8pm>free * Joe Carnall & the Book Club> >8pm>£6 *Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club> >7.30>free *Chris Addison> >8pm>£15 *Club Retro & Club Neo> >lOpm >£4.50 *Meltdown & Wraith> >lOpm >£3.50

*Quiz> l >7:30>free *Local Natives>/ n

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point nannys, grab a pot of tea (or a cosmo ... ) bring your needles and your set for the night. teach your friends or learn from others and slag off your ex's while you're at it'.

Tea and coffee are a common sight in the Birdcage. Although it is primarily a pub, and so sells the standard beer, wine, ales, spirits, etc., pots of tea and coffee are a favourite amongst regular customers. Prices fare at slightly above average, but the friendly atmosphere and decoration makes it worthwhile. Taking teacups from a small round table from the '50s, sank back into guilded armchairs, surrounded by friends and likewise customers, the small backroom and its aura provides a perfect backdrop to a session of R & R. Armed with a cupcake or a cookie , sold

>8pm>£10

uv r 1ty >free *Salsa Lesson> >5 :30>£2 *Bar b4 LCR> I r >8pm>free *First Aid Kit> f >8pm>£8 *Day Glo Rave> < t >10:30>£3.50

*Art exhibition>

*Film>The Hurt Locker> >7:30 >£2.75 p t *A Night of Wonders> >7:30>£5 *Switch> >7:30>£10 *80s Night & Hit Parade> >lOpm >£3.50

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p *The Vertigo of Sheep> >7:30>£8 *Bar b4 LCR> >· r>8pm>free *To p SO LCR> I >10pm>£4.50 *Meltdown & Rawkus> >lOpm >£3.50

*Big Prize Quiz> b, r>7:30>free *International Party> t >7pm *Hadouken> >7:30>£12.50 *Live at the House presents Grada >f >7:30>£12.50 *Passion Pit> >7:30>£11.50 >8pm>£4 *Lady Ha Ha> >8pm>£10 *Chris Cooper>

by the bar, this pub can offer more than your standard coffee shop. Wooden games are dotted around the room, next to candles and an old upright piano, providing the perfect daytime or evening hangout.

Playing host to live music gigs, and regularly presenting promotion company Jigsaw House's acts, the pub's back room turns into an arena for the night. The audience sit around tables and in armchairs to watch what is often folk artists play on the floor in front of them; the room does not offer an elevated stage, making it the pefect venue for any intimate gig, which often turns into a meet-and-greet as the artists watch the other musicians or pack away. The only negative of this set up is the noise from the pub room next door that filtrates into the live gig, being separated by only a curtain. Additionally, ladies' toilets are situated at the far side of this room, making it impossible to avoid walking through the whole audience, performer, and stage area on your way to the loo.

Nonetheless, the Birdcage has so much to offer that sets it apart from any other pub or coffee shop. Only in Norwich can one find a venue that is so diverse. Its closest competitor is the Arts Centre along St. Benedicts Street, but the sizes of the two buildings are so different that they rarely clash. The summer promises

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to complement the Birdcage, with its green lawn outside the church beggiflg for picnics and outside drinking or dining. In fact, the Birdcage also offers outside bars for weddings, parties and festivals, as the inside is often too dark to enjoy a summer day. In fact, in 2008 the pub put on a 3 day festival which involved shopping, listening and seeing; tables were set outside with quaint tablecloths, and customers could enjoy the grassy setting of the garden. DJ sets, bashes, balls, festivities in December, and New Years are also events of celebration. The Birdcage is well worth the bus ride from campus to escape the monotony of every evening in the Blue bar.

The Birdcage can be found at 23 Pottergate, Norwich, and can be contacted on 01603 633 534 or by email at info@thebirdcagenorwich. co.uk

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1: To int entionall y damage (8)

1: People who are not in relationship s (7)

5: Dutch Cheese often covered in red wax (4)

2: Large airship often above sporting events (5)

9: Metal pieces used in bui lding, hard parts on fingers (5)

3: A small figh t (6)

10: Annoyance or f ury (5)

4: Car part, also known as transmi ssion (7)

11: Apologetic wo rd, t he hardest word (5)

6: Doctrine or system of beliefs (5)

12: Collar on the chest of a sui t or coa t (5)

7: Mot her of Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson (5)

13: Two goa ls, su ppo rting structure (5)

8: Space on si de of road for cars to pu ll into (5) 14: Ma ny protecti ve plast er cases for broken lim bs (5) 17 : Crea tiv e o r aesth etic crea ti on (3) 18: Has been, in the past (3) 19: Dirty (6) 20: Asian co untry (5) 21: Iron block used by blacksmith s (5) 23: Smouldering remains of a fire (5) 24: Non moving (5) 25 : Day before t omorrow, after yesterday (5) 26: Grizzly, pola r, Yogi etc (4)

15: 16: 18: 20: 22:

Va lua ble dark, ofte n black, w ood (5) Fine substance usually found on beach (4)

Wild Wild _ _ , fi lm & song featuring Wi ll Smith (4) Slanted font for emphasis or reference (6) To refuse to give in (6)

27: Down-filled bedding (5)

28: To mix, campus foo d outlet (5) 29: To lift an object with great effort, to vomit (5)

30: A passage, lane fo r bowling (5) 31: Like a ro dent, angry or bad tempe red (5)

WIN MINISTRY Or SouND TicKrrs

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Co urtesy of t he Unio n, w e have a pai r of ti cke t s for t he M inistry of Sound: Clubber's Guide tour to give away! For nea rl y two decades M inistry of Sound has been among the biggest names in dance music worldwide, and their tour comes t o t he LC R o n 26/ 2/10 fo r o ne of th e greatest club nigh t s out there.

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Pictures we have 3 fantastic goody bags to give away.

Starring Die Hard 4.0 villain Timothy Olyphant as David Dutton, the sheriff of a peaceful American town where the residents suddenly become mindless killers, the

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the top of the stairs. Come and see us to drop off competition entries or to talk to our editors if you want to get involved in any of our sections!

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J)AISY A~ ff) On 26/2/10 the remake of George A. Romero's classic horror film The

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newest fashion outlet Daisy & Lola's, and thanks to them we have a £30 voucher to give away to one lucky winner.

monsters, Dutton must protect his pregnant wife and survive against old friends - as well as the mi litary forces descending on the town.

Daisy & Lola's have a wide range of exciting new fashions, with many brands unique to Norwich to

To celebrate the re lease of the film we are giving away three goody bags of at-shirt, note pad and mug

one off pieces from ace designers.

help you create your own looks. For those who really like to stand out, there 's also a great range of so you can watch it in style, and be prepared for any impending zombie attacks!

Check out their range at www.daisyandlolas.co.uk or pop into the store on Lower Goat Lane.

To be in with a chance of winning one of these great prize s, just e-m ail the answer to the following question to concrete.competitions@uea.ac.uk by

To be in with a chance of winning a £30 voucher for the store just e-m ail the answer to the following

28/2/10:

question to concrete.competitions@uea.ac.uk by 4/3/10:

In what year wa s the original The Crazies film re leased?

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Name two brands which Daisy & Lola's stock.

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