Venue - Issue 297 - 29 April 2014

VENUE

ISSUE 297

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29.04.14

VENUE

6 MUSIC

iggy azalea reviewed Au revoir, arrivaderci, ciao for now, ta-ra!

We as editors are saying our final goodbyes as we sign off with our final edition of Venue.

Thank you to everybody who gave us a read this year, and more importantly, we hope you’ve found our content topical, entertaining and student-friendly. Venue would be nothing without its readers, so cheers for flicking through.

Equally important are each and every one of our contributors, particularly our wonderful team of editors. Jack, Alex, Ella, Madz, Callum, Holly M., Sam, Rob, Adam, Holly W. and Saul: we couldn’t have done it without you.

It’s been great getting to know you all and you’ve worked so hard all year. In the words of every primary school teacher ever, ‘give yourselves a big pat on the back.’

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editors’ style tips

Do look out for our handover issue – the last of the academic year – in a fortnight’s time as we prepare to pass the torch over to Venue’s 2014-15 co-editors, Adam White and Holly McDede. We’re confident that they’ll make a brilliant team and we’re excited to see Venue grow with them.

If you weren’t aware already, both of us are rather keen on the cult phenomenon that is RuPaul’s Drag Race. This past year, we as co-editors have sought comfort in its irreverant catch phrases, so it only feels appropriate to sign off in the same way that RuPaul bids an eliminated drag queen goodbye: ‘it’s time to sashay away.”

Stay cute, Ciara and Hayden

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bp prize shortlist

Editor-in-Chief | Sidonie Chaffer-Melley Venue Editors | Hayden East and Ciara Jack Music | Editors | Jack Enright and Alex Flood Music Contributors: Myles Earle, Hayden East, Alex Flood, Mike Vinti Fashion | Editors | Madz Abbasi and Ella Sharp Fashion Contributors: Madz Abbasi, Sidonie Chaffer Melley, Rob Drury, Hayden East, Zoe Jones, Stephenie Naulls, Mimi Okorie, Ella Sharp, Peter Sheehan, Lindsay Stark, Holly Wade, Anna Walker, Sophie Witts Arts | Editor | Callum Graham Arts Contributors: Callum Graham, Tommy Gleeson, Naudeep Sandhu Creative Writing | Editor | Holly McDede Creative Writing Contributors: Ciara Jack, Molly Ellen Pearson, Holly Mcdede, Alex Munro Gaming | Editor | Sam Emsley Gaming Contributors: Sam Emsley Television | Editor | Robert Drury Television Contributors: Niyonu Burke, Rob Drury, Lara Ellice, Melissa Haggar, Rebecca Hedger, Zoe Jones, Holly Wade, Anna Walker Film | Editors | Holly Wade and Adam White Film Contributors: Madz Abbasi, Neven Devies, Melissa Haggar, Emma Holbrook, Ha Nguyen, Jack Rice, Chris Rogers, Fedor Tot, Joe Twose, Holly Wade, Adam White, Freddie Van Der Velde Competitions & Listings | Editor | Saul Holmes

Issue 297

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MUSIC

concrete.music@uea.ac.uk

LIVE REVIEW

brumnotes.com

METRONOMY LCR 26.03.14 Alex Flood Joseph Mount is not your average front man. Showboating and selfaggrandisement have always played second fiddle (not literally, keyboards are more Mount’s forte) to his understated yet powerful brand of laid-back stagecraft; and at Metronomy’s March 26 UEA date, there was no sudden script change.

Strolling out casually onto the stage amidst his identically dressed bandmates, Mount takes his place at the foremost organ with a rather self-entitled flourish, and launches into the elaborate tinklings of the keyboard intro to ‘Monstrous’, the third track from their top ten album of 2014, Love Letters.

Clad in a rather nautically themed uniform of blue roll neck, beige chinos and scarlet blazer, all topped off with a

pair of cream deck shoes, the band play a hit-packed set to an equally full LCR on this wintry March evening, packed to the gunnels with a variety of different types of gig-goer; from your NME waving, scrawny rag-a-muffin to your now-balding, ex-80s, neon raver. All were equally enthralled.

After a flashy opener, the West Country indie-pop provocateurs jump into the equally dance-inducing ‘Month of Sundays’, another track from the band’s latest fourth record. This is where bassist, Gbenga Adelekan, shows his funky side, sashaying this way and that across the stage in a robotically hypnotic fashion that whips the crowd into a wild frenzy, all the while pounding out the lively baselines that provide the background for Mount’s crooning vocals.

Next up is recent single, “Love Letters”, a wonderful mish mash of lateseventies Supertramp and Beach Boys vocal harmonies, with some latino horn parts thrown in for good measure. Whilst no brass is on stage tonight, the group still produce a rousing rendition of their most radio friendly track from their fifteen year career, and an electrifying keyboard

solo replaces the trumpet outro from the record.

Metronomy can do no wrong it seems, with every cymbal splash and every toe tap rapturously accepted by a teeming crowd, consumed with such freneticism and excitement that a moshpit emerges, so maniacal and all-consuming that the LCR dance-floor resembles more the atmosphere of the recent Kerrang! Tour show than an evening of the relaxed indieelectronica Metronomy are more often known for.

The following hour and a half see the band rattle through an almost seamless programme of crowd-pleasing tunes, taken from every one of their fifteen years in existence as an ensemble. The Mercury Prize nominated LP from 2011, The English Riviera, was the record that catapulted Metronomy into mainstream existence, and tracks from the album, ‘The Look’, ‘She Wants’, ‘Everything Goes My Way’, ‘Corinne’ and the incendiary, preencore closer ‘The Bay’, all receive the greatest reception from a well-enamoured audience.

Now with a back-catalogue expansive

enough to fill a full-length headline set, this tour feels ever so slightly like a coming out party for the self-titled “wonky pop” merchants. Having scored their first top ten album after three previous attempts, the band have now been well and truly accepted by both the unrelenting scorn of the music press, the British youth, and the ‘still-cd-buying’ generations of parents and grand-parents; they truly are a band for all demographics.

After ‘The Bay’, the five exhausted musicians traipse off the stage only to return at the baying behest of the punters for a three-track encore, including a song each from their last three full length efforts, ‘Some Written’ (The English Riviera), ‘Heartbreaker’ (Nights Out) and ‘The Most Immaculate Haircut’ (Love Letters), concluding a twenty-song set that both confounded expectations and increased the already extensive love Metronomy’s eclectic fan base has for their Devonian idols.

Metronomy are a band on the up, and as this gig has shown, they have now hit the big league. The only question is, can they keep it up?

MUSIC concrete.music@uea.ac.uk

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ARTISTS TO WATCH

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Myles Earle gives the lowdown on new faces to look out for in the music scene

fashionsoundtrack

Music today has become immensely diverse, mixing genres and experimenting with what music can develop. You can expect that the up and coming artists under this umbrella of musical freedom and experimentation will thrive with so many different avenues that have been found in music…and so they have. The young trio that have already caught the global ear, making a huge mark for themselves in the music industry, and are continuing to make a name for themselves. Britain’s own Jess Glynne, MNEK and the L.A. born BANKS have all been recognised musically for their exceptional voices, and rightly so.

Making her name known to many music-lovers out there, the UK’s Jess Glynne, with her fiery red hair, has propelled herself into the musical stratosphere with her voice. Recently as the lead vocalist on Route 94’s single ‘My Love’, Glynne has proved that her voice is worth the money. Her soulful tone and incredible range really pushes her up against the rest; her voice guides you gently into her lyrical story-telling and holds your hand as you sit back and enjoy. Glynne was able to show off her musical prowess with her performance on BBC2’s Later…with Jools Holland with the song that got her on the map, Clean

Bandit’s ‘Rather Be’.

Being the lead vocalist on the 2014 single that reached No.1 on both the UK and Irish Singles Chart as well as finding its way on every radio station and iPod out there, Glynne has proved that she is an accomplished singer-songwriter.

Being part of Rudimental’s record label that also manages MNEK, Black Butter Records, we can assume that there will be big things in store from Glynne.

February 2014 saw the production of her track ‘Home’; with its hard beats, headbopping rhythm and sensational riffs, the quality of Jess Glynne as a solo artist is already apparent. This 24 year-old has definitely got a lot under her belt that we haven’t seen, and we hope that Black Butter Records will produce the best she can bring.

Another of the company’s other artists has, at the ripe age of 19 years, got fingers in many pies. Uzoechi Osisioma Emenike, also known as MNEK, has already helped write hits for the likes of Kylie Monogue, The Saturdays and Little Mix. The singersongwriter from Lewisham featured as a vocalist on Rudimental’s 2012 track ‘Spoons’, which was added to their album Home, but was not a chart topper.

However, in January 2014 he made a huge impact on the music industry with

theurbanalternative

his lead vocals on Gorgon City’s single ‘Ready For Your Love’. Reaching No.4 on the UK Singles Chart, this track made its way into many student clubs and unions, making MNEK’s name known to many young people. His smooth tone and vocal energy from someone so young is inspiring for many young aspiring singers.

Making appearances on BBC Radio 1, and establishing a place on the BBC’s Sound of 2014, critics have seemed to give MNEK the thumbs up. One could ask: “what else can we expect from him”?

The answer to that would be “so much more”. On 20th April, MNEK was gracious enough to indulge the listeners of Radio 1XTRA with a taste of his new track ‘Every Little Word’ from his soon to be debut album. The song itself is synthy, having an electro and pop fusion which is held together with his smooth voice. “Every little word you say” – this repetition in his chorus is bound to be on the lips of party-goers as it has a very summer-like vibe. Now signed to Virgin EMI, this high energy artist rightly deserves a spot on the BBC’s Sound of 2014 list.

The third artist to make our list also seems to share a spot on the Sound of 2014, but with a completely different

sound. 25 year-old Jillian Banks, who goes by the name BANKS, has a voice that truly plucks at your heartstrings. Born in L.A., BANKS has been recognised for her sultry sounds and ethereal tones in her tracks. Said by Vice Magazine to be “the most plainly obvious pop star you’re likely to see”, BANKS’ voice is matrixsynth.com most definitely far from plain. With connections with London-based record label Good Years, BANKS was able to get a supporting slot with R&B singer The Weeknd. Both share a quality in their voice that is dream-like and almost other-worldly; it was evident that these two extremely talented artists were meant to perform with each other.

BANKS’ sultry tones and smooth sound can be heard in her soulful track ‘Warm Water’, making you really hear her voice and her words. Critics have dubbed her sound as Alt R&B, and this would seem to be an appropriate but categorising statement. Her voice is very reminiscent of the sounds of the late Aaliyah, and has much of an R&B slant with her songs like ‘This is What it Feels Like’. However, we have not nearly experienced enough of the musical genius of this singersongwriter to make a labelled box for her, and hopefully there won’t be one. So, we will be keeping our fingers crossed to hear what else she has in store.

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29.04.2014

RATKING SO IT GOES Mike Vinti

After the hip-hop explosion that was 2013, the first few months of this year have been somewhat lacking when it comes to fresh artists. Then along came Ratking and their debut album So It Goes. Ratking are yet another group of New York based youngsters basking in near universal hype, consisting of two MCs, Wiki and Hak and their producer Sportlife.

Together they twist and

IGGY AZALEA THE NEW CLASSIC Hayden East

How much can one come-up story be milked on a single album? At least twelve times it seems on this, the long-delayed debut album from pop-rap starlet Iggy Azalea.

If its title wasn’t indication enough, let it be known that this Australianborn talent is obsessed with the past.

Granted, hers is intriguing enough: after

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MUSIC

concrete.music@uea.ac.uk

ALBUM REVIEWS subvert hip-hop conventions into new and unfamiliar shapes; it’s NYC but not as we know it.

Take the record’s opening track ‘*’, a sample heavy, jittery cut more reminiscent of British artists such as Four Tet and Burial in terms of production than anything coming out of New York.

Airy vocal samples flit back and forth as bursts of drums scatter throughout.

Wiki and Hak drawl through self-aware braggadocio, making sure listeners know they have no intention of doing things by halfs.

Despite their age, it’s clear Wiki and Hak are talented MCs. ‘Snow Beach’ sees them take out their frustrations with life in modern New York, combing their brand of conscious street rap and youthful energy. Opening with layer upon layer of samples, filled to the brim with steel drums and waves lapping on the beach before warping into a melancholy, brassy take down of the gentrification rife in Ratking’s native NYC. So It Goes encapsulates so much of what made last year an amazing time to be a hip-hop fan, the energy, the experimentation and most importantly the bars.

Ratking have honed the irony and self-awareness present in much

dropping out of high school at the age of 16, a brave Amethyst Kelly boards a one-way flight from her hometown of Mullumbimby to Miami to forge a rap career. However, instead of allowing it to inform her record, Azalea’s past consumes it.

A big part of the problem lies in The New Classic’s strongest offering, ‘Work’, a single that distils both her aspirations and inspirations so effectively that it voids at least two-thirds of the record’s lyrical content. That the slow-burn call to arms of ‘Impossible Is Nothing’ happens to follow directly after only emphasises this.

And on the rare occasion where Azalea isn’t concerned with her journey, she’s too busy emulating her peers.

‘Goddess’ is particularly unsuccessful, a recast of Kanye-esque braggadocio set to a sub-par Yeezus soundscape and one trite electric guitar solo. However, top 10 single ‘Fancy’ gets away with its Gwen Stefani homage on account of her vocal delivery, a deep South slur that’s been unfairly branded fake by critics (in which case, what are we to make of British artists who sing in American accents?).

A lacklustre assortment of guest contributions don’t help matters. The

XXL Mag

underground hip hop into a serious craft, delivering hard hitting truths and tongue in cheek wordplay in the same breath. Take title track ‘So It Goes’ with its hook of “Six million trains to ride, choose one,” a distinctly Ratking take on one of hip hop’s most loved samples.

So It Goes is an unashamedly New York album, celebratory and cynical, as diverse as the cities makeup in terms of its influences. As the halfway mark drifts by ‘Puerto Rican Judo’ groves into being, Wiki and Hak’s verses bouncing over the top of an expertly flipped house-style piano loop before Wavy Spice lends

the track some healthy dancehall vibes.

Penultimate track ‘Bug Fights’ is a dark, bass heavy number telling the story of summer nights in the city, showcasing Hak’s ability to craft narratives within his rhymes.

With So It Goes Ratking have created New York’s answer to Good Kid Mad City; weaving tails of teenage NYC, a hard edged answer to Kendrick Lamar’s blissed out LA lament.

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YouTube

worst offenders are amongst the most popular: Rita Ora appears on the Katy Perry-penned ‘Black Widow’, but the track falls flat on account of her lifeless vocal. Meanwhile, an unexpected case of Azalea singing vox on ‘Change Your Life’ steals the limelight from long-term collaborator and mentor T.I. Still, on an album bursting with old singles, The New Classic reassuringly hits the mark with an opening one-two punch of new, fresh material. ‘Walk the Line’ wastes no time in familliarising the listener with her aggressive doubletime flow, while ‘Don’t Need Y’all’’s minimalist, Noah Shebib-inspired backdrop is an ideal foil for her after-

dark reflections, offering a muchneeded change of pace to proceedings.

Yet despite these momentary glimpses of star potential, we’re soon reminded that we’re dealing with someone whose latest video recreated the cult classic film Clueless (see above) with an uncanny level of precision – almost to a fault.

Indeed, it’s an apt image for The New Classic, an album as frustratingly torn between pastiche and originality as it is between club rap and conscious rap, between Miami and Mullumbimby.

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RIP KARTEL

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Last weekend, Kartel closed it’s doors for good.

Jack Enright dons his rose-tinted specs By the time this article goes to print, Kartel nightclub will have closed it’s doors for good. For 6 years, Kartel has railed and raged against the homogenisation of Norwich nightlife, but that fight has ended amidst a slew of controversy, rumour and ultimately, police intervention. “Saving Norwich from Prince of Wales since ‘08”, runs Kartel’s Facebook bio - but not any longer, and it’s a sad thing indeed.

Most of us will have heard about Kartel’s recent run-in with Norwich City Council. In December, an intoxicated punter somehow gained access to the club’s window-paned rooftop and dislodged a sheet of glass onto the crowded dance floor, leaving six people with injuries. A few weeks later, there were reports of a large-scale brawl breaking out on the door, with drunken would-be-patrons attempting to force their way past the club’s bouncers.

At times these incidents could seem symptomatic of the seemingly anarchic way in which Kartel did business - as a fresh-faced first year, stepping inside those

imposing black doors and walking down that passageway always did feel like a figurative crossing point away from the everyday and into the chaotic. Then there was the clubs quite literally chaotic approach to it’s social media presence - where spelling, grammar and indeed sometimes any modicum of sense or intelligibility was put very much on the back burner. Upcoming nights were described as “a shitstorm of music from the hype machine!!!”, or “underground but not too underground…like a treasure chest, not a casket”. Then there’s the cryptic references to ‘Frodo’, a mysterious figure who used to crop up regularly on Kartel’s Facebook page. Called out for everything from stealing drinks from behind the bar to rifling through the cloakroom pockets, Frodo was one half petty thief and one half supernatural poltergeist - a kind of shadowy Robin Hood character except that he stole for himself and everyone hated him.

Incidents like this have meant that a lot of people I’ve spoken to aren’t sorry to see Kartel close. They say it was badly run,

that it was obviously a violent club and that it was pretty pretentious and overpriced anyway. But Kartel was more than that much, much, much more.

In the grand scheme of Norwich nightlife, Kartel was an absolutely vital establishment. While often disdainfully labelled as Norwich’s ‘edgy’ club (mostly by people wearing chinos), in reality Kartel served as a vital outlet for a whole host of otherwise underrepresented musical genres to be enjoyed. Formations, for instance, gave a monthly showcase of the best in house and techno, whilst Trip The Light provided regular doses of elector swing, funk and disco.

It also acted as the vital stepping stone for young promoters to cut their teeth running their first nights. 808 - the night that has helped turn Norwich from a one-time clubbing backwater into a city that punches well above it’s cultural weight - housed it’s early shows at Kartel, before eventually graduating up to the higher capacity venue at Hideout. In recent months 808 has put

on nights featuring heavyweight acts such as Eats Everything, Boddika and Loefah - but without Kartel it’s not certain that any of that would have been possible.

No Etiquette, meanwhile, run by UEA student Joe Collier, had just started on a run of brilliant events, with the nights proving so popular with students that they were entrusted with throwing Kartel’s last ever night last Sunday. No Etiquette’s partnership with Kartel was one with momentum, with a loyal fan base that looked to be going places - yet Kartel’s closure might leave this fledgling club-night homeless.

More than anything, though, Kartel was that place you could always depend on. No matter what day of the week, no matter what time of year, Kartel would always be ready to take you under it’s wing. So next time you find you and your mates find yourselves stood in Tombland at 3 in the morning, pupils big as saucers and craving somewhere to dance, spare a thought for Kartel. It gave Norwich something special, and we might not see it’s like for some time.

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FASHION

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SMOKIN’ Graduation gowns Another excuse to buy a fancy dress?

Yes please!

Jelly shoes Perfect for a beach day, or a summer night out.

Gingham print A call back to the simplicity of primary school days

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Dressing For a Festival Mimi Okorie Summer is almost upon us and this can only mean one thing - festivals! With festivals such as Glastonbury, Reading, Wireless and Sundown creeping up on us, it is essential that we get our festival gear in tip top shape to take on those musically filled fields of green. Along with music, fashion plays a huge role in festival culture. Camera shutters will be going off left, right and centre to capture the most stylish music lovers and the flawless outfits worn by celebrities. Coachella was no exception to this rule with magazines writing features on the best and worst dressed celebrities and companies such as H&M releasing a street style video on YouTube. With this looming pressure to look your best, it is easy to forget about the practicality of outfits. Here are some tips on ensuring your outfit is both fashionable and practical.

Cover your feet People tend to think that when summer

rears its head, the sandals come out.

This may be the case for a trip to the park with friends but definitely not for a music festival. With a multitude of people pushing and shoving in order to get nearer to the main stage, wearing sandals will guarantee broken toes before the music set has even started. Wear some boots and show some skin in other ways. A pair of vintage Levi’s denim shorts and black Doc Martens will do the trick by covering your feet and showing off your legs. Not only will your pedicure remain intact but you will look edgy and effortless. Chuck on a bold printed shirt or a simple white crop top, pop on your sunglasses and you’re good to go!

Shade yourself from the sun Wearing a wide brimmed hat and sunglasses can help protect your face and eyes from the scorching sun. Outerwear such as kimonos act as a barrier between the sun and your skin with the added benefit of keeping you cool due to its light material. Keep away from leather jackets

– even though they will protect your skin from the sun and look awesome, you will overheat. Don’t forget to wear sunscreen – clothes can only get you so far!

Travel light!

No one wants to be weighed down when attempting to show off their signature move whilst an artist is playing an infectious song. Bring a small messenger bag and only carry essentials. You most probably won’t need everything you think you’ll need. Be smart and avoid the burden.

Be individual and comfortable One thing that cannot be disputed is that as the years go by, festival trends become more and more blurred. Incorporate your personality into your outfit and make sure that you are comfortable. The most important thing about music festivals is the music so make sure your focus remains on that. The more sought after looks seem to be the ones that are effortless and quirky. Be yourself and enjoy the tunes!

The Many Faces of Fashion Lindsay Stark talks diversity in the industry

CHOKIN’

Over doing the ombre Too many colours look messy, stick to one for a fun summer look Being a shadow in the sun Summer is the time to experiment with colour - so be brave and ditch the boring black

Robyn Lawley Whilst her amazing body and flawless looks have gained her huge success, size 12-14 Robyn is not considered your average model. Despite her toned and healthy body, she comes under the banner of ‘plus-size’ models.

Robyn first entered the limelight on the cover of Italian Vogue in 2011, in their special ‘curvy edition’. Whilst some may be outraged that the magazine did a ‘curvy edition’, rather than regularly featuring models such as Robyn, it gave her her big break. She is currently the face of Evans’ latest campaign, and she has previously modelled for Boux Avenue, Mango and was the first plus-size model to be used in in-store advertising for Ralph Lauren.

Lawley has campaigned for the term ‘plus-size’ to be banned, saying it has negative connotations. She has also suggested that a variety of models be used on catwalks.

Daphne Selfe Born in 1928, Daphne has been modelling for over 60 years.

Most recently Daphne has been the face of TK Maxx, starred in campaigns for Dolce and Gabbana and at the age of 70 appeared in Vogue.

“If wearing clothes and prancing about in funny outfits is going to amuse people,

I’ll keep on doing it.” Daphne has had no surgery, and is a great example of growing old gracefully.

hautefashionafrica.com

Carmen Carrera Carmen identifies as a transgender woman and is a successful model and burlesque performer. Carmen is a strong activist for trans-equality and she promotes the idea of beauty in many different forms throughout her work.

Carmen is signed to Elite Model Management, one of the biggest agencies around, and she has featured in a number of magazine spreads.

“I’m very happy with myself,” she says. “It’s not even about being pretty or being beautiful, it’s just that I’m very

happy with myself.” Carmen’s stance on beauty and self-worth is particularly inspiring. She is a role model for many in the LGBT+ community and in 2013 there was a petition to get the lingerie giant Victoria’s Secret to hire Carmen as their first transgender model.

Alek Wek When Alek first started out in the 1990s, dark-skinned models were almost unheard of. However, racial diversity is still a problem in modelling. At New York Fashion Week in 2013, only 6% of designs were shown on black models.

Many black models have said that they feel that they have been booked as the ‘token black girl’.

Throughout her illustrious career, Alek has modelled for designers such as Moschino, Victoria’s Secret, Chanel, Alexander McQueen, Givenchy, Armani and Christian Dior.

Recently, actress Lupita Nyong’o cited Alek as inspiration for her transformation into a more confident young woman.

Wek herself also champions diversity, being quoted as saying: ‘I believe that true beauty comes from inside you and that always shows through. I have no problem with whatever the next look is, whether it’s big blonde hair and blue eyes, or green hair and dark eyes. That’s fine so long as there isn’t just one ideal image’.

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29.04.2014

Fashion Tips From the Editors

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Moji Adegbile

Madz Abbasi - Fashion Editor For summer, mix your daily facial moisteriser with sun cream for budget SPF protection, and ditch the foundation. Instead, get a summer glow by blending bronzer and blush and applying in an upwards motion to your cheekbones.

Sophie Witts - Deputy Editor Always choose comfort over style.

Zoë Jones - Comment Editor Pull your trousers up, you look like you’ve pooed yourself. For jeans to keep their shape, they need at least 2/3% lyrca. My Granny taught me that one.

Pete Sheehan - Environment Editor Scarves are an under-appreciated essential.

Sidonie Chaffer- Melley - Editor-in-Chief Don’t wear nice shoes to the LCR. Rob Drury - TV Editor Just wear something, please. Nudity is still, thankfully, not socially acceptable.

Holly Wade - Film Editor No matter your opinion on them, disco pants can definitely be a good look. Dress them up with heels for a glitzy occasion or add a pair of flats and a crop top for that casual LCR feel. Combining both style and comfort you’ll be free to dance all night long.

Anna Walker - Copy Editor Top knots. Please don’t.

Hayden East - Venue Editor Denim jacket, black skinny jeans, tan Timberland boots. Rinse and repeat.

A tip for those whose torso-leg proportion is a bit off: layer and go a bit baggier on top so it evens the long leg/short torso. Also, always go for hi-tops, boots – any footwear that covers the ankles – to shorten the legs Stephenie Naulls - Copy Editor Get with the suit illusion – every man looks better in that shirt and tie.

Ella Sharp - Fashion Editor For beachy waves sleep with your hair in a bun and then spritz with salt spray. Tease out extra curls with tongs and finally spray and scrunch with hair spray.

Moji Adegbile

10 BP P 29.04.2014

ARTS

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ortrait

concrete.arts@uea.ac.uk

Award 2014 Shortlist

Callum Graham gives a run down of the final three artists In a year that saw a record breaking number of entries, the three artists shortlisted for the 2014 BP Portrait Award have been announced. The winner of the award, which will be announced on June 24th, will win £30,000 and have their piece displayed at the National Portrait Gallery from June 26th to September 21st.

Man with a Plaid Blanket features Karel, a homeless man who makes money cleaning car windscreens in Frankfurt and is soon to be pushed into the eye of the British art world. Thomas Ganter, who painted him said that “After being in a museum, I saw a homeless man and was stunned by a similarity: the clothes, the pose, and other details resembled what I just saw in various paintings,” said Thomas. “However, this time I was looking at a homeless person wrapped in a blanket and not at the painting of a saint or noble in their elaborate garment.”

Brooklyn based David Jon Kassan chose to paint his mother in Letter to my Mom. However, she was a reluctant model and only agreed to sit for her son on the condition that he’d paint her a picture of her grandson, and his son,

Lucas. “My parents have always been inspirational to paint. This portrait is a letter to my mom, who hates it when I paint her,” he explains. “But I tell her in the painting that by painting her, it is my way of spending time with her, contemplating our relationship and time together, my earliest memories.”

The only Briton shortlisted is Richard Twose who painted the somewhat contemporary-style-icon Jean Woods in his piece of the same name. He was inspired to paint her after seeing her working in shop in his home city of Bath. “Sometimes as Jean was talking, especially about her much-missed late husband, she reminded me of Rembrandt’s Portrait of Margaretha de Geer,” says Richard. “Jean has a similar intensity and honesty in her gaze. I wanted to capture that sense of someone who has learnt to be almost fearless, looking forward to life still but with a great richness of experience behind her.”

As well as the prize money and esteem that comes with winning the BP Portrait Award, the winner will also be commissioned to produce a portrait for the National Portrait Gallery’s permanent collection.

A Letter to my Mom by David Jon Kassan

Man with a Plaid Blanket byThomas Ganter

Last year’s winner Pieter by Susanne du Toit

Jean Woods by Richard Twose

ARTS

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29.04.2014

The Profitable Market of Banksy

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Tommy Gleeson looks at the profiteering in Banksy’s name

Street artist Banksy’s latest piece, dubbed Mobile Lovers is now on display in Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery. It was found and ‘taken in’ by the owner of the local Broad Plains Boys Club in an attempt to raise money for his ailing club, however Bristol City Council claimed that it was found on their land so handed it over to the museum.

More than 10,000 people visited the museum over the Bank Holiday weekend proving that Banksy is still as popular as ever with work that continues to speak to people.

This minor controversy over who, if anyone, has the right to sell the work of a street artist came just a few days before an online auction selling Banksy’s work that took place on Sunday.

In an unusually direct statement on Banksy’s website the artist said: “The Stealing Banksy exhibition in London this weekend has been organised without the involvement or consent of the artist.

Banksy would like to make it clear – This show has got nothing to do with me and I think it’s disgusting people are allowed to go around displaying art on walls without

getting permission.”

The pieces for sale with an estimated value of £3m were all removed from where Banksy originally painted them.

Most were from walls and advertising boards, and a few were even taken from the sides of lorries.

Previously Sincura Group, the organisation behind the auction, were criticised for selling Banksy’s Slave Labour for £750,000 after it had been stolen from the wall of a Poundland in Wood Green in 2013. In response to the claims of illegality and fraudulence Sincura’s Tony Baxter issued a statement: “We welcome the opportunity to display this controversial work […]and are proud that our event will be the first and only time that it will be shown in the United Kingdom before being returned to the United States.”

It’s no secret that Banksy is has rapidly become big business, what remains however will be to see if Banksy will continue to produce street art when plastic companies like The Sincura Group are able to so freely take advantage for monetary gain.

Ben Birchill/ PA

Mythical Creature and a Holga Camera Navdeep Sandhu examines Zhang Xiao’s latest work

Shanxi is the latest photobook by Chinese photographer Zhang Xiao and documents an ancient new-year ritual in rural China in what has been rather feudally described as a “fascinating portrait on Chinese peasant life today.”

The bright colours of the festival were captured on a Holga camera with an uncannily saturated effect, below and to the right are a selection of some of the pictures with Zhang Xiao’s foreword to his photobook.

“I saw an overwhelming sense of joy and happiness that saturated the atmosphere and I tried not to disturb this beautiful dream state I found myself in. I truly hoped that I would never wake up.”

Shanxi by Zhang Xiao

Shanxi by Zhang Xiao

“It appears that the participants have created a dramatic and otherworldly stage—dressing in stunning costumes and exquisitely painting their faces to represent the identities of Gods otherwise long forgotten.”

Shanxi by Zhang Xiao

“They document old customs originating from pagan ritual practices.

They are, in effect, a voodoo-esque form of totem worship.

“When I first witnessed the participants line up and then parade around the village, I repeatedly kept asking myself whether I had literally stepped into some sort of wonderland.

The scenes I gazed at were far too bizarre and illusionary to be connected to events in the real world.”

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CREATIVE WRITING

29.04.2014

www.concrete-online.co.uk

Goodbye, Farewell, Peace Out.

You Can’t Keep TadPoles in Jam Jars

The Last time I saw My Father Holly McDede The last time I saw my father was at the Newark Liberty International Airport. This airport is located in New Jersey, not in Chicago.

It was a Saturday afternoon. Saturdays happen on the weekends, not on weekdays. It was 70 degrees outside. It was August 28th. I know it was. It’s totally plausible. My dad wore a shirt with no sleeves on it. It was a red shirt. I am good with colours. I was leaving for college. My dad said to me, “Holly, do me proud. Go get straight As. Beat up all the other kids with your grades.”

“I will, dad,” I agreed. I shook his hand, and then turned towards my airplane.

I grew red, like his shirt. I felt embarrassed, as though everyone around me had abusive dads and I should apologize to them for having such a great childhood, like I should run up to them and say, “It’s not like that! He’s not all that loving! He gives me stern looks sometimes!” My childhood just had to be so darn embarrassingly great.

The last time I saw my father had to have been at an airport. I ended up in California somehow, and I know for sure that when people ask me where I am from I keep saying New Jersey, I’m from New Jersey. So it was probably at the Newark New Jersey airport, unless I started in Oregon and drove up to New Jersey so I could take an airplane from New Jersey to California.

Maybe if people asked me more about my parents I would remember them because I would have said. The last time I saw my dad was in an igloo, an igloo, I saw him in an igloo, or wherever it was I saw him, at least a thousand times. Sometimes they do ask, “Do they miss you?” I tell them, “How am I supposed to know? They’re in New Jersey, and they are not sending me their emotions every weekend for me to pick up in my mailbox. Also, my mind reading skills are experiencing a static. Can’t read the signal.”

I forget sometimes that there are telephones, and conversations, and that this device and I think my life is like that because I do not think about my life. Concept can collide so that an individual in California may know, magically, instantly, how their faraway fathers in New Jersey are feeling.

The last time I saw my father was probably at an airport. It was 8 or 5 or 6 P.M, or A.M, or maybe a mixture of A.M and P.M. Something like that. If my dad was there, he was wearing a red shirt. If he was not there, someone else was wearing a red shirt. Either way, there was a guy with a red shirt, and let’s just call this guy “Dad” for the heck of it.

When Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated, he was assassinated by a group called the Red Shirts. This started the Iraq War. So my father was probably wearing a red shirt.

Unless Archduke Ferdinand was actually assassinated by the Black Hand and this started the American Revolution. Maybe my father’s hands were black.

The last time people usually see fathers before they leave for college in states that are far away are airports. I do not have the statistics, but I know that daughters have fathers. I know that I am a daughter. Therefore, I know that I have a father. From what I have heard, fathers love their daughters, and therefore say goodbye to their daughters. And so it stands to reason that my father said goodbye to me. I took math in high school, and so I know that this all adds up.

Martin Luther King is black. Is black? Was black? He is probably still black. Anyway, he was shot, and thus began the Vietnam War.

I know I took math in high school because I am an American. In America, Americans must take three years of math. I do not know how I know this is America. For example, signs that say “Welcome to California!” do not find it obligatory to say “Welcome to California, United States of America!” There is actually a town called California in China, and this worries me. I hope I am not in China, because I am told there is oppression there. I hope I am not oppressed.

How does one know if they are oppressed?

Sometimes I wake up in my closet, and I am not really sure why. Once I read in the newspaper that a girl learned she was pregnant, thought about telling her parents, forgot she was pregnant, and then one day found herself at prom, dancing, and then wondering why this thing with a head was coming out of her and why the thing with the head had not informed her that it had been living inside her, illegally, which she most definitely should have had him evicted for. Sometimes I think my life is like that girls day at prom.

Sometimes I wake up to a thought that disturbs my eyes open: When fathers are angry at their daughters, they sometimes do not forgive them enough to say goodbye to them at airports. And if they do not go to airports, they cannot wear red shirts at airports.

The last time I saw my dad, I think it was at a roller skating rink.

The last time I watched someone else see their dad, it was in a commercial about a roller skating rink. I watched this commercial, and I taped it, and so I can confirm with solid evidence that this commercial was real, it happened, and I can prove it. Roll the tapes.

The last time I saw my dad, he was Bill Nye the Science Guy. The other time he was Shrek. His colours change a lot. Maybe he was not wearing a red t-shirt. Maybe he was a red person.

The last time I had tapes I burned them.

hilobrow.com

Final Words

I have been Concrete’s Creative Writing editor this past year. This pretty much means I tell people to send me writing and then – wowzer – they do!

I came to Norwich as a California Art School dropout at a newspaper-free university. So the fact that UEA already had a newspaper, and a pretty legit one named after concrete, made me happy.

And it’s even more awesome that I got to be a part of it. I mean, holy cow, you guys can write. It makes me suspicious, sometimes. Since this is my last issue as Concrete’s editor, I thought I’d include my own writing. I am self-indulgent like that, and also about to lose my power, so there. - Holly J McDede

concrete.creativewriting@uea.ac.uk

Autumn Molly Ellen Pearson

It is autumn, and that means death.

Death is not just bone, tombs and weathered stone and mounds of freshturned earth; angels, hearses, children’s toys, a spray of rotting lilies choked with rain. Death is something that happens between two people, and we are not in love.

We met up the other day in town, an alchemy of me in my old leather jacket and you with your headphones on coming out of the precinct. It’s been a while. I nearly passed you by. I wish I had; then you wouldn’t have reminded me that it’s autumn, and we are not in love.

Alex Munro A blink and I’m there again, facing you, not knowing what to say. We shift from foot to foot. It’s going to rain. Once, a dream ago, a world away, back Hacked at the shin by a pond in the days when we were first not in love, there was a summer so long and so we found proof that mango golden it felt as if winter would never come. As if we had found a moment for ourselves entirely separate from the real world, a garden over which time held skins don’t float but laughing no sway, a Neverland. That summer was the summer of our lives. But it’s not yellow mouths last as long as we summer any more; it’s autumn, and we are not in love.

I went for a walk today down by the river. The weak September sun held could catch tadpoles in jam jars. me like a womb and I thought of you, sparingly and with detachment, because Summer grips with mud tentacles round toes we are not in love. I was the willow that could not reach the water; I was the silence in which no bird sang. I was the wind blowing over the floodplains, but spits, when we are a bit distracted rank with the scent of decay. The river, opaque and dark as glass, lay at my by my mum shouting which dessert we like best feet. I leaned over and spat in it to shatter my reflection, dissolve the pale ghost of someone else. by next year the pond was cold and full of shit.

I am so angry.

The lambs are born you said but didn’t get up I am shedding these memories like a wound that cannot be staunched, like a severed artery. The film you liked, and I liked too; its bitter ending made and instead knuckled a cigarette into the desk the sweetness sweet. The song I lip-synced perfectly for you, and made you cut off fingers sprinkled like smile. And the time you touched my arm to make a point, and I didn’t shiver, because we are not in love. Snapshots like the photos on a grave. Trivial. confetti; the union of algebra equations And here we are, as cars roar past on their way to nowhere, and of all the in your open maths book. Would the cat eat them? voices I know, yours is the hardest to remember.

We face each other; smile; say hi. You’ve cut your hair. We watch our Would you get lung cancer? Either way trainers as if they are infinitely interesting. the air was thick with the silver train track We don’t kiss, of course, because we are not in love.

And I don’t tell you that I miss you every day, because we are not in love. leaving your lips and I felt infinitely And we don’t do any of the things we did when we weren’t not in love, and cool slumped on a bean bag.

I ask you how you’re doing. You say fine. I walk away.

wired.co.uk

13

Night Out Ciara Jack My aim to walk around is deliberate.

Through warm bodies and fluorescent light To search for your outline And shove back in.

Soaked under a pulse That plummets through The shuddering bassline Only to pass you in silence.

Spilled drink and cold puddles Clutch at the folds of fabric Snuff out the fag And push back in.

Soft rumble of an engine disappearing Orion is strung out across the sky Catch the last sob into a makeup wipe And decide that this won’t happen again.

@UEA 140Story - Little pig, little pig let me in or I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down!

- I think we should see other people.

GAMING concrete.gaming@uea.ac.uk

www.concrete-online.co.uk

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29.04.2014

The Elder Scrolls: Online

ZeniMax Online / Bethesda Sofrworks

Sam Emsley The golden age of MMORPGs was gilded with some of the most revered and popular games of all time: WoW, Guild Wars and Star Wars: Galaxies being the most popular subscription based titles, with Runescape being a free, browser based alternative.

However the advent of free to play games had a huge impact on the popularity of MMORPGs; players were no longer willing to pay for a monthly subscription fee as well as the price for the title when they could play similar games for free.

WoW still receives around seven million players a month, so there is clearly still a market, but can a new title replicate this popularity?

The Elder Scrolls: Online was released recently as a MMORPG which requires a subscription as well as the purchase of the title itself, hoping to entice players into the game so they can experience the long awaited MMO set within The Elder Scrolls world.

The game has received largely

mixed reviews; some praise the game’s immersive quests and interesting stories, while others criticised the huge number of bugs in these quests, as well as design features such as the inability for players to work together on many quests.

The quests force players to work individually and complete sections independent of their friends who may be with them, actively shunning and preventing any kind of cooperation. The foundation and unique feature of an MMO is that it is massively multiplayer, so people can experience the game with others, including friends.

Preventing players from doing this calls into question why it is an MMO. A single player experience could have been perfectly executed as a Skyrim sequel. In fact, players can just play Skyrim if they are searching for a single player experience. To go to the length of creating such an ambitious MMO, only to shun co-operation is a questionable direction.

The map is hugely expansive and invites players to explore the world at their own pace, with or without friends..

But this leads to another problem, one that appears to be specifically engineered by the developers.

Players are essentially forced to purchase a mount to be able to traverse the map in a reasonable time, but a decent horse costs 47,000, an astronomical number which requires a great deal of farm to purchase.

This mount is given to players who purchased the collector’s edition, however.

Despite already charging for the base title and then asking for a subscription fee, the game goes even further and tries to force players to spend even more money.

Another catastrophic problem the game encountered is a duplication glitch.

The glitch was discovered early during the beta, however nothing was done to address the problem, which is so simple it can be done accidentally. Consequently players were able to duplicate gold and expensive items which ruined the in game economy, something which is the backbone of any successful MMO. Perhaps it is the fact that releasing an MMO demanding such an investment from the players is unheard of today. Or

perhaps it is that with this investment the players received absolutely no quality product to reward them. Why would players choose TES: Online? WoW has a far bigger player base, is free until level 20, and doesn’t include myriad numbers of bugs. WoW also doesn’t have the identity crisis present in TES: Online, focusing on player co-operation and co-ordination in all aspects of the game, instead of forcing players to separate and work individually for quests.

Guild Wars 2 features an arguably more ambitious scenario, inviting players to traverse a huge universe, building fleets of gargantuan interstellar craft to operate with other players and conquer enemies.

TES: Online fails to do either of these things correctly, and the competition is huge, especially when a game doesn’t live up to the standards it sets by the money it demasnds.

TES: Online was a daring move which would have to be impeccable in all aspects to ensure its survival, let alone success.

However, for now, the game simply does not meet these requirements.

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TELEVISION

concrete.television@uea.ac.uk

Jamaica Inn

Did the BBC’s latest adaptation live up to expectations?

Holly Wade Over the course of three nights BBC aired their latest adaptation Jamaica Inn, based on Daphne du Maurier’s novel of the same name.

Set in 1820’s Cornwall, Jamaica Inn focuses on Mary Yellan (Jessica Brown Findlay), a 20 year old who travels to Bodmin Moor to stay with family after the death of her mother. Aunt Patience and Uncle Joss are not all that they seem, and soon follows a story of murder and intrigue with smuggling and death aplenty.

Having never read the original novel it is difficult to tell whether the absurdity of the narrative is the fault of du Maurier or the series screenwriter, Emma Frost.

The first two episodes were incredibly slow going with little excitement save for some beautiful landscape shots of the Cornish countryside.

Jamaica Inn is not a pleasant story and within half an hour of arriving at the inn Mary faces near rape from a police

The Telegraph/BBC officer and violence at the hands of her extremely unhinged uncle. To give her some credit, Frost does set an incredibly eerie and atmospheric mood with Bodmin an equally frightening setting, but there is certainly a lot lacking from the tale which could easily have been told in half the time.

By the third and final episode the drama had thankfully stepped up a

notch, with an interesting scene on the beach that depicted the group of smugglers purposefully wrecking a ship in order to steal the goods of the sailors, enlightening previously naïve Mary to the real truths of her family. With fifteen minutes left until the end of the programme Mary finally figures out who her uncle’s murderous boss is, something easily guessable from episode one.

Masculinity on the box

Moving away from her role as Downton’s Lady Sybil, Brown Findlay was adept as Mary but not really anything more. Some quality acting came from Sean Harris as the crazed Joss (you might recognise him from the abysmal Southcliffe that aired last August) but most of his dialogue was lost as he mumbled his way through an odd Cornish accent.

The BBC have had nearly a staggering 2200 complaints so far about the quality of the sound on the series whilst many others have complained about the dodgy accents themselves. The cast were great though with star turns from Matthew McNulty (The Paradise) as Joss’ younger slightly less unhinged brother Jem, the love interest for Mary, and Shirley Henderson (yes, Moaning Myrtle).

Sadly Jamaica Inn was not the great Easter entertainment that it promised to be but it was an interesting watch. If you’re looking for quality British drama, we suggest looking no further than The Crimson Field which is a delight.

2013/14’s Top Telly BBC

Digital Spy/BBC

Zoë Jones The last year has seen some devastating television. There’s been the Glee memorial episode to Cory Monteith, the Red Wedding and not forgetting the death of Brian in Family Guy. Television has outdone itself when it comes to tugging on our heartstrings, and a recent brilliantly emotive episode of Eastenders demonstrates the power a well-written and outstanding portrayal can achieve.

Adam Woodyatt has played Ian Beale since the dawn of Eastenders, and let’s face; it he’s not been the most likeable character. Generally, he’s a whiny coward, and we secretly like it when Phil sucker-punches him. This week however, Woodyatt has outdone himself considerably, after the death of

IBTimes his onscreen daughter, Lucy Beale. If you’re unfamiliar with Eastenders, you’d be forgiven for not feeling too upset at the heartbroken reaction, especially after reading many tweets about his ‘ugly crying face’.

It was absolutely devastating, keeping in mind that a soap that’s on as regularly as Eastenders can’t be as polished as something like Game of Thrones. The moment that had the nation crying into their Kleenex had to be Ian telling his son that his twin sister had died, earning it’s place in the top TV moments of the year.

But the question remains, who killed Lucy? My favourite theory is that it was Melissa Suffield, who previously played Lucy. Angry after being fired, she pelted her over the head with a script, killing her instantly. Convincing, no?

ABC

The last year in television has brought some truly brilliant (and, er, less brilliant) programming to our screens. With the Editorial year almost over (sob), some of the Concrete Editors and writers tell us what made their top telly list of the last year.

Anna Walker

Death Comes to Pemberley. A clever and engaging P D James drama giving a thrilling twist to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. It was brilliantly acted and beautifully shot, making it the best BBC period drama in a long time.

Melissa Haggar Sherlock and Game of Thrones has to be on that list! The various re-enactments and the drama in the first episode of Sherlock series 3 were hilarious! Plus who doesn’t love Game of Thrones?! The landscapes and storylines make for addictive watching!

Niyonu Burke

Scandal was amazing, but by the end it was all a bit over-dramatic and all the characters seemed like caricatures by the finale, though still compelling. The Good Wife has been a long-standing favourite of mine, probably because it’s one of the few shows with a strong female lead who is imperfect as any good protagonist should be but without being a stereotype.

Lara Ellice

It has to be American Horror Story: Coven!

It got more amazing every week, and when Stevie Nicks featured I just couldn’t cope!

TELEVISION concrete.television@uea.ac.uk

www.concrete-online.co.uk

29.04.2014

The future of BBC Three

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We explore the latest developments surrounding online programming Rob Drury It has been a few weeks since the news broke of BBC Three’s axing in favour of moving solely to an online presence.

Many an angry tweet has been sent, and many a student has wondered what they will do without endless repeats of Russell Howard’s Good News or Family Guy. But fear not! There are some developments occurring in the sparkly mist that is the media industry. Current Controller of BBC Three, Zai Bennett, has jumped ship to Sky Atlantic, and having worked to create countless provoking seasons of programming and earning the channel shelves of awards for its comedy and original programming, we bid him farewell with a wave and a sniffle.

But where does this leave our precarious BBC channel?

In the wake of his departure, a few more details and some speculation have surfaced on the murky waters of the channel’s future. The BBC is keen to stipulate that the planned move to

BBC Media Centre online-only is stil subject to the approval of the BBC Trust. While the moneysaving benefits will probably swing in its favour, there’s still some possibility of it not being approved. However, if it is

Party House

approved, it is expected BBC Three will stop broadcasting as of autumn 2015.

Even at present, BBC Three and Online are becoming more intertwined, as the recent announcement about Chris

Lilley’s newest comedy creation, Jonah from Tonga, proved. Lilley’s series will be released in full online , two days before it begins weekly broadcast on television.

Admittedly, it is only two days, but it’s been speculated that this shows the beginnings of potential development into the iPlayer into commissioning its own content; just as Netflix has started doing with Orange is the New Black, House of Cards and many more.

Discussions also broke surrounding the potential merging of the role of Director of BBC Three and a new role of ‘iPlayer Controller’ (well doesn’t that sound fancy?). The iPlayer role would give the person in charge a budget of a few million to play with and they would have equal status to the other channel controllers.

So, since the original news broke, it seems the picture has become a little sunnier, just in time for summer. Worry not BBC loyalists! We are set to be looked after if these stories are anything to judge by.

Ex on the Beach

Huffington Post/Channel 4

Rebecca Hedger The title of the new series Party House is pretty self-explanatory; give a group of people a house to get drunk in and see what happens. The first episode opens with empty bottles littering the floor and hungover expressions, bringing to mind recollections of the aftermath of an LCR night.

This is quickly lost with the Made in Chelsea structured-reality format, a success the E4 bosses seem keen to recreate. Add alcohol and a pool to the mix and a weird combination of Made in Chelsea and Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents is created, which feels more structured than real.

Each episode focuses on a different group of ‘friends.’ Fitting the action

into fifty minutes means no lengthy build-ups to revelations, but also means the audience doesn’t get to see the relationships develop or get the chance to invest in any of the characters (who are unnatural in their roles). Flashbacks to moments seen five minutes ago could be an attempt to imitate that blurry drunk feeling, but gives the impression that the producers think the audience are too stupid to remember what just happened.

The awkward moments create some laughs and sympathy, but not enough to make you care about what happens.

The current fascination with ‘structuredrealities’ and youth drinking culture means it’s pretty unlikely programmes like Party House will stop being made anytime soon; whether that’s good or bad is up to you.

Melissa Haggar Doesn’t a relaxing summer holiday in paradise right now sound idyllic right about now? Just imagine the sun, sea and sand; factor that a couple of ‘sexy’ singles are also along for the journey, what could possibly go wrong?

Well, MTV’s new reality TV spinner, Ex On The Beach examines just that; and as you have probably guessed by the name, what the singles don’t know is that their exes are joining them on their vacation too.

Maybe not so idyllic after all then.

If you are trying to picture how this show might look, take all the reality shows you may have heard (and feared) of such as Geordie Shore, TOWIE and Big Brother.

Then add a beach and you have pretty much got this show, in a nutshell. Vicky Pattison

of Geordie Shore also features in the new show, where exes join their past partners to either stir up trouble, enact revenge or attempt to rekindle their romance.

The first episode introduces us to the singletons; Marco, Ashley, Emily, Chloe, Liam, Jack, Farrah and our Vicky. As you would expect, there are some ‘interesting’ characters, and just enough clashing personalities to evoke a full-out war complete with swearing, vomiting and innuendos aplenty.

Each contestant has their own bizarre habits and weird preferences, such as loving to wear golden shorts and making vastly inappropriate jokes. Doesn’t that sound joyful?

So, if you are looking for your next reality TV fix, then Ex On The Beach could be your winning ticket.

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FILM

concrete.film@uea.ac.uk

At Cinemas Near You

Locke

Director Stephen Knight Starring Tom Hardy Cert 15 Runtime 85mins Ha Nguyen Filmed every night in one week on location with one actor and a setting confined in a car, Locke – writer and director Steven Knight’s sophomore feature –resembles a work of theatre on the move, yet on the whole is convincingly cinematic and compelling in its minimalistic storytelling.

‘I’ve made my decision,’ says Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy) to his confused, angry co-workers as he speeds down the highway. They simply cannot understand why Locke chooses to leave 10 hours before the opening of their biggest project. The film begins as the protagonist leaves his construction workplace – yet as he dials through a list of phone calls the audience should start to see a bigger picture formed before he steps inside his SUV. Through Locke’s dozens of phone calls over problems with concrete, football and the biggest mistake of his life thus far, the film slowly builds up the character’s back story and at the same time shakes his mentality. It is a story of ordinary life (played out in real-time, no less) that completely falls apart over a few dialogues.

Developed just slightly longer than Locke’s overall time of filming, Steven Knight punctuates his screenplay with

Ktar.com

animated and gripping dialogue, even though most of the speakers are offscreen. The film uses not only frustrated cursings, nervous ranting and other extremes of emotional display, but equally employs the pauses, the abrupt hang-ups and sudden bursts of background noises to paint Locke’s life-changing evening.

The superb voice-cast, which includes Olivia Colman, Andrew Scott and Ruth Wilson, make each of their words count, their expressions delivered with pace and precision, opening an incredible window for the audience to the world outside’s Locke’s car.

At the centre of the action, Ivan Locke seems to be trapped in the mess he finds himself in. There is nothing for him but the road ahead and the rear-view mirror which he delivers promises and persuasions for himself.

After the larger-than-life roles of Bane, Bronson and Tommy Riordan, it is forgettable how great an actor Tom Hardy is, and though Ivan Locke has his own vengeance and loathing, the actor proves one of his talents is to make a solid, riveting performance out of just an ordinary man, out of ordinary situations of life. His character is calm and collected but also conflicted and anguished. Locke does not cave to the conventions of the thriller genre in its one-person setting, but still hits the audience with its character’s outbursts, keeping them guessing as Ivan Locke’s attempt to mend his life. His tragedy seems to be the secret mistake that sets his drive in motion, yet as the film draws to a close it seems his biggest flaw is to believe in himself the ability to make everything right. Is it the right thing for

him to do if it costs him everything that he holds dear? As there is no way else to find out, and as life is a long road, the best thing for Ivan Locke is to just drive on.

Locke, which can be exaggeratingly dramatic at some points, might not be the ideal film to function as a microcosm of life, but at the end it still delivers one of the most chilling insights into what is thought to be the ordinary days of ordinary humans. Mesmerizingly filmed and scored to a dreamy soundtrack, its ending shot of the lit highway leaves the audience wondering about the many stories which could spread out as each car moves by.

serial cheater that audiences have been waiting for. Or so you hoped. What had so much promise and had been backed by power players Cameron Diaz and Leslie Mann may leave you slightly disappointed. Promising to be the quintessential gal pal flick, The Other Woman charts Carly Whitten’s (Diaz) discovery that her boyfriend, the man she has been led to believe was single, is in fact married and holds another mistress. After an unexpected run-in with her boyfriend’s wife, the zany and

a little too emotionally attached Kate (Mann), the two team up with the other buxom blonde mistress, Amber, (Upton) to serve up cheating, threetiming husband Mark (Nikolaj CosterWaldau) his just desserts. Clocking in as Carly’s best friend is American rapper Nicki Minaj, who is one of the more redeemable features of the film, putting in a surprisingly hilarious performance.

What should be a triumph for generations of women seems to have been half-heartedly constructed, despite enthusiasm from Diaz and co. The partnership between Mann and Diaz is actually rather dynamic, and perhaps given a different film, they could truly be able to shine on screen as a power-house pair of comedy queens. However, whilst Upton is not at fault for her performance as Amber, the construction of the character itself is rather disheartening, in the sense that she seems to be purely superficial and without depth, despite the obvious attempts at being selfmocking. With the trio having failed to

latch onto a film with enough substance for their brilliant personalities, The Other Woman seems to follow a rather formulaic pattern, settling for a few cheap laughs instead of driving home the comedy, which just brings the whole production down to a disappointing level, given the amount of potential there was for a new female comedy film to match that of Bridesmaids.

What seemed to be a step up from the usual mind-numbing chick flicks, The Other Woman seems to have settled for second best and follows an unimaginative formula, which effectively squeezes most of the life out of the film. Despite strong performances from its cast and a general best effort to make things seem better than they really are, it seems to have fallen victim to the very thing it aimed to combat, stereotypical representations of genders.

The Independent

The Other Woman

Director Nick Cassavetes Starring Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann, Kate Upton, Don Johnson Cert 12A Runtime 109mins Melissa Haggar This is it. The empowering film depicting quirky, well-constructed female characters who unite in an attempt to deal out much-deserved revenge on a

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FILM

concrete.film@uea.ac.uk

www.concrete-online.co.uk

19

29.04.2014

At Cinemas Near You

TV Trev

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Director Marc Webb Starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Sally Field, Dane DeHaan, Felicity Jones Cert 12A Runtime 142mins Emma Holbrook Just over ten years after the first SpiderMan movie was released, Spidey webslings back into action in the sequel of the rebooted comic book film franchise. Although this mouthful sounds quite redundant on paper, The Amazing Spider-Man series is undeniably

treading a somewhat different path to its predecessors, whilst also remaining loyal to the sentiments of the source material.

The sequel builds on the groundwork of the first film’s origin story and it has the same easy-going quality, not taking itself too seriously until the moments arise.

Now at college, Peter Parker (Garfield) has his trademark snark in place under his spandex, balancing the relentless superhero responsibilities alongside his slightly tumultuous love life with plucky scientist Gwen Stacy (Stone).

Whether it be Peter nearly missing his high-school graduation because of a plutonium heist or his struggle to wash his costume without turning everything red and blue, the film’s fundamental

charm lies in its depiction of the humourous impracticalities of being a teenage superhero, and a particularly endearing scene includes a sniffly SpiderMan preventing a store robbery on the way to pick up some Vicks.

Displaying an unconventional dorky confidence, Andrew Garfield makes for a delightfully endearing lead and does all he can with an occasionally clumsy screenplay. Emma Stone, meanwhile, is as charming as ever and the film makes a mistake in limiting her screen-time. But the chemistry between the two leads is infectious, and their story easily becomes one of the most enjoyable parts of the plot. Peter’s puppy-dog demeanour and Gwen’s bubbliness mean that at times you can’t help but wonder whether this would have been better as a simple romantic comedy, without the trappings of a dreary super villain subplot.

But their relationship has its fair share of angst. Peter is haunted by Gwen’s deceased father and his promise to stay away in order to protect her, and coupled with his unresolved resentment at his orphaned status, we see Peter’s hero complex develop organically to reveal his fear of getting too close to anyone, only to lose them.

Consequently, it is a great shame that the villains of the piece do not remotely measure up to the easily agreeable leads.

Peter’s childhood friend, Harry Osborn

(DeHaan), resurfaces as the corrupt CEO of Oscorp and his severe hair parting may well be the most interesting aspect of his character. Meanwhile, Jamie Foxx does very little to earn his screen-time through his amateurish turn as Spidey-super-fan-turned-archnemesis Electro, and although the narratives of the two downtrodden men are initially promising, in practice, they are exceedingly clichéd.

The box office oversaturation of superhero movies in the past few years means that the film is at an unfair disadvantage, particularly when compared to pitch-perfect ventures from Marvel Studios, like 2012’s The Avengers.

A whirl of CGI and cinematography, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is still an underdog like its protagonist, and although it is by no means a bad movie, it does suffer from a lack of originality in terms of storyline. But the one thing on its side is Spider-Man’s continued status as an everyman’s hero. In the midst of large-scale crime, he still manages to provide individual hope, protecting a bullied child and walking him home, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2’s unashamed embrace of sentimentality most definitely works in its favour.

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Movie Memories

We flashed back to our sometimes odd, traumatic or heartwarming cinematic pasts

The Mirror

Collider

Low Carb Friends

Trilhadomedo

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

The Phantom Menace (1999)

Winnie the Pooh (1991)

Swimfan (2002)

I watched Who Framed Roger Rabbit when I was really little and I only remember two things. One: Judge Doom’s (played

by Christopher Lloyd) eyes popping out of his head scared the My Little Pony right out of me because I genuinely thought it was real. The second: I wanted to look just like Jessica Rabbit (who I also believed to be real, somehow) in that sparkly red dress when I grew up. Little did I know I would never be a cartoon, nor would I be ginger. Growing up is bittersweet. Madz Abbasi

My earliest memory of cinema (and of life itself ) is sitting in the Cambridge Vue with my Dad in July 1999, watching Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

Even today, I can hardly watch the film without feeling the child-like sense of wonder come flooding back. I know it’s hardly a perfect film, but the images of vast alien landscapes, clashing lightsabers and the waves of incredible sound washing over me will forever be imprinted in my mind, and I intend to defend my love of the film to my grave. Chris Rogers

At a young age I was obsessed with Winnie the Pooh and had a collection of videos that I always used to watch. My favourite was Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too and, according to my parents, I used to be glued to the screen watching it but without any emotion. The story takes a sad turn when Winnie sends a letter to Santa but without realising it the wind actually takes the letter in the opposite direction.

One day I sobbed my way through the film, having finally understood its true meaning. Holly Wade

Nothing was once more exciting as a kid than putting on your best fake moustache and smuggling your way in to a movie that you weren’t legally allowed to see.

Even better were those 12-rated movies with that misbegotten air of ‘adult themes’ to them, like the long-forgotten ‘teen Fatal Attraction’ thriller Swimfan, a film I was so oddly hyped for that I was allowed to bunk off school for my 11th birthday to see it. First TGI Fridays, then an unsurprisingly empty 2pm screening.

It was a good day. Adam White

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29.04.2014

Torrent Butler

FILM

www.concrete-online.co.uk

Pathe

concrete.film@uea.ac.uk

TC Daily Planet

Gallery Hip

To Die For (1995)

L’autre (2008)

Upstream Color (2013)

Repo Man (1984)

I was never a fan of Nicole Kidman, but this dark comedy film directed by Gus Van Sant changed my mind. Kidman plays Suzanne Stone - a bloody ambitious woman, desiring to make it big no matter whose life she interferes with. Kidman’s performance carries the film through so it is no wonder she won a Golden Globe for it. The film also features a young Joaquin Phoenix with an oh-so-nineties ponytail and Wayne Knight. After watching this you’ll at least be able to say that you’ve seen Knight in something other than Jurassic Park and Space Jam. Madz Abbasi

Patrick-Mario Bernard and Pierre Trividic’s undistributed study on the destructive effects of obsession is refreshingly void of the melodramatic clichés made famous by the likes of Fatal Attraction. Whilst its methodical pacing and unrelenting sparsity, juxtaposed with a cold and bleak aesthetic palette, threatens to overwhelm, it nonetheless remains a fascinating viewing experience as a result of the film’s firm grip on filmic reality and a vertiginous, Venice Film Festival award-winning performance by Dominique Blanc.

Neven Devies

Pretentious and fully aware that it exists as a film Upstream Color by Shane Carruth is worth a look. This is a beautiful art film only reveals just enough so that you’re not completely lost; the last fifteen minutes of the film are completely void of dialogue.

The plot follows two characters, a man and a woman, that are drawn together by a parasitic organism that is not fully explained. This film is best experienced with others so you can discuss what you think it was about. I still have no idea what most it means after three run-throughs.

However, the film is still satisfying.

Joe Twose

Part crime thriller, sci-fi chase movie and western, the iconic eighties punk classic Repo Man blends a brilliant soundtrack with absurd and fast paced comedy. From the writer of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and director of Sid and Nancy, this obscure classic follows a young trouble maker as he falls into the bizarre and paranoid world of repossession, chasing down a car which holds a much sought after artefact that seems to makes people explode. A must see for anyone interested in neo noir, U.S satire and the mideighties LA punk scene.

Freddie Van Der Velde

Hidden Treasures

Tired of the same old, same old? A collection of our writers are here to suggest some lesser known alternatives for your summer viewing

Cineplex

When Father Was Away on Business (1985) Emir Kusturica’s second Cannes-winning film Underground may be the work that has collected the most accolades during his long career, but his earlier Palme d’Or winner is a much greater, more restrained piece of work. It centres around a family who, during Yugoslavia’s historic split with the Soviet Bloc, find themselves without a father as he’s sent for ‘reeducation’ for complaints about the great leader. Consistently funny yet always bittersweet and touching, combined with Kusturica’s Fellini-esque sense of carnival and chaos, this is a film that is Balkan through-and-through.

A beautiful snapshot of life in a troubled land.

Fedor Tot

Fanpop

Wordpress

Pie and Bovril

Better Off Dead (1985)

Before Sunrise (1995)

The Warriors (1979)

Let us, for a moment, gloss over John Cusack’s late-period performances in tepid Hollywood fare – like Roland Emmerich’s 2012 or unashamed Oscar bait The Butler – and remember the 1980s. That was his decade, role after role in which Cusack cemented himself as the go-to underdog hero slash total babe. It is with great relish, then, that I draw attention to a forgotten treasure amidst these. Better Off Dead takes Cusack’s archetype (and that of the high-school-romantic-comedy) to its gloriously entertaining apotheosis.

Terrible cooking, homicidally vengeful paperboys and bizarro gallows humour abound as Lane Myer (Cusack) skis off to win back his sweetheart.

Jack Rice

One evening, two characters and very little plot. Hooked yet? Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise is a film that by all accounts shouldn’t work, and yet that is perhaps its charm. We take a stroll through Venice and through the intricate dialogue of two people learning everything about one another in a single night, where every syllable and every pause hides a deeper meaning. Sometimes it doesn’t take an apocalypse or a grand romantic gesture to fall in love, sometimes it just takes conversation. Before Sunrise is delicately sentimental, always managing to feel real, rising and falling like every conversation does. It’s a film that leaves you pondering big questions in an understated way.

Emma Holbrook

Set in a dystopian parallel New York where warring street gangs rule designated areas of the city, this hyper-violent and surreal action movie follows the Warriors as they are framed for the murder of one of the high-ranking gang leaders.

The film follows the gang members as they traverse the urban playground of night-time New York to their home turf, all the while being hunted down by gangs such as ‘The Rogues’ and the ‘Baseball furies’ all with garish costumes to boot. Although the violence was kept exaggerated and unrealistic, this film still caused massive controversy in 1979 due to the destruction that followed on its opening from Warriors-wannabes.

Freddie Van Der Velde

FILM

concrete.film@uea.ac.uk

Brother Foot

www.concrete-online.co.uk

Toutlecine

29.04.2014

21

We’re hugely proud of Concrete Film’s output this year, and while it’s normal to just be nice and say that we couldn’t have done it without you, we actually, literally couldn’t have done it without you because you wrote it all. So a big thanks to...

BFI

Twelve Monkeys (1995)

Freeway (1996)

Metropolitan (1990)

The second of Terry Gilliam’s dystopian satire trilogy, following on from Brazil and preceding 2013 release The Zero Theorem, Twelve Monkeys follows James Cole (Bruce Willis), a convicted criminal who is forced into time travel. In typical Gilliam style the film is bizarre with Cole having to locate a virus that shows futuristic Earth in a post-apocalyptic meltdown with humans now living underground. Brad Pitt is the star of the film though as the unhinged Jeffrey Goines, the alleged leader of the group that made the virus. Pitt won a Golden Globe for his role and was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award. With the performance he gives it is not at all surprising. Holly Wade

Reese Witherspoon’s flashy performance as the barely literate, trailer-trash runaway Vanessa Lutz in Matthew Bright’s Freeway remains her secret masterwork.

Part little girl lost, part potty-mouthed, gun-toting fugitive, Vanessa flees her hooker mom and abusive stepdad to seek shelter with her grandma, only to encounter Kiefer Sutherland’s sadistic serial killer on the L.A. highway. A nightmarish spin on Little Red Riding Hood, Freeway is unapologetically nuts, a wildly hyper-violent cartoon of a movie full of outrageous dialogue, provocative social commentary, and characters with names like Chopper Wood and Corky Poindexter. A true one-off, and a film deserving of greater kudos. Adam White

Whit Stillman’s Metropolitan is set amongst the wealthy elites of Manhattan’s social scene, chronicling the romantic entanglements of a group of young debutantes and their male escorts, who attend galas and functions throughout the winter party season. Featuring elaborate discussions of literature, philosophy and the class divisions leading the urban, preppie lifestyle to virtual extinction, Stillman’s Oscar-nominated script is charming in its heightened theatricality, full of fantastic wordplay and funny nonsequiters, capturing the feeling of young adults playing as grown ups. If science fused together the very best of Oscar Wilde and Wes Anderson, you’d wind up with something like this. Adam White

Adam, Alex, Alice, Ben, Chris, Courtney, Daisy, David, Eavan, Ella G., Ella S., Emma, Emily, Fedor, Freddie, Gemma, Ha, Harriet, Indigo, Jack L., Jack R., Jay, Joe, Joseph, Josh, Laura, Louis, Luke K., Luke P., Madz, Marco, Matthew, Melissa H., Melissa T., Neven, Rachel, Rowie, Sarah, Saul, Sean, Silvia, Thomas, Tyler, and everyone who has been nice enough to read our pages and our terrible, terrible pun headlines.

In the immortal words of Vinnie Jones, “it’s been emotional...”

Holly and Adam.

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29.04.2014

LISTINGS

www.concrete-online.co.uk

concrete.listings@uea.ac.uk

29th April - 13th May live music 29th April

4th May

8th May

Heidi Talbot Norwich Arts Centre £10-13

The Rifles + Sean McGowan The Waterfront £16.50

Jack Cheshire + Natalie Lake The Bicycle Shop £8

Ezra Furman Epic Studios £6-8

Blood Red Shoes + DZ Deathrays + Slaves The Waterfront £10

2nd May

5th May

The Swellers Epic Studios £5.50-7.50

Dum Dum Girls + Crocodiles Norwich Arts Centre £12

Fish The Waterfront £22.50

Clutch The Waterfront £16.50

6th May

Maia The Bicycle Shop £6 Patent Pending/People On Vacation/Lost Waterfront Studio £12-14 30th April

Ezio Norwich Arts Centre £12

De La Soul The Aquarium £27.50

Polly and the Billets Doux The Bicycle Shop £6

Toyah Wilcox The Aquarium £17.50

1st May

Bad Rabbits Waterfront Studio £8

Billy Ocean + Denise Pearson St Andrew’s Hall £29.50-32.50

3rd May

Calaitia Flamenco Son The Bicycle Shop £8

9th May

11th May

7th May

Barrence Whitfield + The Savages Norwich Arts Centre £12.50

Wicked Faith + Breaking Belief + Silent Divide Waterfront Studio £5

Pulled Apart By Horses Epic Studio £10

Chapters + Eridium B2 £4

Kyle Carey/Josienne Clarke/Ben Walker The Bicycle Shop £6

Blue Rose Code The Bicycle Shop £8

13th May

Jimi Goodwin The Waterfront £15

Courtney Barnett + Honeyblood Waterfront Studio £8.50

Rae Morris OPEN £7

Rachael Dadd + Eastern Seaboard The Bicycle Shop £8

theatre

comedy 9th May

Love Steals Us From Loneliness The Garage £5-10

8th May England Away Norwich Arts Centre £8-12

club nights 29th April Keep Calm & Carry On LCR UEA LCR £2-5

Ciara Jack

3rd May The A List UEA LCR £4

6th May Tuesday Night Fever LCR UEA LCR £2-5

10th May The A List UEA LCR £4

COMPETITIONS 29.04.2014

www.concrete-online.co.uk

concrete.competitions@uea.ac.uk

the venue crossword

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Across

6. Scary genre of film (6) 7. Long essay (12) 9. Dark colour (5) 11. Grassy hillock (5) 13. A person who has completed a degree (8) 14. The end of winter (6)

Down

1. Alcoholic drink (4) 2. Lunch outside (6) 3. Worn by cowboys (5) 4. Type of painting (11) 5. Royal seat (6) 8. Part of a flower (5) 10. Wings and a halo (5) 12. Furry animal that hops (6)

the venue sudoku

easy

medium

hard

VENUE