Comedy Review: Josie Long and Robin Ince

NARC. Issue #89, Oct 2013

Robin and Josie's Shambles
@ The Stand, Newcastle (02.09.13)

Josie Long and Robin Ince were quick to quell any assumptions that the night was a regular old rehearsed stand-up show, instead openly warning us that it would stick to its namesake of being "an utter shambles". Having just finished up their respective Edinburgh stints, the twosome have long been collaborators on podcasts, shows and zines, and the evening that followed was delightfully far from my pet hate of stand-up: knowing the punch line of every joke, having seen them recited on various panel shows and live clips. The twosome were refreshingly conversational, testing out new material and chatting about whatever popped up (mostly the middle class aspects of music festivals, creationism, and Stewart Lee impressions) giving the whole evening an intimate "proper comedy club" vibe.

Rob Heron & The Tea Pad Orchestra made a surprise cameo, joining Robin onstage to add dramatic free jazz accompaniment to his hilarious skit of reading passages from the dregs of charity shop book bargain bins, which on this occasion was tales of killer crabs, and a letter of space-age admiration to David Bowie. Grace Petrie offered support with inspired satirical self-penned tunes on all things Thatcher, but her saddening love songs about heartbreak seemed a little out of the evening's tone. Robin and Josie were respectively droll and whimsical, but next time I'd rather see them headlining solo, without a sense of competition for stage room.

Comedy Review: WitTank

NARC. Issue #84, May 2013

WitTank
@ The Stand, Newcastle (26.03.13)

Sketch comedy may be looked upon as the suited-up Grandpa of the comedy spectrum. Mumblings of fork handles and dead parrots are perhaps overshadowed by the colloquial observations of the McIntyre era. Kieran, Mark and Naz - the trio of Durham old-boys forming WitTank - collide everyday vexations (the incomparable pain of standing on a plug) with the utterly surreal, mixing in a good portion of solo stand-up with their theatrical group skits.

Having gained huge success over the past few years since their student comedy days, WitTank have appeared on BBC Three's Live At The Electric as well as becoming the ones to watch during Edinburgh excursions, leading them on to gain various respectable comedy accolades and securing a residency at London's Courtyard Theatre.

Noticing the comedians taking pleasure in their on-stage antics adds to their hilarious interpretations of familiar scenarios, some of which are fuelled by Mark's experiences as a Geography teacher, with Anglo-Turk Naz taking the reins as lead thesp. With a captivating ability to hop from boyish humour to theatrical satire with unwavering energy, the whole experience of seeing WitTank live will leave you with tear-soaked cheeks and wondering why all comedy shows can't be quite so thrilling.

www.wittank.com

www.thestand.co.uk/Newcastle

 

At BBC Newcastle on the set of Look North through the mentor scheme I'm doing, and with Prof. Green, in the billiard room, with the candlestick.

My penultimate issue as fashion editor

...Done on very little sleep and residual dissertation frustration. Very excited for shooting my final issue!

Everything Everything: Not just another indie band

Palatinate Issue #727

indigo chats to the lead singer and guitarist of the genre-defying four-piece at the Newcastle leg of the NME Awards Tour

       Art rock? Convoluted indie? Math pop? You decide. This toe-tappingly jittery and anti-conventional four piece became sick of recycled and stagnant indie, so decided to do something about it.


        After being scouted by Radio 1’s Zane Lowe in their unsigned beginnings, the Manchester-based band site being tipped on BBC’s Sound of 2010 list as their biggest boost to success, despite at the the time having only a handful of singles in their blossoming discography.


        “It was so early on when we got it, it felt like we were the youngest there. Everyone else had albums ready to go!” guitarist Alex Robertshaw tells me as I make myself at home amongst the PS3 controllers and coffee cups in their haven of a tour bus. “Although I think in the UK you can still succeed if you’re not on that list. It’s important abroad, people seem to look at it first to see what’s new over here,” lead singer Jonathan Higgs explains. His suprisingly low-pitched speaking voice only highlights his extensive vocal range, a talent which plays a prominent part in the band’s sound.


        Having been described as ‘genre-defying’ and similar terms in the media since they formed in 2007, their jaunty sound seems fresh and new in comparison with a lot of recent indie bands due to their irregular song structures and fusion of diverse influences. But how do they go about maintaining this different approach? “You gotta keep writing and listening to a lot of music and trying to find new things. If something we write or a demo doesn’t excite us then we change it, and that’s the way we’ve always worked. It’s hard to define how you try and make things “new”... It’s not really as conscious as you might think!” Jonathan tells me modestly.


        Could this be the beginning of some sort of post-indie movement in NME’s history? The magazine itself had refreshingly branched out from the expectations of a line-up awash with guitar bands on this year’s Awards Tour, with Magnetic Man and Crystal Castles unusually starring on the same bill as The Vaccines and Everything Everything for the tour.


        “It’s really good that it’s this diverse. I was in two minds when I first saw the line-up!” Alex admits. “It certainly divides crowds, there’ll be people who will come to see The Vaccines who just will never ‘get’ Magnetic Man. But I think we’re quite lucky as we straddle quite a lot of audiences. But those same people who came along thinking “I want guitars!” may come away thinking “that was actually really good... I never would’ve gone to that!"


        “Indie’s had to develop, it’s not really holding the torch anymore which is good. It means there’ll be more of a variety of music from now on,” says Jonathan. “When indie decides to become fashionable again it’ll have to change itself a little bit which is always good. Stagnation is just so boring. No one enjoys that.

Photo: Dan Jeffries

        Whilst being helped along their way by Chew Lips and Bat For Lashes producer David Kosten, the band take pride in the amount of artistic freedom they have had on their debut album Man Alive. On the transition from their few 7” releases in their emerging days to being signed by Universal-owned record label Geffen, Alex explains “You can create a story as you’re going from standalone singles to creating a whole album. It’s a good cross-section of what we sound like.”


        The availability of technology is a key aspect of their chirpy and at times Nintendo-reminiscent tunes (see Photoshop Handsome and Qwerty Finger) “The way we write, it tends to start on a laptop, which for a so-called indie band might not be that normal. But there’s nothing to hold you back, you don’t have to think “oh I can’t make that sound on a guitar”. With a laptop you have free reign, you can even have an oboe!” Jonathan optimistically desribes. “To be defined by what your musical abilities are is sad."


        So with their quirky lyrics and upbeat ditties, will Everything Everything ever turn into a serious band? “A misconception that we’re trying to avoid is that we are this chipper band. There is a lot of serious stuff on the album and the next single will be much more serious. Although it won’t get half as much airtime because it’s not as radio friendly.” Jonathan tells me, somewhat wisened to the ways of mass media. Although with their catchy songs still having an edge with harmonising and perfectly unexpected breaks, this band is anything but a take two of The Hoosiers.


        “Funnily enough both of the re-releases are the most politically-minded on the album,” says Jonathan, “I like that some teenager could listen to MY KZ UR BF and be all “oh your boyfriend, what’s all that about?” and then think about the lyrics and realise that something interesting’s going on... Sneaking in there..."


        His theory seemed to prove true, as the general ‘first-time drunk’ swarm at the O2 Academy that evening showed, exciteably moshing to even Leave The Engine Room- by far the slowest song of the album.


Man Alive is out now on Geffen.

Photo: Dan Jeffries

I set myself a task

Portraying Durham's music scene in an optimistic light so any newbie freshers wouldn't be too put off...
It was a tricky task... I even squeezed in a promotion for the night I now run at Fishtank...


WHERE IS THE MUSIC SCENE?
Palatinate Issue #711

On embarking upon your years in Durham, you may or may not become aware of the dwindling reputation of an obvious music scene here. The city's odd dubstep night (if you're lucky) being the most avant-garde and diverse it seems to get. This aids in making it almost laughable that it expected to be in with a chance of winning the grand title of 'City of Culture 2010' earlier in the year. Other Universities' student newspapers can't physically cover the amount of the gigs in their city, whereas on the contrary we cheekily have to dip into our neighbouring city of Newcastle's music scene from time-to-time. The University Orchestral Society of course provides fantastic classical concerts, but otherwise how can a city filled with so many sparky and creative young minds be so culturally and musically indiverse? I hear you ask. Well the short version is, it isn't. The long version... If you would, for just a moment, peer past your freshers' handbook regime, toss aside the sweaty innards of Studio, brush past the surreal haze of Klute, you will find a hive of wonderful activity (albeit a small hive, but with very dedicated bees).

Gigs in Durham aren't necessarily of massive proportions. Not everyone who plays has had something produced by Timbaland or duetted with Katy Perry, but it's safely nestled in the city with the help of a handful of student musos and it's here to stay. Fishtank being the main host, with its modestly intimate size and dive-bar atmosphere with retro Blondie and Frank Zappa décor. It's the sort of place where you could wander in one night with a friend, grab a pint, make yourself comfortable at a pew (literally- I told you it's good décor), watch an up-and-coming synth/ukulele act, and finish the night having made at least one new friend. Quite a bit to say about a little bar above a chip shop! Oh and contrary to popular myth- it does not smell of fish and chips.

Fishtank plays host to nights lasting till the wee hours, showcasing a diverse array of live bands as well as regular nights such as electro/indie Grammar on Tuesdays, reggae and breakbeats DJ sets, Absence (the best DJ collective in Durham- trust me) nights, as well as A Deer For Your Lamb sessions with their one-off stunners. Starting this term every Thursday are the new Fishtank Acoustic Sessions, with a 'bring an instrument' vibe, following in the massive success of Strum last year, which we're chuffed to hear is carrying on bigger and better this year every Saturday evening at underground restaurant/bar Cellar Door. Both of these bars are a breath of fresh air after the body-popping sweaty blur of Durham clubs (which, as we all know by now, can be very fun indeed. But when you can predict the next song on the playlist, maybe it's time to try something different!).

Head of Steam, just off North Road, is toddling in the footsteps of its big sister in Newcastle for its gig venue reputation as well as amazing choice of Belgian beers. If alternative/metal is more your thing, nip to The Angel behind North Road. It hosts alternative bands regularly, but it's worth going in any time for the friendly traditional pub atmosphere with a punk twist as well as a massive pool table, THE best beer garden in Durham without fail, one of the most well-stocked jukeboxes and best real ale selections I've seen in a long time. This is the most underrated place in Durham.
If you fancy popping outside of the bubble for a change of scene and something more specific, Newcastle is a mere 15 minute train ride away. With its variety of gigs spanning from the English Philharmonic Orchestra (16^th October at City Hall) to Tinie Tempah (14^th at O2 Academy) to Robert Plant (20^th at The Sage), our north-eastern big sister has an unbeatable music scene. The intimately cosy Other Rooms hosts less obvious and discreetly advertised gigs, contrary to its neighbour Digital, which showcases massive nights such as Wax:On and sets by Annie Mac (presenting Benga on 6^th October) and one-off performances (Professor Green on 13^thOctober). Newcastle nights are a must for your time in Durham, so why not add a couple of gigs to your to-do list while exams are still a mere far-off haze?
Durham's music scene is modest and needs to be sought out, but once you find it you'll wonder why you'd never tried it before. Although it may be a while before it reaches Newcastle status, it's home!