Free Energy at Windmill Brixton

“They remind me of Hanson!” shouted my friend and if we were just going on the slight frame of the lead singer then she had a point. Musically though Free Energy, who headlined at a hot and sweaty Windmill in Brixton last night, are worlds away from teen bop.

They properly rock, head banging their long hair in unison, tight vests and jeans almost constricting their exuberant jumps and kicks. They certainly live up to their name. I almost yelled “Turn it up to eleven” when they kicked off with their eponymous song, but was so close (about a foot away) they would have heard me.

After watching the excellent support, the Singing Adams (only their second gig but already definitely worth catching – the lead singer is the former frontman of Broken Family Band) in the middle of the crowd, we found ourselves at the front for Free Energy who arrived with white balloons to party.

The Philadelphia five piece, who are signed to DFA records, play catchy pop rock (three guitars=loud) and they really give it their all. I loved watching them play my favourite track Something in Common especially when the lead singer did that thing where he locked eyes and then smiled a really big smile. They were really having fun on stage and it was genuine.

Free Energy are going places. Until the frontman said:

“Big hello to the babes on the back wall....nice, very nice”.

Er, hello? What about the babes up front?

“He must be longsighted,” said my mate. I concurred. How could he have dissed us honeys at the front?

To be fair, the barnet was looking big. Just how big (and frizzy) I didn’t realise until I clocked myself when I got home. But still, there was no need for such a blatant oversight. The rubbish British weather just doesn’t agree with my mop.  And if anything, it looked quite 70s-ish which fits right in with their 70s rocker look and sound. Harrumph.

Still, the lead guitarist is a man of impeccable taste. As well as sporting a long brown mottled feather on his guitar, he was wearing my trainers (martial arts shoes Feiyue, beloved by Shaolin monks).

After an encore and much appreciation from the rammed crowd (“sweet” was the frontman’s catchphrase of the evening) we emerged from the Windmill sweatbox into the drizzly Brixton night.

We were in a party mood and wanted to carry on for a nightcap. But Brixton is as bad as the rest of London when it comes to after-hours drinking during the week. Mango Landin, The Prince, Hive all shut. The White Horse was open but dead so we finally settled on an Amaretto in The Rest is Noise, open but equally dead.

It goes to show that Brixton needs more Free Energy on Monday nights to keep the party spirit alive.

Late night games at the V&A

I heart the V&A. Every last Friday of the month they throw open their doors until 10pm for fun free stuff.

Friday night's "Playgrounds" theme included a game called An Expedition with Mr Mirrors. It promised riddles and puzzles in a treasure hunt through the galleries.

Unfortunately I didn't participate. By the time we'd reached the place to sign up, all 300 spots had gone. Boo. I'd spent a crucial half hour queuing at the bar on arrival (I'm northern, it's ingrained) when I should have been queuing there. Oh well. The Silent Relay game looked fun too (people in comedy moustaches sleuthing round the place for clues) but we didn't have the patience to line up for another 45 minutes.

We did get to pass the giant parcel in the entrance hall though. It looked like a huge egg.

I didn't see what the parcel contained as it was unwrapped in stages during the evening. By complete coincidence I met someone  who works at the V&A (the lovely Celine) at a party on Saturday night who revealed that there were hundreds of origami shapes inside. How sweet.

There's something very special about galleries and museums at night. So even though we didn't manage to play many games (just as well for my friend who admitted "I'm not a joiner" half way through the evening), we enjoyed wandering through rooms like the new Medieval & Renaissance galleries.

Digital design exhibition Decode is also on at the moment (until 11 April). Some wicked interactive design was scattered round the V&A such as the movement sensitive mirrors (pictured second from above) and these:

Up close they look like mini tower blocks of light, about 40cm high, floating on the water in the garden. The beauty of them is that they each have a movement sensitive camera which briefly displays a pixelated black and white image of you on its front, like this one of my friend:

 

Way cool. Yes the V&A Lates are a thing of joy and well worth queuing for.

Stitched Up is the V&A's next late Friday on 30th April which will explore British craft traditions to celebrate the Quilts exhibition.

Other highly recommended monthly (free) lates I like are:

Late at Tate Britain - first Friday of every month. Next one is Shards of Utopia on 9th April.
Science Museum Lates - last Wednesday of every month. Next one is Experiment Earth on 31st March.

There must be more I don't know about, so do let me know.

How to cure Blogitis

I visited the Blog Doctor with a troubling affliction yesterday.

"Doctor, I think I have blogitis. I haven't blogged in three weeks. And, ahem, what's worse....I haven't felt the need to."

The Blog Doctor looked shocked. "Well, Miss Tart, you know as well as I do that if you don't blog consistently, your readers will forget about you and go somewhere else for their cultural signposts and opinions."

"But that's the problem Doctor. I don't think I have any readers. There's no one to blog for."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, my stat counters for one, my lack of regular comments for another."

"Hmm. Are you tweeting regularly?"

"Yes."

"And interacting with other bloggers regularly?"

"Sometimes."

"Sometimes? Let me put it another way Miss Tart. Are you taking an interest in other people's blogs and commenting on them?"

"Not exactly. I read them (and really enjoy reading them) but I rarely comment on them."

"Hmm." Long pause. Chapel of fingers raised in front of face. "And I don't suppose you're posting any photos you've taken to Flickr? Or have joined any similar interest groups? Or created a Facebook group?"

"I've created an FB group. But...no sign of the others."

"It's very clear to me what the problem is Miss Tart. A lack of interactivity. You should aim for at least five portions a day."

"Ok. Also Doctor....there's something else."

Sigh....."Yes? Go on."

"I, well, erm, I, ah...I'm embarrassed by my basic Blogger template. And I think that's the real reason why I haven't been promoting it."

"But didn't you say during your last visit that your blog was somewhere for you to write about your interests - art, photography, music, events, film, TV etc. So the design is secondary?"

"Well, yes that's partly true. I'm a journalist so it's important the writing works. But I don't want an old-fashioned looking, constrictive blog. My HTML isn't up to designing it myself and I'm worried I'll lose my archive if I move to WordPress."

"Ah, I see." Lots of scribbling. "Take this to the pharmacist Miss Tart, and make a follow up appointment to see me in a month's time."

"Thank you Doctor."

Diagnosis: Chronic blogging constipation.

Prescription: to blog at least twice a week; to find a better Blogger template or work out how to move (seamlessly) to WordPress; to read how-to-promote-your-blog articles like this one from Green Buzz Agency; to connect with, and comment on, other arts and culture blogs.

www.twitter.com/poptartlondon
www.facebook.com/poptartLDN

Has the Doctor forgotten a vital medicine?  Let me know!

Ronzo does a Banksy

On the day of the official release of Banksy's new film Exit Through the Gift Shop, a London street artist has posted a short film about his new exploits in the city, called Pity of London.


Ronzo's Pity of London - Part 1

The artist Ronzo's vimeo site says: "The 'City of London' statue is a dragon sculpture marking the boundaries of London's financial district since centuries. The 'Pity of London' statue is a sculpture of 'Crunchy - The Credit Crunch Monster' munching on a pound coin. It marks the home of the credit crunch." Really neat idea. See more pictures of the Credit Crunch Monster here.  Seems Ronzo made them to celebrate the end of the recession here. Let's hope so. I've never even noticed the City of London dragons before either.

Maybe this little film will start a new craze for street artists to document their work before the councils and whoever else get rid (I've just been on a filming course if anyone needs a hand...).

As for Exit Through the Gift Shop. See it as soon as you can. It's the hilarious true tale of how Banksy and other established street artists unwittingly helped create a Frankenstein/ Dr Evil type street artist with very little talent or imagination. Or filming skills for that matter.

I was lucky enough to go to a preview screening off Leake Street (where the Cans festivals were) under Waterloo this week. Best cinema ever with crumbling walls, old fashioned red velvet seats on tiers so everyone had a perfect view, the tube rumbling underneath, booze and popcorn sold from an icecream van and original Banksy artwork all round. Plus the opportunity to graffitti the walls on your way out. Very cool.

*thanks to LDN and Londonist who tweeted about Ronzo's film.

First Aid Kit

Dreamy and beautiful is how I'd describe last night's gig at Union Chapel in Islington, partly because of the venue, a drafty Victorian gothic church, but mostly because of the gifted act, acoustic folk duo First Aid Kit.

When I first heard about these young Swedish sisters a couple of weeks ago, I muttered "First Aid Band? That's an odd name" in a granny fashion and suddenly felt my age.  Like LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy opined so well in Losing My Edge, I was feeling out of touch with new music even though I'm not THAT old (well mid-thirties so old enough).  That's what comes from freelancing at home and not having regular conversations with fellow music lovers. Not to mention severely cutting back on frivolous gig going, in an attempt to save money.

Which is how I found myself enthralled with the intensely beautiful harmonies of Klara and Johanna Söderberg, aged just 16 and 19, from Stockholm. One plays acoustic guitar, the other keyboard. Think melancholy folk and more playful country. They sing and speak with American accents too.

Their cover of Fleet Foxes' Tiger Mountain Peasant Song in which the two perform in the middle of a Scandinavian wood, was a YouTube hit and is how many people discovered them.

Wise lyrics beyond their years in songs such as Tangerine and You're Not Coming Home "He speaks with his eyes closed and even though you're not alone, he's never there to be with you" combined with an ethereal quality to their voices created a mesmerising, sometimes haunting, performance. Their MySpace strapline is "We aim for the hearts, not the charts!". Sweet.

At times the church was so quiet that when they went off-mic for more intimate songs such as Ghost Town and In The Morning, you could hear the slight rustle of their floaty bright blue and orange dresses, such was the love and respect of the crowd. Given their age, I was also really impressed with their chattiness. Not too much, but enough for us to realise that they seem like really nice, likeable girls.

And the venue! It's a crime that I've never been there before. Union Chapel is a working church which turns into a dramatic, magically lit spiritual cavern of music at night.  With the most amazing acoustics ever. Plus sitting in church pews means you're virtually guaranteed a great view of the altar (complete bonus if you're short like me). You can nip out for a drink at the bar too. What a lovely, unforgettable gig.

Right, off to listen to the Tiny, another Swedish group, who were the support last night...

Photography and the changing city

At the risk of sounding like a photography geek, hasn't the light in London been magical over the past two days? Crisp, clear blue skies and low winter -almost spring (hooray) - sun casting long, lean dramatic shadows. Perfect photography weather. I keep mumbling "the light, look at the light" at friends who agree, slightly bemused. I'm turning into a poncey twit. Although the very realisation that I sound like a poncey twit means I'm not one, surely. 

So I've been bombing round on my bike which I resurrected from the cellar yesterday (after accidentally deflating the tyres when I meant to inflate them at the local garage-doh). I biked over to Battersea Power Station which I'd never photographed before. Quite unbelievable when I live fifteen minutes away.

And of course the key to photographing anything, cities in particular, is to get to know your subject. Get out there with your camera and have an adventure. I've found that people often want to talk to you when you're taking pictures with an SLR. They're nearly always friendly, interesting and interested (apart from an angry shopkeeper in Brixton market the other month but she was an exception). So it's also a great way to interact with fellow London dwellers and we all know how tricky that can be in this city. I met Duncan from the Association of Photographers near the power station. He gave me tips on the best views and nearby bridges to shoot (cheers Duncan!).

Which brings me to the point of this blog. Four brilliant photographers talked through some of their London projects last night at the British Library. These guys have photographed the establishment (Mark Power had exclusive access to the building of the Millennium Dome and rebuilding of the treasury), the historical (Mike Seaborne captures an ever-changing London as senior curator of photos at the Museum of London), the overlooked  (Rut Blees Luxemburg's tower blocks and motorways have graced album covers - Hackney high rise "Towering Inferno" above was the cover of the Streets' debut Original Pirate Material), and the personal (Paul Halliday, leader of a photography MA in Goldsmiths, spent twenty years capturing memories of a poetic London, like this one below).

It was Halliday who advocated walking round London, quoting photographer Christopher Tilley "Walking is a process of appropriation of the topographical system, just as speaking is an appropriation of language." In other words, it's natural. But rather than wander round randomly taking pictures - like me - Halliday advises focusing on a particular aspect eg urban life, architecture, found objects to keep you engaged. Devising your own projects is key.

I absolutely love German photographer Rut Blees Luxemburg's work. Photographing mainly at night, she uses a large format camera on very long exposures (ten to fifteen minutes) which she says results in unpredictable colouring. She's inspired by literature and poetry which shows in her raw yet brutally beautiful pictures.

About the above shot of the Westway which graced Bloc Party album A Weekend in the City she said "The motorway is an emblem of modernity which we find difficult to come to terms with. So there's a tension between leisure and transport here."

Magnum photographer Mark Power is often very conceptual in his architectural work which I like. Again, he uses similar techniques to Rut which he said, sometimes made it difficult to photograph people because of long exposures (Rut never photographs people).

While Mike Seaborne made a good point when he said to teach yourself to think laterally. Everybody carries a camera today so it's about ideas. "Ideas present themselves all the time," he said. "It's just recognising them." You can view Mike's pictures taken from the top of a double-decker bus here.

And finally...'well I never' fact of the evening goes to Paul Halliday who told us that while it's not illegal to take pictures in public spaces, you do have to be mindful of bylaws. A tripod is thought of as a tent in the Royal Parks and can't be used.