I've moved!

It's spring. I decided I wanted a change and new surroundings. So I've moved house to WordPress. Take a look. It's at the usual address www.poptartlondon.com.

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Thank you for your support. Hope to see you on the other side.

A Positive View

Just a quick one to wish my (two!) readers a Happy Easter. I'm heading back oop North but if you're in London over the bank holiday I would point you towards Somerset House. As well as being warm and dry, it's home to A Positive View until Monday, a free exhibition featuring some of the greats of photography and some celeb pictures (like an early Kate Moss taken by Corinne Day, Sienna Miller by Mario Testino and a couple of beautiful pictures of Audrey Hepburn).

Pictures by Irving Penn (whose portraits of the famous are still on show at the National Portrait Gallery), Helmut Newton, Horst P Horst, Rankin and Don McCullin are just some of the well known names on display. With most genres covered, there's something for everyone. Look out for the ethereally magical Queen Charlotte's Ball taken by none other than photography's founding father Henri Cartier Bresson in 1959.

One of my favourites though is German film director Wim Wenders' Lounge Painting, Gila Bend, Arizona, 1983.

 I don't profess to know much about Wenders' own meaning behind it (must look it up) but his films often concern someone on a journey without a destination. I like his use of side-lighting with bright colours to create atmosphere. To me,  it's about the viewer's longing for the open road while surrounded by the trappings of the modern day. Which is how I feel today.


A Positive View runs until Monday 5th April.

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.