I got to work from home on Friday, an unexpected bonus while I waited for a face-pierced Scotchman to come and fix the dicky boiler. Despite the whispering siren song of the Xbox in the corner I seem to get more done this way, with potent homemade coffee and a James Brown new-heavy-funkathon on at high volume (may he rest in AOOWWW).
Which brings us to the weekend. I can’t say we’ve sussed out any fantastic nightspots in London yet – 93 Feet East was the best candidate so far – but there’s plenty of culture to be going on with.
Last week met up with Swedish Jojo to listen to some Schumann and Mendelsson at The Night Shift (“classical without the rules!”). A novel experience for me, having dabbled in opera but never sat before an orchestra. The late-night event is characterised by drinking and informal banter with the conductor, with obscure gags raising knowing chuckles from the lounging bespectacled musos.
On Wednesday we got out to see Pinter’s People at some ancient theatre in Picadilly. The main draw was the cast, Bill Bailey, Sally Phillips, Kevin Eldon (almost reprising Simon Quinlank at one stage). First exposure to Pinter’s stuff as well, pretty good. The series of sketches swing adeptly between face-pulling character comedy and drawn-out Chekhov silences and sudden dark notes of tragedy.
Friday night was our old chum Stewart Lee with his new monologue, What Would Judas Do? Taking the role of Judas he talks through the last days of Jesus in diary fashion. The main thrust of the story is good – that Jesus was largely ineffective in achieving change during his life, and only achieved anything lasting through Judas’s actions and his martyrdom.
Stew did clearly lose his train of thought during the Mary Magdalene part and appeared in danger of grinding to a halt, but managed to improvise a rambling path back to the script. In the end it was forgivable as I got to play apostle Philip in the last supper*.
Next up is the Hot Fuzz early screening on Monday. Let’s hope it’s not absolutely fucking atrocious eh?
* as a footnote this is the second time I have taken part in reenacting The Last Supper. The first time was much funnier and more embarrassing.
05-Feb-07 at 9:03 pm | Permalink
I am hell of worried about Hot fuzz. A buddy made the rather valid point that all films that are advertised on the sides of buses end up being rotten. Hot Fuzz is advertised on every bus ever. Urk.
I have faith in the people involved in the film. THEY MUST NOT LET ME DOWN. THEY HAVE NOT LET ME DOWN YET.
(I am going to pretend that Hyperdrive never existed)
Pinter, though, eh? Pinter is awesome. If I was a real adult I would go see some P-p-pinter at a snazzy bastard theatre instead of just reading his stuff in secondhand boox. Ye cannae fit a theatre in yr suit jacket pocket, though, can ye? CAN YE?
Can Ye West.
I am going to stop typing crap words now.
06-Feb-07 at 2:46 pm | Permalink
I still have a book from the school library, British Plays from the 1960s, or something like that. There is Pinter in that. Tis good, I used to read this sort of stuff when I was a sixteen year old intellectual brat (and yes, always read, never saw).
11-Feb-07 at 3:20 pm | Permalink
> hyperdrive
Wow I completely missed this [details, torrent]. New series coming in April apparently.
> There is Pinter in that
A great delivery phrase for appraising something. THERE IS X IN THAT.
“Yes, Hot Fuzz. There is John Woo in that.”
11-Feb-07 at 3:28 pm | Permalink
> THERE IS X IN THAT
In the 80s and 90s there were a couple of computer magazines that were actually hilariously funny. I’m thinking Your Sinclair and Amiga Power here.
The latter publication actually had a real influence on the drivel I put together now, including the correct placement of CAPS for COMIC EFFECT.
The point of this digression is that they documented all of their in-jokes in the form THERE IS X AND Y IN IT in an online lexicon. Which only former Amiga Power readers are likely to find fantastic. BING.
11-Feb-07 at 4:03 pm | Permalink
Ah, Your Sinclair. Amazing magazine, bringing me such free games as How To Be A Complete Bastard, Tir na Nog, a boneload of games involving trains, and a 2D beat ‘em up that involved kicking a dog in the face.
I kept reading it even when I got a Master System, just because it was dead funny. Sigh. eventually I moved onto top magazine Super Play, which wasn’t as funny, but was very amiable and led to my disgusting fondness for Japanese culture.
New series of Hyperdrive, you say? What a waste of a good cast. Kevin Eldon as a hyper-efficient and intense military man in space should be funny. But it’s not.
Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I’m all wrong.
Incidentally, there’s some real good Lee and Herring stuff on Youtube just now from a short show they did on monday. Funny and sad and righteous in their “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” rage.
I don’t know how to make links, whether it be on the internet, or in real life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih41uU17P_o
aaaand
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S24UJx0v9Og
13-Feb-07 at 6:32 pm | Permalink
> HTBAC Bastard
Wow I remember that, it was pretty puerile. Some examples of bastard-point scoring.
Nice Tedstock youtube links there, made me laugh.
15-Feb-07 at 5:29 pm | Permalink
> James Brown
This has been my favourite James Brown headline so far. Classic opening line too…
16-Feb-07 at 5:27 pm | Permalink
> Your Sinclair
An absolute gem of a magazine. I remember being in awe of the writers, they had my dream job. I’m also pretty sure I’ve still got a shoebox full of old YS magazines and cover tapes at home.
I didn’t much care for the Adventure section, which if I remember correctly was in boring black and white and written by some dodgy bloke with a beard.
I’d completely forgotten about How To Be A Complete Bastard, it was such a classic game. And let’s not forget that YS brought us the best game of all time – Advanced Lawnmower Simulator. Hilarious review here.