Book Launch of Stanley Donwood's 'Humor'

Humor by Stanley Donwood

What a rare treat this almost secret event at 'The Social' in Little Portland Street was on an otherwise dreary Monday night. It was only through my love of Stanley Donwood's art and a minor addiction to all things social network based that meant I was even aware that it was occurring. I'm not sure if it was a tweet or from one of my many many mailing list messages that led me to discover this evening of pure enchantment - but either way it was totally worth all of the offers of cut price spa weekends and discount viagra.

Organised by the Faber Social arm of Faber and Faber it did exactly what it said on the tin - with bells on. We were entertained and captivated by beautiful story telling,  dramatic readings and sublime music in this unusual venue in the heart of London.

Stanley's book is a collection of micro narratives with an underlying tone of dark humour which was brought beautifully to life by Rik Jerrom. The audience listened transfixed as he took us into Stanley's slightly surreal but strangely grounded world. So captivating were the tales that in between performances we were all scanning the prose.

The second contribution for the evening came from Paul Kingsnorth, author of recent Booker Prize nominated 'The Wake'. He began by sharing an extract from his Dark Ecology writings. His second stage appearance opened with him giving a brief description of the premise of 'The Wake' - a post apocalyptic tale set at the time of the Norman invasion. He explained how he had irrationally decided to not only incorporate old english - but create a kind of hybrid language intertwining modern english and old english. In my head I imagined spending the next fifteen minutes in a no mans land of non comprehension. I couldn't have been more wrong. Paul's reading was clever, funny and engaging. His accent seemed to weave a little west country with a little cockney and a little street. There was a beautiful staccato rhythmic quality to it. I shall be buying this book. 

John Matthias - This musician was completely new to me. I had a little google and checked him our prior to the evening and really enjoyed the samples of his tracks. They did not prepare me for how sublimely beautiful his live sound would be. No banter with the crowd - but no banter required. With echoes of John Martyn and a smattering of a Ben Christophers' vibe, and perhaps a little nod to Sam Beam, this still came across as some very distinctive.
http://www.johnmatthias.com/

Weaving some beats into the John Matthias magic.

The mighty Stanley Donwood himself. I had the good fortune to attend a couple of events recently exhibiting Stanley's individual art work. The first of these was 'The Drawing Room' - an accompaniment to the Atoms for Peace performances at The Roundhouse. The upstairs room in The Enterprise housed some stunning prints of the album art work as well as furniture upholstered in Stanley's design.  Some of his original tree pictures were also shown in conjunction with his earlier book 'Holloway' in an exhibition in central London earlier this year.

Tonight was definitely the cherry on the cake...and I left with my copy of 'Humor' tucked under my arm - happy reading!

Thank you for obliging me with this pose on Monday Stanley.

End of the Road Festival 2014

End of the Road Festival 2014

Possibly my favourite festival of the season this year. A real grown up feel to it with an intelligent and eclectic line up of bands, including astounding, established headliners and some innovative interesting new acts. The eateries provided irresistible, weight gaining and healthy options and the festival grounds were clean throughout the weekend. Even the toilets held no fear! 

The Bands

So let's cut to the chase! The main draw for me to any festival is always the music - and this year's three headliners were worth the festival ticket alone! 

St Vincent

St Vincent offered a visual feast from the get go - with robotic moves, eerily glo in the dark eyelids and flamboyant costume design. With her musical history including working with Polyphonic Spree, Sufjan Stephens and David Byrne her individual style and powerful vocals deserve their own arena.

http://ilovestvincent.com/

The Flaming Lips

Only my second Flaming Lips experience and I am totally hooked on Wayne's weird, psychedelic, surreal and beautifully romantic performance. The mindblowing aesthetics, pregnant pauses between songs and sincerely heartfelt dialogue with the audience all combine to produce something truly uplifting! Is this guy the happiest musician on the planet?

http://flaminglips.com/?frontpage=true

Wild Beasts

My current go-to band! I fell in love with their sound a few years ago when someone introduced me to the third album Smother. The duel vocals of Hayden Thorpe and Tom Flemming compliment each other perfectly. With Hayden's heartfelt falcetto and Tom's soft smoky tones, coupled with complex, intricately crafted lyrics focused on the darker side of relationships - according to Hayden their songs are about 'Fucking or Fighting". They were the perfect final headliners this weekend - and as always left me wanting more.

http://wild-beasts.co.uk/

As well as the glorious headliners EOTR offered some really interesting new music to explore.

Phox

Phox are a six piece alt indie band from Wisconsin. Described as making music that straddles Feist and Monty Python they were a real afternoon treat! 
http://phoxband.com/#Ly2KZLpreGXlJcdq.97

Arc Iris

Gorgeous harmonies with a beautifully layered sound, and the added resonance of cello tones.

http://www.arcirismusic.com/0g1v9rf9ieq7khw3diuhoj42hkfkia

Benjamin Clementine

A very compelling performer with echoes of Rufus Wainwright and Shirley Bassey. Weaving story telling into his songs in a shy endearing manner. 

https://www.facebook.com/benjaminclementine

We were also treated to an interesting mix of genre from established bands on the four main performance stages.

Perfume Genius

Tortured and heartbreaking lyrics with sweeping chords and an ethereal beauty telling 'uncommonly beautiful tales of life lived on the dark side'.

https://www.facebook.com/perfumegeniusofficial

British Sea Power

Appearing in the Big Top tent the loyal audience of branch waving fans joined in with all their favourite BSP anthems.
http://www.britishseapower.co.uk/

Adult Jazz

The second time I've seen this band this summer and I was still blown away by their unique sound and unusual vocals. Also really dramatic and enigmatic delivery.
https://www.facebook.com/adultjazz

The Black Lips

Self described as 'flower punk' the garage rock band from Atlanta had a huge following in the crowd.
http://black-lips.com/

Horse Thief 

I first caught this band performing a few months ago in a great little intimate performance in Rough Trade NYC. It was really good to see them bringing their  american harmonised folk to the tipi tent at eotr. 
http://www.horsethiefokc.com/

The Food

Yes the bands are the most important part of any festival for me...but the food comes a very close second. I have to start this by mentioning my favourite outletter this summer - The Roaming Rotisserie. Chicken has never tasted quite this heavenly. 

http://www.roamingrotisserie.co.uk/Home.html

http://www.thecurryshed.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/LGB01

http://www.theteastop.co.uk/

The Places 

The perfect place to gather at the end of everyday's festivaling - a roaring camp fire just by the cider bus.

The eotr post people really know how to party - sunday afternoon bopping in the forest.

And the guy who stole the limelight with his Kate Bush homage! 

I really enjoyed the Q&A session in the tipi tent - with Tom from Uncut talking to Sam Lee about the Nest Collective folk shows, foraging, dancing and singing.

http://thenestcollective.co.uk/

The ever present peacock on top of the Press tent - where the friendly, welcoming atmosphere really added to my weekend.

The comedy tent was hidden in the woods - and also provided a nice quiet spot in between acts to just chill.

The headliners stage! 

Another little hidden gem - the piano stage. Here hosting a quiz led by 'wheres my quiz'

Thanks eotr - the perfect end to summer. See you next year.

http://www.endoftheroadfestival.com/

Green Man Festival 2014

Green Man Festival 2014

I think I have finally found the perfect festival. Beautiful surroundings, landscaped stage areas, eclectic music and clean loos.

Set beneath a breathtaking view of Table Mountain on the Glanusk Estate in the Brecon Beacons, Wales. This is the stunning view for festival campers every morning and a dramatic backdrop for performers on the mountain stage.

The giant Green Man effigy watches over the festival goers at the top of the field.

The circus arena included entertainment from trapeze artists as well as workshops in juggling and hula hooping.

The stables courtyard is home to some eclectic eateries, as well as the ever busy cider bar - offering 99 different ciders and ales.

The beautiful sunshine in the day did mean the nights felt considerably autumnal. Thankfully the Green Man provided a camp fire each night to snuggle round...

...and seasoned festivallers are always resourceful!
Festival People Rock! 

Romance is not dead - a festival goer delivered a beautifully touching proposal of marriage in an endearingly nervous speech in front of a very supportive crowd - and yes she accepted! 

And The Music

Adult Jazz
My favourite new music discovery this weekend - with echoes of early Wild Beasts and phenomenal vocal reach I was transfixed throughout their whole set.
https://www.facebook.com/adultjazz

Sun Kil Moon

Sun Kil Moon
Dark, mournful tones accompanied by heartbreakingly beautiful vocals - Mark Kozelek did not disappoint his loyal fans.

http://www.sunkilmoon.com/

Eaves
Another first for me - I was totally unprepared for the power of this guy's voice and the delicacy of his songwriting. Beautiful stuff!
https://www.facebook.com/JosephEavesMusic

Mutual Benefit

Mutual Benefit
https://www.facebook.com/mutualbenefit

Happyness
Some eelsesque beauty and infectious energy from the South London Trio.

https://www.facebook.com/Happynessmusic

Happyness

Highasakitehttps://www.facebook.com/highasakitemusic/timeline

Ry X

https://www.facebook.com/RYXmusic

Neutral Milk Hotel
As the band requested that we took no photos - an artist's impression is being used to represent the awesome presence of this year's Sunday Headliners.

I have been wanting to hear this band for years now - as have quite a few of us - and they exceeded all my expectations. Unique, quirky, energetic and a perfect final headliner! 
http://www.walkingwallofwords.com/

Farewell Green Man

The Green Man festival ended in real style with a firework finale and the burning of The Green Man