Jon Richardson - Leeds Grand 06/06/2014

Jon Richardson is one of my favourite comedians, and his latest tour 'Nidiot' did not disappoint. Richardson strutted on wearing a cowboy hat which he proceeded to throw at the mic stand. When if landed on the stand the whole crowd erupted. You could tell everyone was there for a good night, the weather had been nice all day and it was a Friday night, so we were all up for a laugh.

'Nidiot' is a tour about not being an idiot. The title itself is a joke from his last tour, when he said he doesn't say "an onion" but rather "a nonion", it's a nice little call back for those who saw his last tour or got his DVD. Jon Richardson is famed for being pessimistic and having a general hatred of humankind, but recently this hasn't been the case! The tour comprises of some very funny stories of Jon's efforts to thwart his own happiness. The jokes were non-stop, tales of Jon's search for love, his time on stag do's and more. For those going to the second leg of the 'Nidiot' tour I won't spoil the jokes, just know you're in for a great night!

Artist of the Month - Lissie

This month I've picked Lissie as my Artist of the Month. I first heard her in 2010/2011 after she released the single When I'm Alone, and although I really liked the song I never explored her further until late last year, when Further Away (Romance Police) played in the Hard Rock Cafe Munich while I was there, upon returning from my trip one of the first things was going and getting her latest album Back to Forever, and I instantly fell in love.

Lissie is a folk rock singer from Illinois, to date she has produced two studio albums, a live album, and five EPs. Her songs are catchy, honest, and easy to listen to. They suit any mood too, so even at my most indecisive about what to listen to, I can always rely on one of her albums!

My Top 5

1) Further Away (Romance Police) [album - Back To Forever]

2) The Habit [album - Back To Forever]

3) Hold On We're Going Home (Drake Cover) [album - Cryin' To You EP]

4) Worried About [album - Catching A Tiger]

5) When I'm Alone [album - Catching A Tiger]

The Selfish Giant

Clio Barnard's The Selfish Giant (2013) is a harrowing tale, but don't let that put you off. It is loosely based on Oscar Wilde's book, however prior knowledge isn't needed. The film is set on a council estate in Bradford, The Selfish Giant tells the tale of Arbor (Conner Chapman) and Swifty (Shaun Thomas), two troubled young boys who struggle with their home lives and school, and find themselves falling into the shady world scrap metal and the owner of the scrap yard, Kitten (Sean Gilder), leads them down a dangerous path.

Conner Chapman and Shaun Thomas are brilliant. Two young actors with not a wealth of experience under their belts, but they play those parts absolutely exceptionally. They play the parts with so much emotion, they are fantastic. The cinematography is as bleak as the plot, grey is the main colour and rightly so. The locations used are run down and not desirable, but it reflects a side to the England that is in every major town and city in the country, and it is a reality for many families.

The story may be difficult viewing. Throughout, you are aware that it will not have a happy ending, as much as you would like one, that's not what you get, and not what you expect anyway. It can't be described as enjoyable. That said, it is certainly not a bad film in any way. In fact, it is a great film. The BAFTA nomination for Best British Film was certainly deserved. It is definitely a film that will divide people, especially if British realism is not your sort of film, but it is certainly worth watching.

Review: Foxes - Glorious

Louisa Rose Allen, known more commonly by her stage name, Foxes, has been around for about 3 years. She gained notoriety after lending her vocals to Zedd's 'Clarity' and worked with Fall Out Boy on their latest album.

She has been releasing singles from her debut, Glorious, since September 2013, and many people in the UK will recognise her track 'Youth' from Debenham's 2013 Christmas advert. Earlier this year she also released Let Go For Tonight and Holding Onto Heaven. Foxes' Glorious opens with Talking to Ghosts, it's a strong opener, and features elements from dubstep to synthpop. Foxes' sound is definitely of the time, but there's an 80s influence creeping in as well. The album's first five tracks include the three already released singles, so it is a big opening.

The album slows with Night Glo, and there's no denying Foxes has a lovely voice, it suits her upbeat songs as much as her slow songs, but it is nice to hear it clearly on the slower songs. Night Owls Early Birds follows, and it is one of the best tracks on the album, a definite summer hit. The album's title track is a beautiful one, big bass drums and slow piano. Echo, to me, is definite of the time with artists such as Sam Smith rising in popularity, I could see this song doing well. The album ends on another slower song, Count The Saints which is a wonderful track.

Clarity features on the deluxe version of the album, and you can tell why it wasn't featured on the standard album. Foxes solo style is very different and while it is a good track for having a dance to, it's not as melodic as Foxes' other tracks.

I would give Glorious a 6/10, she's made a good album, it's easy to get into, and Foxes' certainly has a bright future ahead of her, but there are areas it does fall a little short.

BAFTA TV Awards

Last night was the BAFTA TV Awards. As you should know if you follow this blog anything like regularly (or if you read it once during February/March) you'll know I love awards! The TV BAFTAs are great because they celebrate British TV, unlike the BAFTA film awards which celebrate a lot of American films as well, generally the only American or foreign programmes that are nominated for the BAFTA TV awards are in the International or Audience Award category.

Graham Norton is a fabulous host. Serious isn't his style, his dry wit and sarcasm are always something I personally enjoy! He isn't a very gracious loser, losing out twice to Ant & Dec, but he makes us laugh regardless and if there was an award for Sassiest Host he'd win every time.

There were some very very worthy winners last night, highlights for me were Olivia Colman winning Best Leading Actress. She is just fantastic. I was also very pleased to see Katherine Parkinson and Richard Ayoade both win for The IT Crowd, I loved that show and I thought they really deserved it.
I have to admit I was also very happy when Gogglebox won Best Reality and Constructed Factual, Gogglebox started out as a guilty pleasure and now I watch it every week. I don't know why, it's just great!

What was surprising though, is that BBC1 only got two awards, BBC2 got none, but BBC3 also received two. I'm sure it'll raise some debate that if BBC3's original programming is winning BAFTAs, why is it being axed from TV. I know the audience is younger and therefore accessing iPlayer is much more commonplace than say those who watch BBC4, but, the budget being reduced should definitely be questioned!

Image from bafta.org

The TV BAFTAs marks the last big awards show now, which is sad, but there's lots of great TV to be watching, so it's OK!

My Top 5: Mike Leigh Films

Recently I've been reading some great reviews for Mike Leigh's latest film, Mr Turner. So, I decided to compile a list of my top 5 favourite Mike Leigh films (he is my favourite director so it also seems fitting)

So, here's my top 5 (in reverse order):

5) High Hopes (1988)

4) Career Girls (1997)

3) Life Is Sweet (1990)

2) Another Year (2010)

1) Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)

What I'm Watching

1. Game of Thrones

Of course I am, almost everyone is. It's as complex, risqué, and dramatic as ever this time round!


2. Mad Men

It's the last season of Mad Men, and it's very bittersweet. On the one hand, I can't wait to know how it ends, but I don't want it to end! It's my favourite show, so I'm quite sad it's going to be over soon. I think I'll definitely be completing my set of DVDs and watching them again!


3. MasterChef

MasterChef is probably the best competitive cooking show about. The UK version isn't on for weeks and weeks like some version, but if it's competitive cooking, I'm going to like it! This year I'm rooting for Ping!