I'm bored so here are my current top five albums of the year (in no particular order):

( Click to see 'em )

Call it a coincidence that my last "Flashback Friday" CD was Crowded House, but after a lovely weekend, I woke up this morning to have shivers down my back, tears in my eyes and a lump in throat after reading this in the paper:

Pop Star in Suicide

"The drummer with 80s band Crowded House has killed himself.

Paul Hester, 46, had hits including Don't Dream It's Over with the New Zealand outfit.

But he fought a long battle with depression before committing suicide on Saturday night.

Yesterday, band-mates Neil Finn and Nick Seymour told fans: "Over the years Paul has swung the extremes of happiness and sadness, but none of us ever thought this would happen. He loved life too much."

Paul also played with Neil's band Split Enz."

Ther is a Telegraph report here stating he hung himself in a tree in Elsternwick Park. Apparently, Neil Finn, frontman of Crowded House and his brother Tim have cancelled performances in London to fly to Melbourne.

A charismatic, naturally funny guy and one of the best drummers in the world, I looked up to him so much and so to hear about this, it really is shocking, terrible news. Leaving his partner and two girls behind, what on earth was he thinking? I'm still finding it hard to take in.

I'll never forget the sight of Paul Hester crying his eyes out as Crowded House played their final tracks to a huge sell-out crowd before their split. You could tell how much that band meant to him. His face said it all. You didn't need words to describe it.

Whatever his reasoning in the above story, he will be sorely missed. RIP Paul Hester.

Well that was a nice Easter weekend! Kel and I decided to go somewhere different for a few days and so went to Cardiff for a night out at the Glee Club there! And very nice it was too!

The club in Cardiff is situated on Mermaid Quay and was less than a ten minute walk from the Holiday Express Inn where we had a room for the night. The quay is a great location. Lots of restaurants and bars right on the waterfront looking out across a lovely view. I could imagine some really nice summer evenings there. As for the Glee Club itself, it reminds me very much of the Birmingham club before it expanded. Where as the Birmingham club has two rooms (one main room and one very initimate studio room for late shows), the Cardiff Glee has one huge main room which blew me away when we first entered it. On closer inspection, I'd say the crowd size is around the same as that on a Saturday night in Birmingham, but the seats and tables are much more spaced out. The bar however is around four times bigger than Birmingham and where as there is a lot of congestion during Birmingham intervals, I was able to get the pints in very quickly during a Cardiff interval!

It was nice to see the consistency between the clubs though. They've recorded the guy from the Birmingham club so the tannoy announcement about turning phones off and the bar shutting while the acts are on stage is exactly the same as Birmingham and the same colour scheme and build-up music is used. They've even got the same wobbly tables that you have trouble balancing your beer on! But then again, it's all part of the charm of a night out at the Glee!

Regarding the line-up, we got to see Toby Foster (Les from Phoenix Nights!) as compere, Paul Sinha (a very, very funny gay Asian whose gags are so dark but really hit the spot!), Jason John Whitehead again (on top form despite being full of fever!) and Paul Thorne (a bit of a disappointment as his set was flat and he's been in the business for years) but it was a great night out and we got back to the Holiday Express Inn really quickly what with it only being a ten minute walk away. :)

That was Saturday night. Yesterday, our train back to Birmingham wasn't until the early evening so we had to find something to do to kill time. Hmm, what to do in Cardiff?! A tour of the Millennium Stadium of course! We found the stadium without too much bother as its gigantic structure can be seen from the train station! As part of the 12:30pm tour, we got access to the likes of the away changing room, the Royal box, a hospitality box, the terraces (very, very steep!) and for the perfect touch to what was already a wonderful weekend, we walked down the tunnel and out onto the pitchside! I couldn't believe it! Kel took loads of photos that have all come out well to remind us of this as during the moment, it felt so hazy. I thought of the likes of Roy Keane and Alan Shearer. Standing in the tunnel, totally focused before walking out to the roar of a Cup Final crowd. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. It was like nothing I'd experienced before. Truly awesome.

The afternoon went by really quickly and before we knew where we were, we were heading back to Birmingham. Our train journeys there and back were fine. Comfy seats, no delays or confusion. It's a sign we weren't travelling with Virgin! Here's hoping that the Cardiff Glee has some cracking line-ups again soon as I can't wait to go back! :D

Continuing the series of "Flashback Fridays" - listening to an old album on my discman to and from work in order to relive and enjoy once more the tracks and times of days long gone:

Flashback Friday Number 11 - "Whatever And Ever Amen" by Ben Folds Five



Ben Folds, Robert Sledge and Darren Jessee. Three Americans called Ben Folds Five. But there's a lot more to the band than the joke behind their name. They take me back to a time of my life that started out stressful but ended on a high note. Pull up a pew and I'll explain.

I first saw Ben Folds Five on “Top Of The Pops” in the spring of 1998. They were performing “Brick” which is a very slow, mournful song about abortion. It captivated me as soon as I heard it and it made me find out as much as I could about the band. Surprised to find “Whatever And Ever Amen” in Wolverhampton Central Library, I decided to borrow it, expecting much more of the same mellow sound that I had heard on TV. Nothing could be further from the truth.

There are a few mournful, chilled out tracks on the album but the majority of it encapsulates happy, funny, feelgood tracks, the like of which I had never heard before. I remember the opening track “One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces” totally blowing me away with its hilarious up-tempo loudness, leaving me to think that if the rest of the album followed suit, it definitely wouldn’t be a bad thing! One of the great things about the album was that it sounded so real. Recorded in Ben’s house, the band weren’t afraid to leave in their chatter of approval at the end of tracks such as “I like that one” following “One Angry Dwarf…”or “I liked that one too” following the highly under-rated “Fair”. The reality of it all reaches new heights when crickets can be heard buzzing around in the background of “Cigarette” and Ben’s phone can be heard ringing in the middle of “Steven’s Last Night In Town”. It happens exactly as the music pauses before kicking in again. It sounds so perfect you would have thought they had meant it but Rob’s laughter at this freaky moment proves just how real it all is.

I was at university when I got into Ben Folds Five and one of my assignments at that time was a 3D animation group project. Each person had to design something of attraction within the Midlands and then the 3D models had to be incorporated into an animated showcase for the tourism of the area. I designed an old steam train to promote the Severn Valley Railway and every day for around a week, our team decided to meet at my friend’s halls of residence place in order to work on the final animation. He had all the software we needed and a decent computer to render our work on. The project was getting us down as it was taking ages to generate each part of the animation and we had watched numerous movies just to pass the time while the computer did what it had to do. It was within my mate’s room that I first watched “Scream” as it happens. Anyways, I decided to take the Ben Folds Five album with me the one day to cheer us all up a bit and indeed it did. Tracks like “Song For The Dumped” and “The Battle Of Who Could Care Less” were received with a lot of enthusiasm. One memory of listening to this album today then is that it kept us all sane during times of suffering through 3D animation.

As my love for Ben Folds Five grew, they became instilled into other areas of my life at that time. I must stress that I had actually bought the album at this point by the way. I hadn't stolen it from Wolverhampton Central Library before any of you get ideas! Anyways, not wanting to sound too cheesy (but I will!), I printed off the lyrics to “Kate” next to a photograph of Kate Winslet and had it framed in my wall. Another group project at university saw us working on a virtual airport in which you could book tickets for a flight and then preview the in-flight entertainment. One of my jobs on this assignment was to find appropriate video clips and include them into the project so I created three little showcases, each of which included clips of sitcoms, news stories, movies and music videos. Wanting to have an influence on the proceedings, our project was handed in and graded very highly with “One Angry Dwarf And 200 Solemn Faces” as part of the in-flight entertainment.

In due course, I would own Ben Folds Five’s debut album and also “The Unauthorised Biography of Reinhold Messner”, their wonderful follow up album to “Whatever and Ever Amen”. I took Kel to see them live at the Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall (one hell of a gig!) and everything was perfect but then they decided to split. Ben was living in Australia recording his own tracks and things fell flat. The band decided to pursue their own projects and it hurt. It hurt really bad.

There wasn’t a band like Ben Folds Five before them and there certainly hasn’t been one like them since. Their unique sound of piano, bass and drums combined to form fantastic melodies and tracks you could dance to, laugh to, muse over and feel good about. They were awesome. I find it ironic how I found their happy, funny tracks during a stressful time at university and they left my life when my relationship with Kel was growing and I couldn’t have been any happier. A strange turn of events for sure.

Around three years ago, Ben Folds toured his solo material with Neil Hannon, who had also gone solo following the split of The Divine Comedy. It was a good gig but we couldn’t help but feel that their best days had passed. Neil’s material didn’t sound as great without the rest of the Divine Comedy being there and Ben’s new stuff sounded good but it lacked the bass and drums that Robert and Darren had provided. He decided to slow down “Song For The Dumped” and he ruined it. It just wasn’t the same.

Looking back, I feel really grateful in that I got to see Ben Folds Five live in their prime but I can’t help but feel that it would be fantastic if they were still around as a trio today.

I went to the Glee Club last night with duracell to see Feist. I approached the gig with an open mind as I didn't really know what to expect. I knew that she had provided vocals for Kings of Convenience and the few tracks that I had heard sounded very chilled out and mellow. I was looking forward to a nice gentle night of music and entertainment.

What we got however was a packed out main room (always nice to witness at the Glee) and the chilled out sounds as expected but then Feist decided to take it up a level. She rocked. Reminding me of a mix between Suzi Quatro, Björk and PJ Harvey, her banter was great and her music was enthralling. What amazed me the most though was her use of a second microphone into which she sang, recorded and then played back vocals whilst continuing with the song, thus providing backing vocals for herself! She performed the same trick with the guitar too. It was absolutely fascinating to watch and listen to.

Despite only having one solo album, Feist provided wonderful value for money by doing a set (with a three song encore) that lasted well over 90 minutes! The crowd sat on the floor for the majority of the gig, tapping their toes and joining in the singalong choruses but then everyone rose to their feet to provide a deserved standing ovation which then resulted in the band returning for a three song encore.

It was strange to go to our favourite comedy club for a music gig on a Sunday night but it worked. It really was a great night out. I even had a smile on my face when I thought of the other far inferior comedy club over the other side of the city centre all shut up with nothing to do as the Glee was in full flow. Just how we like it really. :)

As we all know, the Oscars are a complete joke. The wrong people get nominated, the wrong people win awards, it's all la-di-da and an absolute farce. Chris Rock (not one of my favourites I have to say) once slammed the Oscars for not recognising comedy and black actors and said that he had no reason to watch it, despite being in the industry.

The times are a changing though and while the nominations are as boring as ever, which will therefore lead to boring winners, the actual ceremony this year could be quite entertaining. "How?" I hear you cry. Well, I've just read on the Independent website about a new format. A format that has already angered Christians, members of the Academy and organisations such as Concerned Women For America.

OK, so what's this new format then? Well the host isn't a popular choice. It's Chris Rock! After slamming the Oscars, the Academy have somehow ignored his views and decided he should be the host. Why? Heaven knows but he has hinted at what direction the show will take by refusing to take the proceedings too seriously, denigrating nominated films in interviews, praising his favourite nominees and reminding everybody that nothing is sacred. A controversial choice I'm sure you'll agree, especially as ABC are going to have to use a five-second "decency delay" when broadcasting the ceremony. Christians are therefore in protest at the "decline of values" but maybe a good kick up the arse is what's needed!

The choice of Rock however is one thing. The format itself is something else. Something that could quite literally cause the downfall of the biggest day in the Hollywood calendar (apparently).

Firstly, the stage has been designed to allow Rock to walk among the audience along a stage jutting out into the auditorium. This means that some awards (get this!) will be given out to winners while they are still in their seats! Haha! How cool is that?! They won't even be able to smugly walk up on to the stage in front of all of their peers. "No, you just stay in your seat Mr Foxx, like it or lump it!"

If you think that's funny, what about this?! Producer Gil Cates has also changed the format so that some awards will be announced with all nominees present on the stage! It just gets better! Apparently, some of the nominees have been angered by this (really?)and PR guy Dan Klores has stated that "it's not Queen For a Day or The Gong Show. It's bad enough when the nominees are sitting in the audience and they have to pretend that they're happy if they don't win. Now they'll be on stage." Exactly Dan! It's fantastic isn't it?! Imagine Clive Owen's face if Thomas Haden Church gets the award ahead of him! Talk about giving someone the evils in front of the world! It's superb stuff!

According to the producer, "It's an experiment, it's complicated, and I guess it could be a complete mess. But I don't think so."

There you go. Words straight from the horse's mouth. "It could be a complete mess." Oh, I hope so. I really hope so.

I was really looking forward to the R.E.M. gig at the Birmingham NEC tomorrow until I read this here:

"US rock band REM have been forced to cancel concerts after bass player Mike Mills was taken to hospital suffering from "severe flu-like symptoms". The band were forced to cut short Monday night's show in Sheffield, and have cancelled Tuesday's Glasgow date. Mills could "hardly stand up, let alone play", said an REM spokesman, who added that he is now "resting" in hospital." The band's spokesman said that they would review their remaining dates on a "day-to-day basis", based on doctors' advice to Mills. "Obviously we all want Mike to get better, and clearly we all want to play the shows. Rest assured we will do so as soon as possible," he said."

Full credit to Stipe and Buck for apologising to the Sheffield crowd, letting them know of the rearranged date (for which all tickets will still be valid) and then giving them a free 20 minute acoustic set of "Losing My Religion", "I've Been High", "Leaving New York" and "The One I Love". Nice one guys.

I'm now thinking about the Birmingham gig though. On the one hand it's going to be great to see R.E.M. live again but maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing if they cancelled. I'd rather see Mike Mills giving his all and enjoying the gig than having to play in front of all his fans while feeling utter shite. I'm more than happy to wait for the gig if he's got the dreaded flu bug.

Get well soon Mike.

Yesterday was absolutely amazing. I ventured down to the capital (that London) to see Kevin Spacey (you know who he is!), Steven Weber ("Leaving Las Vegas") and Mary Stuart Masterson ("Fried Green Tomatoes At Whistle Stop Cafe, "Benny And Joon") in "National Anthems" at Spacey's own Old Vic theatre.


I caught the local train to Coventry and waited for the London Euston train which was running around 30 minutes late due to a "fault on the unit at Wolverhampton". Typical. The one thing you don't want to hear before embarking on a trip down south is that an engineer had to fix a fault on the train on the other side of the Midlands but that's exactly what we all had to hear, wasn't it?! No problem. I'd given myself enough time. I listened to the "Beyond the Sea" soundtrack (Kevin spacey singing Booby Darin) on the train down south which I had purchased on Monday in the excitement of my London trip. It's a great CD except I just feel more than a little guilty for not seeing it yet. These damn movies and their short-lived releeases. It didnt even manage three weeks in Birmingham.

Anyways, we arrived at Euston at around 12:30pm. Two full hours before the lights were set to go down at the Old Vic. I caught the tube from Euston to Waterloo and, Kel' digital camera in hand, took some photos of the famous clock there. It felt really strange to do all this alone and I thought of Kel at work for the majority of the day, wishing she was there with me.

From Waterloo, I found the theatre no problem so with lots of time to spare, I headed in the opposite direction and took a photo of the IMAX cinema. Situated in the middle of the road, it looked really strange but you can't fault London for making great use of a roundabout! I then worked my way around the Waterloo Station building to find the London Eye and Parliament. Cue more photo taking. :)

With the time at 1:45pm, I headed back to the theatre and took some photos around the exterior. With only the three main stars in the production, they had put huge images of them on the side wall of the theatre which looked really cool. I headed inside and fought through the crowds to purchase a programme. The interior of the Old Vic looked pretty much like any other theatre. It was very clean and the staff wore white shirts with black waistcoats and black ties (even the girls). It was all very professional and part of me thought that it was a shame to not have something like this nearer the West End. Maybe that's part of the theatre's charm though. If it was situated in the West End it may just fade into the background of all the other theatres and not have as much of an impact.

My seat was at the back of the dress circle in a really nice auditorium. If you look at this seating plan, I was in Dress Circle D32. I still couldn't quite believe that I was going to be in the presence of a living legend. The stage was hidden from view by a gigantic American flag and as the lights went down at 2:30pm, the flag was pulled away to a loud soundtrack of Bob Seger to reveal a lovely set of a suburban American home, the downstairs living room in the foreground, the kitchen in the background and an upstairs landing accessible by a flight of stairs. It was the home of Arthur and Leslie Reed.

I won't say too much about the play for fear of ruining it for those of you who will go and see it but it really is something special. A comedic first half and a tragic second half, it had me gripped throughout. I'll never look at a bottle of Carlsberg in the same light, that's for sure. I actually moved to a different seat for the second half too. It wasn't a full house and so I asked one of the usherettes if I could get a better view by moving seats. She said that it was no problem and so looking back at the seating plan, I watched the second half from around Dress Circle Y30. A truly awesome spectacle, the cast made three returns to the stage to bow to the crowd and I stood up for them. It's not often I get to be in the presence of acting as great as that. :)

Upon leaving the theatre, I bought the playscript as a memory of the play and headed round to the stage door with around 15 other people. Typically, we were told that the actors would not come out after a matinee performance although someone did say that they had seen Kevin Spacey enter the theatre that morning and not be happy at someone taking his photo. A warning then for those of you who may head there in a bid to meet him and take a snapshot. I didn't worry though. The play was great and I headed back towards the London Eye and Parliament for some cracking evening photos.

I returned to Euston by catching the tube from Waterloo and I ended up having a chat with a drunken bloke who apologised for his aroma ("I haven;t changed my socks in over three days") and wanted directions to Westminster. Upon reaching Euston, I had time to grab something to eat (amidst the alarm and panic of a trapped pigeon flying around the station restaurant area) before catching the train home. Heading back to the Midlands, I looked back through the photos I had taken and read the majority of the "National Anthems" programme with a smile on my face before listening to the "Beyond The Sea" soundtrack again:

"Off comes the make up, off comes the clown's disguise
The curtain's fallin', the music softly dies.
But I hope your smilin' as you're filin' out the door
As they say in this biz that's all there is, there isn't anymore.
We've shared a moment and as the moment ends
I got a funny feelin' we're parting now as friends.
Your cheers and laughter will linger after they've torn down these dusty walls
If I had this to do again and the evening were new again
I would spend it with you again but now the curtain falls."
("The Curtain Falls" - Bobby Darin)


It had been a truly great day, easily the highlight of my year so far. Now I've been to the Old Vic, I want to go back there in May to see Spacey in "The Philadelphia Story". Kel said that she'd go with me to see that one. Roll on May then. :D