The Paddingtons Make Mondays Fun Again

By Tom Clarke

Tonight I learnt three things:

1) The camera on my new phone is, shall we say, not what I was expecting from 3.2 'mega'pixels...looks more like 3.2 pixels to me, you can just about distinguish between light and dark but that's about it.

2) I think I can finally go back to wearing a plain black t-shirt and jeans at gigs without blending in to the extent of being unable to pinpoint myself in photos.

And most surprisingly and importantly

3) Not all gigs on a Monday night in the smallest of pub backrooms will be deserted. For the last few years I would flip through gig listings and think twice before attending a gig at the start of the week. In my experience you would have a less-than-enthusiastic (or occasionally deaf) sound guy, about five people in the audience (the rest of the room being filled with members of other bands performing, if they bothered to watch at all) and a frosty look from the barmaid if you interruptred her from the book she was reading. Thankfully, tonight was the polar opposite of all of those things...

The first band on were called 'Geometrics'. They started the night in great form, producing vocal harmonies that made them sound like an all-male version of Johnny Foreigner. Unfortunately they soon took the form of a 'toffee apple' - the first and last songs of the set were brilliant, sweet and probably highly calorific (not unlike toffee) but the middle of the set was filled with a lot of Kooks/Arctic Monkeys soundalike material that if I'm honest I've become bored of over the last year or so, the apple, if you will. For such a young band though I'm sure they will find their own sound soon enough and Geometrics is definitely a name I'll look out for.

Following on from them was a local band called The Cougars. I only know they're local because I recognised their singer from primary school, a few years my junior, so was quite suprised to hear the almost certainly faux London accent coming from his vocals. They were quite a frantic bunch playing fast paced indie-punk not unlike Thee Unstrung or perhaps early Cribs. To finish their set Ashley the front man was clambering all over the amps at the back of the stage, which if anybody is familiar with the Portland, is an impressive feat considering the height of the ceilings.

After a couple of young bands starting the evening off, it came as quite a surprise to see that the next band were actually capable of growing facial hair. Proper facial hair at that, not the sort that a few people have when they leave secondary school.

Aside from the facial adornments Lord Auch (which i have been informed is pronounced 'ork' - that'll teach me for ignoring Lord of the Rings for so many years) provided a huge sound for a three-piece band, even dropping down to simply drums and bass guitar for one song, but with no loss of impact. The vocals were definitely unique, a bit like a twisted Elvis Presley, but with a Jim Carrey circa Ace Ventura look to the singer (which was duly noted by the audience and the band alike.) I don't really want to fall into the trap of making a direct comparison with any other bands, but if you want an idea of how they sound imagine The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster stripped down somewhat. Although you're probably better just checking them out for yourselves. A single is due out soon I beleive, I can't see it troubling the number one spot just yet, but I'm fairly sure they don't care. Keep up the good work.

When i returned to the back room after another refreshing beverage, I was amazed to see how many people had actually come to see The Paddingtons play. Having been off the scene for a while after disbanding and then reforming, you could be forgiven for thinking that their following may have died off a little. If anything the opposite seemed to be true, with even a minature mosh-pit forming at a few points (not even the sarcastic two person mosh pit in an empty room that i have been subjected to and probably been a part of at the Portland before.)

They rattled through some of the more well-known material from their first album 'First Comes First' before treating the crowd to new material including recent single 'Stand Down' which was met with as much excitement from the crowd as their more established numbers. The song I was most excited about throughout their set though was 'What's The Point In Anything New' which is set to be released as a single on October 27th. That's not a plug for it by the way, there's no corporate payoff for me to have said that, the band probably won't even read this review but I thought that putting a fact such as a date in this I look far more well read on the band than I really am.

I'm fairly sure that The Paddingtons finished the night with 'Some Old Girl' but due to the fact my hearing had been well and truly lost by that point, and also that the room was in such full swing that watching the band was almost a sidenote, I don't think I'll ever really know!

I haven't heard their new album 'No Mundane Options' yet, but if it does any justice to how the new material came across live, I have no doubt it's well worth a few spins.

All in all a great night, and a credit to The Portland Arms for being faultless hosts.

The Review / Books / Politics : Stupid White Men - Michael Moore

by Alex J Allen

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Michael Moore is a name that has become synonymous with a crusade of morality, a beacon of integrity, and for striking home a succession of uncomfortable home truths in his homeland. He offers an American social critique, but his target demographic is not academia, it is Middle America. He is very much, as Amazon.com describes, 'rabidly liberal, populist and anti big-business'. For a book as forthright, contentious and confrontational as Stupid White Men to top the New York Times' bestseller list, particularly during the aftermath of the September 11th attacks when the Bush administration was its strongest having galvanised a fuming country behind near blind patriotism, is an impressive accomplishment. To stubbornly discard the reservations of publisher Harper Collins, that the dedication of the entirety of the first chapter to the analysis of the alleged 'stolen election' would appear dated and as little more than sour grapes, not to mention the criticism of George W. Bush himself, who following the attacks had approval ratings to the tune of 90%, is another.

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He is able to effectively sugar coat his liberal politics by virtue of a master class in the execution of literary devices, and a biting and unrivalled ability to satirise. For example, Moore regularly asks rhetorical questions such as, 'Do you ever feel like you're living in a nation of idiots?' In this way he is able to connect with his target audience on a more personal level. He uses an informal register throughout, which relates the issues he discusses to the reader. His self cultivated image us that of a friend, a colleague, a lone voice of reason. He uses tri colons, 'Who cares if 70 percent of those who graduate from America's universities are not required to learn a foreign language...GET WITH THE PROGRAMME!' The use of capitals in this example is unorthodox, but this is Moore's appeal. He writes as he directs, bluntly, a device which, as best he can, demonstrates his confrontational streak in print. If one analyses the book as a whole, then what is instantly evident is its unusual structure. Rather than write in solid prose, Moore breaks up chapters with open letters, diagrams and features. Moore complains about what he perceives to be America's poor education system. He satirises Bush by including a 'Presidential Clip & Carry', a two page cutout of a list of the leaders of the 50 largest countries. In this way he is able to keep his book light, fresh, humorous and successfully breaks up large blocks of prose in to smaller segments. As a general theme Moore blames stupid white men for America's predicament, but the book has no particular chronological order, each of the chapters are, by and large, comprehensible in their own right.

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Yet criticisms have been levelled at Moore, as to whether his frequent Bush bashing serves only to galvanise support in his defence. Damian Thompson of the Daily Telegraph goes as far as to say, 'Indeed, the more vigorously Moore attacks the President, the better Bush's approval ratings. Funny, that. And Moore's lifestyle has been awfully lavish of late. One doesn't want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but it makes you think, doesn't it?'

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Looking beyond the fact that Stupid White Men has sold over three million copies, and was a mainstay in the New York Times' bestseller list for three years, one has to question whether Moore's populist and unconventional style of interrogation in to current affairs is genuinely effective. Yes, it brings politics in to the common domain, and invites Middle America in to a discussion which academic had previously excluded it from, but has Moore actually gone so far as to make tangible inroads in to damaging the reputation and approval of the Bush administration, as he obviously intended? I'm not convinced.
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Whilst never shy of generating criticism of anything from the handle of Israel and Palestine, to the failings of the male gender as a whole, rarely is he able to counter these criticisms with plausible solutions. Veering from the humorous, tongue in cheek instances such as his Presidential Clip & Carry, and the proposal that the Northern Ireland question be answered by converting Irish Protestants to Catholicism, to an open letter to President Arafat calling for 'mass non violent civil disobedience'. One could certainly argue that Moore often leaves himself open to criticism of over simplifying the issues, and his persistent satirical humour, whilst perhaps necessary to hold the interest of his target audience, at time makes the fluctuation between it and the more serious and poignant issues Moore wishes to raise a little implausible.

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He has also faced fervent criticism from critics, over claims of alleged misuse and manipulation of statistics and chronology of events to increase dramatic effect. Ben Fritz argues 'Consider, for instance, his claim that 'two thirds of [the over $190 million President Bush raised during the Presidential campaign] came from just over seven hundred individuals'. Given the $2,000 federal limit on individual donations, this claim is obviously false'.

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In an ambitious endeavour to fuse fact and observation with humour, satire, and dramatic effect, Moore all to often leaves accuracy by the way side in the pursuit of presenting his target demographic with a more plausible, literarily stimulating product. As a result of his self-cultivated image as 'the lone voice of reason', Moore's opinions and ideas inevitably lack the validation of other sources and authors, which again, detracts a certain amount of integrity from his arguments and accusations. Nor, clearly, does he at any point attempt to offer and objective view of any of the issues he writes about, writing with clear, unabashed liberal bias, which as a consequence gives reasoning a lack of balance and rationality.

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Inevitably, to be presumptuous, a considerably number of those reading Stupid White Men will accept Moore's statistics and evidence at face value. To include inaccurate information, either through carelessness or with intent to deceive, is huge irresponsible. Whilst Moore must be commended for producing a largely emotive, and often well reasoned book which gets Middle America talking about politics and current affairs, the extent of his credibility, his overall success, and his motives are certainly questionable.

The Review / Live / Comedy : Michael McIntyre live at the Theatre Royal, Norwich, October 5th 2008

by Alex J Allen
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Something has overcome to the noble art of the comedian in the past decade, and evolution if you will. It has redefined what it is to be a successful stand up comic, and left the old guard appearing increasingly dated. Audience participation. It is simply no longer enough to rattle through the contents of the auto cue of your routine, regardless of what is going around you. You have to react, respond and retort. Dara O'Brien has become the affable, model. However, despite this evolution of the traditional panel show, you could argue that the panelists themselves have always possessed, and required, these traits. Since the improvisation of Paul Merton, in the days when Have I Got News For You had BBC 1 to its self, panelists have needed a quick wit to survive (or in the case of Merton, who requires all guests to provide their answers in advance, a convincing air of spontaneity).

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McIntyre is at his glorious best when he has had the time to form witty, insightful observations of middle Britain. Improvisation is not his forte, he isn't David Mitchell, for example, who can flit from sit com, to sketch show, to stand up, to panel show almost seamlessly. As McIntyre has become better known, and his popularity has snowballed, television executives have struggled with the problem of how best to display his talent. A variety of panel show appearances have been of mixed quality. McIntyre is often found out of his comfort zone, his best panel show work has come on BBC 2's Mock the Week, where the the panelists receive the questions and answers to every round, one a stand up competition in itself, prior the recording. However, on shows like Would I Like to You?, McIntyre was outshone by the quick witted David Mitchell (here). However, in his preferred surroundings, he is the the most promising stand up comedian of his generation. He talked about anything from women's' exclusion from the loft in their houses, to our fascination with traffic jams, conjuring images and situations we are familiar with, and opinions we have all privately thought had.

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It seems obvious that the secret to great observational comedy, is making observations that the audience can connect with and recognise in their own lives. This is McIntyre's talent, and although he seems to have made a subtle decision to 'camp up' his performance in recent times, his boundless energy, enthusiasm, and the positive ambiance to life that he creates are made for far bigger venues that Norwich's Theatre Royal (although, of course, he has performed in some of them already - notably at the Royal Variety Performance). Overall, despite not maintaining it throughout, when McIntyre hit his stride, he was truly brilliant.