Heeley Institute - 9th September

LITTLE ROBOTS/ZACHARY CALE/THIS FRONTIER NEEDS HEROES

"I feel like I'm on a hill in a little village somewhere, 

far away from home."

Is how Zac Cale described the vibe at the Heeley Institute on Friday night. Which was absolutely correct. The community centre, located just past the Sheaf view pub had been sweetly decorated and was dimly lit. The organisers had even cooked up an alluring cushion pile which bled onto the stage, where people who wanted more intimacy could lounge around and scoundrels who were too wasted could safely crash. All the bands from the evening were musical refugees from the End of the Road festival that'd finished just a few days before. There was some bad news that Kate le Bon, one of the scheduled artists couldn't make it due to a cold or ebola virus or some other weird pathogen, so it was up to the 3 other acts to fill up the night. 

Little Robots, first to take to the stage, are a charming assemblance of folksy musos, sporting a rag-tag collection of country instruments. Laura Little, Mary Booth and Dolly May spent the set working their beautiful and flawless vocal harmonies, while multi-musical talent Ric Booth underpinned them with hugely impressive banjo, guitar and violin performances. Goodbye Bennie Boy, a strange cocktail of blues-folk with almost Trip hop style beats by drummer Guy Whittaker was the stand out track of the set for me. It was a straightforward masterclass in group performance, with a technically perfect and gorgeously inventive guitar accompaniment by Ric. Little Robots are versatile, expert performers and accomplished songwriters who impressed me greatly. 

Next up was Brooklyn based Zachary Cale, who immediately changed the pace of the evening. Such was the intimacy of this concert, it was as if people held their breath collectively and the room closed in on him. His performance was narcotic and captivating and had a kind of dreamy, ambien-laced grace at all times. Eye for an Eye was probably my favourite song of the night, which was slow, rich and melancholic, and perfectly framed Zac's hypnotic style. He is a truly gifted man.

The final act were the slightly rugged, tambourine driven new-folk act, This Frontier Needs Heroes. Also from NYC, the group's comprised of Brad and Jessica Lauretti, a high powered brother-sister music duo. From the outset they won over the crowd with their sibling banter and Brads heavily quirky storytelling. At times the bands energy outmatched their technical skill and they were beset by a few tuning issues, which slightly hampered the performance. Even so, the best parts of their set were thoroughly enjoyable and they've produced some nicely crafted songs.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the Heeley Institue as a gig venue, but it surpassed my expectations hugely and provided a genuinely touching setting for one of the most intimate gigs I've attended in a long time. Sadly Zac Cale and This Frontier needs Heroes have departed UK shores on their European tour but both acts have material available on Itunes. However, the Little Robots remain on British soil. So seek them out, outstanding performance is guaranteed.

Photo by Ian Mackintosh 

Have I been on the Slutcam Marsha?

Everything's Gone Green

" Last night I jumped off Lions Gate Bridge 

and I drowned
but in the morning I came back to life

and I crawled onto the shore
and back to the office
and started my job
again and again and again....... "

Ryan Arlen is having a bad day. 

Very bad. 

One of those exceptional, million to one bummers that simultaneously screws with every aspect of your life in horrible and imaginative ways....   

The downfall of Ryan Arlen is gloriously entertaining. It might seem cruel to enjoy watching a good persons life dissolve in pitiful, cringe-worthy circumstances. But, the way I see it, is that cruelty is OK so long as it's happening to someone else. So in this instance, it's wholly acceptable.

Anyway,

Everything’s Gone Green focuses on this depressed and befuddled anti-hero, as he (oddly) calmly negotiates a steeplechase of extremely weird, troublesome circumstances and attempts to reconstruct his life after things unravel so hilariously. The whole movie has a kind of careless feel, a strange nihilistic undertone runs throughout. Everything feels slightly understated, partly because of the afflicted circumstance of the central character but mainly (I discovered) because the film is drenched with the essence of writer Douglas Coupland. 

After watching one scene in particular, where Ryan chastises his new boss for organising an office cruise. I was so taken with the script that I went out and bought Couplands Generation X. He's a good writer, and it's his combination of bleakness and dead pan wit that makes the movie what it is. 

And what it is is good. 

If you like offbeat independent films, check this one out.