A Fabulous Day at the Dalriada Festival

It was with suspicious eyes that I opened the curtains on Fri 13^th July; it looked like the sun was shining, but with this being Northern Ireland, one can never be too sure.  Sure enough though, there it was!  But would it stay? That was the main concern. We were headed to the Dalriada festival in Glenarm later that day, and with the festival being 90% outdoors, the weather was pretty crucial to its success.  We had my mother in law and my niece over staying with us from Scotland and were trying to show them the best of what NI had to offer, so after a morning at Titanic Belfast we headed out towards Larne, the North Coast and eventually Glenarm. We arrived at the grounds to Glenarm Castle with the sun still shining and as we quickly discovered a lot of other people had the same idea.

We navigated to the carpark easily as the grounds were well signposted and a short walk later we were paying in. With under 12s free and discount for seniors it was priced very competitively. My wife and I paid £10 each. The next few hours were spent having an amazing time, but first we scurried over to the Fine Food zone for some hog roast and coffee while the Broken Strings bluegrass band played in the background, which later made way to a display of Irish dancing.

We then moved round to see the cooking display from Channel 4s Fabulous Baker Brothers.  The guys were on great form as they took us through cooking a salmon en croute using all local produce, which we managed to grab a piece of to taste once they had finished. It was delicious (even though I don’t really like salmon)!  The guys were super nice and stayed behind for a good 20mins taking pictures and chatting with everyone.  They were handing out stickers for their website and as they stuck one on me I thought it only fair to stick some of the new pastiebap.com stickers on them. 

After the cookery we saw Willie Drennan’s Ulster Scots Band playing in the beautiful walled gardens. We had some ice cream while we attempted to watch the world’s first sheep fashion show. This was absolutely mobbed but we managed to glimpse Lady Baba and Super Lamb walking the catwalk with ease.

We caught the tail end of the massive muscle men taking part in the 'Clash of the Celtic Giants', tossing the massive caber in the air. We had a quick go on the Segways on the way round and to finish the day off, there was the amazing dancing acrobatic display that is the AFRIKAN WARRIORS.

The Dalriada festival has some solid sponsors in the shape of P&O ferries, UTV, Calor and Audi and it’s great to see these companies getting behind what is a different kind of festival that is truly for the whole family.  In an over saturated market of music festivals, Dalriada truly is something different and long may it continue!

Glasgowbury 2012 preview

I went to my first Glasgowbury in 2008. That year the event was headlined by ASH.  It was the first small festival I’d been to, upto that point I’d only been to larger fests, Leeds weekender and Download.  I was blown away by the intimacy, the atmosphere and the commitment to local music. 

Since that time Glasgowbury has grown every year, but their commitment has remained the same, the atmosphere has stayed the same and it’s still a heck of a day out. To get to Glasgowbury you have to drive out of the city, into the countryside, to the foot of a mountain, get on a bus, drive further up the mountain and then hop into a field. But it’s worth the effort. You get to see the cream of Irish music in an amazing setting, mountains in the background, sun shining (hopefully) beer in hand with the volume turned all the way up.  So here’s our wee preview of the bands to see, what to bring, useful links and some sage advice that I’ve garnered over the years.

At a glance

Website: http://www.glasgowbury.com/

Ticket: £45

Parking: £5

Bus: £3

Pint: £3.50

Food: £4-5
Postcode for the Sat-Nav: BT45 7EN

What to pack

How it goes

As you get near to Draperstown you'll start seeing signs directing you to the site, the first one usually appears at the roundabout in Draperstown. Follow these and you can't go far wrong.  You'll eventually see some guys in fluorescent jackets directing you to the car park.  It costs £5 to park the car and I've never heard of anyone having issues with security in the car park, but make sure to hide any valuables out of plain site and lock the car.  You 'll then walk over to the ticketing area, where you collect your tickets, or if you already have them show them to the staff. They'll give you a wrist band. Do not lose this! It's your proof that you've paid to be there.  After tickets there's a security check.  They're mostly checking for glass and cooking or fire making stuff and should only take a minute or 2.  After this there's a wee hut where you pay £3 for a return coach ticket.  The walk to the campsite takes about 25-30 mins and it's all uphill, with all your stuff. So this really is the best option. The coaches come about every 10 mins and one is never far away.  The bus then takes you and your stuff up the hill and leaves you at the campsite.  There's usually 2 main ones: family and camper-vans and there's loads of staff around to direct you to the right one.  Once in, set up your tent and get your sleeping bag out. Basically take 15 mins to set your area up first.  You'll be thankful later!

Next open a beer and have a well deserved drink!  Take a look around and note where your tent is, this will come in handy when you're staggering back later that night.  When you head over the Arena you'll be checked for booze and have your wrist band checked.  You can nip back and forth to the campsite as much as you like but make sure to keep any valuables on you.  Have a walk around and note where the stages are, so you know where to go to see the bands you want.  Be sure once you're there that you soak it all in, join in a drum circle, make a poster, get your face painted, check out some new bands! Make sure and eat and drink some water through out the day, it's a good 12 hours and you want to make sure you see it all. 

Trying to decide what bands to see and when, use the clash finder.
Put in your choices, colour code them and then print it out!

Clashfinder

Glasgowbury sent out this wee notice of information. A must read if you're going.

Checklist link

Our Recommendations

Intermission


A 3 piece Alt-Rock group from Derry who have been around making noise (in one band or another) for quite a wee while now.  The noise is starting to be heard and it's getting louder. Great anthemic choruses and crunchy guitars makes us look forward to finally seeing these guys live.

Silhouette

You know the song off that NI 2012 Our Time, Our Place ads? Well that's Sillhouette; catchy huh? Fronted by Shauna Tohill it's "high energy alternative pop laced with flavours of darkness, hope and desire."  Having finally seen them live at Pigstock we're pretty excited about catching them again.

Pocket Billiards


9 Piece Ska bastards from Belfast.  Coming with a new album under one arm and a ready made party under the other.  The most fun you can have with your clothes on.


Triggerman


If you like your riffs chunky and your rock hard, then these are the guys for you. Bringing a sound thats familiar, catchy but strangley unique.  Rock up on the day, let your hair down and perhaps even join in a mosh pit.

Tucan
Beautiful music played beautifully.  Known for thier amazing instrumental re-workings of modern pop songs, These guys play the most amazing and precise guitars you'll hear all day.

We'll be heading up early on saturday morning and have a full write up ASAP.  We hope to see you up the mountain! #smallbutmassive

This Is My Jam

We've just signed up to thisismyjam a new website that lets you pick and display your pick of new (and sometimes not so new) music. Every week we'll be picking our favourite tunes form around the Island for your listening pleasure.  So here's our first pick! Click the pic below to see and feel free to follow us.

Merry Quizmas! The Quarterly Pub Quz at the MAC

Manic is one word to describe the first 'Quarterly Quiz' at the MAC. Fun is another. As you walk in you are greeted by the sight of a roaring fire being projected on to a screen that occupies most of the reception desk - an electric guitar, pedals and amp are there too. Also there are fairy lights, a small table, a chair, a pint of Guinness and local comedian Paul Currie. It's at this point you feel under dressed. Starting at the floor he is wearing a pair of perfect white cuban heels and a Ron Burgundy style suit (only in blue). He has teamed all this with shoulder length hair and a wonderful beard. Standing at least 6 feet tall, he is, quite literally, a feast for the eyes.

The Quarterly Quiz happens every 3 months (hence quarterly) and is £5 for a team of 5. It started about 8:30pm on Sunday night, finishing about 3 hours later (for a full nights entertainment it was certainly value for money). As the Quiz started, Paul revealed that he had a different prop for each round.  He had a snow hat and goggles for the Geography round (as he made wind noises into the mic and quoted Captain Scott) and a visor and sunglasses for the film round - oh and a rubber hand on a ten foot pole for the "draw a horse" round. Yes thats right, there was a draw a horse round and the results were quite surprising, in a good way. Our team won this round with help from our friends over at The Skeleton Blog, as the rubber hand of fate picked our flying horse to be the best.

Guitar Intros

The other rounds consisted of film, Geography, culture, general knowledge, picture rounds, guitar intros and sport.  The picture round, rather ingeniously, consisted of pictures of various bar staff behind their respective bars and you had to guess what bar it was. Extra points if you knew the bar person's name.  The usual "guess the intro" round was replaced by the intros being played on an electric guitar.  It's always great to bring a bit of live music in when possible and this was a fun round.

Currie also conducted the sports round in a "spide" accent the whole way through, like. Because who loves sport more than spide.

Wall of Horse

We didn't win the overall quiz, but the awarding of the prizes was no less frenzied than the previous 3 hours. The first place winners were disqualified from winning prizes because they had sneaked more than 5 onto their team.  The second place winners were also exempt from winning prizes because they were made up of MAC staff. So the 3rd place winners won the 1st place prize and 4th place won the second place prize. Stop me if any of this is making sense...

The prizes consisted of jotters, Lowry prints and colouring in books, tickets to shows at the MAC and vouchers for meals at the MAC restaurant.

The winning Horse

All in all it was a brilliant evening. I was designated driver so ne'er a drop passed my lips all evening and even stone cold sober it was a brilliant time.  We'll be back in 3 months, you should probably get a team together and do the same.

Vive le Cabaret! - Cabaret Supper Club joins Belfasts Dinner Theatre Fraternity

People like going out for something to eat, and people like being entertained, so it comes as no surprise that in the last year - the year in which Belfast has most flourished - we see a growing trend towards dinner theatre type venues. We've seen Burt’s Jazz at the Merchant and Cabaret Teatro at Botanic, both of which serve delicious food and sumptuous entertainment.  The latest addition to this is AM:PM’s offering  “Cabaret Supper Club”.

Living Social

PastieBap recently went to Cabaret on a Living Social Voucher. In case you’re not familiar with the concept, Living Social is a deal based website (like the ever popular Groupon) where they team up with local businesses to offer you a great deal every day.  In this case it was £24 for 2 people to attend the Sunday brunch at Cabaret and have a main meal each.  You just buy the deal online, print out the voucher, book your place and then show up. This is a great way to drum up business especially during opening weeks and to spread the word of mouth from (hopefully) satisfied customers. 

The Cabaret Supper Club

Situated near the Corn Market area of Belfast and next door to City Hall, The Cabaret Supper Club is directly in the centre of town, just an easy walk from Victoria Square also (as seems to be oh so important these days). It is also fairly close to the new Titanic Belfast building and Titanic Quarter too.  If anyone has seen the old film Cabaret with Liza Minnelli or the more recent Burlesque you will know the sort of look they are going for. A kind of Parisian, decadent, slightly gaudy look.  Mirrors everywhere, red velvet on the walls giving it a fairly plush look.


So the first thing you see when you go in is a giant mirror, a poster for Cabaret and red velvet everywhere.  As you walk up the stairs to the first floor you are greeted by a concierge who then takes your reservation and seats you for the performance.  When you are seated in your booth, you will notice there is a small bell which looks like a gold door bell just behind you. 

This bell is a great novelty and is used to call the staff should you need them.  We attended a Sunday Brunch where we were treated to a main course and a show.  Our party was six people strong and they were able to seat us all together in front of the decadent stage.

The Food

So we sat down and we were presented with the menu.  From the menu I selected roast beef, others in my group had the chicken and the lamb and it was all described beautifully in a delightful looking menu.  The roast beef turned out to be more like a thin cut of steak served on mash with a slightly sweet gravy like jus. This was delicious and cooked to perfection.  One wouldn’t expect to get such a nice piece of meat being described as roast beef.  We then ordered some drinks.  We did order tap water and were presented with a kind of self-bottled water which they charged us £2.50 for. This was a bit of a niggle as when you ask for tap water, you expect to get water from the tap which is free, so we were a little bit disappointed when we got the bill for that. 

We had some wine, deserts and coffees all of which were delicious.  The coffee came out warm, not piping hot which wasn't to everyone's liking, but suited me just fine. The staff were fairly attentive and well decked out, in matching black and white uniforms and when we rung the bell they came quickly enough.

The Entertainment

The entertainment afforded to us on the Sunday was a Magician, followed by a man playing the grand piano. He played all the rat pack favourites and then a few contemporary tunes done in a swing style. 

The first of the entertainment was a magician/comedian.  I would say that he was more suited to nighttime entertainment than perhaps Sunday mid-day, but he did the best with what he had and his tricks were good, and he was entertaining. He tried to get audience participation which people weren’t really having, perhaps they were hungover or perhaps they didn’t want to be taken up on the stage while eating, but he then said he couldn’t find enough volunteers and had to strip a bit off his show.  The bits he did perform were really good though and as somebody who really enjoys magic I thought his tricks were traditional, yet well done, which made for an entertaining act.  After that a tuxedoed gentleman came out and tinkled the ivories on a grand piano which sat in front of the stage.  The grand piano was an impressive sight to see and to heart being played over Sunday lunch was great.  The volume was pretty good too, loud enough to hear but low enough to talk over should you want.

The Facilities

A pet peeve of mine is that a lot of places put great effort into the decor of the main room and neglect the toilet areas.  It kind of ruins everything they’re working towards, especially with a themed restaurant.  But the toilets here were done out in the same style as the restaurant.  The mirrors were framed ornately and lacquered in black which gave them a slightly gothic look. They were clean and well kitted out.

The Round Up

Looking around the restaurant, it’s quite a large place, it looked like it could seat about 200 at at time.  Every table looked individual, some of them had high backed booths, some of them had individual seats, some stools etc.  There were chandeliers around and all in all the place looked fantastic.  The waiting staff were quick to serve and my only gripe would be about the tap water.  I think it said re-filtered water and it was presented in a glass re-usable bottle.  We asked for the bill and received it promptly and paid the remainder of what we owed, the rest had already been covered by our purchase of the Living Social voucher, and all in all everyone in the group agreed that it was a great way to spend Sunday lunchtime. 

We would all love to go back on a weekend night, when they have the full bill of entertainment, like the burlesque dancers, singers, magicians, and fire breathers, so it is definitely a place we will be re-visiting and a welcome addition to Belfast’s dinner theatre scene.

The Caberet Supper Club webpage
Living Social Belfast

Belfast? There's an App For That.

Four new Belfast related iPhone Apps have recently been launched to the iTunes App Store. The Belfast Music, Literary Belfast, Go To Belfast and My Tour Talk Apps were all launched last year in order to help raise Belfast’s profile and to engage tourists who may be visiting Northern Ireland for such events as the MTV Europe Music Awards or the Titanic Centenary.

Click on the  images below to be taken to the iTunes app store where you can download these apps!

The Belfast Music App has been created by Belfast City Council in partnership with NITB, Filmtrip, Culture Northern Ireland and OhYeah to accompany the new Belfast Music website and the music bus tour, and to lift the international profile of music in the city. The app itself showcases many of Northern Ireland’s top venues and homegrown legends alongside more modern musicians. This exciting new app features musical accompaniment from Neil Hannon, The Undertones, David Holmes, Ash, Therapy? and the Ulster Orchestra and takes you on a journey through Belfast’s rich musical heritage. 

The Literary Belfast App has been developed by Belfast City Council in partnership with NI Tourist Board, Filmtrip, CultureNI, Queen's University and the BBC. The app boasts video guides by Seamus Heaney, Michael Longley, Paul Muldoon, Sinead Morrissey, Leontia Flynn, Bernard MacLaverty and Ciaran Carson, and offers the audience a unique view ‘Through Writers’ Eyes.’ Alongside this is a News and Events section, which keep you up to date on festivals, readings and literary events across Belfast. The app also features guides through literary landmarks and facts about famous writers from the city such as The Chronicles of Narnia writer, C. S. Lewis.

For locals and tourists alike, the Go To Belfast App is the perfect app for finding your way around the city. The Go To Belfast App is the official tourist app for Belfast and is full of information, suggestions on where to go, what to do and what’s on. The app has a number of unique features which help to make it stand out as the number one tourist app for Belfast. These features include telling the app where you are and how much time you have and the app will suggest what you should do and where you should go, a restaurant finder, local recipes and an offers section to show you great deals and where to find them!

Finally, the My Tour Talk App lets you listen to fantastic audio tours of many places around Northern Ireland, from the Giant’s Causeway, to the Fermanagh Lakelands. This app offers full length or ‘bitesize’ tours both of which offer advice on where to eat, shop, drink and what events are on, alongside giving information and facts about the surrounding area.

These apps offer a wide range of information on many areas of tourism and culture and are available to download from iTunes. 

Jilly St. John on Music, Life and Wyldling

She's been a model, she currently writes a column for YourDerry magazine, she organises and promote gigs and she's even tried her hand at interviewing and presenting.  Oh and occasionally she finds time to sing.  Her previous band No Mean City created a huge buzz and won a slot through The Redbull Bedroom Jam, ultimately leading to playing on-stage at major festivals around the UK such as Download and T in the Park.  You might have heard of Jilly St. John but pretty soon she’s going to make sure you know the name Wyldling.


So a lot of people will know you from No Mean City, now you're launching your own new band WYLDLING. So what have you been up to in the mean while?
It seems like yesterday since we were gigging in every nook and cranny in the country with NMC but it has been little over a year since the split! When we did split I immediately started looking for musicians to try and get a new band together, but that proved to be tougher than I'd anticipated. It's been difficult trying to find people with the same mindset as myself. I don't think they realise what goes into making a band a career until they try it for themselves. It takes over your life and not everyone's prepared for that. To make it my career has always been my goal. I decided to stay within the scene in order to keep my finger on the pulse. It wasn't hard for me, as a band on the border of the spotlight on the NI scene I got a lot of acts looking for gigs and advice based on our own quick rise. So, it was win win for me. I got to maintain my profile and help out a number of amazing bands who maybe weren't receiving the attention they should have been. This encompassed the 'Rocks Off' venture at Masons Bar which was aimed towards showcasing a certain standard of NI based bands and introducing new ones based on merit & quality alone. 
There is such a wealth of talent here in NI and I really felt the scene had stagnated in terms of what was being presented to us through other mediums. The aim is the same with the YourDerry section. Whilst I really enjoy this side of the scene though, I started to get the itch to perform myself again. It got to the point where I realised if I waited on the right people, I could be waiting for some time and time is precious to me. So I decided to just go ahead and start writing music again with friends only too aware that my musical existence could potentially only be online, but I had a plan for that scenario too *laughing*. Luckily though I'm writing with friends with the aim to go live in the not too distant future. It just seemed to fall into place naturally and I've never been more ready.

What can people expect from this new music and how does it differ from No Mean City?

I can only answer this question from my individual perspective of course. Given that I was and am the primary lyricist and performer for both these acts, I think it's natural that there will be some similarities. When it comes to stage performance, I think anyone would find it difficult to present themselves so abstractly different in terms of such a strong personality. I'm more aware of how strong that personality is now. Having said that, I feel there has been a massive amount of growth within myself in terms of writing. I think the fact that I'm more in control within Wyldling has allowed that to happen. When there are many writers there is always a lot of compromising involved, to ensure everyone is happy with what they are putting out there. I don't really like to compare the two as I'm very proud of both of them.
Wyldling, to me, is hooky, gritty and large! A culmination of rock and electro mainly, but I hope to experiment with sounds in the future. It's a sexier, more mature me!

So who or what is Wyldling?

The project does present itself currently as a solo act but there are other people involved on a collaborative level. I really hope that they can join me on stage when the time comes. It’s partly the reason I decided to use the name ‘Wyldling’ as opposed to putting myself out there as ‘Jilly St John’. It provides myself, and my collaborators, with flexibility in terms of the set up; whilst crediting all those involved as they can lend themselves to the umbrella. Everyone wins. As for my collaborators? All will be revealed in due course!
Waiting On Water by Wyldling

What influences have spurred on the new project?

There are sooo many different influences for me! I love music as a whole and listen to everything from soul and motown to hip hop and electro right through to metal, ska and everything that falls in between. My only criteria being that it's good, actually good. I like music that you can feel in your bones, be it through a bad ass bass line or heart felt relatable lyrics. I like honesty within music. I think it's really important that you can connect to what you're listening to and/or performing. As far as direct influences go for Wyldling, I've not set out to sound like anything else in particular, I like to separate a little for that. You need something different to allow you room to stand out. It's very important to me that no one can pin point it to sounding like one artist. The only potential direct influences are feelings and situations within my own life, that and the fact that I love a HUGE gritty sound that you can really rock out and get your teeth into!

What are the advantages and challenges of operating from Derry and Northern Ireland in general?

Wow, where to begin? I think the size of NI in general is a massive advantage, in that if you really work hard and you have what it takes you can easily become a big fish in a small pond. Which is fantastic, when NI gets behind you they really do it with gusto. I feel though that there is a hidden danger to this. When surrounded by so much praise and publicity here, it can make the transition outside NI to the UK and Ireland a difficult one. Why would you wanna sleep in a van and play to two people when you can fill a venue with adoring fans at home? Not to mention the expense involved when starting all over again on the mainland UK. I've seen a few acts fall prey to this and come home disheartened, only to be lifted up again in NI. They then never leave, which is a shame. You gotta take the rough with the smooth and keep going.
Then there's the flipside to the NI scene. Those who aren't recognised for their talent and support. It's quite a tight circle that operates within NI, particularly within the Belfast scene, and it can be difficult to infiltrate to say the least and more so if you aren't from there or have connections there. However, I've noticed a small change in this recently. Small, but change none the less, change is good.

How much of a part does social media and networking play when trying to launch a band like Wyldling?

We live in an age where our lives generally revolve around social media be it in your personal life or as a business. The whole world seems to be online. Given this lifestyle revolution I feel that social media has never been more important for bands and artists and even more so for young acts. There are pros and cons to this, the first and foremost pro being that you can directly contact those who seemed to be out of reach within the industry only a decade or so ago. In the past bands and artists had to rely on being at the right place at the right time and being "discovered", whereas you can now be more proactive about who you want to hear your work.

This also has had it's downside though in that acts have become more dispensable, due to the sheer number of them out there. The labels don't have to search anymore, they have bands approaching them with ready built fan bases and the rest of it. The reason social media is so important to me personally is due to the fact that without fans we'd all essentially be nothing. Don't get me wrong, I'd still be writing for my own pleasure if they weren't there as it's my passion, my love; however without demand and support there would be no bookings, press interest. It's like "If a tree falls in the forrest and no one is there to hear it, does it still make a sound" conundrum. For me, it has paid off to be in touch with those interested in what I'm doing and to provide that personal touch, besides, I love those people. Without them I would never have achieved half of what I have so far. I'm forever indebted!

Who are your NI "ones to watch" for 2012?
I've come across a wealth of talent over 2011, some of which are sadly no longer together and some of which are brand new on the scene. I think I'm gonna mention a couple actually! Dying Breed are a brand new band from the north coast who I discovered only a few weeks ago, I was so bowled over by their huge sound and versatile vocals straight away! I think if they work hard they could make some great developments this year. Sons Of Calibre, from the greater Belfast area, are currently working on their debut release and I got a sneak peek, it's beautiful! Last but absolutely not least, for me it's got to be Derry act Intermission! Now some people may say I'm biased with this act *laughing*, but I'd like to take this opportunity to say that before I knew them as friends I was always in awe of their talent. 'Kharma 45'?? That came before I got to know these boys. They really have come into their own in the last year with the evolution of their sound and performance skills. They are growing and evolving all the time and the interest is definitely picking up the pace! Finally! Frontman Glenn is like a one man orchestra! I think this could be their year!
Also watch out for a band called Wyldling. MEGA! Haha!

What's next for Jilly St. John and Wylding ? 

In the immediate future I'll be concentrating on getting ready for the live shows with the band which I'm aiming to have ready by the early spring of this year. After that... who knows? I'm ready for it to go all the way and will be aiming towards making that happen! It's gonna take a lot of hard work and perseverance, but I'm built for it! *laughing* 

Let Go by Wyldling
www.facebook.com/wyldlingmusic
www.twitter.com/wyldling
www.soundcloud.com/wyldling

The NI top 6 (things) of 2011

This was originally intended as a top 5 but I've just realised its actually 6 so there you go!  Also I'd state these are in no particular order but I'm sure Sigmund Freud would argue there's no such thing.  As such I present PastieBaps NI top 6 of 2011!


Mental Deficiency

This was the year of Mental deficiency!  The got management, they released a bloody brilliant album, they filled the Black box for the album launch and they invaded the Edinburgh fringe festival.  They also managed to support larger bands in a variety of venues.  The most amazing part of this feat is that they weren't just random bands they were supporting, they were bands that would be playing to the exact crowd that would appreciate their music, thus exposing them to a much larger audience.  But more importantly an audience that would appreciate their musical stylings!  I was there for both The Rubber bandits and the Electric six gigs and both times they played to fairly sizable audiences and i would suspect at least half of the audience at these gig would've been people that had never seen Mental Def before.  It'll be in an interesting 2012 with the difficult second album looming and a watchful eye waiting to see where they go from here.

Pigstock
Expanding to 2 days and with an improved lay-out this year saw a stellar line up and improved attendance for Pigstock. In my opinion much better than Glasgowbury as the lack of outside influences and the real 'Small Festival' feel. I enjoyed it so much I'll be attending next year regardless of line up. Also regardless of that ridiculous hill you have to walk up to get there.



MTV EMA's

The visitors came. The stars came.  the whole thing went off without a hitch and it was a brilliant way to show case Belfast to the rest of the world.  Snow Patrol done what they do and people who like Snow Patrol told me it was good.  I was in Belfast with a few mates that weekend and the buzz was evident around the city. The build up was fantastic with Music Week putting on a spate of gigs showing off the great and good and creating a great deal of hype (and debate) around the province. 

The Black Box
Best venue in Belfast.   Again showing its versatility the Black Box put on no end of Brilliant events throughout 2011.  Poetry, Magicians, Gigs, Cabaret, Album launches, fundraisers the list goes on and on.  it really seems that there very little that can't be put on in this venue.  It's versatility is unbounded.  The green room i felt really came into its own as well making this a regular spot for people even when there wasn't something on in the Black Box itself.  A great place for some coffee, a few beers and even a slice of Pizza.


 I also need to mention the amount of performances put on in the green room ranging from comedians to Art displays and everyhting in between. A place with a real community feel but located so centrally is great to have and a great place to show off how far Belfast has come in passing years. A great venue in a great location and a real asset to the Cathedral Quarter as a whole.  They recently received news that they had secured £25,000 in funding to help them reach their aim of being self sufficient so it seems like we'll have the Black Box for the fore see able future.

The Wonder Villains
I saw them at Glasgowbury early in the afternoon on one of the side stages and was blown away.  Next they were playing the Oh Yeah centre on culture night then BAMM! They're playing on Radio 1 in the Maida Vale studios! For a band so young they've accomplished a lot so far.  They're insanely catchy brand of all out retro indie pop was bound to catch on and in 2011 it did just that.  I can't wait to catch them playing bigger and bigger gigs in 2012.


Belfast Culture Night
Brilliantly publicised through Social networking sites that ultimately lead to a word of (virtual) mouth campaign that at times had filled my time line with people talking about it. This ensured that Culture night was a huge success! The Streets of Belfast and particularly the Cathedral Quarter where absolutely hoaching with people and the mixture of music, art, plays, food and everything else. Everywhere you went was something else going on and all for free!  Now for next year they just need to get the licensing arangements so we can wander between venues with our drinks!

Going to a Pantomime at 29 years old.

Jack and the Beanstock Pantomime

@ The Grand Opera house

For the 3rd year in a row I went to the Panto at the Grand Opera House this year.  I used to go to the Panto every year during primary school, then in primary 7 it all stopped for about 16 years until my wife's mother was visiting us from Scotland for Christmas and we were trying to find things that everyone can do together. And I think thats one of the best things about a Panto,  anyone from 5 years old to 79 years old can go and enjoy it. It's bright lights, pyrotechnics, special effects, huge sets, crude jokes and pure entertainment.  I'm a massive wrestling fan and the parallels between the 2 are not hard to draw.  


I went to the Panto with my wife, mum, dad, sister, granny and mother-in-law. As we approach the GOH (Grand Opera House) we see through the glass walls kids running everywhere, light up wands and guns(?) and ice cream and sweets being sold from every conceivable place.  As we get in and get our seats we realise that we're probably the only ones here without kids, but we do have 2 septuagenarians so I image the experience to be very similar.  My nineteen year old sister then decides that she wants a flashing rotating light gun thing, so when I bounce off  to get her one I end up telling the lady behind the counter it's not for me, it's for the kids.  She looks at me like the teller looks at Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone.


And so the show begins; oh no it doesn't, oh yes it does! (sorry couldn't resist)  The star of this show is undoubtedly May McFetridge, in fact in recent years they've done away with the star names in favour of a 3D section of the show and this has bolstered May up to top billing.  The story of the Panto is Jack and the Beanstalk.  Basically Jack must slay a giant that has been terrorising his "magical village of Ahoghill" or as the fairy calls it "A hog hill".  The giant also steals his prospective bride and so it's doubly important that he completes his task. He sells his cow for some beans and when they're thrown out the window they grow into a magic beanstalk that allows him to climb up to the Giant's castle.  He rescue's his bride to be and destroys the giant.  It all culminates in a wonderful wedding between the two.  The story is secondary however, as this is all about the entertainment, and entertain it does.  

As I said earlier May McFetridge is the star of this show from the moment she arrives in a Smart car on stage. Whether she's heckling people for being too hung-over, getting the young ones up on stage to do a sing-a-long of the music man or singing a broadly Belfast accented version of Lady GaGa's Born This Way (complete with a bra with mouths that sing along and try to eat people) she knows what the crowd want and she gives it to them.  The Panto is also heavily tinged with local references, political, religious and the other.  After asking a small girl where she's from and what instrument she plays (East Belfast and the Violin) she tells her that she heard they were all on the fiddle down there!  


In the second half we're treated to the 3D, arguably the second star of the show.  This is done extremely well with giant ogres hands reaching out to grab you and creepy crawlies appearing to be crawling your way as we make our way through the giants castle. I see a few people taking their glasses off as it gets to the part with the spiders!  I was pretty surprised at how well this was done and enjoyed every second of it.


I take this point to mention how well done all the sets were.  Absolutely immaculate and the the Giant was sat there in his house reaching from the floor of the stage right up to the highest part of the curtain.  Complete with moving eyes, lips and arms.  I love this kind of spectacle and judging by the noises form the crowd when he appeared so did the rest of the audience. This was the moment we'd all been waiting for and it didn't disappoint. The use of local actors was also great to see (and hear).   My only complaint would be the amount of "Pop culture" references that were seemingly forced in.  The worst of these being the part were the fairy performed a Catherine Tate inspired "Am I bovvered" skit.  It just seemed very dated and fell flat with the crowd.  It actually made it seem dated (The Catherine Tate show finished about 5 years ago) and I would like to see less of these and at very least more relevant references. 


So all in all we had a great time and I would recommend the Pantomime to anyone of any age.  As I mentioned earlier we took my wife's mother who's originally English but now lives in Scotland.  On the way out we asked if she enjoyed it "oh yes, it was wonderful" and did you understand what May McFetridge was saying OK? "No, I couldn't make out a bloody word".  So it seems that the Panto, this time at least, even transcended language.