Walking With Dinosaurs - Odyssey Arena

Photo Courtesy of Neil Carey

I’m using no hyperbole whatsoever when I tell you that “Walking With Dinosaurs” was the best thing that I’ve ever seen with my eyes, ever. No exaggeration. As a self confessed nerd and lover of all things dinosaur, what could be better than a live arena spectacular involving my favourite dino pals?!

Before going to see the show at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, I intentionally tried to avoid all adverts, pictures and information about it, to be honest I really didn't want to ruin the surprise. From what little I had heard though, I knew that I wanted to wait until I saw the real thing as it would be seriously impressive.

Upon entering the arena, we quickly found our seats and were greeted by the sight of a giant dinosaur's jaws, two screens and what appeared to be mountains in the middle. The lights were low and the atmosphere was high as thousands of kids and adults chattered in anticipation. To my surprise there were a lot of adults there without children - this just goes to show that people of all ages can enjoy what the show has to offer.

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Photo Courtesy of Neil Carey

From the moment the first dinosaur appeared on stage, the crowd went quiet as each and every one of us was transported back 248 millions years. Through the clever use of technology and props, it was hard not to be.

Throughout the course of the night the simple set was transformed as we progressed from baron landscapes, to the first signs of plant life, to raging fires and finally to the evolution of flowers and insects as we got closer to the present day. This was all demonstrated through the extremely clever use of what can only be described as blow up plants and trees which could be depressed at a moments notice - meaning that plants and trees could sprout and flourish as if from the ground itself.

As renowned palaeontologist Huxley lead us through the Cretaceous, Jurassic and Triassic periods, we were introduced to a whole host of dinosaurs, each of which helped to tell the story of both the world's and the dinosaur's evolution. (Read about the progression of the show here). It really was an educational show.

Photo Courtesy of Neil Carey

We saw 20 life sized dinosaurs roaming through the Odyssey in this £10 million arena spectacular - we saw them fight, feed, protect their young and even fly.

I think what made these dinosaurs so truly spectacular was that they were ultimately controlled by people - the smaller dinosaurs were pretty much people walking around in dinosaur costumes as they used the actors' real legs to walk around, whereas the bigger dinosaurs were mounted on what looked like small vehicles which people 'drove' around (although it does take a team of three people to operate each dinosaur). It's hard to picture just what this looks like, so it's best to look at the pictures and videos to get a true feel of what this looked like! Nevertheless this made the dinosaur's movements natural and realistic, especially when coupled with their rippling skin and glinting eyes.

I would urge anyone to go and see these dinosaurs as they will probably be as close as you're ever going to get to seeing them in real life. A truly spectacular and at times scarily realistic night. 

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By Laura Caldwell

NERD FEST

On the 19th February I was knee deep in nerds, and not for the first time. 

 Pastie Bap attended the ImagineNation & Heroes & Legends Con at W5 in Belfast on the final day of its three day exhibition in the Odyssey Arena. The event was held by The Emerald Garrison and ran from the 17th to the 19th February and was a veritable feast of movie, comic and tv show magic. Their official website states:

"As part of ImagineNation we celebrate the incredible creativity of movie fans when Emerald Garrison return to W5 with Heroes and Legends Con and a host of new costumed characters, sets and props. If you have been to any of our Invasion Belfast events you will know this is an event you will not want to miss! This is an event created by fans for fans and will cover all aspects of Sci Fi Film and Fantasy. Taking over our temporary exhibition space will be displays featuring costumed characters and recreations from many iconic movies. These will include a "Back to the Future" Delorean, a Tardis, an incredible 24ft tall Optimus Prime and much, much more!"



Pastie Bap's own Chris Caldwell enjoys The Throne

 Game of Thrones

The exhibition consisted of five levels of nerd-dom with traders stands on the ground floor selling an array of figures, costumes, graphic novels, lightsabers, broomsticks (Harry Potter-esque ones, not just for doing the sweeping) and clothing. Forbidden Planet even had their own stall which was positively laden with the shops' products.

The second level featured the Go Demo Area which housed the real reason why Pastie Bap was there - the Game of Thrones Throne. This was a full scale replica of the Throne seen in hit HBO series Game of Thrones. 



The Emerald Garrison

This level also contained a series of special guests in the Atrium featuring comic book artists, actors and costume designers. These guests were available to chat to and to sign/sketch your comic/arm/leg/eyeball, anything you want.

On the fourth level of W5 was the Exhibition Space which featured The Emerald Garrison's Heroes and Legends exhibition. This contained a series of impressive props and sets built by Emerald Garrison members. Sets included Lord of the Rings, Aliens, Star Trek, The Muppets, Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Batman, Spiderman and Ghostbusters; while props featured massive 24ft  Optimus Prime, Tardis, Daleks, a Delorian and a full size US WWII Jeep.


Sets and Props

An interactive sorting hat experience!

The quality of these sets and props were excellent andeveryone could enjoy the sights to behold, both young and old. Some of the sets were manned by people dressed up who were on hand for photos, alongside members of the public who just dressed up for their own amusement. It's quite surreal walking around W5 alongside Doctor Who and Rorschach from Watchmen, and then watching Robocop pose for a photo with Gonzo from the muppets.

Throughout the day, a series of events were being held in the lecture theatre on Level 5, and on the Sunday there was a Q&A with Patricia Tallman and Claudia Christian, then a Q&A and drawing live with PJ Holden.

Baby Boba

Cosplay

The final event of the day was the Cosplay competition, where members of the public were invited to dress up as their favourite characters and be judged by a panel of judges. I was a bit sceptical as we sat down in the lecture theatre alongside about a  few dozen men, women and children in costume; but was delighted to see an array of well made costumes (and a few 'thrown together') and everyone seemed to be having a good time. A young Boba Fett won the under 10's section, with two Anikin Skywalker's a close second (both if which received an audible 'aww' from the audience of course), while Predator won the adults section. All in all the day was excellent and was a good dose of good clean fun, a perfect way to end the weekend and cure that hangover!

  

 



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!

MTV EMA's in Belfast or How Justin Bieber interfered with my Saturday

So the MTV EMA's came and went. Lady Gaga wore a mad hat, a staged Belfastian streaked across the stage, Justin Bieber "killed it" and Selena Gomez was as dull as dish water. I first found out about the EMAs bring in Belfast on twitter, probably like a lot a people, and immediately wondered what it would actually mean to Belfast and most importantly - what it would mean to me.

The first thing i encountered was posters.

Getting off at Belfast Central daily I began to notice that adorning the lamp posts either side of the road on the way into town were these purple posters proclaiming the imminent arrival of said awards. I like purple, it naturally makes people in a better mood. So I was pleased with this.

Walking through Belfast on the Friday night before the EMAs I walked past them building the stage, it looked impressive.

The city hall was lit up like a Jean Michael Jarre concert and looked equally impressive in it's own right.

But the biggest effect it had on me personally was on Saturday. I had a few friends over from Scotland, one just happened to be over, the other was over with an artist that was appearing at the EMAs and since we all had the day off we went for a few drinks. The city was a buzz on Saturday. Kids every where, massive purple posters on buildings, buses and shops. The stage loomed large at city hall reminding everyone what was happening the next night. And as I went to take my mates for a few rums in The Spaniard bar I was greeted by the sight of hundreds of people thronging the end of the street it was on. Then I noticed the whole street was cordoned off by security and police.

As I asked about getting to The Spaniard, 2 words came back ringing in my wars. Justin Bieber. Justin Bloody Bieber. Or Ustin Bieber as a Spanish lady screamed at me on my way skirting round The Merchant Hotel (Where he was allegedly staying). We tried the other side of the street but it was even worse. Girls with Justin on their face, ladies crying and even a few rubber necking spides. I thought Belfast was better than this but ah well. I guess like the EMAs itself when you watch it on TV, it could be just any city in the world when the Beibs is in town. For those of you worried, we just made out way to The Duke of York for a cracking pint of Guinness instead.

I watched the EMA's like 99% of the people did of course.  On my TV.  Belfast looked great, the city represented itself well as a whole and it apparently brought a lot of money in for the province. But what the EMA's meant to me - Drinking Guinness in the Duke of York instead of Rum in The Spaniard.

According to a later tweet from the PSNI the Biebs never was staying in the merchant in the first place. So I guess in the end it wasn't even his fault.



By Chris Caldwell

Britney, Oh Britney!

Like most boys (men) of my age I remember Britney when she first burst  onto the worlds radar as a nubile lolita figure belting out a song about  domestic violence whilst dressed as a slutty school girl.  Cut from that to near 15 years later and what I saw last night at the "Femme Fatale" tour and, well, let's start by saying the concert was "interesting".

My wife is a Britney fan.  I was a Britney fan, albeit for different reasons than my wife is. She has been an omnipresent figure since I was about 15.  So when I got an e-mail yesterday saying I had won 2 tickets (a near £130 value) to go and see Britney live at the Odyssey Arena Belfast, I thought "might as well". We missed the support act of Joe Jonas, a single Jonas brother( I guess they've split the Horcruxes up). So as we got in with 5 minutes to spare the first thing we saw was a giant screen counting down to the start of the show. 

The place was mostly full.  A massive stage had been erected with all sorts of moving video walls and what looked like a pylons either side.  The countdown finished and an intro video started playing on the screens.  Some creepy guy talking into a microphone and then videos of Britney getting arrested.  It would become clear over the night, as these video's peppered the concert, that this was supposed to be some sort of narrative about a guy stalking Britney or working for a radio station or talking about "Femme Fatales"(who know which).  Basically it was incomprehensible but it presumably allowed Britney to get changed between songs and apparently allowed her to wheel out set designs like a Prison and an ancient Egyptian Boat and a Barbie jeep.

But I digress, Britney eventually appeared to a sea of cheers and a hero's welcome! She looked fine for a woman who's now 30 years old, but it's obvious she's not the performer she once was. She then proceeded to mime every song bar one and shuffle her way through the most unenergetic dance routines I've ever seen.  She did a lot of hand dancing and not a lot of foot dancing. 

She had a fleet of about 12 dancers and as they danced up a storm Britney generally stood in the middle and moved her arms.  Then she skipped to the next mark and repeated the action.  In the middle came the bit where she sung live. I think it was live.  To achieve this she had to sit on a swing, I'm not sure if the act of standing and singing would've been too much, but we'll never find out because she never did both simultaneously.

The culmination of the concert and the increasingly bizarre video clips was the coming together of the 2 pylons and as the pylons (for whatever reason) spat fireworks into the sky Britney ascended towards the roof and giant angels wings unfurled, or at least they were supposed to.  One unfurled and the other sat there limp and life less.

The concert was fine but as I said to my wife afterwards, it was more like "Britney: The Musical" than a Britney concert.  She didn't sing, she barely danced and she looked oddly vacant throughout. But with that much stage production and actual dancers it's hard not to enjoy the spectacle.


By Chris Caldwell