Almost Alternative

Analogue Trash Presents The Luddite Collective, Def Neon and Psydoll at Dulcimer Bar Psydoll Photo by Cute As Sin I was so excited on the run up to Friday nights gig, as has been mentioned here before I am definitely a fan of Def Neon and I know seeing them live means dancing, Psydoll were coming in from Japan for a small Uk tour and having seen them once before and absolutely loved it I was looking forward to seeing them again. Now I am biased about The Luddite Collective, I have been helping them get the special advance limited edition run of their new ep done in time for this gig and I think it's quite brilliant, so obviously I was thrilled knowing they were going to play some of the tracks live. The Luddite Collective Photo Cute As Sin  First up was The Luddite Collective an aggressive industrial punk duo combining dirty bass, harsh vocals, snyth and beats that you really can't help dancing to. The lyrics are politically charged and very relevant, the emo...

Perilous Tales BY Luna C I wasn't sure at all what this show was having only read the title, so I was really surprised to find it was actually three plays from three different writers each 30 minutes long. All three plays managed to pack so much into just 30 minutes that I am going to have to review them all separately.  Extant 1918 By Cliff Heaton An astounding tale about the horrors of war, mental health and relationships. This is one of the most touching and emotional things I have ever seen in a theatre. In 30 minutes I somehow felt that I knew the main characters really well. I knew about their lives and their secrets, I felt their joys and sorrows.  The range of emotions displayed in such a short time was incredible, we watched as they discussed the war, we heard tales of things no one should ever have seen and we saw so much love through all of it.  We watched guilt, anger and despair destroy a man. The insight into how it must have...

First Week I have never attended the Fringe Festival before. I have always said that I would love to but some how life seems to get in the way. I decided to change that and months ago I booked tickets for 8 performances. In my first Fringe week I have seen 4 of them and every single one has been so different from the rest.  The Dead, Live Night one we went to The Dead, Live by Daniel Thackeray a Scytheplays performance. The strange tale of Lawrence Dodds a fake medium. Slowly his secret unravels in this dark tale that would fit in with all the classic ghost tales I read when I was younger, that's not to say it was predictable because it was full of surprises all the way through. Strangely comedic, eerie and spine chilling. This performance made people jump but more than that it left that feeling of dread and the emptiness of not knowing what lies beyond in the spirit world. It was a very cleverly done ominous piece of theatre. I would recommend it to anyone w...

This Was Going To Be A Blog About One Thing But Turned Into Something Else A Fantastic Gig And Women On Stage I will start by saying the Analogue Trash stage at Sonderfest definitely didn't disappoint. The line up was well put together, the bands were incredible and the atmosphere was electric. The crowd loved every second and it looked like the bands did too. Room 1985 are new to the Trash Family and I am eagerly awaiting there album release. They are a little different from most of the bands I see through trash, not quite as heavily electro and a little more psychedelic rock, they were definitely a nice start to the evening, buckets of stage presence, beautiful music and a fantastic singer.  Then they were joined on stage by the first spectacular woman of the evening. A singer with heaps of emotion, attitude, passion and of course vocal talent. She absolutely stole the stage.  Next up were St Lucifer. Four amazing guys with an interes...

Neil Gaiman And Stephen Fry I have never been to the Hay Festival before. I see adverts for it and hear about the appearances but it's three and a half hours from home so it took something special to get me there.  Neil Gaiman and Stephen Fry When I saw there would be an audience with Neil Gaiman and Stephen Fry I knew I had to go. I have never fawned over actors or models, give me an interesting mind any day, a writer, an artist, a musician, a scientist some one who thinks beautifully. Then I am jelly. I turn into a teenage fan girl, I have now seen/met several of my favourite minds but Neil Gaiman remained top of my wish list.  From the moment I found his work I was enchanted, I would never return to be the person I was before I read American Gods. A book recommended by a friend. I sat down to begin and the next thing I knew it was the end of the book. I didn't move for roughly 8 hours, I completely ignored my partner, I was lost in the world of Shadow....