Go Jeff!- Ellen and the Escapades in the North

Ellen and the Escapades  hit the North over the weekend. When I say the North I mean Newcastle at The Cluny and Manchester at The Castle Hotel . The Cluny is a great venue just outside Newcastle city centre. You have to go down a few flights of stairs to get to the gig setting but it's spacious, cool and dark; all the things you want for a night of music! Ellen and the Escapades were as good as ever. The haunting, hypnotic voice of Ellen Smith backed by a tight set of guitars, drums and keyboard. They played a mixture of songs from their current album keeping some of the older tunes in to keep the die hard fans happy. Their more current songs show how the band have matured and become more confident about their own sound. I must say, I do like a dance so I'm always happy when 'Without You' comes on. You can tap your feet and pretend you're surrounded by hay bales-amazing! But then on another song you can be swaying by the beach with a bottle of beer. Enough of my imagination...

At The Cluny in Manchester it was a slightly different vibe. Mostly due to the hot sweaty back room of the pub everyone was crammed into and the £4.50 pints of Peroni. But niggles aside another cracking set by the band. In my hast I tried to record their closing number 'Cast'. Nothing can quite capture the essence of being at a gig but I wanted to try and share a little bit of it.

BE WARNED IT"S QUITE LOUD!


Ellen and the Escapades have built up a loyal fan base and it seems electric guitarist Jeffrey Schneider has adopted the anthem "GO JEFF!" which has begun following him from gig to gig (well maybe just the ones I'm at).  One day it will be trending on Twitter. The band carry on touring throughout the year, so if you can catch them, I would.

The Artist

I went to watch The Artist at the Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle. It's the first time I've been to the Tyneside and what a lovely experience it was. Apart from the lengthy march to the fourth floor screen and the endless streams of people in the corridor my trip to the cinema was great. Blue chairs with lots of leg room, less adverts than a typical screening and a proper bar where you can buy drinks and take them into the showing. But I didn't go to the Tyneside to critic it's decor and functionality, I was there for The Artist.

It's always slightly strange when you go and watch a film that has had so much hype and praise preceding it. Luckily The Artist lived up to all my expectations. A beautifully crafted black and white silent movie. The right combination of an emotive story line,comedy and tragedy. Watching a silent movie really makes you appreciate the mis-en-scene and captivates you in an entirely different way to 'talkies'. You have to concentrate, you have to watch and engage. Without the help of speech or natural sound your imagination works in overdrive as you compensate for the things you are used to getting a film. As a result you become more involved in the film. Feeling every tear and smile.

The Artist is a great film. he main stars Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo are brilliant. They bring back the glamour of the era and give an excellent tribute to the silent film form, reminding us of the art form it is. But for me, the biggest star of the show is the dog. What a performance. If you want to know what I mean. go and watch it.

Unfair Fare

As a regular user of trains I am saddened my Young Person's Railcard will run out soon. For years I've enjoyed reduced fares and to be honest, it hasn't been until recently that I've really made use of the discount.

Over the years the journeys I have taken have been 1 hour long...maybe 3 hours at a real push. Having the rail card benefitted me, but even if my train fare was normal price I could probably have afforded it. Now, that concept has gone. Over the last few months I've been traveling to Newcastle quite a lot. An epic 5 1/2 hours on the train if I'm lucky. With a rail card and booking massively in advance I have managed to buy a return journey for around £65, at the most £80. I believe these prices to be a distant memory.

Even over the last 6 months I have seen the prices increase. Because of timings and not wanting to spend more than 6 1/2 hours on a train, most return tickets are about £100, including the railcard saving. Not good. Without the railcard saving? We are talking about £150. I feel a bit sick just thinking about it. Spending that much money just to travel in my own country. For the same price I can get return flights to Amsterdam or Paris.

In fact, I'm traveling to Newcastle this weekend and it's cheaper to fly than get the train. I try and be environmentally friendly but when I'm spending nearly one hundred pounds on rail fare something has got to give. And there are benefits of flying that make the journey far more peaceful.

I know I definitely get a seat on a aircraft which is more than can be said for trains. It's a direct flight. I'm less likely to be running late if I take a plane. When my railcard eventually does run out, I can see myself becoming quite familiar with Bristol Airport.