Fancy A Seat?

My friend Sandy found this. I have no idea where.
But I would like two, a matching couch and
Richard Ashcroft sprawling across,
while writing a song and offering me grapes.
Thanks.

Off To The Motherland...

Well, er, someone's motherland.

So, my Anglofiler friends, I leave this Sunday for a U.K./Ire-palooza that includes several days in Dublin (I must assuage my U2 fetish and visit the Guinness factory) then off to London to see My Bloody Valentine's first show since Kevin Shields went all J.D. Salinger and dropped off the face of the planet. I got some musician friends I might be meeting up with (two of whom fit right alongside - and probably played with - My Bloody Valentine)... then revisiting my old stomping ground of Brighton.

Brighton was seriously such an amazing place for me when I lived there in '97 then returned for a month in '99. A Brightonian friend once aptly described it thusly, "All the good bits of London without all the shit." I thought that was pretty astute.

When I was 21, I went to visit a friend at a bar he worked at on the Brighton seafront, drenched from the rain (which blows at you with hurricane force from the sea), I walked in to see no one in the dimly lit bar except my friend behind the counter... and Nick Cave with two of his friends. Wow.

I suspected my flamboyant friend wouldn't know who Cave was but silly me, he did a duet with Kylie so all the gays know who he is! My friend took one look at Nick and then my awe-struck face and promptly quipped, "Now don't you go run and over, sit in his lap and ask for a record contract." Ha. After Cave and his friends departed, we decided to eat his leftover french fries because we were broke, hungry and thought that it would make a funny story to say we ate Nick Cave's french fries.

Several years later, I interviewed Cave and regaled him with that tale. You can read about it here. Despite what I had heard about him being difficult with journalists, I found him to be charming, erudite and very kind. When I told him my friend was too terrified to ask him for an autograph despite being the publicist for his backing band (the Dirty Three), he promptly took his tea bag out of its cup and signed, "This is my tea bag. Nick Cave."

I was very thrilled that I could tell my friend that she had now officially been tea-bagged by Nick Cave.

Anyhow... yeah, U.K. ahoy. I have no idea what I'm in for, who I'm meeting or what will happen but - should be an adventure.

Swervedriver Doesn't Lose That Feeling

2008 has become the year of the 90's Brit rock reunions. After nearly a decade long absence, Swervedriver brought back the magic in a spot on hour and half set last night at the Hendry Fonda Theatre.

Strange to go to concerts these days where there's no one under 25. Nonetheless, these are my people. Thirty somethings wearing Fred Perry and goth girls who remind me of myself from high school just a little older and fatter. It felt like home last night. Anglofiles were up front and personal but, alas, Adam Franklin just isn't the eye candy Richard Ashcroft is so we didn't take many photos. Sonically we were in awe, though. It was a great set even though Tatiana didn't get to hear "She weaves a tender trap" and I didn't get "Never lose that feeling." We went home quite satisfied and with massively ringing ears. Rock!

More Verve, Verve, Verve New Songs

Alright lovelies -

2 things:

Here are 3 clips from the show. 2 are of their new songs! And the ten second clip of "Already There" is pretty special because I requested it of Ashcroft in the lobby, when he introduced it too early he said, "Oh I ruined the surprise." We didn't actually think he was playing my request...even though he said "I hear there's some Storm In Heaven fans in the audience".

But upon looking through our show photos now, Detective Tatiana just realized that the song IS NOT on the set list we have... so basically, he did take her request and it was a surprise! SNAP! W0W!


New song... set list said "Disco"... we say, Verve meets New Order = magic



Sit And Wonder



Already There... gone wild.


More photos added here...

We Met Richard Ashcroft!!!!!

Hells yes!

Let me tell you my friends - we got something even the NME don't have from the sweat pit that was Coachella and that is exclusive photos and...video of the Verve's show and 2 new songs (the last one which is a herculean jam that sounds like Verve meets New Order) from their kick ass show in Las Vegas. We'll put it up until we get busted and it has to come down. :) 1,600 capacity crowd + air conditioning = we rule.

Judita is going to be posting about the show but we had a blast. When Tati ran into Richard in the lobby she requested a number of cuts off A Storm In Heaven. She also jumped around like a fraggle after he walked away. Before he played her request, "Already There" that night he said, "This is 'Already There' and...I think we have some Storm in Heaven fans in the audience." Tati will pretend he meant her.

Here are some photos, expect more coming as well as our reenactment of meeting Ashcroft (as we didn't get photos or autographs and what have you)! We're classy! ...and didn't have cameras handy. Your faithful detectives are the fine ladies using chopsticks below.

xo
the AF

Theanine Is Makin' Out With Caffeine

On the side of P.G. Tips tea boxes it boasts one of its selling points as being "your natural source of Theanine." That's fantastic... except... what the hell is Theanine? Is this a cultural mistranslation between the U.K. and the U.S. or is Theanine an actual nutrient or vitamin of some sort that the F.D.A. has cleverly suppressed knowledge of from my theanine-starved cells? Or... was I just not paying attention during health class in high school because I ditched fourth period to hang out with cute anarchists and listen to Morrissey. I don't know... but you know who does...

My ghetto sister, Wikipedia.
Let's go ring her up and see what she has to say...

"Theanine is an amino acid commonly found in tea (infusions of Camellia sinensis). Theanine is related to glutamine, and can cross the blood-brain barrier.^[1] Because it can enter the brain, theanine has psychoactive properties.^[2] Theanine has been shown to reduce mental and physical stress^[3], may produce feelings of relaxation^[4] and improves cognition and mood when taken in combination with caffeine."

Oh, that sounds nice. I bet Judita already knew that because she's doing a Master's in Nutrition... but guess what? She's in Costa Rica on vacation so instead you get me Wikipedia-ing like a ninja. Did you like how I just turned Wikipedia into a verb? That's the hard core investigative journalism you'll find here at the Anglo Files. I expect the NME to ring me up any moment and offer me a job.

Your natural source of Theanine,

Tatiana

Oh Russell Brand...

This is a story of how I met (but did not sleep with) Russell Brand...which will probably put me in the minority of women who post blogs about him.
--

I've seen some of Russell's comedy before online and was curious to observe him in person. His presenting style on T.V. is bizarre. He speaks so fast it's insane and it's hard to believe he's sober (and frightening to imagine what he would have been like if he wasn't). But the bottom line however, is that he is funny and very intelligent.

So, I went with another honorary member of the Anglo Files to see him perform this past Saturday at a little ass theatre in Hollywood. It held maybe 90 people and was very intimate although Russell conceded it wasn't large enough to hold his ego. Which was true.

I've waited several days to post this because I really wanted to sit with how I wanted to write about RB. I'm not really interested in being another smarmy blogger wanking their sarcasm all over their blogosphere in an effort to one up someone with my coolness (which is ironic anyhow because bloggers are geeks already by occupation). The evolution of contemporary criticism sees writers frequently esteeming themselves to a great degree and trashing all subjects but that is simply all a made up estimation of who we are and completely fake. So, I'm just going to try and be honest.

I feel that comedians don't have it as easy as writers because writers can craft things a bit more elaborately and while comedians might be good at embellishing they're generally funnier when telling the absolute truth... and that requires vulnerability and frequently, humiliation. One of the primary tenets when you study comedy is "tell the truth." The truth is what makes good stand up easy to identify with and ergo, funny. The audience ironically enough tends to disconnect from this fact though...

So, here was my dilemma. Russell's show was painfully honest. He talked about really embarrassing moments and how when he goes to sleep sometimes, is reminded of something embarrassing he did as a child and it still bothers him. He went off on random discussions about Derrida and Kant and then awkwardly explained who they were to the audience assuming a crowd in Hollywood probably doesn't know about post modernism and semiotics (I took offense at that personally and then realized... he was probably right). He repeated over and over how famous he is in the U.K. and how he hates not being famous in America because it just makes him look like some weird guy with big hair and he can't get laid as easily. And then, sex. I've never seen anyone as consumed by sex as Russell. And from the stories I've heard from people in L.A. he's been making the rounds... and rounds...

So he's saying all these things and they're very extremely funny and yet at the same time, I felt this overwhelming sense of sympathy for him. It was hard for me to view him as just some funny, wacky guy because he seems like the archetypal tragic comic figure. The ol' "tears of a clown" cliche. Who he is behind all the scissor tongued attacks on people, obsession with ego and trying to hump the leg of anything with breasts... I don't know... but I felt kind of worried about that person. Not in a pity way, like "Oh, poor rich guy..." but in a human way. There was just something there that struck a chord and made me sad.

But, as for meeting him... it was what you would expect. I tried to talk to him about Derrida after the show and he was quickly disinterested as he was transfixed by my friend's chest and tattoos (which makes sense as it is heaving and she has many). He immediately chatted her up and told her in no uncertain terms he'd like to get her away from myself and our other friend later as what he had in mind required "intimacy". I was shocked as I don't even think I've heard the cheeziest guido guy in L.A. pull a line out like that and yet, I was fully aware that Brand probably says this line every day... quite successfully.

Our other friend present works in the sex industry and remarked on our way out, "Girl, I wouldn't even sleep with that guy. At least porn stars have to get tested." And that is a telling commentary on the evening.

Here's the photo story of the night... Russel and me... and then Russell and my friend having a moment. :)

(RB and the flat chested writer)

(RB and well-proportioned hairdresser)