Wimbledon 2009

Made the yearly pilgramage to Wimbledon on the first monday this year. Got tickets in the ballot for the 5th year running, pretty lucky really. This was the first time i have been in the first week, overall impression was good, there is so much going on in the first week. Left Cardiff on the national express that smelt rather strongly of pee at 6.30 and got into earls court in good time, a slight setback caused by getting on the wrong train but we managed to get into southfields just before 10.30, there was a huge buzz walking down wimbledon park road, and we were eager to get into the grounds. Headed over to the practice courts first where we watched Feliciano Lopez and Janko Tipsarevic hit for a bit, and spotted Fernando Gonzalez. I was dissapointed after Nadal had pulled out, to discover that most of my favourite players were playing on the tuesday, however this was soon set aside as i discovered that Amelie Mauresmo would be at the signing tent later in the day. So we decided to head over to court 3 which was jam packed to watch James Blake and Andreas Seppi, we stood on court 3 for the first set, which was very tight and competitive, Seppi took it 7-5, and we then headed over to some of the other outside courts. We watched a little bit of Zheng on court 7 and Kohlschreiber v Serra on court 4. Then we headed over to see one of my favourit players Guillermo Garcia Lopez on court 10, he played Calleri, who seemed more interested in his wife and little girl sitting courtside than the match, Guillermo was excellent, and deserved the win. We watched a tiny bit of Mirza v Groenfeld, and then decided to head back over to the practice courts. Watched Juan-Martin Del Potro practice and then got his autograph, he's actually a really nice guy and signed loads of autographs. He comes across as a bit of a muppet when i have seen him on tv before, but hes a genuinally nice bloke. Canas was also practicing, he was less willing to sign autographs. We were then very lucky with a stream of top players who came out, Robby Ginepri finished his practice, and as one of my favourite players i was delighted to get his autograph. Tommy Haas who is a top guy then followed, though he preceeded to sign over my ginepri autograph!! Tomas Berdych, Lleyton Hewitt and Juan-Carlos Ferrero and Nicolas Lapentti soon followed, and as one of my all time faves i was really pleased to get Ferrero's autograph. We then got in the queue for the signing tent which after we joined got pretty massive. Then spotted Patty Schnyder, but as i was in the queue could not get her autograph :( Meeting Amelie was awesome, i nearly tripped over the carpet which was of great amusement to both me and her, i then congratulated her on the Paris Indoors tournament which she seemed pleased about, and had a brief chat about her playing doubles with Sveta, she was lovely as always, and i got a great pic with her, which I will probably never remove from my facebook profile pictures. I don't know how much longer Ame is going to play on for, but the tour will be a poorer place when she does decide to call it quits. We then caught a little bit of Zvonareva practicing, and headed over to watch some of Mardy Fish's match, he was really excellent, playing great. By this point Federer (Who i actually cannot stand) had finished on centre court, so we headed over there to watch Serena. Met Patrick McEnroe on the upper levels of centre court, he had just finished commenting, i got his autograph, he was a lovely guy. The centre court roof looks amazing, really incredible. We then watched Serena who was really excellent, although credit to Neuza Silva who made the second set a really tight one. We stayed on centre to watch Novak Djokovic versus Julien Benneteau, the first set was a real tight one, high quality, not that the people who were asleep behind me knew anything about it. Benneteau took the set on a tiebreak, and we decided to have a walk around the outside courts. We watched a fair bit of Andreev v Korolev which was a really good match. We then headed over to watch some of Tommy Robredo, he dropped the set we watched, but got an early break in the 4th, and there was a nice little Vamos and fist pump to go with it. Watched a teeny bit of Canas and then headed to get some food, we decided that we had better eat in wimbledon as we didnt have time to head down to the village before our bus. So we grabbed some pizza, the mushroom medley was very nice, and of course we had some strawberries as well, no cream though, not a fan! We ate our pizza watching Marin Cilic on court 7, he was looking very good. We then watched a bit of Tommy Haas on court 3, and a bit of Frank Dancevic who sadly no longer has his 'fro and a bit of Sam Querrey who is a really nice guy. Then we discovered that Patty Schnyders match which was tba had been put on court 12 so we raced over there, and caught the first set, Patty was not playing particularly well and seemed not in the best of moods, we had to leave after the first set, but i wasn't too hopeful about her chances of turning the match around. We caught the tube back to Victoria where sadly Krispy Kream was closed!! *Gutted* We then caught the bus back to cardiff, we had some delays as the m4 was closed between some junctions so it did take a while to get back. All in all it was a fantastic day, i hate leaving Wimbledon as i always want to stay and go for the next day and the next. Its a special place, i don't know if i will be going next year as i might not be in the country, but i will definitely be back at some point, and i for one cannot wait.

Bonnie "Prince" Billy- "Beware'

‘Beware’ is the 8th solo release from Will Oldham’s alter-ego, Bonnie “Prince” Billy. It is perhaps his most ambitious record to date, yet is also a move towards the mainstream.

‘Beware’ is an extremely dense and layered piece of work, fueled by a mixture of alt-country, folk and Americana. It is filled with songs that refuse to fit into set categories, as they shift from a mood of light to dark, strangely evoking both joy and deep agonizing despair.

This album sees Oldham implement a wide range of instrumentation, with opener ‘Beware Your Only Friend’ setting the stage, with its use of sweeping fiddles and female choir. Mostly the wide range of instrumentation on ‘Beware’ complements Oldham’s vocal, though at times the large array of additional vocals tend to swamp Oldham, and he becomes slightly lost amongst them.

Considering the title of the album and the titles of some of the songs you would expect ‘Beware’ to sound very melancholic. As expected, Oldham serves up beautiful lyrics, but they are wrapped in sweeping country melodies and gaudy instrumentation, which is incredibly jarring.

One of the most poignant tracks on the album ‘There Is Something I Have To Say’ takes a more stripped down sound and pares it with Oldham’s lyrics, to leave a hauntingly beautiful song. In complete contrast is next track ‘I Am Goodbye’ which comes along with its jolly country. This is one of the main problems with ‘Beware’, the really good songs lose poignance because what comes either side of them is so cheesy and over the top.

‘Beware’ is an intriguing piece of work, but the problem is that it is not bleak enough, and it lacks an edge. The overall themes of separation and longing dressed up in such gaudy country arrangement just don’t work.

It is ultimately the most stripped down songs on the album, like “I Won’t Ask Again’ which work best. They are still layered but in a way that drives the songs along, rather than assaulting your ears with over arrangement.

‘Beware’ is an ambitious piece of work, but one which doesn’t live up to Oldham’s previous high standards, i’d recommend sticking to his back catalogue.

6/10.

Earth Hour

Blacked out for Earth Hour last night...good to see quite a lot of people getting involved in this.

Pure Reason Revolution- 'Amor Vincit Omnia'

‘Amor Vincit Omnia’- Love Conquers All- is the second release from the hugely talented Pure Reason Revolution. Fans of their first album ‘The Dark Third’ may struggle to recognise the band, as the sound is vastly different from their prog-rock debut.

‘Amor Vincit Omnia’ is light on guitar and extremely heavy on electronic sound. It contains hypnotic melodies and harmonies in abundance. The album is beautifully crafted, every song is layered and meticulously put together, with elements and themes repeated throughout, resulting in an extremely cohesive work.

The change in direction is clear from the outset with the electro-pop opener ‘Les Malheurs’, it’s nothing original, but is a solid track and the album really picks up after this. ‘Apogee/Requiem for the Lovers’ is one of the highlights, showcasing the bands talent for creating haunting melodies; it ends with a beautiful a cappella section. Though the guitar is absent for large chunks of the album, the best tracks like ‘Deus ex Machina’ mix the older guitar riffs with the newer experimental sound. The low point of the album is ‘Disconnect’, which really stands out from the darker moodier work that goes before and after it. ‘The Gloaming’, is an epic track, clocking in at over 9 minutes, it’s beautifully layered and unites the bands prog-past with their experimental present. ‘AVO’ ends the album on a triumphant high, it starts with a beautiful piano hook, and builds to the band repeatedly chanting Amor Vincit Omnia, its haunting, and stays with you for a long time after you’ve heard it.

This album is not ‘The Dark Third’, this is Pure Reason Revolution evolving and growing, sure they may shed some fans with their change in direction, but they are equally likely to gain more with this new sound. It’s a beautifully put together album and one that benefits from listening from beginning to end.
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Pimp My Mower

It emerged today that Leicestershire council have fitted their lawnmowers with sat nav which helps their gardeners find where the grass is too long...Im sorry but have they lost the ability to actually go and check themselves...ridiculous, waste of money.

Can the Coen Brothers Do No Wrong?

Coens have made a short advertisement about the myth of clean coal...brilliant.

Spirit of Fight Club Alive

With this prank it appears there are still some people out there (thankfully) who are willing to make a stand against corporate capitalism, greed and corruption.