This week, I’m spicing things up and doing a weekly listen instead of the usual Weekly Watch. (This will be a rather short post as I’m currently in the stressful deadline period for my last year at uni!)
James Bay’s debut album, ‘Chaos and the Calm’, hit the shelves today and I’ve been listening to it as I’ve been working throughout the day so I thought I’d share my opinion.
This may be one of the most anticipated albums of the year after James Bay won the Critics Choice Award at this year’s BRIT awards and sold out his entire UK tour. It’s pretty impressive to sell out a tour before the release of the first album.
The single, ‘Hold Back The River’, received a remarkable reception and set James off to a great start in gaining support from the public and critics.
On to the album, it certainly has both the chaos and the calm as named. I was partially expecting this album to be slow ballads but there is a real change of tempo throughout the album.
James Bay has a beautiful voice which I have fell in love with. It’s soulful, powerful, soft, familiar and different all at the same time.
I think there is many relatable songs on this album, it is clear the lyrics are from the heart.
One of my favourite more upbeat songs is ‘Best Fake Smile’, which is not a style I was expecting from James Bay. Also, it has a brilliant name!
My favourite slower track is ‘Need the Sun to Break’. It really exposes his voice and shows how wonderful his voice is.
The only criticism I have of the album is James’ voice is pretty similar throughout, which is great if you fall in love with his voice like me, but if it isn’t your cup of tea then you’ll be disappointed with the entire album.
This album is definitely worth listen. I won’t say too much and let you judge for yourself! (Also, because I need to go back to writing essays!)
If you’ve not heard of James Bay yet… Have you been living underneath a rock? Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of him, go listen to the album now and you’re all caught up! Hope you enjoy the new music as much as I am.
Folk-pop duo, Hudson Taylor, took to the stage at Bristol’s Trinity Centre last night and wowed the audience with an impressive set.
The Irish duo is made up of brothers Alfie and Harry who are set to release their debut album, Singing for Strangers, on the 30th of March. Since 2012, Hudson Taylor have released a number of EPs including Battles, Cinematic Lifestyle, Osea and Weapons.
The sold-out show was full of surprises with guest appearances from singer-songwriter, Gabrielle Aplin, and support act, Jack Morris.
Hudson Taylor kicked off the show with ‘Just A Thought’ which features on their debut album, Singing For Strangers. The band went on to play their popular tracks ‘Weapons’ and ‘Second Best’, before introducing the audience to the new track ‘Don’t Tell Me’. The song had the audience dancing and Harry confessed that the “song is in danger of being too fun to play”.
The duo, accompanied by their band, played additional tracks that feature on the debut album including their next single, ‘World Without You’, ‘Wildfires’, ‘Trouble Town’ and ‘For The Last Time’.
Hudson Taylor also treated their fans to many of the popular songs from their EPs including ‘Called On’, ‘Chasing Rubies’, ‘Care’ and ‘Cinematic Lifestyle’.
Local to Bristol, singer-songwriter, Gabrielle Aplin, joined Hudson Taylor on stage to sing a beautiful rendition of ‘Beautiful Mistake’. Aplin, later returned to the stage with support act, Jack Morris, to sing ‘Don’t Know Why’, a bonus track from Singing For Strangers. The duet got the audience involved which created an electrifying atmosphere.
The band treated the audience to a completely acoustic version of ‘Holly’ by turning off the microphones to play to a memorised and silent audience. ‘Holly’ received a remarkable reception from the audience with huge cheers for the duo’s performance.
Hudson Taylor shook things up when playing ‘Stranger’ turned in to a cover of AC/DC’s ‘Back in Black’ that instantly got the audience singing along to the rock hit.
The Irish duo finished their set on ‘Drop of Smoke’ from the 2012 EP, Battles. The crowd sang their hearts out to the final song and Hudson Taylor received an incredible roar of cheers as they left the stage.
Hudson Taylor put on an exceptional and intimate show and are certainly one to watch after supporting some big names such as the Rolling Stones, Jake Bugg, Kodaline and The Script. The debut album, Singing for Strangers, is available to pre-order now.
This review is slightly different to my usual posts as I’m reviewing my first food and drink establishment. Tea on the Quay is a family owned tea room located in Mevagissey Harbour in Cornwall.
The views from Tea on the Quay are beautiful as it is situated along the harbour and is a perfect stop for a light lunch, coffee or a cake! Tea on the Quay is the perfect place to visit during a sunny day by the sea but also on a winter’s day when you want a hot drink to warm you up!
Mevagissey is a pretty village and fishing port near to St Austell and St Mawes in Cornwall, South West England. The village has a selection of cute shops including a sweet shop, arts and craft shops, a Cornish fudge shop and jewellers. Mevagissey is a perfect day trip where you can browse the shops, stroll across the harbour and visit Tea on the Quay.
Mevagissey Harbour
I visited Mevagissey Harbour with my family on the weekend and between us we sampled a variety of the cafe’s hot drinks and cakes. I ordered the hot chocolate deluxe and the chocolate sponge cake with chocolate ganache filling, strawberries and raspberries (chocolate overload!). This was a delicious combination if you’re a chocolate lover, the sponge was light and the filling was tasty.
My family opted for the less chocolatey option and had scones, victoria sponge cake, teas and coffees which they said were tasteful. The victoria sponge cake was light and mouth-watering and the fruit and plain scones were scrumptious.
Tea on the Quay also has a lunch menu including a selection of sandwiches, jacket potatoes, quiches and omelettes.
Tea on the Quay’s Hot Chocolate and Cake
You can take a look at their food gallery which shows off the wonderful foods you can taste at Tea on the Quay.
The staff were exceedingly friendly and their happy, bubbly personalities added something special to the atmosphere of the tea room. You get the sense of the close-knit family business which makes you feel like you’re spending your money in the right place.
I highly recommend visiting Tea on the Quay if you are near the area as it is a lovely tea room located in a beautiful harbouring village.
Tea on the Quay is open 10.30am to 6pm, Tuesday to Sunday, all year round. You can visit their website here.
Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?”
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith is a simple and romantic tale of young love.
Hadley is a typical teenage girl who is travelling from New York to London for her Dad’s wedding. The trip hits a bump in the road as she misses her flight by four short minutes but if she hadn’t she would have never met Oliver.
Oliver is an English boy, carrying out his studies in America, who is extremely likeable from the moment he offers to help Hadley with her luggage at the airport. He also happens to be on Hadley’s flight and they spend the many hours to come laughing, flirting and getting to know each other. Hadley opens up about the nature of her trip and about her relationship with her father. She tells him how she’s not seen him in over a year and never met his soon-to-be wife because she’s still angry about her parent’s divorce and her Dad’s move to London.
The pair have a wonderful bond as they land in London. Oliver kisses Hadley as they are about to get separated at border control and when they do, they have no way of getting in contact with each other again. Will they see each other again? Of course not! The flight is only the first half of their love story as they both go on wild goose chases round London to find each other.
The characters in the book are likeable characters and relatable to its young adult audience. Hadley is the fiesty but kind-hearted teenager and Oliver is the charming and funny young man. The reader could easily imagine themselves in the situation of the two lead characters.
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is an incredibly easy read which is short and sweet. This book is a light read which tells the tale of how two teenagers fall in love during a flight across the world. However, this book is not for you if you’re looking for a challenging read as there is not much complexity to the story, it is very predictable in places and the title says it all.
Details
Title: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion is a wonderful book which reminds us that love will find us when we’re least expecting it.
The book focuses on the life of Professor Don Tillman and his search for love. Don devises ‘The Wife Project’ by creating a questionnaire to find a suitable romantic match but when he keeps failing, he focuses his time to help his new friend Rosie find out who her father is.
Don Tillman is a thirty-nine year old geneticist professor who has trouble of getting to a second date in his love life due to his autism creating a lack of social skills. He has a resemblance to Sheldon Cooper from the American TV series, Big Bang Theory. As a lead character, he is very likeable and will have you feeling sympathetic towards him but also laughing hysterically.
Rosie is a Psychology student who has grown up never knowing her father. Rosie is a wild, unpredictable character who is the complete opposite of the protagonist, Don Tillman. She is an exciting and fascinating character who will have you wanting to read on.
The novel is incredibly well-written from the perspective of Don in an intellectual, concise and to the point manner. Although, the book feels repetitive at times, overall, the book is enticing from it’s likeable and intriguing characters.
The author, Graeme Simsion, is a full-time writer who previously worked as an international IT consultant and taught at four Australian universities.
The love story of Don and Rosie is unique, fun and heart-warming which tells a tale of how opposites really do attract! You can buy The Rosie Project from Amazon here.
The Rosie Effect, the sequel to the book,is due to be released on the 25th September so now is the perfect time to pick up a copy of The Rosie Project and have the next book ready and waiting for you!
Shrek the Musical left the West End and headed to Bristol with the green, fun-filled musical. The show embarked on two and a half weeks of shows at the Bristol Hippodrome and wowed the audience with an all-singing and all-dancing musical.
Shrek the Musical is based on the storyline of the Dreamworks animation film, Shrek, with the addition of new songs and wonderful costumes.
Visually, the show was a wonder to the eyes of the audience with numerous set changes each revealing a magical new set. The costumes added to the outstanding appearance of the show with bright coloured and creative outfits.
Photo courtesy of groupleisure.com
The cast included Dean Chisnall in the lead role of Shrek, Faye Brookes as the beautiful Princess Fiona, Idriss Kargbo as the hilarious Donkey and Gerard Carey as the extremely small Lord Farquaad.
The Dragon was captured perfectly on stage towering above everybody with her ruby skin and mesmerising eyes.
Photo courtesy of ATG Tickets
Photo courtesy of sheptonmalletjournal.co.uk
The popular character, the gingerbread man, was as funny and likeable as in the original film. The gingerbread man was voiced by the fairy and it was brilliant how the gingerbread man well-resembled his animated character.
The musical also featured Princess Fiona as a child who impressed the audience with her brave solo at such a young age.
The highlight of the show was the finale of the show where the cast sang ‘I’m a Believer’ which is the fun-loving song that features at the end of the film.
Shrek the Musical is undoubtedly cheesy but if you like the film, you’ll love the musical as it brings the story to life on the stage.
Shrek the Musical is the perfect theatre trip for the whole family with both children and adults enjoying the show. The tour now continues onto Nottingham, Belfast, Dublin and many other locations across the UK. If Shrek’s coming to a town near you, be sure not to miss it!
The line-up for Reading Festival 2014 was pretty impressive which resulted in a fully sold-out festival. If you’ve ever been to a festival you know you’ll have an amazing time by listening to some of your favourite music, meeting new people, having campfires and discovering new talents. Here’s a look at the music across the stages throughout the weekend:
Headliners
Friday night made history with the festival’s first co-headline sets from Paramore and Queens of the Stone Age. Paramore took to the stage first and wowed the audience with music from all four of their studio albums. The band put on an energetic performance with lots of confetti and flashing lights. Paramore faced a technical problem when the sound cut out during their set. This led to the magical moment of Hayley Williams singing ‘The Only Exception’ a cappella with the audience. The technical issue turned out to create the most unforgettable memory for the audience and the band with Hayley exclaiming “Oh my gosh, I’m never going to forget this”.
Queens of the Stone Age closed Friday night with lots of lasers and classic rock songs. The band played an amazing set but it felt like the connection with the audience was missing.
Arctic Monkeys headlined Saturday night and gathered possibly one of Reading Festival’s biggest crowds in history. The crowd went crazy for their old classics such as ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’ and ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’ but also went mad for the more recent songs from the number 1 album, AM. You can watch the band finish their set with ‘R U Mine?’ below:
Sunday night saw Blink-182 bring the festival to an end and had the crowd singing and dancing along. However, the American pop-punk band did not sound brilliant and were out of tune at times. This did not affect the audience who loved every minute of their performance and the show had a great atmosphere. Blink-182’s set was certainly fun and they had the audience laughing at their jokes.
Main Stage Acts
Jake Bugg played the main stage before Arctic Monkeys on Saturday night. He put on a remarkable performance as the sun set on Reading Festival. Bugg played many of his popular songs such as ‘Two Fingers’, ‘Me and You’ and ‘Lightning Bolt’.
You Me At Six played an energetic show on Sunday afternoon as they played songs from various albums. They welcomed Alex from All Time Low on stage to sing ‘Fresh Start Fever’ with them and to announce their UK co-headline tour taking place in February. The band as always were very grateful to play to such a large crowd on the main stage.
A Day To Remember played a brilliant rock show on Sunday performing many of their top hits including ‘The Downfall of Us’, ‘All Signs Point to Lauderdale’ and an acoustic version of ‘If It Means A Lot To You’. Lead singer, Jeremy McKinnon, got into a giant hamster ball and crowd-surfed during one of the songs in the middle of the set. Watch Jeremy in the giant hamster ball below:
NME/BBC Radio 1
Lead singer of My Chemical Romance, Gerard Way, made his debut solo performance on the NME/BBC Radio 1 Friday morning. A huge crowd formed for his debut performance, most likely hoping for a few MCR songs which never got played. The frontman play a great set on his own but all the songs were new and unknown so the audience weren’t able to sing along.
Bombay Bicycle Club played an amazing set on Saturday night and had a huge crowd gathered with the tent overflowing. The band welcomed Lucy Rose on stage to sing ‘Lights Out’ and ‘Wherever, Whenever’ and Rae Morris joined them on stage to sing ‘Luna’. Bombay Bicycle Club were magical as they lit up the tent with bright colours and amazing sounds. I’m sure it won’t be long before the band play the main stage.
Smaller Stages
Hudson Taylor played the Festival Republic Stage on Friday afternoon and played an amazing set to an overflowing tent. Hudson Taylor are a folk-pop band formed by two brothers from Ireland, who have built their fan base from posting videos on YouTube. The band had a large crowd come to watch them perform which is impressive considering they are yet to release their debut album. The band also made their first UK TV debut during the festival which you can watch below:
American rock band, Mayday Parade, took to the Festival Republic Stage on Sunday night and put on a great performance of their biggest hits, including ‘Jersey’, ‘Jamie All Over’ and ‘Three Cheers for Five Years’.. The band’s fans were there in force with the audience singing along with every word. The only downfall of the set was that it was not long enough to play all the songs the crowd wanted to hear.
Alternative Stage
The alternative stage offered entertainment away from the music with many comedians performing stand-up comedy.
Bill Bailey was hilarious and incorporated music into his comedy on Friday afternoon. The comedian, who is best known for his role in Black Books, had the audience in stitches as he told jokes and played variations of songs, such as singing Miley Cyrus’ ‘Wrecking Ball’ in German and Lady Gaga’s ‘Poker Face’ in a West Country accent. The Alternative Stage tent was rammed full with people laughing.
Bill Bailey. Photo courtesy of Viagogo.
Seann Walsh. Photo courtesy of Reading Festival.
Seann Walsh took to the stage on Sunday and put on a humorous show about living with his girlfriend. The stand-up comedy was relatable to the audience with many people laughing and nodding in agreement. Seann Walsh made his first comedy performance in 2007 and went on to win Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year within two years.
Reading 2014 was a remarkable year for the festival and will be tough to top in 2015!
Russell Howard in the limelight. Photo courtesy of digitalspy.co.uk
Stand-up comedian, Russell Howard, took to the stage at Bristol Zoo Gardens on Saturday Night. He put on a hilarious performance and the show was worth every penny.
The zoo is not a conventional venue for stand-up comedy but it certainly was a good one with ticket holders having the opportunity to visit the animals beforehand. The unique night was named ‘Giggle for Gorillas’ in aid of raising money for Gorilla conservation.
Russell Howard is a stand-up comedian from Bristol who is well known for his TV show ‘Russell Howard’s Good News‘ and his many appearances on ‘Mock the Week‘.
The night was held together by Mark Olver who had the audience laughing throughout as he filled the gaps between the stand-up acts. Olver is well-known as a television warm-up act and has worked on many shows including Bristol’s very own Deal or No Deal, 8 out of 10 Cats, Vicar of Dibley and Jonathan Ross. He bounced off the audience’s energy and had every person hysterically laughing.
Howard was joined by a variety of comedic guests including Steve Williams, comedian and fellow writer of ‘Russell Howard’s Good News’. The welsh funny-man made jokes the audience could relate to about everyday life and his home town of Newport.
Steve Hall also joined the line-up with a focus on his childhood and a slideshow to accompany him. Hall was hilarious and had the audience giggling away.
George Rigden also took to the stage with his guitar and jokes. He began with a comedic song, told some jokes in the middle and even attempted to woo a lady in the audience by singing her a funny love song.
When it was Russell Howard’s time to headline, the audience went wild and he did not disappoint by having the audience laughing until they cried. A large focus of the comedy was on his family including pulling pranks on his Mum, his younger brother running round Naked as a child and going on holiday with his mum.
Russell is clearly a down to earth man who has a love for his home town of Bristol and his family. He was hilarious and lived up to his witty appearance on TV.
Howard returned to the stage for an encore which resulted in unrehearsed jokes with the audience. Mark Olver jumped into the crowd with a microphone so the banter could be heard by all. It was a great way to finish the show and really involved the audience.
Russell Howard is about to embark on four sold-out nights at the Bristol Hippodrome and Bristol Zoo Gardens was the perfect place to warm-up for his Bristol shows. If you’re lucky enough to have a ticket, you are in for a funny treat!
“I’ll tell you what happened because it will be a good way to introduce my brother. His name’s Simon. I think you’re going to like him. I really do. But in a couple of pages he’ll be dead. And he was never the same after that.”
The blurb had me hooked before I even opened the book itself. Although, it does not tell you much about the novel’s topic, it does certainly intrigue the reader.
The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer is a heart rendering tale of Matthew Holmes’ struggle with mental illness. The ‘COSTA Book of the Year’ winner is written from the perspective of the mentally ill main character and focuses on the death of the narrator’s brother. It unchronologically follows Matthew Holmes from his childhood until his young adult years.
The novel is incredibly well-written, easy to read and will have you hooked throughout. The Shock of the Fall will perfectly capture a mixture of your emotions from shocked to humoured and sad to emotional.
The style of writing and tone has a resemblance to Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time which makesThe Shock of the Fall personal and makes you feel like you know Matthew Holmes.
The Shock of the Fall is the first novel written by author, Nathan Filer, who is a registered mental health nurse and performance poet who regularly contributes to literary events. Filer also lectures at Bath Spa University for the Creative Writing course.
The book is based in the city of Bristol and for locals refers to many famous streets and attractions. As a Bristolian, it was relatable and created a sense of knowing. However, if you’re not familiar with Bristol it will not in anyway make the book less enjoyable. The book is an amazing read from anywhere in the world.
The Shock of the Fall is an incredibly well-written book which is a gripping read that will have you on the edge of your seat. You can pick up a copy of the book here.
Lee Evans under the spotlight. Picture courtesy of theartsdesk.com.
Comedian, Lee Evans, took to Bristol’s Colston Hall for two nights of comedy to warm-up for his upcoming tour. The Bristol-born funny man had the audience in stitches as he tried out his new material on Friday and Saturday night.
Lee Evans is known for his energetic performances, excessive sweating and comic impressions. The show did not disappoint as the comedian delivered a standing-ovation performance and made it worth every penny with the comedy rolling for over two hours.
Evans was overwhelmed with the audience’s reception and shared his love of how he loves to perform at the Colston Hall and in the city he was born in.
The audience went wild for his impression of the Bristolian accent and his use of the city’s slang!
Lee Evans takes everyday, normally boring topics and makes them hilarious. Each audience member can relate to the jokes and the comedian himself.
Even though, Evans was reading from notes throughout his performance with just him, a microphone and a table, this did not take anything away from the comedic value and it showed that his talent can shine on its own.
The fresh material proved to be a success as the audience cried with laughter. If you’ve got tickets to his Monsters tour later this year then you’re in for a real treat!
Intuitive Mind 