Live Review: McBusted @ Motorpoint Arena, Sheffield

After a hugely successful performance at the Royal Albert Hall for McFly's tenth anniversary concert, fans have been clamoring for a reunion between Busted and McFly, and the boys didn't disappoint. Announcing a full UK arena tour last November, excitement has been building as shows across the country sold out and McBusted added more dates to the tour to keep up with the phenomenal demand. Fans had been promised a shamelessly nostalgic set with a few surprises thrown in, and that was certainly what was delivered.

The Motorpoint Arena, Sheffield, was bursting with excitable fans and first to grace them were Young Brando. They performed a set of their own material and the enthusiastic lead vocalist dominated the stage showing bags of potential.

The following support group, EofE weren't dissimilar. They opened their set with a cover of Michael Jackson's ‘Billie Jean’ that was well received by the audience and their original songs proved equally popular.

Third support, the 3 Dudes, consisted of three fresh-faced American boys, who were floppy-haired, energetic and had a clear passion for performing. Their performance was not as slick as the previous bands but they definitely gave it their all.

Photo credit: Topher Winward

Finally McBusted burst on stage with a larger-than-life stage presence, opening with ‘Air Hostess’, one of Busted's biggest hits. The arena filled with screams as they quickly followed with ‘You Said No’, a tale of teenage rejection, and ‘Britney’, inspired by former member Charlie Simpson's obsession with Britney Spears.

Although it's been ten years since the boys last toured together, the six band members don't seem to have aged at all. James Bourne sported ripped jean-shorts covered in Marvel comic book patches whilst Tom Fletcher had a snapback hat tucked in his belt loops. Their boyish charm captured the hearts of the audience demonstrating how many ways they haven't changed at all.

The band surprised the audience with an on screen film skit where they acted as victims of an alien invasion before descending from the top of the arena on a UFO, glow in the dark guitars in hand. They performed McFly favourite ‘Star Girl’ which received a huge response from the audience, dancing and singing along.

McBusted treated the audience to a slightly rockier version of Jackson 5's ‘I Want You Back’ with Bourne taking the lead on the vocals, and Matt Willis and Danny Jones accompanied him with a typically cheesy, yet entertaining and refreshing, boy-band dance.

‘Crashed the Wedding’ saw an avalanche of heart-shaped confetti launched over the audience as well as Willis donned in a wedding dress - similar fashion to Busted's original music video. This took the audience right back to 2003 when the song was first released delivering a sense of nostalgia that many of the fans had been craving.

The show ended where it all began with ‘Year 3000’ and there couldn't have been a more fitting ending. There was a great mix of both Busted and McFly songs, and the lively tunes left the audience grinning from ear to ear.

Despite concerns that the show would be a little bit too cheesy, it was close to flawless; the vibrant personalities of the boys shone through as well as their musical talent, which made the whole experience even more enjoyable. The tongue-in-cheek humour and boyish gags could have made even the most cynical person giggle. And let’s be honest, how often do you go to a concert and see a guy in a wedding dress, huge inflatable balls bouncing over the audience, and a giant trio of boobs above the stage?

Words by Sian Abbott

Theatre Review: West Side Story

As we rushed in to the Drama Studio to escape a dismal Wednesday evening, we were immediately welcomed with the low overture of the orchestra; an uplift to spirits in itself as well as an exciting setting for the evening’s tone. Finding our seats in the cosy theatre having been greeted by a number of performers in character, we were now eager with anticipation. We were not about to be disappointed.

A Sheffield University Performing Arts Society production, West Side Story, a spin on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet has long been a cult musical in itself. The story centres on a controversial relationship amidst a fierce race-based gang rivalry in 1950s New York; which in typical Shakespearean fashion, involves a significant amount of tragedy along the way. Whilst classics such as this are safe bets for drawing crowds in, they are seldom as simple when it comes to ensuring that the well-known story is still told in a refreshing and relevant way. Thankfully SUPAS managed to achieve this, and then some. The cast were brilliant, making the traditional story very funny with what seemed like little effort. A personal highlight was the performance of the satirical song ‘Gee Officer Krupkee’ from American gang ‘The Jets’, which was carried out with impressive skill, paying homage to the tongue in cheek nature of the film’s version whilst managing to make it their own.

Having never attended a SUPAS event in the past, we were unaware and therefore pleasantly impressed to find the calibre of the actors to be extremely high, and were particularly enthralled with the well-rounded performance of Naomi Bailey as Puerto Rican migrant Anita. However, it wasn’t just the performers whose talent shone through. The orchestra were phenomenal and contributed significantly to the overall feel of the play, causing tension in the right places and creating the incredible songs that made the entire show, a backing track couldn’t possibly have competed. It was also evident that the choreography was extremely well designed and rehearsed; the dances were exciting and professional. ‘Dance at the Gym’, a dance off between the two gangs found to be particularly entertaining, a light-hearted piece before the serious side to the story comes into full swing.

It was clear from beginning to end that not only were SUPAS very talented, but that they were enjoying it as much as the audience were, which only made the whole experience more gratifying.   Leaving the studio singing, the grim weather quickly reminded us that we were back in rainy Sheffield. Never has the tune ‘I like to be in America’ been sung so emphatically. Suffice to say two hours in 1950s New York had been a blast.  

Words by Emily Griffiths

Film Review: Transcendence

The debut film by Wally Pfister, best known as the cinematographer on all of director Christopher Nolan’s films, including Inception and The Dark Knight, Transcendence stars Johnny Depp as Dr. Will Castor, a leading computer scientist, who along with his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall), specialises in the study of artificial intelligence. Predicting a breakthrough on their creation of a sentient super-computer with the ability to change the world and achieve ‘transcendence’, he is fatally injured during an assassination attempt by a radical anti-technology terrorist group, fearing the impact such a machine will have.

With Will dying, Evelyn frantically works to upload his consciousness onto their experimental computer, causing it to develop its own self-awareness based upon his conscious mind. The grieving Evelyn uploads the computer-Will to the internet, where it starts to grow and spread.

Director Wally Pfister and the cast of Transcendence at the Los Angeles premiere.

It’s easy to see that Pfister is covering similar territory to his work with Nolan. It’s an extremely serious and humourless film, combining a sci-fi love story with a cautionary tale about the dangers of technology. The script ponders some interesting concepts about what it is to be human, and the potential of technology to improve our lives, but poses them in a muddled script which never develops much sense of threat or tension. Will’s growing power is hinted at but never fully explored, making the film feel surprisingly small and uninvolving.

As such, most of the film takes place in bare white labs, offices or deserts, in which characters discuss issues of the philosophy of technology. The plot mostly concerns how the two opposing sides of the debate prepare for the inevitable, but ultimately underwhelming, big finale, leaving the film to feel like essentially a long montage.

The relationship between Will and Evelyn should really be the main focus of the film, with her questioning whether she can love a human-like machine, and indeed, if that computer even is Will. But their loving marriage never comes across as especially convincing or engaging. It may be Depp is doing an excellent job of playing an emotionless computer, but he comes across as being perpetually bored in a rather flat performance. Hall tries her best, mixing grief with intelligent determination, but the script limits her scope.

The film looks good, with a controlled gaze and nice shots of desert ghost towns and vast fields of solar panels. But visuals alone aren’t enough to make up for a film which ultimately feels pretty dreary. With its fears of global technological threat, I couldn’t help thinking of Transcendence as being like a less involving or entertaining version of The Terminator. If you want to see a better film about human relationships with technology, then you should definitely watch Her, a charming, funny, believable and overall touching film about modern love.
 

Overall, whilst it is admirable that Transcendence considers some complex questions, it comes at the expense of making an exciting and memorable thriller.

Words by Patrick Lavin

Live review: Brody Dalle, The Beaches @ Leadmill, Sheffield

Brody Dalle, former front woman of thunderous punk band The Distillers, stopped off in Sheffield on her brief UK tour to support her new album ‘Diploid Love’.

Source: NME

Opening the show were Canadian girl band The Beaches. Despite their teenage years, the four-piece boldly tore through their set as if they’d been touring for decades. Highlighted best by the song ‘Little Pieces’, the band produce a formidable alt-rock sound, drawing inspiration from the likes of Band of Skulls and The White Stripes. Their EP ‘Heights’, due out next month, is worth looking into.

Main act of the night Brody Dalle, who coincidently was hiding former Distillers guitarist Tony Bevilacqua amongst her band for the evening, fittingly chose to open her set with new song ‘Rat Race’. I say fittingly because of the line ‘I’m going to burn this city down’ which she basically did, or left some Sheffield natives with burnt out vocal chords at the very least.

Her new material, slightly more subtle on record, was properly thrashed at. ‘Meet the Foetus/Oh the Joy’ in particular was given universal approval by the packed out Leadmill crowd. Other new songs such as ‘Don’t Mess With Me’ and ‘Underworld’ fit in to the set as if they were Distillers classics, whilst ‘Parties for Prostitutes’ complimented the heavier material nicely.

The Distillers classics made up the majority of the set, much to the delight of the crowd. It’s been eight years since The Distillers broke up so, despite the quality of Brody’s new material, renditions of ‘Sick of it All’ and ‘Dismantle Me’ brought out a cry of ecstasy from the crowd that couldn’t be matched.

Completing the set list, as well as a cover of ‘Hybrid Moments’ by The Misfits, was ‘Ghetto Love’ from Brody’s previous project Spinnerette. This, a more danceable track than others, was introduced with the words ‘Dance with me, I’m not going to dance for you.’ Quite right.

Overall the set was exhilarating. There are many punk bands around today, but none of them quite like The Distillers, and none of them with anyone like Brody. We just hope she comes back to tour again.

Brody Dalle’s new album is out now and can be heard here.

Words by Jamie Doherty

Single review: 'Abyssinia' by Screaming Maldini

Following on from ‘Soweto’ and ‘Bearings’, ‘Abyssinia’ is the third release from Screaming Maldini’s yearlong #monthlymaldiniXII project, which will see the band release a new song every month.

The song itself is much darker than the previous two releases. The dance-pop beat of ‘Soweto’ and sunny timbres from ‘Bearings’ have been replaced by a more sombre, stripped back arrangement – culminating in a brooding climax of trumpets where lead singer Gina cries “Are we there?” Although not exactly infectious pop music, the song still makes compelling listening through its emotive nature.

Even if it’s just through their slightly quirky instrumentation, Screaming Maldini always manage to make their music interesting and this is no exception.

What did you think of the new track? Comment below and let us know!

Words by Jamie Doherty

Film Review: The Other Woman

‘The Other Woman’ tells the story of Carly (played by Cameron Diaz), an ambitious New York lawyer whose cynicism towards the ideas of true love and monogamy are finally swayed when she meets bad boy Mark (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). However her happiness is short-lived when a surprise visit to his home goes horribly wrong and she discovers that he is married.

Source: TalkBacker

Scorned wife Kate (Leslie Mann) finds her whole world crashing around her when she realises that the woman standing on her doorstep is in fact her husband’s mistress. She leans on Carly for support and their heartbreak becomes the foundation of their relationship as “the weirdest friends ever.” To add insult to injury, the women soon discover that there is a third lady in love rat Mark’s life, the beautiful Amber (Kate Upton), and between the three of them, “The Lawyer, the Wife and the Boobs”  hatch a plan for revenge on the man who played them all.

L-R - Leslie Mann, Kate Upton, Cameron Diaz. Source: Huffington Post

Although the plot is arguably predictable and a little bit cliché, this film is a really easy watch and would be perfect for a girly night in. Diaz and Mann’s characters are the perfect counterparts of each other; the sassy career girl with ice queen tendencies, and the sweet, loveable wife, albeit a bit dippy. Mann in particular excels herself in her performance, sparking off Diaz with ease and providing moments of comedic genius thanks to her character’s ditzy personality. Her moments of humour are balanced by glimpses of vulnerability, which are played beautifully, tugging at the heartstrings and reminding you that she still has the devastation of a broken marriage to deal with.

Upton’s character, although likeable, is very much disposable. Amber’s naivety and girl-next-door charm makes her endearing, and her obvious beauty is appealing to male viewers, but her character is comparatively dull. This is a shame when so much more could have been done with her personality. She doesn’t really contribute much to the trio or the plot of the film, and even without her, Diaz and Mann would have worked perfectly on their own.

Source: OnTheRedCarpet

Although it is clear that there has been an attempt at a message of ‘girl power’, it is seemingly feeble and doesn’t really hit home unless you’re really looking for a moral of the story. Although women everywhere relish the idea of reaping revenge on men who have broken their hearts, the fact that the triage of women seem to devote every waking moment on their plot against Mark seems to contradict the point that the film is trying to get across, and it certainly drives wife Kate towards a mental breakdown.

While ‘The Other Woman’ isn’t the most memorable rom-com, I certainly found it an enjoyable watch. The glamorous settings of New York and Miami along with the sophisticated characters made the film pleasing to the eye, and the regular bursts of comedy moments made the story flow well without there being any lulls of tediousness. There’s even a bit of toilet humour thrown in (literally) to cater for the dozens of bored-looking boyfriends who have been dragged along to see yet another chick flick.

Source: Brunch News

Overall, ‘The Other Woman’ is fantastic for its target audience and definitely worth a trip to the cinema if you’re looking for a light-hearted, girly film.

Words by Sian Abbott