Sitting Down

1. 'It Might Get Loud'

This was the final planned Film Fest outing. I met Sam at the Embassy. After initial confusion over seats (C10 didn't actually exist - the usher thought maybe it was because of the orchestra being set up and some seats being removed.... but then I realised I was just looking at an old ticket stub...... oops .... blame the hangover). Our actual seats were great - pretty much centre of the front row of the nice seats.

This doco was about Jimmy page (Led Zep), The Edge (U2) and Jack White (White Stripes etc) and their experiences with guitars, particularly electric ones.

It worked. It was lovely and I had a permanent smile on my face, right from the opening credits (which were extreme closeups, tracking along the bodies of guitars, focusing on the curves and details). I don't know how long it was, but I could've watched more - wasn't getting even remotely antsy by the time it ended. I'd get the DVD and watch the bonus footage.

The three of them are all interesting personalities, great storytellers and likable. The doco would go between each of their individual stories (starting right back when they got their first beloved guitar and discovered the blues or rock, to when they formed their first bands and discovered their own sounds, to the creation of some of their key licks and rock-anthems). Then it would cut to an intimate meeting between the three of them, where it was just them in an empty studio, sitting on a couch, with a few guitars, having a chat.

They would each explain one of their 'tricks' and then the others would join in, creating a three-guitar jam session. It was pure joy! The three of them were just so curious about how things worked and it was a bit of a love-fest. They were all those kids who liked to figure out how things worked - Jimmy Page built a guitar from scratch as a teenager. Sam and I liked how Jack White was trying to act pretty cool, but when Jimmy Page was leaning in and listening to him explain a bit of one of his songs, he had this cute little smile on his face that showed he was getting a massive kick out of the whole thing.

The three of them were fairly perfectly chosen - you had the three different generations of music represented.

Jimmy was the early rocker, coming out of a skiffle background, being an early session-player and then forming one of the best guitar bands ever. His style is less about creating distortion or effects, more about putting delicate details and trills into it. But he can't sing. There was footage of him as a young teenager, playing about two chords in a skiffle band in a variety show, and when the host asked what he wanted to do, young James Page earnestly said he thought he might be a biological researcher.

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Then there's Edge, coming out of the punk era, where they just wanted to strip everything back. He went right back to his old high school, where the band was formed, and the doco touched on some of the political turmoil in Belfast and Ireland at the time. The Edge was the one who is a master of taking a simple progression and turning it into something completely different through effects. It showed him jamming on his own in his studio right on the waterfront, and he had masses of pedals and buttons at his feet, which he cycled through with ease. He's quite a lovely, funny character. It was nice to see him in the spotlight, with Bono just coming into shot every now and then, but never the focus. And he can sing! He was the technician of the three, using technology to create sounds that were in his head, but which he struggled to reproduce with just the guitar.

Jack White was the raw talent. He explained his relationship with instruments as a battle to tame them. He liked getting a guitar with a bent neck and trying to force something good out of it. He went right back and showed us the blues album with an old black guy singing with no accompaniment other than his own clapping, and said that's still his favourite song ever. It was quite haunting. But you can see it really coming through in some of his songs. I liked when he explained how the White Stripes came about - it was from him wanting to do this stripped back blues style music, in a time when everyone in his neighbourhood was into hiphop and electronic music. He saw Meg banging away on the drums, like a caveman, and thought, 'Bingo!' - that's the image to base the band around. Even in the doco he had a more avant guarde (?), constructed persona - never quite as sure of who he actually is. There were moments where he seemed genuine, but even the more 'artistic' bits with him were always interesting. And he was balanced out by the other two.

It was just quite gorgeous. Good graphics, nicely shot, interesting editing.... and genuine moments. And music! Good music. You just couldn't help but share in the pure joy that the three men obviously still get from creating music.

We had coffee and food at The Craftsman across the road afterwards. It is becoming one of my favourite places for a cosy low-key chat in the afternoon. I caught sight of their old-school games cabinet and might have to go back and try some of them out (Connect Four, Guess Who, Ludo).

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2. It Might Get Slow - The Ballet

I don't know if I've ever been to an actual ballet. I certainly can't recall any experiences. I took ballet as a 6 year old - but discovered it was intensely boring (at that age, all were doing was pointing our toes and skipping in circles). Perhaps there was a realisation that my body was not at all suited for such delicate pursuits.

Anyhow, somewhere deep inside my past is that girlhood desire to be a ballerina. It's in most of us.

So, me and my two female flatmates donned some girly clothes to go to the ballet. We entered the lobby and it was all quite busy feeling, People were loitering about, glass of wine in hand, dressed in their finery. There were actually ladies in sequins. There were some gorgeous boots and dresses. There was the odd man, obviously being a dutiful boyfriend/husband, but on the whole it was older ladies and tween-aged girls.

The bells started to go, which was quite fun. Time to start! We ascended the stairs to our circle seats. We were quite amazed at high how up we were - and how steeply the stairs and seats rose. I think when you enter the St James there always a moment of awe as you're transported to an older era. You have to stop and take in the details on the roof and wonder what it would be like sitting in the box-seats at the front, behind the velvet curtains.

The first act started. And my enthusiasm quickly dropped.

I thought maybe I was just uncultured, but after literally half an hour of nothing much happening.... I was quite frustrated. There was no set, no lighting effects. Just a bare stage with ten or so fairly plainly costumed ballerinas taking turns having solos or small group dances, while the rest stood about watching. There was no real acting. And it just went on and on. No storyline.

They bowed about three times, then the lights went on. After a few seconds holding back, we turned to each other and said, 'That was it????' We were all fairly disappointed. It had been half an hour, it was already the interval, and almost nothing had happened. All we had enjoyed was the muscles in the guys' legs, the way the ballet skirts swished and lifted as they danced and the orchestra music itself.

We started to get quite cynical, especially when the lights finally went back out and the orchestra started playing..... but the curtains remained closed for the entire first song. We thought maybe it was a conceptual ballet and we actually had to just imagine what would be going on if we could see the ballerinas. We were on the verge of becoming hecklers, our whispers and sniggers getting louder.

But then the curtains opened and it was more what we had expected. There was a massive, fairy-tale set, lighting effects, themed costumes... and a fairy! Finally! This section was fun - with a story, interactions, humour, beautifully choreographed group dances.

We're still not sure what the first third of the show was all about - it bore little relevance to the rest of it. Afterwards we were watching some credits in the lobby, and there was a bunch of ballerinas under a differently titled show.... maybe it was actually nothing to do with the rest of the ballet? We are still clueless, as we didn't have a programme.

[Upon further research I have discovered it was merely highlights of the choreography from another ballet written by the same guy - kinda mashed together with no storyline - makes more sense. We had actually made up our own story of how it worked as a part of the actual ballet..... that's what you get for not buying a programme!]

The last third dragged a little, with too much fairy-dance for my liking and a very drawn-out process of the fairy being afraid to actually touch the lead male.... so they chased each other tentatively across the stage again and again and again. Then she let him catch her, her wings fell off.... and she died. That all happened very quickly. She, by the way, was disturbingly thin, with her ribs sticking out alarmingly, though it did help me keep track of which fairy she was.

Anyhow...... the last two thirds were fun. I think overall I prefer a good play or musical, but it was nice for a change. The most fun bit was the people-watching we did between acts. Some odd characters go to the ballet.

Maybe I approached it the wrong way. Are they supposed to realyl be aimed at an audience of children and tweens? In that case - it was fine. The pantomime acting, the plot that could be summed up in two sentences (with not a lot of nuances and layers to be seen beyond that)..... the pretty things to look at .... All great for young girls.

We had pudding at Sweet Mother's afterwards. Though I had curly fries.

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On days like that I like living in a city.