Send your name, your answer and telephone number to arts@thegown.org.uk by 15th September.

The event will take place on 19th September at the Waterfront, Belfast.

BY BEN FINCH

The fantastic Wolf Parade will be playing Spring and Airbrake on 6th September, touring their electro tinged indie pop and new album ‘Expo 86’. Signed to legendary label Sub Pop (Nirvana, The Shins, Fleet Foxes), their first ever gig was opening for Arcade Fire; if they happened to be a dog, it would be a pedigree Newfoundland (being from Canada and all). While it’s been five years since their last album, members have since gone on to form the acclaimed Handsome Furs and Sunset Rubdown, and ‘Expo 86’ shows they still know what to do with a tune.

Johnny Flynn, troubadour extrordinaire, folks things up on 17th September in Auntie Annie’s. ‘A larum’ and the ‘Sweet William’ EP are two of the best, and most beautiful, records released over the past few years. His new album, ‘Been listening’ contains a duet with Laura Marling, who he was on the road with earlier this year, and he’ll be supporting Mumford and Son on their UK tour later this year.

If hardcore punk’s more your thing, then Cancer Bats is for you. With songs titled ‘Lucifer’s rocking chair’ and ‘Darkness lives’, they’re playing the Limelight on the 4th November. As riffs and solos pound their way straight through your skull, you’ll be wondering how it’s possible to have so much fun watching people so angry and disaffected.

Holy Fuck is a name that raises a few eyebrows, but listening to their music, it’s exactly what’s running through your mind. Most people seem to think they’ll sound like Cancer Bats when they hear their name, but if that’s what you want, you’ll be disappointed. Playing dance music live on stage with none of the rabbit out of hat tricks of the likes of Calvin Harris, last time they played Radar it was awesome, and it will be again. They’re playing the Speakeasy on November 18th.

Send your name and your answer to arts@thegown.org.uk by 8th September.

The event will take place on 12th September in the Black Box.  Support is from Matthew and the Atlas, Marcus Foster and Pete Roe with the Open House Festival.

BY BEN FINCH

In other news, Tim Robbins, star of The Shawshank Redemption, will be performing in the Limelight with his Rogues Gallery Band on the 27th September, the date his debut album is released. Described as “raggle taggle and rousing gypsy Americana”, it’ll be interesting to see what they sound like, as many actor’s musical side projects tend to fall awry.

BY BEN FINCH

With the sound of samba drums and melodicas spilling out onto the street, passers-by were stopped in their tracks and sucked towards the door to see what was happening. Children, teenagers and grown adults were shown how to play ‘Single Thought’, the first track from the album, before starting a carnival through the centre of Belfast. As the sound of drums reverberated off the close walls of Pottinger Entry, confusing people eating their McDonalds and vaguely worrying police outside City Hall, the band snaked through the city centre, losing formation, joining up and bringing the carnival atmosphere to everyone in town.

Then, an (almost) family friendly gig with Out of Place. With the fuzz turned down slightly, Escape Act rattled through what must have been their most surreal performance to date, as people walked past and craned their necks for a look. Rather than restricting the band, the choice of venue and a young audience allowed for a low key performance and enabled the intricacies of Balance to be heard in full.

The next day, the warmth of McHugh’s Basement provided an altogether different atmosphere to the heat of the carnival. Tom McShane began the night with the incredibly simple and beautiful ‘Flowers’. The room appeared to shrink as all attention in the room turned to McShane and silence fell as he began to pluck his guitar. Shy and slightly awkward, McShane’s songs belie this appearance. They are full of depth and at times pain, as heard on ‘The Ballad of Morton Candell’, which is the story of an architect whose only success in life is a station on the Northern Line.

McShane was joined onstage by Chris Heaney, singer and guitarist of Escape Act, on keyboard to play two of the quieter songs from Balance, ‘K’ and ‘Flat Ocean’. Slower and sadder than the rest of the album, these songs suited McShane’s style of playing. However, he was unable to remember ‘Flat Ocean’ in full, losing some of the song’s power in the process.

You Kiss By The Book take their name from Juliet’s famous line to Romeo, but none of the implied criticism. Their superior Alt-Country is unlikely to sell many records even though their mid-tempo songs evoke the sound of a rainy day with a rainbow in the distance. The singer’s voice is reminiscent of Colin Meloy after a night out but this is often counterpointed by an almost cheerful keyboard. You Kiss By The Book also showed they have a sense of humour with their untitled ‘Feel good hit of the summer’ taking many of the tropes of dance music while the lyrics tell of a broken up relationship.

Following much of the introspection of the night, Escape Act where full of energy as they celebrated the release of Balance. Playing faster, harder and fuzzier than in Out of Place, some of the delicacy in the songs was lost, but no matter for it was an excellent performance. Taking the interaction from Saturday’s performance further, various members of the audience were invited up to play and sing with the band. During the excellent ‘Pressure’, Escape Act were enjoying themselves so much they forgot to call up their volunteers, only remembering during ‘Salt In Your Eye’.
Escape Act Balance tried to cause a stir in Belfast and succeeded. An excellent album, with an excellent release, the tracks are versatile enough to be played both quietly, in places as strange as an empty shop, and loudly, in the dark basement of a pub.

BY BEN FINCH
In the Ardoyne area, a policewoman was injured when a block of masonry was thrown from the roof of a shop onto her head. Three officers were shot in the area and petrol and blast bombs were thrown at police. Over eighty officers were injured in the riots and millions of pounds worth of damage done to buildings in the community.

Father Gary Donegan of Holy Cross Church on the Crumlin Road has described the violence as “recreational rioting” and likened it to a theme park due to the age of many involved. It has been claimed that there were some rioters as young as eight years old involved in the disturbances.

So far, most attention has focused on the violence and consequences of the trouble. Very little has been paid to the underlying cause. If at all, it has been decried as dissident republicans hoping to scupper the peace process. Without making excuses for any of those taking part in the riots, if the Orange Order had been told they were not to pass through such areas as the Ardoyne by the Parades Commission, chances are that the high level of violence witnessed would not have happened. For years Orange parades have caused widespread rioting by both sides of the community, often in areas not directly affected by the marching. In any other part of the UK marches such as this would be treated as incitement to religious violence.

Plenty of comments made by students, over Facebook or otherwise, have been made along the lines of “If rioters want to throw petrol bombs and fire a few rounds of a shotgun at the police then the police should be allowed to fire a few rounds or a few petrol bombs back. See if they like it…Get off the streets, stop sponging off the government you don’t even recognise and get a job”. Again, this simply focuses on the effects, ignoring the current difficulty of finding and maintaining work, especially for those brought up in under-privileged areas, where young people are less likely to engage in education, thus seriously reducing their chances of gaining qualifications. A lack of engagement with education does not reflect a lack of desire to work. Also, similar comments do not take into consideration the fact that similar acts of violence and the blatant entrenchment of views were among the major reasons why Northern Ireland needed a peace process in the first place.

Comments such as these may represent a large part of the unionist community in Northern Ireland, but not everyone feels the same way. I have been speaking to students who have said that if the protests were peaceful then they’d join them, and others who have called for the outright banning of the Orange Order. These people did not want to be named. This is the crux of the matter. While the violence may be organised by dissident republicans taking advantage of ill-informed youths, the opportunity was handed to them by the Orange Order marching through areas where, as they very well know, they are not at all welcome.

Trouble also occurred in other areas during the twelfth; cars were set alight in Armagh, in Lurgan the Dublin-bound Enterprise suffered an attempted hijack and police officers were attacked in the Bogside area of Derry. All such incidents occurred in specific areas where parades did not take place. Such acts of violence can only be tenuously linked to the marches and should be condemned as Orange Lodges in these areas respectfully diverted their parades away from hostile areas. This approach needs to be followed in the few places where twelfth celebrations are still contentious.

It is constantly hammered into those studying medicine to treat the underlying cause of an illness rather than the symptoms, otherwise the treatment has no effect. Civil disobedience and uncivil disruption happens for a reason, not for the sake of it. Now that the disturbances have ended and a relatively stable situation has at last developed in the Ardoyne area, rather than concentrating solely on the violence, the cause of the riots needs to be examined and dealt with by both sides.

Seamus Heaney officially opened the McClay Library on Tuesday 6^th July during a black tie ceremony attended by various dignitaries associated with Queen’s University. The new library has been named after late benefactor Sir Allen McClay, and has been described by Lady McClay as an appropriate way to remember Sir Allen. In December 2009, The Gown reported on QUB’s failure to notify Heaney that the library in his name was no longer open.

BY BEN FINCH

“This is a beautiful place which is bound to give people a sense of self-worth that will enhance them,” Heaney said before the ceremony. In a speech full of his usual pastoral metaphors, he also described it as a “star-ship for our scholars” when discussing the IT facilities.
Peter Gregson said it was a historic night for Queen’s and for the students, current and future, who shall benefit. In his speech he said that it had been fifty years since Seamus Heaney had graduated from Queen’s University. However, Heaney contradicted this, subtly pointing out that he graduated in 1961.

The ceremony was purposely set to coincide with the graduations. The McClay Library has already been open for a year, and John Gormley of the Information Services Directorate Office said that they “had been keen to open the library as soon as possible so students can use it and I would like to think it has played a part in some of these graduations”.

He added, “We have been very lucky indeed. If we had started any later then it may not have been possible due to economic conditions. We are indebted to Allen McClay who has been very generous.”

A new wall has been constructed beside the Short Loan Section of the library which names the benefactors who contributed to the building. Gormley also said that there is always a danger of overlooking people such as Anthony O’Reilly, whose name is prominently placed on the wall. The library was originally to be named ‘The Sir Anthony O’Reilly Library’ .

Speaking to The Gown earlier this year, Norma Sinte, Director of Development and Alumni Relations, said that there is now a protocol in place regarding the naming of buildings, and all universities adhere to this. Under this protocol, a building can only be named after a benefactor. A building cannot be named after a VIP, academic, vice chancellor or alumnus who hasn’t donated money.

Edna and Michael Longley were in attendance at the ceremony. Edna Longley is a member of staff in the Seamus Heaney Centre and is currently working on a book on Yeats, so often uses special collections. “It is a pleasant and excellent centre to work in,” she said. While Michael Longley, Ireland Professor of Poetry, described libraries as “the most wonderful places in the world”.

Few students were at the black tie event. Among those enjoying a glass of wine were the new sabbatical officers of the Students’ Union. “The library is a remarkable opportunity for students but if students have any problems with Information Services they should contact the Union,” said new SU President Gareth McGreevy. He also commented on the poignancy of having an alumnus in Seamus Heaney opening the McClay Library.

BY BEN FINCH

Following the announcement, Tim Cooke, Director of National Museums NI, commented, “We are delighted on Northern Ireland’s behalf. This is the first time in Northern Ireland’s history that a prestigious cultural prize of this nature has been awarded to an institution in the region. This prize will encourage us as we endeavour to play a meaningful role at the heart of our changing society.”

The Art Fund Prize Bowl, created by Vladimir Bohm, will be on display in the museum for the next year and Les McLean, Head of Operations at the museum, has already stated that the £100,000 prize will be spent on “something lasting.”

BY BEN FINCH

Les McLean, Head of Operations at the Ulster Museum, believes the museum has done so well due to the “focus on the visitor and their experience”. Over 370,000 people have visited the museum since the £17.2 million refurbishment was completed in 2009 and their reaction has been an “overwhelmingly positive one”.
The Art Fund Prize focuses on the transformation of museums and the impact this has on visitors. All the museums entered have been recently renovated; the Ashmolean’s upgrade cost £61 million. However the Prize does not focus on the biggest or most expensive change but rather “the visitor’s chance to notice change for the better”.

The renovation of the Ulster Museum has led to criticism from some quarters. Many architects were opposed to the new design and Nelson McCausland MLA, Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure recently called for Creationism and Ulster Scots to have further recognition within the Museum.
McLean is confident that these comments will not affect the museum’s chances of winning the Prize and is pleased with the “interesting debate that has engaged the public more with the museum”.
If the Ulster Museum wins the prize then the £100,000 will be spent on “something lasting”, such as a celebratory piece of art or an education programme that will have “a life beyond the closing date of the competition”.

BY BEN FINCH

All four museums have been significantly redeveloped over the past few years. Development of the Ulster Museum cost £17.8 million and since re-opening in October 2009 has become Northern Ireland’s busiest tourist attraction.

Tim Cooke, Director of National Museums NI, said, “We are delighted to be selected for this final stage and are committed to extending engagement with our museum and its collections.” Kirsty Young, chair of the judging panel commented on how the “exceptional quality” of the longlist made the selection a “challenging task”.

A public poll is being used for the first time to inform the judges on their final decision. This closes on June 18th. The Ulster Museum is currently placed first with 35.6% of the vote.

BY BEN FINCH

Plant Drawings! is an unusual exhibition that requires participation. It is inspired by Lee White’s stall of perennial flowers at St. George’s Market, springtime and a long history of horticultural drawing by the artists such as Monet and Van Gogh. You pick a flower pot, pick up some paper, attempt to represent them and in return you keep the flowers. A simpler and more fun idea is impossible to find.

It is an exhibition of interaction and exchange and that changes the rules of what an exhibition is. There is no standing around, trying to discern what ideas so-and-so artist is trying to represent or even what the art is. Instead there is the reward of a feeling of pride, a large smile and a pretty potted plant that can be put in your garden and will grow year on year. The artist/spectator boundary is well and truly smashed.

Plant Drawings! takes place at PS2 on Donegall Street and runs until the 3rd July. Drawing workshops for all ages and talents will be taking place at PS2 and St. Georges Market. A normal exhibition of the artwork created will happen in early July at St. Georges Market and PS2. For further details visit www.pssquared.org.

BY BEN FINCH

Despite failing to achieve either, the flotilla has been more successful at achieving its political goals. Israel’s reaction has been condemned by all of their allies. It has massively increased tension with Turkey, their only Muslim ally. The Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, raged, “It is no longer possible to cover up or ignore Israel’s lawlessness. This bloody massacre by Israel on ships that were taking humanitarian aid to Gaza deserves every kind of curse.” Israel’s closest friend in Europe, Italy, “deplored” the violence and the only nation not to call for the blockade to stop was the US.

Israel’s silent partner in the blockade of Gaza, Egypt, immediately opened the border crossing, with Gaza and Israeli newspapers, while showing support for the IDF’s intentions, called the assault a “fiasco”. The IDF’s tactics have been criticised and they were either naive not to expect resistance or trying to use the operation for their own political ends. Following the events, the incredibly efficient Israeli PR machine leaped into action, and footage was released that showed activists attacking the boarders but none of the fatal firefights.

The assault took place in international waters, where the law onboard a ship is that of the flag it flies. This also means that it is illegal to take prisoners. While over six hundred activists detained have now been deported, Israel’s actions are in clear defiance of International Law, which they hold very little respect for. The activists were forced to accept they had entered Israel illegally, despite their transport from international waters by the IDF. In theory, the perpetrators of the deaths may be open to prosecution under Turkish law as the Mavi Marmara, on which the deaths occurred, was flying the Turkish flag.

The final ship of the flotilla, the MV Rachel Corrie, is currently approaching the area of Israel’s disastrous raid on Monday. It is named after an American peace activist killed by Israeli forces in Gaza. Turkey has said that the ship will have a military escort and many other governments have called for the ship to be allowed to land in Gaza. The Rachel Corrie is out of Dundalk, flies the Irish Flag and is carrying Mairead Maguire, a Nobel Peace Prize winner for her efforts in Ireland.

Following the widespread condemnation of the first attack, Israel’s hands are surely well and truly tied. They will have to let the ship land or risk turning a crisis into international war. The problem is that Israel tends to take the most offensive course of action and their current, unrelenting stance indicates that this will be the case. While they may not expect much resistance from a 66 year old woman and four other crew, if there is a military escort the results will surely be even more disastrous than Monday.

BY BEN FINCH

This is because of Cameron’s ill advised statement on the Northern Ireland public sector and how it needs to be reduced. The public sector in Northern Ireland has reduced the effects of the recession here and has kept thousands of people in employment throughout the Troubles. While a reduction in the Civil Service may be necessary, it should be slow, controlled and not affect frontline services. It should also be met with an increased investment in the local economy, rather than trying to lure big business from overseas. However the vampiric George Osborne has been preparing for “Slash and Burn” all over the UK and it is very worrying that Northern Ireland is top of the hitlist.

In the regions of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales there has been a clear rejection of Conservatism. Only 8 Tory MPs, out of 117, were elected from these areas, seven from Wales and one from Scotland, with 9 Lib Dems in total from the regions, if Naomi Long is ignored. This means that Northern Ireland is essentially being ruled by England, by a government that the electorate has shown they don’t want by removing the two UUP seats held. While the DUP has traditionally voted with the Conservatives (about 90% of the time) they took the decision to support a possible Labour Government to protect Northern Ireland’s interests.

On top of all this the Conservatives show stronger support for the Union than Labour have done and are likely to take a harder line on Nationalism, which will push its supporters further away from the government. The result seems to have led to an increased unity among politicians from the province, as the SDLP, Alliance, DUP and Sylvia Hermon all decided to join the potential rainbow alliance in order to oppose cuts in the public sector and the block grant. It also appears that, along with Scotland and Wales, there has been an increase in Nationalism as people would prefer to rule themselves due to fears about the state of local economies as the Conservatives tend to ignore and underfund the regions. This can only lead to further tensions between regional government and Parliament.

Universities are likely to see a decrease in funding from the Government, which will only see them wanting to increase the already unfair tuition fees, which are a premium on education and discourage many people from furthering their knowledge. As students we have to be prepared to resist this and anything that we see to be bad for our regional economy, where we expect to be employed soon and a double dip recession could destroy.

The Lib Dems appear to have pulled the Tories to the left but it remains to be seen just what has gained their support and just how far right they have allowed themselves to go in order to get bums on government seats. Hopefully they can temper the excesses of a generation that has grown up with Thatcherism. But in deciding to take the Tory whip they may not be able to without bringing down the government.

The Tories will have to affect a central stance in relation to Northern Ireland and treat the electorate fairly or else a situation, slowly becoming more dangerous and only supported by a few, could explode. Cuts to public services, such as education and healthcare, could destroy the increasingly fair and harmonious society we live in. We have already used our democratic voice to oppose these cuts and we will have to continue to use it over the next few years to ensure society remains.

BY BEN  FINCH

After a funny start, the play builds to an excellent second half as Harpingon’s children try to beg, borrow or steal his money and fall in love. Harpingon turns out to be an apt pun as he greatly enjoys the sound of his own voice. The boundaries of the stage are ignored with characters roaming around and interacting with the audience. However, this led to a heckler shouting out during Harpingon’s final speech. She was hilarious though and no-one seemed to mind.

The play has been relocated to Belfast and achieves this through witty references to areas of the city, Northern Ireland and the inability of various Scottish characters to understand the Northern Irish accent. While retaining some of the more pretentious language of the seventeenth century, a majority of the dialogue has been updated to be understandable to a contemporary audience allowing a self-aware critique of the play itself to take place.

Despite a first half that can seem slow at times, with some jokes missing their targets, The Miser is a very funny and relevant production, that manages to highlight the absurdities of obsession and the banking system.

The Miser runs at Elmwood Hall until 9 July 2010

Following the Ulster Museum’s £17.2 million refurbishment, it has been nominated for the prestigious Art Fund Prize. This could be worth £100,000 to the museum as well as being a “huge accomplishment”. The public are being urged to vote for the museum to win on the Art Fund website. The Ulster Museum is currently in first place with 25.5% of the popular vote, but is closely followed by Blists Hill Victorian Town, near Birmingham on 21.9%. It is also up against institutions such as the Natural History Museum, London, and the Great North Museum, Newcastle.

BY BEN FINCH

Judges have been visiting museums on the longlist and will soon be making the decision for the shortlist, taking into account the public vote. Crimewatch presenter Kirsty Young is a member of the panel. Unable to visit with the other members of the judging panel, she visited the Ulster Museum on April 14. These visits are said to have gone very well, and the judges were “suitably impressed”. Gillian McLean, from the Ulster Museum, has said that they need to keep up the momentum in keeping visitors coming to hold on to first place.

Jim McGreevy of National Museums NI said, “The Art Fund Prize of £100,000 is a most prestigious accolade and to win it would be a huge accomplishment for the Ulster Museum and indeed, for Northern Ireland.”

Previous winners of the Art Fund prize include the Wedgewood Museum and The Lightbox Museum and Gallery.

The refurbished museum contains new exhibitions on Irish and natural history as well as a poignant and balanced look at The Troubles. There is also an excellent series of art and fashion galleries on the upper levels.

To vote for the Ulster Museum in the Art Fund Prize visit www.artfundprize.org.uk/2010/vote. Voting closes on 7 May with the shortlist being announced at the end of May.

BY BEN FINCH

It has been adapted by David Johnston and directed by Dan Gordon, who were responsible for the Lyric’s final play, The Hypochondriact (also by Molière), before work started on the renovations and which gained rave reviews for its Belfast in-jokes. The Miser also stars Andy Gray, from Rab C Nesbitt, in the lead role of Harpingon. Gilly Campbell, from the Arts Council for Northern Ireland, has described the play as a “dynamic performance”, and it has also been called “a spiral of outrageous, comic confusion”. With the Lyric’s excellent reputation for productions and its successful season at Elmwood coming to an end, this is sure to be a hilarious event in the theatre calendar.

The Miser by Molière will run at the Elmwood Hall between Friday 30 April and Saturday 29 May 2010, before touring the North and South of Ireland from 31 May to 9 July 2010. To get tickets call the Box Office on 028 9038 5673 or book online at www.lyrictheatre.co.uk/booktickets.

BY BEN FINCH

For second year students it is an incredibly confident and assured performance with everyone playing their roles expertly. Daisy Brindley, Bridget Innes, Ashlene McGurk, Kirsty Reilly and Tripti Tripuraneni are excellent as the gut girls, as are Rosie Barry and Amy McNeilly, who play the upper class ladies trying to tame them. Of the thirteen players, only two are male. These unsympathetic roles are played convincingly by David Faulkner and Harry Thrush.

The play is directed by Rachel O’Riordan, the Artistic Director of Ransom Productions and part-time lecturer at Queen’s. Following the performance she said, “I am delighted with how it went. I am delighted with the audience reaction. They did themselves proud, they did the university proud and they did me proud. During this production they have taken a massive step forward.” Brenda Winter, Lecturer in Drama, said, “I’m very proud of my students and it’s very exciting to see the Brian Friel Theatre used in this way.”

The stage is expertly set by Stuart Marshall, to reflect the binaries of the domestic and work, and the difference between working and upper class; a well furnished home, with a decanter placed on the table opposing the slaughterhouse, with pig carcasses hanging, ready to be gutted, reflecting the chandelier on the opposite side. The actors are able to move seamlessly from one environment to the other and make great use of the centre stage as they are pulled from one to the other.

Written by Sarah Daniels following the Miner’s Strike and at the height of Margaret Thatcher’s power, The Gut Girls not only examines feminism but critiques attitudes to the unionisation of workers, something that may become increasingly relevant following the General Election. All the female characters are feminist in different ways and these themes dovetail to show the need for women to fight with a united front to gain equality with men.

This is an excellent production that is better than many professional plays and is definitely worth seeing, especially as tickets start at £4. It is a hilarious black comedy that is brilliant in all areas.

Bawdy comedy Gut Girls, written by Sarah Daniels, will be this year’s Drama Studies Showcase, running in the Brian Friel Theatre from Wednesday 28 April to Saturday 1 May.  Professionally directed by Rachel O’Riordan of Ransom Productions, it is the story of a group of “brash, foul-mouthed but full of pride” working girls, labouring in a Victorian Slaughterhouse.  An erudite, upper class widow, Lady Helena, takes it upon herself to tame and find ladylike employment for them.  However, with one week’s pay in the slaughterhouse equal to one year’s wages as a servant she is “as welcome as a temperance speaker at the local pub.”

BY BEN FINCH

Second year Drama students Tripti Tipuraneni, Bridget Innes and David Faulkner have not only received professional instruction from O’Riordan, but also from Costume Designer Una Hickey and Set Designer Stuart Marshall, who has transformed the Brian Friel Theatre into a Victorian slaughterhouse.  On top of this they have been taking tips from fourth generation market trader Paddy Lynn who has been advising them on meat markets. 

Gut Girls is a play full of strong women “who can take on any man”.  Funny, rude and in your face, it definitely won’t be offal.

BY BEN FINCH

More than sixteen thousand people attended events last year, and following the success of the Out to Lunch festival in January the BFF promises to be a major event. For the sixteen days it runs there are no less than five events each night, with locations as varied as the Black Box and QFT, to the Culturlann on the Falls and the Spectrum Centre on the Shankill.
Screenings range from French horror film ‘The Horde ‘(“Die Hard with zombies”), to the anime ‘Summer Wars’ to classics like ‘Kiss Me Kate’.

Music is provided by the beautiful Efterklang and psychedelic Wooden Shjips at the Black Box on 24 and 16 April respectively. If music’s your thing then there are also films on Nick Cave, Neil Young and The Doors.

As it’s the Belfast Film Festival, Irish film plays a large role with the premieres of ‘Cupcake’, ‘Five Day Shelter’ and ‘Empire’. Along with this is ‘Mickey B’ with its cast pulled from HMP Maghaberry and based on Macbeth. John Lynch (Cal, In The Name of the Father) will be in attendance at the premiere of ‘Five Day Shelter’ and will give an acting class and read from his new novel ‘Falling Out of Heaven’.

Other events on the programme are the Maysles Brothers Documentary Competition, Short Film Competition, Same Sex Cinema, which celebrates hilarious and heartbreaking stories of homosexuality from around the world, and a tribute to JG Ballard.

For those interested in creating cinema, BFF and NI Screen are running a two day seminar with BAFTA nominee Tony Grisoni (Red Riding Trilogy) and others from the world of film called Northern Exposure = Deal Closure.

For more information on the Belfast Film Festival go to www.belfastfilmfestival.org or visit the Box Office at 47 Donegal Place.

BY BEN FINCH

These plans for 1,600 extra houses in Ramat Shlomo, East Jerusalem, have completely disrupted the revival of peace talks between Israel and Palestine fostered by Barack Obama, as President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine will not enter talks whilst settlement building continues. Palestinians have long been complaining about their inability to gain planning permission to build in this area while Israeli buildings continue to pop up unhindered as if it were SimCity.

Joe Biden, the vice-president of the US, was in Israel when the announcement was made, and quickly issued a strong statement. “The substance and timing of the announcement, particularly with the launching of proximity talks, is precisely the kind of step that undermines the trust we need right now,” he said. Biden was in Israel to cajole the two sides into direct talks following negotiations with George Mitchell, who played a crucial role in the Good Friday Agreement.

This has blown into a crisis over the past couple of weeks. Two Israeli soldiers and two Palestinian militants were killed on the Gaza border in an exchange of fire. Both sides have different stories. Israel states that they found the militants “planting explosives along the security fence in the southern Gaza Strip”. Hamas say that they ambushed the soldiers.
Israeli tanks briefly entered Gaza following this, and there were reports of firing from the Israeli Navy, artillery and helicopter gunships leaving five Palestinians injured and ambulances unable to attend because of the gunfire. While this is nothing like the Israeli invasion of Gaza in January 2008 and the war crimes committed by both sides, it is a significant, and worrying, increase in violence.

While damning Israeli settlements, Ban Ki-moon stated that he would like to see a Palestinian state set up within the next two years. This is surely unlikely as Israel do not appear to even compromise on any grounds. Gaza has been blockaded since 2007, with only essential medical supplies getting through. All Palestinian trade in Gaza is carried out through tunnels, including the smuggling of rockets, which the blockade is ostensibly to stop.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas following “Operation Cast Lead” in 2008 has now been over for more than a year. Rockets continue to be fired from Gaza, and Israel continues to retaliate (or Israel continues to attack and Gaza continues to retaliate).

Following his recent domestic triumph with healthcare, and foreign, more bilateral nuclear disarmament with Russia, it would seem that Obama needs to bring some of his “Yes we can” to the Middle East, although Netenyahu’s talks with him last week appear to have come to nothing.

Goldfrapp have built their career on sex. It oozed out of every note played and every word in the seediest way possible.

BY BEN FINCH

On stage Alison Goldfrapp would play a theremin with her rude bits while singing ‘Strict Machine’, not really leaving anything to the imagination. Their fourth album ‘Seventh Tree’ changed direction, keeping the sex, and moving to Folk music.

‘Head First’ brings them back to their electronic roots. But something’s different, maybe it’s because Madonna tried to nick their sound, or all the La Roux types that have been about over the past year. They’ve dropped the sex (almost, ‘Rocket’ still has pretty sexy lyrics) and there’s nothing deviant about the music.

Goldfrapp have made a straight electronic pop album and it’s the best thing they’ve done in ages.

This is the sort of album that ruins everything. Essays, exams, work, life… simply through distraction. It’s not possible to do anything whilst listening to it. Laura Marling has graduated from being a prodigy to a fully fledged genius, and she’s not even twenty years old yet.

BY BEN FINCH

This album is full of brilliantly rousing ballads, much better than the usual sea shanties of contemporaries like Seth Lakeman. Marling has the ability to sound like she is twice her age, with the weight of the world on her shoulders. This gives her voice an authority that most singers can only dream of.

At the same time her lyrics are full of youthful innocence creating a beautiful idealism – “And I wrote a big letter to you, And it’s twenty-two pages front and back, But it’s too good to be used. And I try to be a girl who likes to be used, I’m too good for that, there’s a mind under this hat.”

Marling has become a bit of a (indie) tabloid figure recently, due to her break up with Charlie Fink of Noah and the Whale and getting together with Mumford who has supported her regularly with his Sons. While she dislikes this publicity, it has given her plenty of material to play with in perfect frankness.

This is a fantastic album that in Marling’s words deals with “responsibility, particularly the responsibility of womanhood”.

Just don’t try listening to it when you’re doing something.

BY BEN FINCH

Single ‘Cross My Heart and Hope to Fly’ stagnates half way through, but is followed straight away by the second release ‘You Overdid It Doll’ which is the epic song that they are clearly looking for.  ‘Falcon’ could have been a rollicking trip through the city of Manchester but ends up a pleasant and boring night in The Rover’s Return.