Ents

One expects many things on a good night out, however these generally do not include seeing a sixty-three year old’s penis. Yet this, perversely, only adds to the mystique of the evening: the sight of an ageing man performing a rock classic to perfection, and still managing to channel the energy of his mischievous younger self from thirty years ago.

As the clouds gradually make for summer and us English crack out our barbeques and swimsuits at any opportune moment, a very suitable soundtrack has come along. It takes the form of the much-anticipated debut album from The Drums. This American quartet who reside in Brooklyn, New York have been bubbling with hype for almost a year now but all of a sudden seem to be on the cusp of stardom. They are currently supporting Florence & the Machine on her UK tour and will surely fill up their own arenas in the years to come.

The Ricky Gervais Show
Season 1 Episode 1
Friday 23rd April 2010
Channel 4



The death of live music on campus?
Another blow was struck to the future of live music at the University with the cancellation of Tiffany Page's uLive gig last month. This latest failure of what calls itself 'the ultimate live music tour circuit around UK students' union venues' might well be its last.
For those of you asking yourself, what is uLive? Or what Tiffany Page gig? Well you might just be symptomatic of the problem, if critics of the event's promotion are to be believed.

Two years ago Dev Hynes made a lot of guys and girls swoon with his whimsical album Falling off the Lavender Bridge. Formally a member of trash-rock band Test Icicles, Dev had gone his own way and produced a beautiful, melodic album of acoustic-folk poetry that also had quite an aggressive edge, as witnessed during his live shows. He could get crowds moshing, dancing and swaying all at the same time; quite an achievement.

"I write this sitting in the kitchen sink" is how Dodie Smith (of 101 Dalmatians fame, but please don't judge her by the saccharine-soaked Disney film) begins her charming but rather bittersweet story of 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain, a teenaged girl growing up in the 30s in a decidedly eccentric family, living in a freezing, dilapidated castle buried in the English countryside.