Author: mrmonstagigz

THEATRE REVIEW: Pippin starring Ryan Anderson at the Charing Cross Theatre

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WORTH A LOOK?: ***1/2

WHEN: Saturday 4 September, (matinee), runs to 3 October 2021

The reason we’re here is because the music and lyrics for Pippin were written by Stephen Schwartz who is behind musical Wicked which re-opens in the West End at London’s Victoria Apollo Theatre on 15 September 2021.

  • Read on for reasons including how we felt Charing Cross Theatre was a most unwelcoming destination and we wouldn’t recommend a visit there
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GIG REVIEW: Will Young at EartH, Hackney, east London

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WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2

WHEN?: Monday 6 September 2021, tour runs until 8 July 2022

SETLIST: Crying On The Bathroom Floor; Light My Fire; Losing You; Changes; ‘Til There’s Nothing Left; Who Am I; Jealousy; Come On; You And I; Elizabeth Taylor; Daniel; Leave Right Now; Your Game

We’ve been to Q&As before but never 1 where an audience member has proposed to her boyfriend and the act has invited them onstage as Will Young did here.

  • Read on for reasons including whether Ade accepted Leanne’s marriage proposal
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The local side to Victorious Festival 2021

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By Carron Stacey, A Humdrum Mum

Live music. That’s what we go to festivals for. But we all love to wander around in between bands, and it’s here that you can find the local independent traders, the heart of the city. In the past, I’ve interviewed Leather Heather, Pie and Vinyl, Fisherman’s Kitchen, Tonic Music For Mental Health Choir, Beats & Swing and many more. This year was the turn of the eco-friendly clothing brand Humble and natural skincare producer Southsea Bathing Hut.

  • Read on for reasons including details of the Humble clothing brand
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GIG REVIEW: The Primitives at The Lexington

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WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN?: Saturday 4 September, tour runs until 19 September 2021

SETLIST: I’ll Stick With You; Thru’ The Flowers; Spin-o-rama; Stop Killing Me; Sick Of It; Lose The Reason; Petals; Rattle My Cage; Run Baby Run; Where The Wind Blows; Buzz Buzz Buzz; Really Stupid; I’ll Trust The Wind; Empathise; You Are The Way; Nothing Left; Crash; Way Behind Me; Spacehead; Everything’s Shining Bright

We’re in a room above a north London pub not far from where we first saw The Primitives at the height of their commercial success in May 1988.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is our 5th time seeing the band in 33 years
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GIG REVIEW: International Teachers Of Pop at The Moth Club

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WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN?: Thursday 2 September 2021, tour runs until 21 December 2021

SETLIST: Don’t Diss The Disco; Gaslight; The Red Dots; The Ballad Of Remedy Nilsson; Age Of The Train; Prince; The Tower; Another Brick In The The Wall; After Dark; Flood The Club; Plimsolls; Feminenergy

‘We took a taxi to Poundland in Dalston to buy these glow sticks,’ says singer Leonore Wheatley as she rifles through a shopping bag she has brought on stage.

  • Read on for reasons including what else came out of Wheatley’s shopping bag to delight the crowd
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SONG OF THE WEEK: Miss Those Days by Mina Okabe (week beginning 30 August 2021)

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WORTH A LOOK?: ****

There’s something melancholic yet beautiful about the end of summer and as we write this on the UK’s last bank holiday weekend before Christmas it’s a feeling brilliantly captured here by this 20-year-old Danish/Japanese singer songwriter.

  • Read on for reasons including how this single features on Mina’s debut album Better Days which is just out
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GIG REVIEW: Victorious Festival, Southsea Common starring Nile Rodgers, Supergrass, Melanie C and Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs (day 3)

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By Carron Stacey, A Humdrum Mum

WHEN?: Sunday 29 August 2021

I normally soak up the whole day of a festival, mull it over during the night and my review flows the next morning. But this is different. I’ve just come from seeing one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. (I do think I use that superlative too easily sometimes, but not now.)

  • Read on for reasons including why PigsX7’s sound is ‘dirtier than the dirtiest loaded fries you’ve ever bought’
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GIG REVIEW: Victorious Festival, Southsea Common starring The Streets, Stereo MCs, Blossoms and Bad Sounds (day 2)

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By Carron Stacey, A Humdrum Mum

We started the day with possibly my best find of the weekend – Bad Sounds. A recommendation from my more indie-friendly friend, but they were anything but indie. My notes state poppy, geeky, funky. I was going to try to craft something cleverer, more succinct to describe them but actually, in the three-words style, they did sum them up perfectly.

  • Read on for reasons including The Streets, Manic Street Preachers, Rag’n’ Bone Man and more from day 2
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THEATRE REVIEW: Frozen starring Samantha Barks and Stephanie McKeon at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane

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WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHEN?: Saturday 29 August, opens 8 September, booking to 26 June 2022 RUNNING TIME: 150 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

This theatre version of the beloved 2013 Disney computer-animated film boasts a series of visual tricks that are so impressive that we’ve never seen anything like them achieved onstage before.

  • Read on for reasons including how stars Barks and McKeon provide a believable frisson as sisters Anna and Elsa
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GIG REVIEW: Victorious Festival, Southsea Common, starring Madness, Terrorvision, Peter Hook and the Light (day 1)

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By Carron Stacey, A Humdrum Mum

WHEN?: Friday 27 August 2021

It’s said you get all sorts at festivals. Whilst that is true, we found that you get all sorts en route to a festival here. Walking alongside an elderly man in a mobility scooter, who was blasting out Jim Reeves (or some other crooner) from a ghetto blaster in his basket, turned out to set the scene for our return to festival-land on the south coast.

  • Read on for reasons including reviews of Madness, Terrorvision, Feeder, Peter Hook and the Light
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