Hope I’m not jumping in and stealing his thunder, but original Cubester and Blog poster Ben Slater has just finished his book - for now here is a simple link.
He may be back here with more to say on the matter, or not - he’s pretty busy . . . but word on the wire is he’ll be in this country, and this part of it, very soon . . .
Late again, but here’s my perspective on recent(ish) Cube related events . . .
I was in The Cube for filming of the first pre-recorded version of Max Blackout for the Tollgate House project, with Adam and Ali ( a.k.a. Max’s sinister shadow ( see below )) trying to figure out how to light the greenscreen . . .
. . . which though it looks pink here ( it’s yet to be covered with green fabric from the fabulous fabricland ) it is often also called bluescreen ( you know what I mean ).
A few days later on the same stage was another Orchestra Cube rehearsal . . .
. . . with no Richie, and so no drums this time. Taking the cue from the missing beat Peter lead several excises relating to rhythm for the usually more melodically minded - including directing one of the more musically conventional members ( Marcus ) to attack his keys as if slapping his hands in mud. Nice.
Also appealing to me was the suggestion for communal sighs and laughs at ( and as ) certain points in the improvised composition - could have just sounded silly, but the maestro’s conviction somehow always wins through.
No practice this week, by the way, but there is a performance by Orchestra Cube splinter group Sculpture at the soon-to-be-sadly-shut Seymour’s Family Club ( whose website almost hits the same stylistic heady heights of Fabricland’s ). That’s today, Wednesday ( this week ).
Thursday ( last week ) saw the first Tollgate House launch - this was a number of films and installations projected on the-soon-to-be-demolished tallest building in Bristol, all introduced by Max Blackout . . .
. . . and climaxing with Rod Maclachlan’s ‘It Is All Around Us’ installation which has been running every night this week since, with audio accompaniment on 87.7 FM.
The second launch is this Thursday, starting 6.45. The work looks amazing on the huge scale, and just the view from on top of the carpark, where the audience views it from, is amazing too . . .
. . . but do wrap up warm, if you’re tempted to come along this Thursday, as it’s a might nippy up there.
As the Tollgate launch event finished at 9pm, there was still time for me to make it to The Cube to catch the end of The Here Shop Bottle Orchestra . . .
. . . making innovative use of natural Cube contents to great effect, and accompanied by the also be-bottled audience. They were supporting main act Vladmaster, who was doing something with the tiny, which I thought was a nice contrast to Tollgate’s massive scale - but equally immersive.
Basically she ( she being Vladimir, who comes from Portland, Oregon, along with her suitcase full of Viewmasters™ to hand out, and who was at one point sporting antlers . . .
)
. . . makes original, and quite beautiful, Viewmaster™ discs, with accompanying audio, to tell stories. It’s a really great idea to do this as a performance in a cinema . . .
. . . where all the individuals are communally submerged in their own private worlds. Sounds great too when the audio track goes “ding!” to signal the next slide and everyone releases their little levers together in a big collective clatter.
Thank you Here shop.
Thaere Shop.
( And Here is where Vladmaster originals are available to purchase, I believe. )
And so finally to The Books review . . .
. . . as you probably know from the extensive promotion, The Books, with The Clogs, are on a UK tour, the second date of which was a pre-sold sell out at The Cube.
The Clogs played first featuring some virtuosic violin playing, and a nice bit of bassoon - which there’s not nearly enough of these days in my opinion . . .
. . . they were then joined by The Books for their final couple of numbers . . .
. . . though I thought they became a little bit, ahem, clogged, when they all played together and preferred them playing as separate groups where I felt they really excelled. Also excellent was DJ Lovewig in the packed bar between band outings . . .
The Books’ set was wonderful - the combination of samples and live instruments of their recordings brought to life by smart use of synchronised projected archive footage, much of it the source of the original samples . . .
. . . that image is from the first track which featured Mormons taking off and putting on their hats. Again, might sound simple, or even silly but in execution becomes marvellous. A different working of the Mormon hat footage by The Books is also on a DVD project that I’ve got some work on too . . . info here for the interested.
Anyway, enough of the “me-mail” ( a word I heard on Word of Mouth for verging on spam self-aggrandisement - an episode which also featured a certain ( but not that certain ) Tom Betts talking about computers ) Anyway, Ok, I’m off . . . fer now.
Well, things didn’t go too smoothly yesterday - I was seized by an incapacitating asthma attack ( probably brought on by recent the storm). Something I’ve never had to deal with before, and hopefully won’t have to again - it’s not very nice, feels a bit like how I imagine drowning might, and it can kill, you know. Fortunately Jem and Angela, who have previous experience and understanding of the condition, knew what to do and rushed me to the clinic for the appropriate drugs . . . from there I taken to the BRI A&E in an ambulance and wheelchair with an oxygen mask - all very dramatic.
I have no pictures ( Aaron later joked that not having my camera may have induced the attack . . . ) so you’ll have to take my word for it, though this morning I got a shot of the wristband you get, much like a festival . . .
I got a 5 day course of steroids and an inhaler, and was recovered enough to have a ( reduced ) role in Movieoke that evening.
Behind the scenes Movieoke wasn’t super smooth - Colin Smith, the unbelievably good improv pianist, was in Glastonbury so musical duties were down to me with a stack of pretty random Library CDs and the equally unbelievably good ( though obviously to some extent melodically limited ) Richie on stage on drums.
Like last time, there was the same remove factor with Me and Hog in the projection room reacting via the audio feed to the goings on in the auditorium, which made getting levels right tricky. I had planned to be Max and music selector, but under the circumstances I handed over the white hat and suit to gentlemanly James, who obviously also had to deal with the delay.
Again I think a great time was had by the participating partying punters . . . eventually - there was a bit more of a slow build than the last one with people more reticent to get up on stage to start off, but, as ever, real world compere Tom was in control and stepped up to fill the initial gap and encourage the later gap lack . . .
A factor in this slow participation take up may well have been the wait in getting the doors open - there was quite overshot even by Cube standards. There’s a lot of setting up to do for the ‘okie, even if you are on full puff, but the event itself is also slowly building and it’s sure to get even better as we learn . . .
I think Richie found it a bit more challenging playing along with CDs rather than Colin ( which hopefully won’t happen too often, though if it does it would be good to have him mic’ed so we can interact ).
Hog was actually a bit less stressed than last time, now understanding the parameters a bit more. However, having Rod about would have helped some ( he had kindly set everything up in the early morning after the demanding Jamie Lidell gig but couldn’t be there on the night ). Without him some of the intricacies of the matrix and video mixer were lost on us, meaning at times Hog’s stress was doubled because he could only figure how to cue from a single DVD player.
Mark, the actual instigator of this monthly movieoke slot, was missing again ( Sonar and such ), but high quality help was at hand from Hogge , Adam and Lady, who was also launching her new, and very tasty, “Films in America, 1929 -1969″ book on the perplexed imprint ( see post below ).
Swingin’ Richie P, when taking a break from the breaks, was taking various money shots, so there may well be a pictorial post with from an on-stage Paradise perspective coming this way soon . . .
Heres a sneak preview of Perplexed next installment 
I have some photos of the production of it too.
Oh how I am ultra excited bout this project. Rich has done an amazing job with
the production and design. Infact he just turned up here with a whole box of 41 of them…
See you tomorrow at the launch ?
Hi ya,
Hope you all can make it down to this . Our moderator knows Max Blackout you know
PRESS RELEASE
Perplexed book release, launch party and exhibition. http://www.iamperplexed.tk
At The Cube Cinema, Dove Street South, Bristol, BS2 8JD
www.cubecinema.com 0117 9074190
Book
Films In America 1929 -1969 is a wry new book work by Lady Lucy based on a book she found in The Cube Cinema Green Room. A re-appropriation of the first four decades of sound film, 41 film portraits - one for each year - including The Lady Vanishes, Little Women, The Philadelphia Story, Rear Window. The pictures don’t explicitly spell out which film each drawing represents, leaving the readers playing a guessing game. Collaborating with Cube designer Richard Starzecki and Old School Cube film programmer Ben Slater who has written an mesmerising piece of text to go in the ltd edition book.
Originally a Cube exhibition, this is the first series of new Perplexed commissions. Perplexed is the Cube Cinema’s publishing Imprint, established to release a series of open themed projects and to involve and inspire involvement among artists, photographers, designers, performers, and the never ending array of creative people associated with our place.
Launch party
Films In America 1929 -1969 is published in a limited edition of 100 on
June 25th in conjunction with Movieoke the latest post modern leisure sensation
where it’s karaoke except with films. Ever wanted to act out a scene from you favourite film ? Nows your chance.
Exhibition
Heartthrobs , World Filmography 1968 all June at The Cube
To coincide with the book launch of Films In America Lady Lucy will be presenting the latest works from her ongoing “Book Of Books” projects. The Book of Books is an ongoing drawing investigation of old school popular culture books that Lady Lucy finds in charity shops, car boot fairs, 2nd hand book shops, garage sales, and other places that you’d find the monochrome illustrations that Lady Lucy uses as her inspiration. Heartthrobs are a series of portraits inspired by a book with a tag line ” The moody males of your dreams”. World Filmography 1968 is an installation composed of 100 drawings made from the photographic representations of a text book film survey of 1968.
Funded by The Arts Council of England
http://www.artscouncil.org.uk
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