The Dark Knight

Patrick Entertainment, Movies

Dark KnightLast night I saw The Dark Knight and what did I think? Two words. Very impressive. There are many elements that make it really worth watching, particularly on the big screen. I was quite impressed by the (novel) lack of excessive CGI effects, or over the top explosions, instead replaced by classic elements of a movie that make it so different, such as the progressive development of many of its characters and a plot that left you questioning and asking for more.

I have to applaud Ledger’s performance and although I’m not sure if it’s Oscar worthy, I’d definitely agree with many of the reviews that it was spectacular, even spookier than Nicholson’s rendition back in the day. I think the most impressive aspect to Ledger’s Joker is that it’s clear that he is a madman, and not just a slightly zany villain with a sense of humour. Everything from his posture, this agitated mannerisms, and the random actions all point towards his questionable mental stability and lack of moral boundaries.

Spoiler alert… Read more “The Dark Knight”

Sled Island Festival

Patrick Music, UK Life

Last weekend, Calgary hosted the four day annual Sled Island Festival. This year it expanded to include arts, movies and plenty of live music events, many dotted around downtown bars and pubs. It culminated in a two day epic down at the Mewata Barracks with a perfect set up of two stages right next to each other providing almost endless music to the masses.

Tegan and Sara

Although both headliners, Broken Social Scene and Mogwai disappointed to end each day on an upbeat note, instead playing slower melodic tunes, the rest of the festival provided some awesome goodness including the amazingly enchanting duo, Tegan and Sara. Calgary weather held strong for the two days, with sunshine lasting until extremely late in the evening and the occasional cool wind providing relief from the dry heat.

ChixDiggit

Although this festival didn’t have any huge names, it provided an opportunity for the local talent to shine. Local band ChixDiggit (shown above) had plenty of funny little jokes and got the audience in on much of their act. Their music, more suited for live entertainment than probably on a CD was a great addition to the festival line up.

Still Flyin

Saturday saw the San Francisco based band, Still Flyin’ barely fitting on their stage although their fun music and antics helped to make the festival a success. And yes, that is a person dressed up in a spiderman outfit. Other bands definitely worth checking out include Jane Vain and the Dark Matter\ and The Cryptomaniacs.

It’s great to see Calgary host such a great festival, showing more culture than what it’s probably known for.

Festival Movie: Heavy Metal in Baghdad

Patrick Canada, Movies

I don’t normally go out to cinemas to see mainstream movies, and when someone asked me along to see, Heavy Metal In Baghdad as part of the Sled Island Festival, it sounded pretty interesting.

The synopsis is pretty simple: What’s it like as a heavy metal band trying to get by in Baghdad?

This movie follows this band over a series of years, and combines two worlds we don’t normally associate being together – that of teenagers wanting some outlet to have fun, and the war time stories we typically hear on the news. Bringing them together provides some real insight and a very moving portrayal of a world we rarely think about. Everything seems very surreal, from the young guys talk about how lucky they are to be alive in their mid to late twenties, to the efforts of their families to get them out and keep them out of the country, and the sounds of shooting and bombings in the air at night.

TheKua.com Rating: 8 out of 10

Good things come to those who volunteer

Patrick Canada, Music

This weekend, I had signed up to help out Virgin Unite, a charity organisation who were in town for the Virgin Festival. Being the first time Calgary hosted the festival, they wanted a couple of people to help man their tent, signing people up for their quarterly newsletter.

What a hard life it was, with the tent in a pretty good view of the main stage, and with anyone signing up for the newsletter newsletter automatically going into the draw to win a guitar signed by Wolfmother. We had a huge variety of people passing through – those who’d just sign up without even understanding what it was about, those who wanted to win the drum kit instead of the guitar, and those who wanted to find out even more about the charity. I was surprised by the few people who said they didn’t have a computer (and thus didn’t have an email address to enter). I also ran into a few people from my current client as well, having a good chat about the festival vibes.

Virgin Festival Passes

Although manning the tent was pretty exhausting (trying to explain to people what the deal was over any of the music for six hours straight) we had enough people to rotate around for a couple of breaks. One of the girls from Virgin also gave me a VIP wristband, opening up access to the VIP tent, a chilled out zone with a private bar and less in-demand toilets. Combined with a free dinner from Moxie, I thought what a great experience it’d been already. That was until, they also scored me a pass to get into the Molson VIP tent to see an intimate acoustic set by The Fratellis.

The Fratellis

A perfect festival day with plenty of sun, plenty of awesome festival vibes and some pretty gorgeous people, all topped up with some good times fuelled by charity. Sweet. Gallery from the day can be found here.

An Oz Circus in Calgary, I Kid You Not

Patrick Canada, Entertainment, Theatre

It’s easy to find a bunch of Australians in Calgary – normally all you have to do is go up to the ski hills in Banff and Lake Louise. It’s much more difficult trying to find a bunch of Aussies perform an astonishing 61 circus acts in 60 minutes. Fortunately, Circa and its four performers not only manage to pull it off without the potential droll, but they manage to make it a blast for everyone in the audience. Tonight I was lucky enough to see them on the opening night with the folks from Theatre Junction at The Grand. Their first night wasn’t a completely full house, although the the standing ovation at the end demonstrated exactly how much value everyone received for the price of their ticket.

Circa

To say that the performers, made up of one lady and three gentlemen, are charismatic would be an understatement. Their witty commentary and perfect timing takes you on a journey through the different circus acts where you literally laugh, cry and cringe your way through some mind-bending physical feats. With only just the four of them, they cover pretty much all types of circus acts including juggling, tumbling, acrobatics, slapstick, magic, and some more unique combinations involving some modern props like a fitness ball.

Circa Curtain

Although on first thought, an hour isn’t really a long time for a show, I’m just amazed at how energised the entire hour felt and with the breadth of the performance, I’m sure that everyone walked out of there extremely satisfied. Of course with so much pressure on the performers, some of the acts didn’t quite go according to plan and given their format, you at least knew that particular act would draw to a close very quickly.

Definitely go and see these guys, if for nothing else but a light hearted evening. It’s an hour of your life you’ll definitely appreciate.

TheKua.com Rating: 9 out of 10

Sound of Music

Patrick Entertainment, Theatre, UK Life

Of all the musicals I’ve seen, I must rate the latest one showing at the Palladium as the best. Everything from the cast, the costumes, the full orchestra, set designs and succinctness add to its wonderful performance. Lasting about two and half hours including the intermission, I’m surprised that it still managed to fit in all the songs that I could remember (and then some).

For something that’s so widely known, it’s very hard not to compare it to the movie. The performers don’t really look the same, although they still put on the same amazing performance. I’m also glad that they cut scenes that repeat a number of songs, turning the four hour epic I seem to remember the movie taking into something a little bit more manageable on a school night. The original movie is amazing in its own way, and this stage production takes it to the same level in a slightly different way.

The scenes changes probably amazed me the most, with the basic stage transformed into the alps, outside gardens, and the abbey through a combination of floating stages, circular platforms and lots of props dropping from the ceiling. It all occurred so seamlessly that they were hardly noticeable.

TheKua.com Rating: 9 out of 10

Gods of Carnage

Patrick Entertainment, Theatre, UK Life

Gods of CarnageA new comedy act recently opened on the West End starring Ralph Fiennes and I was lucky enough to score a preview ticket on this Saturday just gone. As expected, it was a full house and so the laughter filled the entire theatre. The play, best described as a bit of a black comedy involves four actors and actresses on a very simple set and focused around the story of their children getting into a fight and all the craziness that ensues to resolve it.

Based on some of the topics covered and the amount of swearing, the writer obviously wrote this script relatively recently and at least seems to have some French origins although it also includes plenty of the classic understated British humour, focused on many suggestive hints and plenty of sarcastic comments.

We had perfectly centred seats that was close enough to see some of the very visual and physical parts of the comedy theatre without being too close to be covered by it (you have to go and see it to know what I mean). I’d highly recommend any people who have a sense of humour (or at least appreciate comedy) to go and see this if you’re seeing any West End show.

Alicia Keys @ The O2

Patrick Entertainment, Music, UK Life

Friday night saw a large crowd descend upon the O2 to witness American superstar, Alicia Keys. We had fairly decent tickets on the side of the stage, especially considering how many different tiers the O2 has. Unlike many other configurations in the O2, on this night all the area in the middle had been filled with seats. It kind of makes sense when you think about how laid back many of Keys’ songs can be.

Alicia Keys

The first support act was unmemorable in the form of some DJ playing R&B tunes followed by the old band, Soul 2 Soul. Although Soul 2 Soul looked like they’d recently joined with plenty of new fresh talent, I found their act quite weird. They had one big hit that they saved until the end, although the band seemed like a tribe of musicians where the actual make up changed through several generations.

And back to the main act. Keys played a great collection from her new and older albums, including saving many of her popular songs like Fallin’ for the final encore. Impressively I think she played for almost a straight two hours, weaving a semi dramatic story to tie all the songs together and give the show some flow. It was obvious the audience really enjoyed the show Keys put on, and evident that Keys really enjoys performing with her beaming smile and delightful laughter filling in the gaps between her conversations with the audience.