London Film and Comic-Con 2011 (7,8,9 July)

***My extremely timely thoughts on this! (This post was saved as a draft ages ago)

I had heard that there was a Comic Con in London a while ago but never got round to looking in to it. It was apparently not high profile enough to be newsworthy, even within geek circles. A few weeks ago though I chanced upon an advert for it in Empire magazine mere days before it was scheduled to start. Needless to say, I made time to attend!

As predicted, it was a relatively low key affair but there was enough to see and experience to make the trip worthwhile. There were several stages set up, with the main one featuring talks and QA sessions with actors such as Brent Spiner, Christopher Lloyd, and Karen Gillan of Doctor Who fame. The snippets of talks that I caught were the typical QA affairs where you learn nothing surprising or new. Brent Spiner - whose session I caught the most of - was very lively and engaging and drew a large crowd.

There were other smaller stages featuring talent shows, auctions, and demonstrations of costuming and film fighting (among others). The majority of the floorspace in the hall was taken up by myriad stalls whose purpose was to sell you stuff. 'Stuff' ranged from toys and comic books through to prop replicas and movie memorabilia.

There was a large area dedicated to celebrity autograph acquisition, an activity in which I did not partake (don't see the point, especially when prices seemed to start at £10 for the lesser known 'stars'). There were a few relatively big names present that set geek pulses racing, such as the aforementioned Spiner, though the biggest draw by far was Christopher Lloyd, who commanded long queues the whole time I was there. There were also photo booths tucked away in a couple of places where you could have your photo taken with your chosen celeb (for a price, of course).

I was struck by how many, umm, less well known celebrities were around. I felt a little sorry for some of them sitting there, expectantly or morosely waiting for an autograph hunter to come along. I suppose for some of these guys the convention tour is an important part of their livelihood. It does reek of desperation, but then again, there must be some kind of market for this to make it worthwhile for these guys to show up.

The remainder of the floor space was taken up by workshop areas teaching things like comic book art styles (for instance). There were a few random attractions there as well, such as the sixties Batmobile and the Delorean from Back to the Future, as well as a Nintendo area where games were being demoed.

The one element that really made the event were the crowds, who turned out in droves. True to form, most of the audience was young and male but not as massively skewed as I had imagined based on most observable geek demographics! The hall was fairly crowded throughout (and a little stuffy as a result) and most people seemed to be enthusiastic and having a good time. There were many people in costume, including the serious cosplayers, which really enlivened the whole place and elevated it beyond the typical bland trade show type event.

I'm not sure I'd attend this again as it is very commercial in nature and much of it does not appeal to me beyond the level of curiosity (which has now been sated). Having said that I did enjoy the 4-5 hours I spent there and would recommend it to the geeky and the curious.

Arcade Fire - Hyde Park 2011

I hardly ever talk about music on this blog, primarily because it's not something I take an active interest in or feel like talking about in any serious way, as I do with films. I know what I like and I know what I don't like, and I guess I could articulate why I do or don't like something. I'd also like to think I know what constitutes crappy music and great music, to some extent, but I certainly lack the knowledge and ability to 'review' music. In short, this isn't a review, but rather a recollection of an experience.

I've been a fan of Arcade Fire since I heard one of their tracks on the trailer for Spike Jonze's 'Where the Wild Things Are' (turns out Jonze is a fan and collaborator as well, having directed some of their recent videos). I've subsequently bought all of their albums and they are among a select few where I actually listen to and like most of the songs as opposed to two or three standouts. This is starting to sound like some kind of promotional post, but fuck it it's my blog and I dig 'em. To my ears they sound distinctive and engaging, with lyrics that are more thoughtful than your average pop/alt-rock band.

I'm not really into going to live musical performances but I was fairly keen on Arcade Fire (and, just FYI I'd also include Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, The Cranberries, Echo and the Bunnymen and The Pixies on that list; and The Ramones and The White Stripes if they were still around) especially considering they have a reputation for being an exceptional live act. So naturally, when the opportunity arose I snagged a ticket (A brief aside here, apparently it's some kind of social faux pas to attend a live music event on one's own - not only was I repeatedly asked who I was going with, I also noticed very few people who seemed to be there on their own).

In short, it was a blast and I had a great time! Taking place in London's Hyde Park with somewhere around 60,000 in attendance, there was plenty to occupy one's attention before the main event, including a smorgasbord of food and drink stalls, an arcade booth, a mini cinema screening a rather disappointing short film by Arcade Fire and Spike Jonze, and the obligatory merchandising booths. A brief and inoffensive interlude of rain aside it was a bright and sunny day, a relative rarity in the British Isles.

With the exception Beirut the other opening acts who preceded Arcade Fire were ones I was unfamiliar with. Owen Pallett, The Vaccines, and Mumford and Sons (yeah these guys are famous but hey, I don't really keep track of music!) are definitely on my radar now, and discovering new music on the day was a massive plus.

I planted myself relatively close to the stage early on when the crowds were thin and the opening acts were going strong. Mass movements of people between performances caused me to be moved around like a bottle in the ocean and inadvertently got me a bit closer. When Arcade Fire finally showed up the impatient crowd exploded and were extremely vocal throughout. This was actually a bit of a problem at times as the volume levels of the band weren't all that high (due to noise restrictions in the area, apparently!); it wasn't an egregious problem but it was the only noteworthy blemish on the day.

Arcade Fire were great, energetic and enthusiastic throughout and clearly keen on putting on a good show. I had forgotten how many of them there were and the variety of instruments they had at their disposal; they would often swap instruments in between and sometimes during performances with manic intensity. Their setlist covered songs from all three albums and there was one unreleased song that was apparently a live debut. There was some interesting and sometimes surreal imagery on the screens behind them, and an exuberant use of stage lighting that may have caused seizures in any epileptics unfortunate enough to be in the audience!

It was a tiring experience that involved over seven hours of standing beginning to end, but my conclusion several weeks on is the same as it was several minutes after it ended. Totally worth it!