Monthly Archive for May, 2008

¡Forward, Russia! – Live In Amsterdam

Published on May 20, 2008 in Uncategorized. 3 Comments

Unfortunately I didn’t attend this gig, but I did watch it last night. On the 30th of April ¡Forward, Russia! played at the London Calling festival in Amsterdam. Fabchannel have been very generous and put up an extremely high quality recording of the gig on the internet. The tracklisting for the set is:

  1. Thirteen
  2. Don’t Reinvent What You Don’t Understand
  3. Don’t Be A Doctor
  4. Twelve
  5. Gravity & Heat
  6. Nine
  7. Spanish Triangles

The gig features particularly good versions of both Don’t Be A Doctor and Gravity & Heat, which are probably two of my favourite ¡Forward, Russia! songs, so that was very fortunate. Both songs gave me that tingly feeling that instantly makes me want to go to the next possible ¡Forward, Russia! gig, they are that good. The only real downsides are that it was a relatively short set and a number of other songs weren’t played. Other than that I wholeheartedly reccomend that you check the video out, it’s embeded below for your viewing pleasure.

“Did you ever study the Israelites?”

Published on May 14, 2008 in admin. 2 Comments

Perhaps it wasn’t the Israelites that I was studying but it’s certainly good to be “done” with studying, for now at least. It’s always nice to get through a period of intense work and be able to start doing things you enjoy again. In the context of this blog this should hopefully have two benefits. The first is that I will be back posting again, though the place was in more than capable hands with Krystal being the only active contributor, the second is that I’ll be indulging more in my interests and hopefully have more to talk about.

On the subject of the blog, a number of readers have pointed out the rather large number of typing errors in some of my posts. I have to make an apology for this, a lot of my posts have been written either very late at night, or in short breaks from work. All of that meant that I wasn’t taking the time to proof read the posts before publishing. In future I’m going to try to keep on top of this, though I’m making no promises here. Similarly, I may start on a proper re-design of the place. Again I’m making no promises on that as it’s rather low down on my list of summer projects.

Finally, there are a number of things which I plan to post about in the near future. I still plan to review Foals debut album, and Life Processes by ¡Forward, Russia! among other things. Additionally there are some topics from gaming I’d like to cover if I get the chance. Anyway, I’m back posting again, hopefully it won’t be too long before my first proper post since I went on “sabbatical”.

Apollo Justice DS Review

Published on May 14, 2008 in Gaming and review. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , .

As the fourth in the series, Apollo Justice has a lot to live up to in terms of providing memorable characters, brilliantly devised music and cases with as many twists and turns as the A57. Apollo Justice is the first incarnation of the Phoenix Wright games made exclusively for the DS, not counting the extra case on the original re-issue. As such, it has new features and a new protagonist in Apollo Justice and his side-kick Trucy.

Despite the game being called Apollo Justice as opposed to Phoenix Wright, Phoenix features quite heavily in all four cases, especially the fourth, which delves into his past. The older Phoenix lacks any sort of charisma at first and you often find yourself resenting his appearances and wondering why Capcom didn’t just do away with him altogether. However, as the game progresses you find that he has links with many of the cases which all come together in the fourth and final case. This case sees the player taken back in time ’seven years earlier’ and you become Phoenix Wright in all his youthful glory. To add to the nostalgia here, the graphical syle changes back to a more simple look, and the music from the original game makes a comeback. I found myself a bit too happy to hear it, as Apollo Justice doesn’t really deliver on the musical front the same as the first three games have done. The fact that the addition of the older music seems to show up the new music as being lacklustre, seems to be a failing on Capcom’s side.

Speaking of music though, the third case features a singer called Lamiroir whose song is quite well composed, albeit without any vocals. The graphical capabilities of the DS are also utilised here in the form of a video of the concert you have to watch for clues. Each of the cases are preceded by a more complex FMV which is quite nice and a welcome addition to the Phoenix Wright franchise. The character animations have stayed much the same but this is no bad thing as even the few expressions and actions each character has, are enough to convey their personality and feelings.

The characters and their personalities have always been something that has stood out about Phoenix Wright. In Apollo Justice, there are nowhere near as many great characters, apart from the main protagonists of Apollo and Trucy and the recurring character from the first game on the DS, Ema Skye. Some of the characters in particular were downright annoying. This does seem to be a trend from the previous games though, as the characters can be very hit and miss. Unfortunately, Apollo Justice seems more ‘miss’ than ‘hit’ in terms of original characters.

The unique capabilities of the DS are utilised well in the new investigation techniques which appear in Apollo Justice. You can dust for fingerprints, take casts of footprints and examine evidence more closely with the touchscreen. However, as great as all this is, it features very little in the game and it could have been so much better if it was used more frequently.

Apollo Justice is no doubt a good game, but perhaps one for die hard fans of the series only. The DS exclusive features are definitely a step in the right direction, and I wold hope that if Capcom carry on the story of Apollo, these features will be utilised more frequently and more fully. The game almost feels like a test run on the DS, rather than a full blown touch screen experience of the game.

iLiKETRAiNS Live at Roadhouse, Manchester, April 30th 2008

Published on May 1, 2008 in Music, gig and review. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

Seeing as iLiKETRAiNS had scheduled no dates in Scotland for their current tour, I arranged a trip back home to coincide with their Manchester date. I’ve not been to many gigs in Manchester but was impressed by Roadhouse as a venue. It had a cosy feel, and an excellent selection of beers. The stage setup was unusual, as the drums were situated at the back, in a sort of alcove. I thought this was quite nice, and the gig itself felt nice and intimate, which is how a good gig should be.

The first support was supposed to be Laymar, a local band, who sound like they would have been good to hear live. However, they had a technical failure which meant that they couldn’t perform at the gig.

The touring support were Kyte, who I would describe as a British Jeniferever. The vocalist admitted to losing his voice, but still managed to create the right atmosphere for the type of music they played, which I enjoyed. I think I prefer to see more atmospheric bands live, as I find watching where all the different parts to the songs come from fascinating. Also, I think all their songs featured a glockenspiel, which can go a long way to making any song instantly better.

So on to iLiKETRAiNS. They opened with 25 Sins, which has become pretty standard since they started touring the album tracks. I remember when I first heard the song live, as I’d not heard it on record at the time, and it was amazing. That hasn’t changed and I would have been disappointed if 25 Sins was not the opening track. The opening drumstick clacks are just brilliant and really set the song up well. Also the use of a guitar solo sets it apart from most of iLiKETRAiNS’ other songs. After that, the setlist was similar to that which was used when I saw them in Scotland. This is no bad thing, especially as they played Victress. One of the enthusiastic blokes from the side of the stage seemed surprised that they would be playing a B-side, but Dave, the lead singer asked if it was good anyway. I replied that it was fantastic! Which it clearly is. The refrain of ‘all men will be, sailors until the sea shall set them free’ is just brilliant and gives the song that little bit extra.

As this was the ‘We Go Hunting’ tour, they certainly seemed to get more into this particular song and gave it their all. It’s one of the more accessible songs on the album, as its upbeat, and the atmospheric nature of the band and Dave’s voice really make it something special.

we also got treated to a new song, which is still in the writing process. It’s working title is ‘Progress is a Snake’ and it was excellent. I think it may be one of my favourite iLiKETRAiNS songs despite only hearing it once. (Plus the youtube quality version of it) I really liked what Simon did with the drumming at the beginning, and there were 2 synths used which was something a bit different. Overall though it was certainly iLiKETRAiNS, and I thoroughly look forward to the finished product.

I think the gig itself went very well for the TRAiNS guys and they said themselves that they had enjoyed it lots. A minor technical hitch was suffered with the projector which was noticeable through the show. After it showed no signs of recovering, it was swiftly turned off by the expert multi-tasker, Ashley, and the show went on. This was only in the last song anyway, and the truly epic nature of Spencer Perceval meant that nothing was lost from the experience and the show ended on an extremely high note.

During the gig, I shouted to Dave that the band should come back to Scotland again, and he said that they would. Hopefully they will stick by this, as I love seeing them in my favourite gig venue Cabaret Voltaire, as well as King Tut’s as it has an excellent atmosphere.

Tonight is iLiKETRAiNS’ homecoming gig, where there will be films and chess. Unfortunately it is not possible for me to go, but I hope that the band members and fans that can make it have an excellent time. Another upcoming TRAiNS date is the 26th of May, when there will be a cinema screening of Elegies to Lessons Learnt, which will probably be amazing to attend.