All in All

Hottest ticket in town last night was for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at ULU; of course we had tickets and were expectant.

Well, firstly a little bitterness on my part, when I bought the tickets it was (a) their first London gig, and (b) at the infinitely better 100 Club. But, due to unprecedented demand they (a) upgraded to the not so good but nonetheless bigger ULU, and (b) did a warm up gig at the tiny Metro.

Were they worth the hype? Well, sort of I guess. Musically they are great and the songs were just as good as they are on the cd, but as a live act they need work. The Guardian review of their Metro show commented that regardless of the quality of the songs they have no stage presence or charisma. Obviously hurt by this they made an effort last night but a load of confetti-filled helium balloons eventually popped by the support act and some jumping about by the non-lead singers really isn't enough. The band hang on the front man who was either scared stiff, or just charisma free.

They will be back in February and we'll probably see them again, but unless they put on a show, I'd rather stay in in the warm and listen to the cd.

Although one shouldn't make comparisons, we saw Sons and Daughters on Monday and the Decemberists last Thursday and both of them just totally blew me away.

Number 3 in an occasional series of grumpy old man observations and things that would make the world a better place if I had my way...

You pay good money to go and see a band, or the theatre, or a sports event and you spend half the time texting (or phoning) a friend. Why do you need to do that? Your conversation and observations are not so earth-shatteringly important that you need to impart it immediately. And, how about sparing a thought for the people around you?

Two examples; Last year we went to see Brad Meldhau in a quiet intimate venue. Pre-show you couldn't help but hear the four people behind us. One of the flash lads had got the four tickets as corporate hospitality (they all had not idea who Brad Meldhau was) and was bragging about how great it was to get free tickets. Once the show started, the blonde girlfriend realised that quiet piano jazz trio sounds wasn't for her and so started texting her friends. Every few minutes "beep beep" of a return message. Selfish cow. They didn't come back from the interval after she was told top shut up (not by us for once).

And last night. Okay, so everyone had gone to see Devendra Banhart and not Dirty Three in support, but it was offensive the number of people deciding that as they were not interested in the support, no-one probably was so that makes it alright to drown out the sound of the band. I caught a glimpse of the text a guy in front was sending - "some violin player crap. Devendra on next thankfully". Selfish twat. For the record, Dirty three were actually very good and wasted on most of the people there.

So, a recap so far: if I ruled the world, hats are banned from festivals, all mobiles switched off during shows, and no statues until you've been dead for ages. What will I rant against next?

Just a quick moment to give a short appreciation to Keith Boadwee (aka Grandmaster B of the Blood Arm) and Kenny Latham.

Two of the greatest guys ever, the best friends you could wish for.

Love you guys.

So I've had a week now to take in Issue 2 of Infinite Crisis and it's time to review/evaluate.

What happened? The lovely Donna Troy has most of her deep space team ready. Any surprises? Well, they are going into deep space because the centre of the universe has shifted and there may be a tear in space opening up. So among her team are Red Tornado, who makes things a bit windy, Animal Man who can copy the powers of Animals he is close to (but in space...?) and two former Teen Titans who have never been anything remotely near big hitters. This seems an odd choice, I will watch with interest.

Also, the OMACs have launched an all out assault on Paradise island and the Amazons are once again being slaughtered.

Finally, the Earth2 Superman made himself known to Power Girl and told her who he was, who she was, where Earth 2 was, what happened to it, why she's a bit of a mess, and what's happened since. Basically he is disappointed that when the multiverse was collapsed into one Earth, the resultant years have been rather grim and dark (a comment on the last 20 years in comics). And finally she remembered everything, and he said that he was going to make it all right again by bringing back Earth 2 instead of this depressing world where people die.

Oh, and Lex Luthor, who may not be the real Lex Luthor, is collecting representatives from what was each old Earth for some nefarious purpose.

So comments. Why has Donna got Herald and Bumblebee in her team? I wonder whether as Herald's horn can open dimensional rifts, he will be essential in closing what's happening in space, but he'll make the ultimate sacrifice. This will allow Bumblebee to link up with Cyborg, as hinted in the Titans Tomorrow storyline and the cartoon series. Hopefully she'll change her name too.

Is the earth 2 Superman a misguided villain, or is there more to come?

Just how many Amazons are there and why are they always cannon fodder? I'm serious on this one. In the past few years of our time, they had a civil war with hundreds dead, the dreadful Our Worlds At War storyline with hundreds dead, an attack by Darkseid with hundreds dead. It's funny how they seem an easier target than the shock of killing real civilians. Maybe this is a post 9/11 thing - don't kill civilians as it's too close for comfort.

Oh, and Wonder Woman the comic is cncelled in February for a relaunch and new direction.

I'm really enjoying Crisis but there is a lot to cover in just 5 remaining issues.

It's all been in the news about a wine maker in the good old US of A branding it's latest vintage as 'Jesus Juice' with the opposite label, and now being possibly sued by Mr Jackson (assuming he can afford to sue anyone these days).

It really is too good to be true, so my question is, is this a legitimate bottle of wine (for the moment anyway) or just a shrewd joke/marketing initiate?

And if I'm being a pedant here, this wine is a Merlot, I thought red wine was Jesus Blood, and only white was Jesus Juice?

After all that fuss, it's time for comments on Issue 1 of DC's major "This will set out the direction for the next 20 years" comic event, Infinite Crisis.

Well, it's certainly off to a promising start by killing off a few second (or third depending on your opinion) heroes, and showing that the biggest crisis is that the heroes, especially the big ones, just don't trust each other anymore. Phil Jiminez's artwork is, of course, incredible.

So after this issue, and the revelations of the Return of Donna Troy and the true origin of Power Girl, it's clear that the multiverse did exist (as opposed to being countered out in the reboot of the universe in Crisis on Infinite Earths), but where will this lead us in the next six issues? Personally I hope the Multiverse will not return, nor will the dead earth-2 characters like the Helena Wayne Huntress, but at least people will acknowledge it was there once.

Predictions for the series? I still think Captain Marvel will die, or at least assume the role of Shazam, and considering they are minor characters, and the appearance of Fury 1 and Herald on the covers of issues 3&4 sends out a hint to me that they are not long for the world (Will Herald be sacrificed using his horn to close a rift in space?). I hope they don't kill off Bumblebee but I hope they change her name after this. I also have a funny feeling Starfire may go as well, don't know why.

Issue 2's out in a fortnight so let's see what happens next

I feel the need to comment on the Rebekah Wade/Ross Kemp situation.

Let's start by putting my cards on the table here and saying from the start that I have always thought that she is an odious individual. Her sanctimonious stance on Naming and Shaming paedophiles in the News of the World was handled appallingly without thinking of the consequences (stoke the public's anti-paedophile venom, print a blurred photo of a man saying he lives in, say Kilburn, and stand back and watch the number of people beaten up in a case of mistaken identity.

Now her latest cause has been stamping out domestic violence, so it's with delicious irony that she was arrested yesterday for beating up her husband, television hardman Ross "Grant Mitchell" Kemp. Hypocritical bitch.

However, the worst part of this is how she allowed her newspaper to report it. In true "today is a good day to bury bad news" fashion, her banner headline was instead to divert attention by publishing a story that in fact, her husband's screen brother, television hardman Steve "Phil Mitchell" McFadden was a vistim of domestic violence by his ex girlfriend, with a tiny column saying that her scuffle was nothing more than a tiny silly row over nothing between a husband and wife.

I hate her, I truly do.