The Spice of Life is an open mic night!

Last week, I went to an open mic night for the first time and it was surprisingly amazing: this might be one of the best ways to discover new talents and new music!

Eight pm, a bar called “The Spice of Life” near Leicester Square. It is a Monday night but the streets are packed with people. Entering that quite common-looking pub, the fun is just a door and a staircase away.

Downstairs, it feels like I’m on a movie set: the atmosphere is the one of an underground bar during prohibition. Small tables shared by small groups, a bar with a small counter, soft lights, candles and a small stage, just a couple of meters away from the front row tables.

The first to take the stage and face their audience is a duo called “Sally”: they’re the union between a flamenco guitar player and vocal harmonies. The first song was not a big hit but the second one, an impressive and original reprise of “Imagine” by Lennon, left us all gob smacked.

Jaz came second: his energy and humour left their mark. While playing the piano like a manic, he got us all interacting and singing with him. He sang “She broke my heart” and we went “Awww”; he chanted “She was engaged” and we replied “Boooh”. Quite a good sing-along if you ask me.

Then came Sarah, from the band “Paper Aeroplanes”, dressed in a long black skirt and a funny sweater showing a monkey wearing tasty pink glasses. I might not be very objective because I love their music dearly. I discovered them recently and would advise you to check them out: they’re insanely good!

She sang 4 songs including “Circus” and “Little Letters” and an exclusive-never-played-before-song. My favourite, thought, has to be “Fable” because the lyrics caught me off guard and brought many sweet thoughts back to my head. Hiding behind a guitar that seems way to big for her and looking quite frail, Sarah gave an excellent performance despite the stress (it was her first open mic nigh too!).

I stayed a bit longer to listen to a band made of four young guys. They didn’t have a band name and I apologise for not remembering their names. They were really good and I’m pretty sure these guys will meet success very soon. Thank God, I’ll recognize their faces and will be able to correct my paper…Their vocals and music were great and left me wanting more.

I have to say that this open mic night was a thrilling experience! It has to be done at least once. This is such a great idea for a date… And if you love music, I truly believe that this is the new way to discover good music!

Miss DiversiT

“Southcliffe”, the new Channel 4 drama that will wrench your guts

Yesterday evening saw the airing of the first episode of “Southcliffe”, a new TV drama by Channel 4 that will leave you on the edge of your seat, with a weird feeling inside your belly.

Written by the talented and award-winning Tony Grisoni (who worked on the “Red Riding” series a few years ago), the action takes place in a small fictional country town where a gunman spreads panic and blood on his mad journey across Southcliffe.

The four-part mini-series shows what chain of events led to these bloody shootings and how the town reacts to what happened, as the inhabitants wake up from what feels like a nightmare.

Not without reminding about the shootings in Cumbria in 2010, “Southcliffe” explores the wide range of feelings that led and resulted from the gunman’s actions through the eyes of a journalist, originally from the town.

This TV drama is served by many well-known and talented British actors: Rory Kinnear (Black Mirror) is the journalist, Sean Harris (Prometheus) plays Stephen, Joe Dempsie (Skins, Games of Thrones) plays Chris, while the next episodes should see the apparition of Kaya Scodelario (Skins, Wuthering Heights).

Nerves wrenching, gloomy and terrifying, “Southcliffe” is what I would call great British television! It has a great intensity, while being well executed and sadly realistic. I read on Twitter last night, shortly after the end of the first episode, a comment of a man saying that he needed to watch videos of kittens and puppies before going to bed. I cannot help but agree with him: “Southcliffe” is definitely not for the faint hearts. Still, it is so good it hurts! 

The last episode is to be aired next Sunday, at 9pm…It is going to be a long week, guys!

Miss DiversiT

Percy Jackson in the Bermuda Triangle…oops, sorry, “Sea of Monsters”

For this second instalment of the Percy Jackson saga, the trio formed by Percy, Grover and Annabeth are going on a quest to find a magic golden fleece. They are accompanied by Tyson, a clumsy but friendly Cyclops…nothing exceptional here!

If you liked the first Percy Jackson, you will like this one probably just as much. It is equally intense, scary and there are loads of creatures, colossuses and oracles to satisfy your monster hunger. Set in what we, humans, call the Bermuda Triangle, this episode sees Percy and his friends go on a quest to find the golden fleece, only magical instrument to save the dying tree that protects their home: Half-Blood Camp.

The highlights of this film are probably the creatures: the bright, colourful and lovable Sea Horse is every little girl’s dream (or will be!); the vicious bull robots were really impressive and dangerous; the Oracle was really frightening, both physically and verbally. On the downside, you would think that, after creating so many monsters, it would be easy peasy to make perfect believable Cyclops…Well, apparently not!

Being a huge fan of Harry Potter, I have to say that the trio that Percy forms with his friends rings a bell and that similitude can be annoying because too obvious at times: Percy is Harry: a threatening prophecy puts some extra pressure on his shoulders; Grover is Ron: funny and laid back but always there when you need him while Annabeth is Hermione: clever, know-it-all and the feminine asset of the group.

Overall, the storyline is good, despite a crazy rhythm that will ask all your concentration if you do not want to miss the plot and the evolution of the story. The action and the sense of humour are there (while in a disaffected leisure park, Percy and Annabeth sing “It’s a Small World”, funny reference to Disney).

The ending is definitely hinting that a third film is to come in the near future so, brace yourself and get ready: this is not the last time you hear about Percy Jackson!

I will leave you with a funny detail: the director of this film is called Thor Freudenthal! Tell us about prophecies and predestination…

Miss DiversiT