Shhhhhh! It's silent comedy time!

First time I have ever seen a silent movie was a couple of years ago. I was on holiday in the South of Spain and the local cultural centre was screening Charles Chaplin's famous Modern Times. It was such a surprise for me to be able to get into a movie where the words were substituted by live piano music.


During this weekend, 24-26th January, Bristol is hosting Slapstick Festival 2014 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the festival dedicated to silent and classic comedy. 

For the first time, they have the collaboration of the City of Bristol College and students from the college will create nine silent comedy films which will be shared in the social media. Seven have already been shared. I post the first one, but you can find the rest here. 

The festival will start with the Silent Comedy Gala 2014, which will take place at Colston Hall tomorrow at 7.30pm. Charles Chaplin's City Lights will be projected accompanied by The Bristol Ensemble orchestra. There are still tickets available though all the areas are nearly full. If you are interested, hurry up! Available tickets cost between £26.76 (£23 concessions) including fees (buy here).

The rest of the events are hosted by different venues. Below, I highlighted some of the events that caught my eye. The brochure is available here to check all the events.

FRIDAY - 24th January 2014

• The Extraordinary Adventures of Mister West in the Land of the Bolsheviks (Arnolfini - 2.15pm) is a 1924 film by Soviet director Lev Kuleshov. The 75-minute movie challenges American stereotypes about Soviet Russia  (£8/£6.5)
• Silent Comedy Gala (Colston Hall - 7.30pm) see information above

SATURDAY - 25th January 2014

• Timeless Chaplin (Watershed - 1pm) introduces Charles Chaplin to a new generation (£5.5-£2.5)
• Gromit: Silent Comedy Canine (Bristol Old Vic - 2.30pm ) is Bristol's very own Oscar-winning silent comedy (£8-£15)
• Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (Bristol Old Vic - 8.15pm), a rare chance to watch a 20th century comedy in big screen. With intro and after-show chat with Python star Terry Jones. (£15)

SUNDAY - 26th January 2014

• Tim Vine: Why I LOVE Benny Hill (Watershed - 11.40am). The stand-up comedian will show us different sides of Benny Hill, one of the best known British comedian (£6.5-£8)
• Withnail & I (Bristol Old Vic - 7.30pm) is a 1987 black comedy film produced by George Harrison's HandMade Films, directed and written by Bruce Robinson (£15)

INTERESTING LINKS
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SLAPSTICK FESTIVAL
Website: http://www.slapstick.org.uk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SlapstickFest

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SlapstickFestival

GALA COLSTON HALL
Website: http://www.colstonhall.org/shows/silent-comedy-gala/

TEDxBristol has NOT been a failure!

At last, I have been in a TEDx event, something I can already cross from my bucket list. Two months after purchasing my ticket for the event, the day finally arrived. And it happened to be a success: very inspiring people with "ideas worth spreading".

The day started at 9.20am, when I arrived to Colston Hall for the registration. I got my very own blue wristband which would give me access (and also discounts) and the official programme which had all the information I needed about speakers, organisers, sponsors... There was already a queue to get the best seats, but once the doors were opened, we all went inside very fast. Obviating what was written in the programme ("be seated by 9.50"), most of the audience arrived few minutes before the start of the event. 

We were around 1000 people in the audience, most of us around our 30s, but I could also see people in their 20s as well as 50s... or even older!

The event started at 10.15am with a video, then some useful instructions given by Becky Sage (the Project & Logistics Manager), and followed by a welcome presentation of the Curator of the TEDxBristol, Nat Al-Tahhan.

The first speaker, Professor David Nutt, introduced his presentation about drugs with Amy Winehouse, explaining how he got dismissed from his Government position for "repeteadly clashing with ministers over issues of drug harm and classification". Then, there was a change on the original schedule, and it was Simon Edwards who talked next about how "it takes courage to fail" in the military world. At sharp 11am, there was a 2-minutes silence for the Remembrance Day.

Brian Goldman was next and he told a very touching story of his own failures as a doctor, and the period of shame and recrimination he suffered after failures happened (video). As the event was behind schedule, they skipped the video-talk of Stanley McChrystal and we went directly to break time. We were asked to change our seats after the break to have new faces around to network with.

Paul Burden, who came up to the stage after the morning break, emphasized how "failures are actually valuable discoveries" and that "avoiding failure is not a success".

The video of Eddie Obeng's talk came next. Dressed with a bright orange shirt, Eddie explained how he did 60,000 miles without even moving from his desk in a very funny and entertaining way. I could tell that the audience really loved this talk. Then, Tomas Rawlings talked about news video games, and failures he experienced when launching a new idea for a video game.

After, the start of the day arrived: Sarah Abell. She clearly connected with the audience with a very touching second presentation about herself, adding personal experiences and giving us some tips on how to build "Authentic Relationships" in our lifes. I really loved her talk.

Matt Smith's video had some technical issues and couldn't be played. Michael Johnson then came up to the stage to give us a great engineering presentation about pocket space crafts. Karl Loudon was the next speaker, the managing director and co-founder at the Responsive Website Company, who used some slides that spoke volumes of his graphic design abilities.

The last speaker before the lunch break was Luke Williams, who explained the workshops which have been run during lunch time. Then, Hepzibah Theatre, did a very modern artistic performance, mixing dance, music and spoken word poetry. It is probably the only thing I didn't like from the whole event.

Lunchtime - Just by flashing our wristband, some venues were offering discounts to TEDxBristol delegates: a 10% discount at Beatroot Cafe, Roll for the Soul and Friska, and a 20% discount at Brigstow Cafe, MyBurrito, Quick Crepes and the Birdcage. I decided to go to The Birdcage, in Clare Street. I had a goat cheese toasted sandwich and a latte for as little as 5.35 pounds.



The afternoon session started with Ed Ley, a gym owner who told us Angela's story, a customer who wanted to punish herself with a hard diet and strong physical exercises to go from a size 16 to a 14. At one moment, he went silence for longer than expected. I wonder if he forgot what he had to say next. However, he wisely managed to go on with the speech and get the applause he deserved.

Jian Jiang (video) spoke about how donuts had changed his life in his "rejection therapy" to lose his fear of failing; a very funny speech which deserved a very big round of applause. Paul Robertson involved the audience asking for their experience during the driving learning process, and highlighted the importance of practicing and also understanding in order to improve.

Karl Belizaire, policy manager at UnLtd, made two questions to the audience: "what is failing in your community?" and "what are you going to do about it?". Sophie Mather, founder of Biov8tion sustainable textiles experts, brought a big mountain of old clothes to make us aware of the amount of waste we create in the textile market. I also loved her presentation slides using Prezi, a very cool software alternative to Power Point.

After the afternoon break, we travelled around the world with Paul Archer's stories (and failures), who wouldn't have got good stories if everything had gone according to the plan. Regina Dugan's (long) video introduced us into the aerospace industry, where there is "no big success without numerous failures happening before".

The event came to final stage with the aero acrobat Sven Hopla and his presentation about failure in the circus, and the scottish wildlife cameraman Doug Allan and his experiences when filming animals during 8 days to get 1 minute video.

Overall, I say that TEDxBristol has NOT been a failure, although there were some technical issues that could have been prevented. There were genious speakers who left no one indifferent.
I have to also congratulate the TEDx team for organising such an ispiring event. However, I must also add that the blog "Great little place called Bristol" wanted to get involved and volunteer for the event, and contacted the TEDx team to offer help back in August. The reply I got from the Curator was that I would be "added to the list of volunteers that we will undoubtedly be calling on nearer the time to help with logistics". Today, I am very disappointed: I have never got that call.

LINKS
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Webpage: http://tedxbristol.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TEDxBristol
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxBristol

TEDxBristol

"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly" 

Robert F. Kennedy

Under the topic "Failure", Colston Hall will held the most amazing, inspiring and unique talks on Monday, 11th November 2013. Eight-hour annual conference where world-leading thinkers, speakers and doers talk for 18 minutes each.

Tickets are already available, which are £25 for adults (£10 for students) but they are giving away earlybird discounts if you sign up for the newsletter and you could get the ticket for just £15.

There are four speakers officially confirmed at the moment:

SOPHIE MATHER - Sophie is passionate about sustainable textiles and clothing, failures in the current processes and the groundbreaking impact changes the industry can make. She works to engage and inspire clothing brands, retailers and suppliers through relevant innovation to reduce impacts on key resources such as water, energy, finite raw materials and chemicals, whilst at the same time driving reductions in waste. Read more

LUKE WILLIAMS - Luke will be presenting and running one of his innovative Failure Swapshops at TEDxBristol this year, creating a space for delegates to discuss their failures in a safe and supportive way, sharing only the lessons learned with those outside the room. Luke has an unusual work history that includes failing at a couple of start-up side projects, working brieftly for the Government, taking part in a very amateur Loch Ness expedition and spening over a decade presenting on local radio. Read more

PAUL ARCHER - Paul, 26, conceived the "It's on the Meter" expedition: a trip where three friends tried to drive to Sydney in a London Black Cab in February 2011. They didn't stop at Sydney though, returning to London 15 months later having cincumnavigated the world, broken two Guinness World Records. The team battled constand breakdowns, snow, sand, deserts, monsoons, arrests, a double murdering mechanic, deportation from a rogue state and mountains on red tape with a smile of their faces. Read more

DAVID NUTT - David Nutt is currently the Emond J Safra Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology and Head of the Centre of Neuropsychopharmacology in Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College London. He was dismissed from his Government position as a chariman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs for repeatedly clashing with ministers over issues of drug harm and classification. David broadcasts widely to the general public both on radio and television including BBC and Channel 4 science and public affairs programmes on therapeutic as well as illicit drugs, their actions, harms and their classification. Read more

The TEDxBristol team is looking for professional photographers who will be responsible for capturing speakers and main stage pictures as well as audience, team and general event moments. If you are a professional photographer interested in joining the TEDxBristol team, get in touch with them. 

REFERENCES: All pictures and descriptions of speakers have been entirely taken from TEDxBristol website.  

Guess Who?!

Man. 54 years old. Born in Oxford, 11th June 1959. The youngest of four children. Scottish descend parents. His father was a doctor. Do you know who I am talking about? Not yet? What if I say he pretended to be a doctor for 8 years? 

Yes, I am talking about Hugh Laurie. The famous Dr. Gregory House. He may be in Bristol at the moment. Or he might arrive tomorrow, who knows. What is certain is that he will be in Colston Hall tomorrow (13th June) at 7.30pm. The highest-paid TV actor in America will be in Bristol supported by musicians the Copper Bottom Band. 

The second album, Didn't It Rain, was released in the UK on 6th May 2013. He branches into the Southern US and South American genres including Jazz, R&B and Tango. 

There are still some available. They are a little bit expensive (£32.50-£35) but I am sure the show is worth every penny. 

Symphony of a thousand

So many memories. I was around 12 years old. I went to Bayonne with the choir in which I used to sing. It was the first time singing surrounded by a massive orquestra, 3-4 choirs, a powerful organ, 6-7 soloist singers... Everytime I hear the first notes of the symphony, I always have goose bumps.

VIDEO: Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Georg Solti. 

This time, Colston Hall was the venue for Brunel Sinfonia to team up with choirs from across Bristol and Gloucestershire (Bristol Cabot Choir, Nailsea Choral Society, South Goucestershire Choral Group, Colstons Choral Society and the Red Maids' School) to perform Mahler's mighty 8th Symphony. 

Because it requires huge instrumental and vocal forces, the symphony is frequently called the "Symphony of a thousand", although the work is often performed with fewer than a thousand. 

Conductor Tom Gauterin made a great job in front of over 500 non-professional performers and the result: an excellent one-hour-and-a-half concert of my preferred symphony.

The structure of the work is unconventional: instead of the normal framework of several movements, the piece is in two parts. The power of the symphony is evident. Mahler, in renouncing the pessimism that had marked much of his music offered the Eighth as an expression of confidence in the eternal human spirit.

The performance tonight was great. This symphony is technically complex and performers did a very good job in an almost full venue. However, I still cannot get used to pseudo-elegant atmosphere where drinking beer while listening to classical music is the crop up in this country. Apparently here in the UK, it is very typical to get your beer and bring it inside the hall, which would be practically unthinkable in other places.

International Jazz and Blues Festival

Welcome March to the tune of Jazz and Blues!

Starting 1st March and for three days, the city of Bristol plays host to some of the world's most innovative jazz musicians. For a whole weekend, there will be 24 individual concerts and free late night jam session, being Colston Hall the main venue.

http://www.bristoljazzandbluesfest.com/

Tickets available for the festival:

• Weekend Festival Pass (very limited availability) £130
• Friday Evening Tickets £30
• Saturday Day Ticket £60
• Sunday Day Ticket £60

Individual concert tickets also available: See prices HERE

The festival includes performances of Ginger Baker's Jazz Confusion and the UK legend Chris Barber on Friday, guitarist John Scofield with his new project on Saturday evening and Cuban virtuoso Arturo Sandoval and his sextet on Sunday night.

The weekend will also bring over New Orleans official musical ambassador Lillian Boutté, funk maestro Pee Wee Ellis, local heroes Andy Sheppard and Get The Blessing, BBC radio stars Clare Teal and Alyn Shipton.

The bar in Colston Hall plays host music sessions which will kick off before and after the performances on each evening. Very good opportunity to enjoy the jazz and blues for free, protected from the cold weather.

PICTURE: The Zenn Hussies performing in the lounge on Friday.

Thanks to Groupon (Gotta love it!), we got 2 tickets for 8 pounds to see the performance from UK legend Chris Barber last evening. The actual price was around 25 pounds so it was an unrejectable deal, even though I was feeling a little bit under the weather.

A "young" 80-year-old Chris Barber welcomed everybody and introduced the big band he brought to Bristol, which made us travel to the very 30s. One hour and a half of very professional performance to convince the audience that 60 years of experience is not just a number. 

If you still haven't got any plans for the weekend, do not doubt: go grab a drink and enjoy at least the concerts in both Colston Hall bar or in Foyer for free. I am sure you will not regret it.

... life would be a mistake

Friedrich Nietzsche once said:

"Without music, life would be a mistake"

He was right. Music makes life worth living. I am not talking about short-time music. Not about the commercial music. Not the music we listen again and again in most of the radio stations. I am talking about long-term music, music that is being played throughout the years. And still makes a difference. Music that makes us fly, dream, get excited, cry... Definitely, music that reaches our hearts.

I just came from Colston Hall. A friend and I went to listen to the Polish National Radio Orchestra and we very much enjoyed it.

Opening Bernstein's Candide Overture was a playful piece probably all the audience delighted.

VIDEO: Bernstein himself conducting London Symphony Orchestra

Performed Penderecki's Chaconne, which I personally did not enjoy much, followed by the 2nd Piano Concerto by Shostakovich. Pianist Noriko Ogawa left all the audience open-mouthed with her brilliant performance, specially in the emotive Andante.

VIDEO: Dmitri Shostakovich's son and grandson, Maxim and Dmitri Jr., conducting and performing Andante.

However, the top of the bill was Mahler's 5th Symphony. Speachless. There are no words to describe how Mahler makes you feel. Instead, I post a video and you make up your own mind. 

VIDEO: Daniel Baremboim conducting Chicago Symphony Orchestra

So, here is my first post for the so-called "Classical Music", which for this case would be totally wrong because Mahler was a post-romantic composer.

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NOTE: If you are young, you have the opportunity to enjoy good music for a couple of pounds. Colston Hall offers 31£ tickets for just £8 (if you are under 18, you could have it for £1) and St. George Bristol also has special prices for students and jobseekers. Check the calendars in their websites and enjoy!

Colston Hall                    St. George's Bristol