The stars are you. Bipolar Sunshine live in Bristol. 12-04-2015

Your future standing right in front of you
Staring at you in your full view
But only you can make the change
It’s up to you to break the chain

Love more and worry less.

I don’t know how many of you have recognised the words above. Yet I know one thing for sure – those, who associated them with Bipolar Sunshine, listen to some damn good music.

Here’s a link for some to find the joy of discovery. And the rest of you, well, simply accept the opportunity to remember how brilliant this band is.

There is obviously a reason I’ve been rambling about Bipolar Sunshine so much lately. The truth is… Only yesterday I went to see them live at one of my favourite music venues in Bristol.

Despite the fact that the place was hot enough to make me feel as if I was being cooked, it did not stop me from enjoying every single thing that was happening on the stage and putting poor effort in trying to think of some decent, not fat-kid-jumping-like dance moves.

The air was boiling. You should have seen the Adio Marchant’s transparent shirt, which was soaking wet not only because of the heat in the air, but also because of the energy he was sharing with the public. It is quite difficult to explain the extraordinarily positive vibes he has been giving away to the listeners that night.

The show was approximately 50-minute-long. Not enough, you might say? I reckon it was perfect. No less and no more needed.

‘Fire’, ‘Love More Worry Less’, ‘Where Did the Love Go’, ‘Drowning Butterflies’, ‘Daydreamer’… All of the tracks I’ve been listening day after day after day were finally impeccably played right in front of my eyes, live, soaking my body with this amazingly positive emotion that made me smile for 50 minutes non-stop.

After going out to get some fresh air after the gig I thought that Bipolar Sunshine has an amazing power to flood our bodies and souls with amazing vibes, making us believe that there is always hope, no matter how f***ed up we are.

I’ve found the truth
The stars are you

—–Daydreamer—–

Quantum love in ‘The Theory of Everything’

Stephen Hawking has become some sort of a living icon. A legend. An idol. I am not surprised that James Marsh has decided to bring the biographical book, written by the very first Stephen’s wife, to life and release a film called ‘The Theory of Everything’. He’s not the first one letting us discover Stephen’s genius through brilliant cinematography. And he’s certainly not the last.

Some of my mates have once told me that I have no emotions. However, after watching this film and tearing up on a minute by minute basis I’ve realised that they couldn’t have been more wrong. My tears mixed with mascara were literally all over my face after the film ended.

QUANTUM GRAVITY AND… LOVE

I absolutely loved the fact that the screenplay author managed to combine two completely different things: physics and romance. Theoretical bit was immensely detailed (not as much as in the film ‘Hawking’), however, it did not throw the love line into the shade. It was not only a story about Stephen, but it also analysed how his women influenced his work and career.

As an example, the mise-en-scène when Hawking was in a hospital and doctors asked his first wife Jane whether they should let the physicist die, or bring him back to life adding, that he would not have an ability to speak ever again. The way Felicity Jones (acting as Jane Hawking) expressed her discontentment with this question was priceless.

And when you think about it, the woman could‘ve let the doctors end her husband‘s life, yet she fought for every second she could spend with him, which resulted in Stephen publishing one of the most substantial books on analysing the most significant subjects of cosmology, ‘A Brief History of Time‘.

REDMAYNE VS CUMBERBATCH

People tend to compare two of the best British actors Eddie Redmayne, who is the main actor in ‘The Theory of Everything‘, and  Benedict Cumberbatch, who embodied the same physicist in 2004. I dare to say that it is not reasonable to think that anyone could impersonate Hawking better that Eddie. The complexity of both facial and body language would have been a real challenge for anyone, however, he coped with everything perfectly.

WHO SAID THAT ACTING IS EASY?

In an interview with Anne Mavity the actor admitted that in order to know how do muscles of people with ALS work, he went to a clinic in London and worked with specialists ciphering Stephen‘s physical decline from old photographs. He then made a chart of every muscle and its condition. “I downloaded every single photo of Stephen on my iPad and when it came to the facial side of it, it was literally sitting in front of the mirror and trying to recreate everything”, he told the interviewer. Eddie Redmayne worked with a dancer through every single move whilst controlling his blinking speed and how quickly his eyes were moving. You can watch the whole interview here.

‘The Theory of Everything’ is a must-see, especially if you’re addicted to good biographical films or books. I’ll just try to express my feelings towards it with 3 words, like professional film critics do.

Extraordinary. Spellbinding. Helping-you-find-your-non-existing-emotions.

‘Ahead of the curve: new china from China’

Today I felt like going to the museum. Why not? – I asked myself in the morning. This Sunday was one of a few days-off I get and I have realised that watching ‘Suits’ all day would not make me a better person.

So I took the smartest clothes I’ve got, put my glasses, which usually give an impression that my IQ is way higher than it really is, on and headed to the city centre to do what sophisticated people do on weekends. Educate myself.

And… What  a surprise, I’ve found that there’s a new exhibition in town. Despite the fact that I’m not extremely into ceramics, the name of the display seemed to be intriguing enough to persuade me to delve deeper into the paraphernalia of porcelain artwork – ‘Ahead of the curve: new china from China’.

Sculpting was my least favourite subject at the art school, hence I did not expect much from this exhibition. However, I must admit that it has surpassed my expectations. For instance, these two works of Zhao Lantao.

                                  

‘Stand on the Cloud, no. 1’ – 2013                                       ‘At Ease’ – 2011

Both of those pieces of art have strong links to Buddhism and, according to the artist, resemble luohans (disciples of Buddha). Stretched earlobes, Abhaya Mudra (position of their palms meaning protection and blessing) third eye – they are the most significant symbols used when representing Buddha’s teachings through art. And let’s not forget about the traditional lotus motif. The author creates a dramatic contrast betwixt the spiky stems and the smoothness of china by embellishing the figures with springing lotus flowers as if they were natural parts of the luohans’ bodies.

What is the contrast for, though? I stood there, awkwardly staring at those two statues and after a while I made a hypothesis that Zhao Lantao has based his masterpieces on one of the most principal studies of Buddhism – suffering. Suffering is everywhere. It’s around us. It’s within us. Yet only by learning to accept this fact as it is and by finding a way to harness it, we can live in peace. Living in harmony with chaos and order is possible. This organic structure of porcelain flowers being a part of these sculptures is a wonderful illustration of such harmony. Originally the lotus flower itself rises from the muddy waters, symbolising achieving spiritual enlightenment after being born in the world full of the before mentioned suffering.

Another artist whose sculptures impressed me to the moon and back is Shao Changzong. Apart from an impeccable singbai (blue-white) glazing technique, each porcelain figure has a beautiful idea behind it. The ‘Dreamer’, for example, illustrates a world where eye contact is the only way to communicate and the concept of words is simply abandoned. What if there was no such thing as verbal language? …And again, there I was, standing in front of this sculpture completely zoned out, thinking, what if.

                                                    ‘Dreamer’ – 2011

                            

                                                      ‘Low-flying’ – 2012

The ‘Dreamer’ is a modernised example of the Chinese ceramics tradition. I‘m talking about the historic blue-and-white vases, mostly made during the Ming dynasty (from 1368 to 1644). And I have to admit that it is quite similar to Russian gzhel. #onlyrussianpeople.

‘Low-flying’ is a subtle piece of art, which I find quite similar to the ones created by Zhao Lantao. The description of this sculpture beautifully says it all, “He [the artist] uses the traditional Shan [triangular shape, composed on 3 peaks, which recalls the Chinese character for ‘mountain’] symbol to convey the specific state of mind of an individual, <…> the search for a balance between our inner being and outer world.”

The exhibition is in Bristol Museum and Art Gallery till 1 March 2015. Don’t miss a chance to visit it and zone out in a public place, fantasising about the most bizarre things on this planet. It’s quite fun : )

‘Child of My Time’ – An Englishman’s Journey in a Divided World

Book review

Mark Frankland‘s book ‘Child of My Time’ is like a microcosm of the Cold War, embellished with enchanting biographical motifs. Incredibly realistic descriptions of the journalist’s life unveil fascinating facts about Soviet Russia, Vietnam and other countries ‘patronised’ by communists. Portrayals of people he met and stories he was told about love, loss, poverty and ludicrous wealth touch the reader’s soul to its deepest.

Polish writer Joseph Conrad once defined the main purpose of writers: “By the power of the written word to make you hear, to make you feel – it is before all, to make you see.” Mark Frankland’s book is an excellent example of giving reader a chance to feel the tension permeated in the atmosphere of 70’s Moscow.

Frankland writes: “Revolutions happen when people realise there is nothing inevitable about the way they live, but Moscow was still the world capital of inevitability.” Despite the dangerous situation in the Soviet Union, he was sent there as a spy in 1958, as being a journalist was the perfect cover for agents. Before going to the unpredictable Khruschev’s Russia, the author served in the Navy, where he learned Russian. Nevertheless, he soon realised, that in order to survive in a country with the shadow of Stalin’s regime, being fluent is not enough.  He had to improve himself in the Soviet way of living. Mark was shown how to “pick locks, read codes and start a fire so the flames burst into a fire ball as quickly as possible.” However, his passion for writing soon overtook Frankland’s spying skills.

Every chapter invites readers to find out about the most sensitive details of the author’s personal life. Take his mother’s unfortunate destiny as an example. Being an alcoholic she keeps drowning herself in tears (and whiskey) as her husband does not want to continue the idyllic family life. “My father was in the Air Force and we followed like obedient dogs as he moved from airfield to airfield, but we were always a little behind him,” writes Mark. Sadly, even the second marriage had not helped her to get rid of the shackles of nostalgia.

Another subject the author focuses on is Vietnam War during the conflict between the North and South. He travels around the country with his friend journalist Loc while trying to reveal political consciousness of the locals. Shocking situations divulged in this book help to analyse the country from another perspective. Reader finds Vietnam as a place full of poverty and misery; a place, not understood by people from other corners of the world.

The author focuses on his life in the Soviet Union for the most of his book. He skilfully captures minute, yet subtly significant details: the gorgeous decorations of the Moscow metro stations, the hotel maid, the Soviet soldier’s long winter greatcoat. At the end of the book Mark confesses being homosexual and writes how hard it was to be gay in the conservative Russia. The author remembers that “the Bolsheviks had tired of free love as rapidly as they had of modern art.”

There were moments when the tension, incited by communists, was unbearable and Soviet insensibility – blood-curdling. Many people would have run away from the inhumane regiment right after realising that the Soviet Union is the one that creates rules of their destiny. Why did Mark Frankland stay? “I suppose we were old-fashioned romantics, and close enough to the poet’s image of the traveller who seeks out storms as though in storms he will find peace. What I did discover was the incomparable excitement of romancing new countries. They became the woman in my life.”

Intriguing, touching and full of travel romance. It is a must-read for those who desire to enrich their knowledge of the Cold War or simply enjoy an absolutely fantastic writing.

Love, extravaganza and Rock’n’Roll

This November Bristol O2 academy had a chance to hold the last ‘Queen’ tribute concert, produced by the legendary rockers Roger Taylor and Bryan May. ‘Queen Extravaganza’ started the UK tour in September 2013 with Bristol being the last city to rock. After 12 shows in 14 days the musicians squeezed out the last drops of their energy and created a live masterpiece.

Moving the doors opening time from 7pm to 8pm several hours before the show made people irritated. However, waiting outside gave everyone an opportunity to talk to the band members, which made the concert more intimate than ever.

You could feel a slight tension in the atmosphere before the musicians started to play. It was about waiting, the willingness to know if ‘Queen Extravaganza’ justifies the name of the best Queen tribute band ever. The average age of the fans was 50, which only proved the youth’s poor interest in the 80’s music.

The stage was under the grand purple screen emblazoned with the famous golden eagle – the symbol of ‘Queen.’ Then the public heard the very first chords of ‘We Will Rock You’. The show was more than stunning. It provided everyone with the opportunity to remember Freddie Mercury’s genius, phenomenal charisma and more than professionally used voice.

The group has 6 members overall – vocalists Marc Martel and Jennifer Espinoza, lead guitarist Brian Gresh, drummer Tyler Warrer, base player Francois-Olivier Doyon and keyboard player Brandon Ethridge. All the songs were performed with the maximum amount of energy humanly possible.

“It started one and a half years ago when Roger Taylor and his team picked us as a band, putting us all together,” remembers vocalist Marc Martel, “We were absolute strangers and did not know each other. They put us in a rehearsal hall in LA for 2 days to learn ‘Somebody to Love’ for performance on American Idol with 19 million people watching on TV. I can even barely watch it on Youtube, because it is so good.”

When people heard a song, which was a spiritual bridge connecting Freddie Mercury’s soul with the real world – ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ – they became breathless. It was a classic, which hided the great power behind its lyrics. Masking the homosexual nature was extremely hard for such a timid person like Farrokh Bulsara (Freddie Mercury). He suffered because of knowing that the society will be quick to condemn and his religious family – reject. The singer wanted to show the public, how hard it is to ignore the hatred and be who you are.

Trying to compare themselves with the original band, Brandon Ethridge whispered: „They only had three backing singers. We have six. So we can do more vocals in the concert. But our voices do not sound nearly as good as they did on the records. However, we are doing our best to pay tribute to them.“

Professional vocals with perfect harmony of 6 voices and a miraculous coherence of instruments were the key elements of this show.