30 Seconds To Mars – Carling Academy, Liverpool
By Jenny Hunter
30 Seconds to Mars is a band who are no strangers to being criticized. They divide opinion like no other but whether you love them or hate them one thing is for sure, they know how to put on a great live show. They have played in the UK before but not on a scale as big as this, with each venue completely selling out.
The atmosphere was electric and the hysteria will continue from when the band appear on stage, to when they leave and then return for the encore. The support act, Lost Alone, got a surprisingly good response from the fans. Bassist Tom Kitchen’s extremely energetic performance only being piped by vocalist Steven Battelle hitting himself with his shoe whilst kicking his leg in he air. It seems as if tonight they may have earned themselves a few more followers.
In the background Carl Orff ’s O Fortuna plays. The 30 Seconds to Mars logo is highlighted on a white sheet covering the stage. It falls to the ground and the crowd go wild - their idols are about to appear.
Launching into some of their biggest songs its easy to see why these guys have a reputation for their live shows. They really put everything into it, flying through songs like The Kill, From Yesterday, A Beautiful Lie and Attack with everyone singing along. Front man Jared Leto certainly grabs the audiences’ attention as he starts to talk in the words of the next song, getting the fans to join in, “Do you live, Do you die, Do you bleed?” These fans certainly do. The show is not all fast paced with a chilled section revealing the power of album tracks like The Story.
Musically and visually the show was amazing, they didn’t disappoint. They also gave something back to their fans with the signing after the show, which judging by the size of the queue must have gone on till past midnight. But that’s what 30 Seconds to Mars are all about, their fans. With this massive UK tour under their belt and a headline slot coming up at this years Give It A Name festival surely they’ll win an award for being one of he best live acts around at he moment.
Agony Gran
Today’s Agony Aunts are quite unreliable; most of them have more problems of their own to contest with let alone getting the time to respond to our students issues. We thought well why not ask the people that have been on the planet longer than an aeroplane... my gran….
Dear Betty, I’m a 3rd year student studying Physics and I fancy my professor like mad and he is only 7 years older than me. I really want to ask him out but is there a law against university lecturers dating their students? Please help Betty. Sonia, 21.
Betty says: Back in my day I didn’t get the chance to go to university, and my late Winston went away. I can imagine what you young folk are going through in that situation with dishy lecturers standing up at the front of the class. Unfortunately however, they are in a position of trust, and if the relationship between student and lecturer develops into something more, then that trust is broken. There must be hundreds of boys in your university who would love to court you.
Dear Betty, I have recently found out that I am pregnant. The thing is I went a bit crazy in freshers week and I don’t actually know who the father is. This is really getting me down and my studies are starting to suffer as a result of all this stress. What do you think I should do? Penelope, 21.
Betty says: Well it certainly sounds like you had a crazy time. I remember my first night partying down the bingo hall. I had my bum pinched in the queue for the toilets by my late husband Winston before I even knew his name. I would definitely suggest you speaking to someone urgently about the options available to you in connection with your pregnancy, maybe a counsellor at your university or your local GP. This never happened in my day, it was always so much easier back then.
If you’re in a spot of bother, or just want someone to give you advice that only years of existence can solve email: editorial@localxtra.co.uk
Rattle bus and Baggle review
By Jessica Hutton
Birkenhead Cricket Club played host to a charity gig recently to raise proceeds for Oxton Community Green Shop.
Within the club the atmosphere was distinctly relaxed. A stall was set up selling eco friendly products and a range of second hand clothing and videos. Children were welcome with many of them weaving in-between the tables dotted around the makeshift stage. You got the impression from the start that this was a family orientated event.
The event was organised by the Birkenhead band “Rattlebus”. They are a four piece band consisting of lead singer and guitarist Tim Glover, guitarist and singer Martin Ward, bassist Phil Mchoul and drummer Steve Vasey.
Tim Glover was enthusiastic about the event explaining that he put on the night to cater for people with children.
The night kicked off with an open mike session that saw an eclectic mix of performers ranging from guitar wielding crooners to yodellers
At about 10:15pm they played their first set to a receptive audience. Overall their performance was a perfectly affable way to while away an evening. They play in a style reminiscent of Paul Weller, and are set to release an album later this year.
Baggle finished the night off with a rip roaring performance that saw even the most reluctant set of feet tapping away to the beat. Baggle is a four piece band from Birkenhead with lead singer Neil, bassist and keyboardist Elliot Gallagher, drummer Gary Branscombe and bassist and keyboardist James Draper. It is hard to compare this particular bands sound to anything else as they are obviously influenced by a wide array of musical genres. They are definitely a must see and if you do anything this year make sure that you visit at least one of their performances.
For more information about Rattlebus you can go to their website www.rattlebus.co.uk or alternatively visit their Myspace page.
To get in touch with Baggle you can email the band at their Myspace page: www.myspace.com/Baggle. Baggle are set to play at the well known “Battle of the bands” event at the Barfly in March.
New bins, futuristic light fittings, and the loss of a Banksy?
By Will Hill
I have only been in the city of Liverpool for nearing on three years now but I feel like I have already witnessed the evolution of what was once a city with difficulties into a thriving epicentre of the Northwest.
The small changes have acted to accentuate the bigger improvements within the city, making Liverpool a working model of regeneration and putting the city on the map not only as a British town but as European Culture Capital. The bins which say ‘Liverpool’ on them seem to make a statement being so tall that I have seen children struggling to reach the opening, and the space age light fittings on Duke Street illuminate the entrance to the city coming from China Town to almost daylight levels. For me these light up an otherwise dark end of the city which needs to be seen by everyone, as does the large banksy rat that has been half removed from the corner of Berry Street and Upper Duke Street. This is one part of the City’s Culture that in my mind needs to be kept as it gives the streets character without being ‘shiny and new’, a theme which seems to run throughout the capital of culture’s plans.
The developments have added a lot of modern attachments to the city but I don’t think we should forget any of the older parts of the city that give it the culture that it has been praised for. The big dig has allowed Liverpool to gain confidence as a European City for the way it is, and people are more aware of the name now and associate it with more than the football team. People associate Liverpool with vibrancy, with diversity, and moreover they associate it with a city that is now part of the larger scheme of things.
As a student I have been stunned by the attention that Liverpool has gained since my arrival here in 2005. At the time there were noticeably less students from the South and the Midlands, and a smaller amount of foreign students had enrolled onto the many international courses that the Universities in Liverpool have to offer. The city is now teeming with students from as far as Uganda and America, and you don’t have to travel far to hear a southern accent from London or Bristol. These newcomers to the city make Liverpool the Capital of Culture that it is today, and help to add to the range of faces we see on the streets. They also allow us to spread the word that Liverpool is still growing and will continue to do so after 2008.
