Parkour and Venetians on my mind.

I've been having a miserable couple of days and spent this afternoon making an exhibition of myself in Caffé Nero while I was plundering the free WiFi.

This photo is from The Wicked Venetians Hobgoblin launch party for their excellent recent ep; they've also just released a new video which is good (if relatively restrained compared to their live peformances), here's the link - check it out;

Horrified

They also have a couple of old videos on Youtube (Wicked Venetians TV) which use news video footage to make some good points.

But I was attracting an audience over my shoulder because I was wasting time watching 'Parkour' or 'freerunning' videos.

Works for me.

Mostly filmed in the red suburbs of Paris or down in sunny Marseilles, these are kids doing stunts on the roofs, balconies, staircases and public statues of decaying 1960's French housing estates.

Sommersaults, diving from roof to roof, jumping off buildings, leaping over moving cars; they are breathtaking and for me its an out of body experience.

Some videos are filmed at night with the free runners wearing suits lit up by LED's, in one case a free runner is covered in flames (its FX but hey).

Sometimes you watch the stunt filmed through a camera on the free runners head. Wow!

Whenever I watch them, I attract a stunned semi circle of people behind me trying to look as if they aren't interested and when I finish I feel better.

Check out 'Parkour' on Youtube....the police chases are good too - the ones that aren't staged.

Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)

Brooklands College end of year at The Hob.

Thursday night and I’m at the Hobgoblin with Robyn for The Brooklands College music department end of year concert. It’s the Hob at its best; putting on a gala night, putting something back.

This is Girl in the Garden who you’ve seen a number of times;

 

Reduced to a three piece for one night, I prefered their rougher, simpler sound but for the last number they were joined by a former guitarist for a much fuller sound which was more Robyn’s thing.

Then there was Primal Beard;

Where I managed to cut the heads off the excellent female lead and bass guitars. But I didn’t get to cut the beard off;

 
That was a spirited performance.

Amazing young musicians and there were quite a few I didn't pictures of. But, for an elderly punk, where is the anger of a generation that had its future stolen from it?

I'm puzzled.

The really good news for me is that the planned refurbishment of The Hob has been cancelled.

Whatever the reason, I’m glad, I like it the way it is – you can change it when I’m gone.

There’s still going to be a good night on the 19^th – with According to You and The Wicked Venetians there (amongst others) it will be an amazing way to celebrate not making a new start.

Neil Harris

(a don’t stop till you drop production)

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