2020 Diary

In Summary

Covid really messed my year up...

Shows & Stuff

001 23/01 ***** Million Dollar Heist @ Enigma Quest
002 26/01 ***** Royal Rumble @ Sports Bar & Grill, Shoreditch
003 06/02 ****_ Go Karting @ Ace Karting, Nuneaton
004 11/02 ****_ Magic Goes Wrong @ Vaudeville Theatre
005 12/02 **___ Cars @ V&A Museum
006 12/02 ***__ Codebreaking and Cryptography @ Science Museum
007 12/02 ***__ Filmageddon @ Prince Charles Cinema
008 27/02 ****_ Emerald and Sapphite @ Puttshack
009 01/03 ***__ Flight @ Granary Square
010 01/03 **___ Coma @ Granary Square
011 01/03 ****_ Seance @ Granary Square
012 05/03 ****_ Found Footage Festival @ Soho Theatre

Streaming

001 26/04 ***__ Night of the Living Dead @ Imitating the Dog
002 30/04 ****_ Frankenstein @ National Theatre

003 17/05 ****_ Sea Shambles @ The Stay at Home Festival

004 20/07 ***** Scott Pilgrim read-a-long

005 30/07 ***__ Bug: Supergrass Special

006 17/09 ***__ The Psychology of Horror with Andy Nyman

007 02/10 ***__ Black Panther Movie Breakdown

Films

001 01/01 ****_ Fast and Furious 8 (2017)
002 04/01 ***** Jojo Rabbit (2019)
003 04/01 ****_ The Gentlemen (2019)
004 05/01 ***__ Bad Boys (1995)
005 05/01 ***__ Bad Boys 2 (2003)
006 06/01 ****_ The Resurrection of Jake the Snake (2015)
007 08/01 ***** Polar (2019)
008 11/01 ****_ 1917 (2019)
009 11/01 ***__ Strangers on a Train (1951)
010 12/01 ***__ Cats (2019)
011 12/01 ***__ Metoroporisu (2001)
012 20/01 **___ The Grudge (2020)
013 21/01 **___ Hitman: Agent 47 (2015)
014 25/01 ***** The Last of Sheila (1973)
015 25/01 ****_ Iron Man (2008)
016 26/01 ***__ The Incredible Hulk (2008)
017 26/01 ***__ Iron Man 2 (2010)
018 26/01 ***__ Thor (2011)
019 26/01 ***__ Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
020 26/01 ***** Avengers Assemble (2012)
021 28/01 ***__ Weathering with You (2019)
022 29/01 ***__ Bad Boys For Life (2020)
023 30/01 ***__ The Holy Mountain (1973)
024 30/01 **___ Downhill Racer (1969)
025 01/02 ****_ Circle (2015)
026 01/02 ***__ Miss Americana (2020)
027 02/02 ****_ Project-A (1983)
028 02/02 ***__ Castle in the Sky (1986)
029 02/02 ****_ My Neighbour Totoro (1988)
030 02/02 ***** Police Story (1985)
031 03/02 ****_ Okja (2015)
032 05/02 ****_ The Lighthouse (2019)

033 09/02 *____ Die Hard Dracula (1998)
034 09/02 *____ The Edge of Hell (1987)
035 09/02 ****_ Jurassic World (2015)
036 09/02 **___ This Was Tomorrow (2015)
037 09/02 ***__ Good Time (2017)
038 10/02 ****_ Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn (2020)
039 11/02 ****_ Bombshell (2019)
040 12/02 **___ Fando y Lis (1968)
041 14/02 ***** Parasite (2019)
042 14/02 **___ Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
043 17/02 ***__ First Love (2019)
044 17/02 **___ The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019)
045 17/02 ****_ Mother (2009)
046 18/02 ***__ Tales From Earthsea (2006)
047 18/02 **___ Daft Punk Unchained (2015)
048 20/02 ***__ Only Yesterday (1991)
049 20/02 ****_ Dragon Quest Your Story (2019)
050 20/02 ****_ Dolemite Is My Name (2019)
051 20/02 ****_ The Hustle (2019)
052 21/02 ***** Snowpiercer (2013)
053 21/02 ****_ Greed (2019)
054 21/02 ****_ Misbehaviour (2020)
055 22/02 ****_ Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)
056 23/02 ****_ Penguin Highway (2018)
057 24/02 ***__ Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
058 29/02 ***__ Onward (2020)
059 29/02 ****_ Colour Out of Space (2019)
060 29/02 ***** The Invisible Man (2020)
061 01/03 ***__ Gantz:O (2017)
062 06/03 ***__ Little Women (2019)
063 06/03 ***** John Wick (2014)
064 06/03 ****_ John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)
065 06/03 ***** John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019)
066 07/03 **___ American Hunt (2019)
067 14/03 ***** The Hunt (2020)
068 15/03 ***__ Fantasy Island (2020)
069 20/03 ***__ The Platform (2019)
070 22/03 ***__ The Last Heist (2016)
071 22/03 **___ Essex Heist (2017)
072 22/03 ***** Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (2015)
073 24/03 ***__ National Treasure (2004)
074 26/03 ***__ A Dirty Shame (2004)
075 28/03 ***__ Iron Man 3 (2013)
076 28/03 ***__ Thor: The Dark World (2013)
077 28/03 ***** Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
078 28/03 ***** Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
079 28/03 ***** Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
080 29/03 ****_ Ant-Man (2015)
081 29/03 **___ Fantastic Four (2015)
082 29/03 ***__ Jim Jefferies: This Is Me Now (2018)
083 05/04 ***__ Bloodshot (2020)
084 05/04 **___ Vivarium (2019)
085 07/04 **___ Kill Ben Lyk (2018)
086 07/04 ***** Mission Impossible Fallout (2018)
087 09/04 ***__ Zero (2018)
088 10/04 ***__ Hands on a Hardbody (1997)
089 11/04 ***__ The Incredibles
090 12/04 **___ My Spy (2020)
091 14/04 ***__ The Incredibles 2 (2018)

092 15/08 *____ Raw Force (1982)

093 15/04 *____ Legend of the Rollerblade 7 (1991)

094 15/04 *____ Elves (1989)

095 15/04 ***__ Overdrive (2017)

096 21/04 ****_ Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
097 25/04 ***__ Tiger King (2020)
098 30/04 ***** Beastie Boys Story (2020)
099 01/05 ****_ Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
100 02/05 ***** Spirited Away (2001)
101 02/05 ***__ Porco Rosso (2002)
102 03/05 ***__ Guns Akimbo (2019)
103 03/05 ****_ VFW (2019)
104 03/05 ***__ The Assistant (2019)

105 12/05 ***__ The Whistlers (2019)

106 16/05 ***__ Why Don't You Just Die (2018)

107 19/05 **___ Recorder: The Marion Strokes Project (2019)
108 22/05 ***__ Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
109 23/05 ****_ Captain America: Civil War (2016)
110 23/05 ****_ Doctor Strange (2016)
111 24/05 ***** Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
112 24/05 ***__ Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
113 24/05 ***__ Thor Ragnarok (2017)
114 24/05 ****_ Black Panther (2018)
115 24/05 ***** Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
116 24/05 ****_ Ant-Man and The Wasp (2018)
117 24/05 ***__ Captain Marvel (2019)
118 24/05 ***** Avengers: Endgame (2019)
119 24/05 ****_ Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

120 25/05 ***__ T-34 (2018)

121 25/05 **** _ Guardians (2017)

122 30/05 ***__ Crazy World (2019)

123 30/05 **___ Wrinkles the Clown (2019)

124 31/05 **___ Scarface (1983)

125 02/06 ****_ Wreck It Ralph (2012)

126 03/06 ****_ Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)

127 03/06 ***__ Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)

128 05/06 ***__ Drum & Bass: The Movement (2020)

129 08/06 ***__ Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge (2020)

130 08/06 ***__ Fargo (1996)

131 11/06 ***__ Bad Black (2016)

132 14/06 ***__ Our Robocop Remake (2014)

133 14/06 ***__ Zodiac (2007)

134 04/07 ****_ Hamilton (2020)

135 05/07 ***__ Inheritance (2020)

136 05/07 *____ Money Plane (2020)

137 05/07 ***__ Feel the Beat (2020)

138 05/07 **___ The Courier (2019)

139 06/07 ***__ Da 5 Bloods (2020)

140 07/07 ***__ Chinese Zodiac (2012)

141 08/07 ***__ Trick (2019)

142 12/07 **___ The Old Guard (2020)

143 13/07 ***__ Lost Bullet (2020)

144 13/07 **___ Bleeding Steel (2017)

145 13/07 ****_ Jackass 3 (2010)

146 20/07 ***** Scott Pilgrim vs The World (2010)

147 28/07 ****_ Double World (2019)

148 30/07 ***__ Bad Trip (2020)

149 03/08 **___ Brick Mansions (2014)

150 03/08 ****_ An Honest Liar (2014)

151 04/08 ***__ The Hater (2020)

152 10/08 ****_ Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)

153 10/08 ***__ The Speed Cubers (2020)

154 11/08 ***__ The Vigil (2019)

155 12/08 ***** Inception (2010)

156 13/08 ***__ Jackass 3.5 (2011)

157 14/08 ****_ Flash Gordon (1980)

158 17/08 ***__ Nitro Circus (2012)

159 19/08 **___ Escape: Puzzle of Fear (2020)

160 19/08 ***__ No Escape Room (2018)

161 19/08 ***__ Escape Room (2017)

162 20/08 *____ Infinity Chamber (2017)

163 20/08 ***__ Escape Room (2017)

164 20/08 ***__ Escape from Marwin (2018)

165 23/08 ****_ Exam (2009)

166 23/08 ****_ Fermat's Room (2007)

167 23/08 **___ Mayhem (2017)

168 24/08 **___ Unknown (2006)

169 25/08 ****_ Tokyo Gore Police (2008)

170 25/08 ***__ House of 9 (2005)

171 25/08 ***__ Elevator (2011)

172 26/08 ***** Tenet (2020)

173 27/08 ****_ Sky Sharks (2020)

174 28/08 ***__ I am Lisa (2020)

175 28/08 ****_ Triggered (2020)

176 29/08 ***__ Bark [Short] (2019)

177 29/08 ****_ A Bit of Fun [Short] (2020)

178 29/08 **___ Breakfast [Short] (2019)

179 29/08 ***__ Flesh Control [Short] (2019)

180 29/08 **___ Subject 3 [Short] (2019)

181 29/08 ***__ Jeff Drives You [Short] (2019)

182 29/08 **___ Ouzo and Blackcurrant [Short] (2020)

183 29/08 ***__ Tarrare [Short] (2020)

184 29/08 ****_ The Columnist (2019)

185 29/08 ***__ Guest [Short] (2020)

186 29/08 **___ The Beholder [Short] (2020)

187 29/08 **___ Playhouse (2020)

188 29/08 *____ Blind (2020)

189 29/08 **___ Blood Will Have Blood [Short] (2020)

190 29/08 **___ Don't Click (2020)

191 30/08 ***__ Werewolf [Short] (2020)

192 30/08 ***__ The Motorist [Short] (2019)

193 30/08 ****_ Love Bite [Short] (2019)

194 30/08 **___ The Gift [Short] (2019) 

195 30/08 ***__ Wash [Short] (2019)

196 30/08 **___ Fuel [Short] (2019) 

197 30/08 ****_ Polvotron 500 [Short] (2019)

198 30/08 ***__ Keith [Short] (2019) 

199 30/08 ***__ Skull: The Mask (2020)

200 30/08 **___ Death Walks on Nitrate [Short] (2020)

201 30/08 ****_ The Afterlife Bureau [Short] (2019)

202 30/08 ****_ Two Heads Creek (2019)

203 30/08 ***__ Day 14 (2020) [Short]

204 30/08 **___ Hall (2020)

205 30/08 **___ Aquaslash (2019)

206 31/08 **___ Fairies (2019) [Short] NO LETTERBOXD

207 31/08 ***__ Enhanced (2019)

208 31/08 ****_ Blinders (2020)

209 31/08 ***__ Dark Stories (2019)

210 01/09 ****_ Would you Rather (2012)

211 03/09 ***__ To Your Last Death (2019)

212 03/09 ***__ The Call Up (2016)

213 05/09 ***__ Get Duked! (2019)

214 06/09 ****_ Bill and Ted Face the Music (2020)

215 06/09 ****_ Nine Dead (2010)

216 06/09 ***__ Breathing Room (2008)

217 07/09 ****_ The Hole (2001)

218 07/09 ***__ Cellular (2004)

219 08/09 ***__ Mindhunters (2004)

220 08/09 **___ The Steam Experiment (2009)

221 09/09 ***__ After the Dark (2013)

222 10/09 ***__ The New Mutants (2020)

223 15/09 **___ The Rise and Fall of Blackheart Wrestling (2020)

224 15/09 ****_ The Social Dilemma (2020)

225 19/09 ***__ Antebellum (2020)

226 19/09 ***__ Mulan (2020)

227 20/09 ***__ The Witch (2015)

228 20/09 ****_ Cheap Thrills (2013)

229 26/09 *____ Lost Girls and Love Hotels (2020)

230 26/09 **___ Ava (2020)

231 26/09 ****_ Eega (2012)

232 28/09 **___ The Debt Collector (2018)

233 28/09 **___ The Debt Collector 2 (2020)

234 28/09 ***__ Love (2015)

235 29/09 ***__ Train (2008)

236 30/09 *** __ Danger: Diabolk (1968)

237 03/10 **___ 12-Hour Shift (2020)

238 03/10 ***__ Swerve (2018)

239 05/10 **___ The Doorman (2020)

240 06/10 ***__ Bronx Warriors (1980)

241 06/10 ***__ Escape from the Bronx (1983)

242 07/10 **___ The World is Full of Secrets (2018)

243 08/10 ***** Akira (1988)

244 09/10 ***** Saint Maud (2019)

245 10/10 ***__ Let's Scare Julie (2020)

246 11/10 ****_ The Show (2017)

247 11/10 ****_ 31 (2016)

248 11/10 ***__ Enola Holmes (2020)

249 11/10 ****_ Stretch (2014)

250 12/10 ****_ Archive (2020)

251 13/10 ***** Host (2020)

252 14/10 ***__ Charlie's Angels (2000)

253 14/10 ***__ Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003)

254 16/10 ***__ Kajillionaire (2020)

255 17/10 ***__ Jackie Brown (1997)

256 18/10 ***__ Mile 22 (2018)

257 19/10 ***__ I Am Vengeance: Retaliation (2020)

258 20/10 ****_ Escape Plan (2013)

259 21/10 ***__ Escape Plan 2: Hades (2018)

260 24/10 ***__ Getaway Plan (2017)

261 25/10 **___ X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

262 25/10 ****_ Ninja Assassin (2009)

263 26/10 ****_ Pixie (2020)

264 27/10 ***__ American Assassin (2017)

265 27/10 ***__ Inside Man: Most Wanted (2019)

266 28/10 ***__ 13 Sins (2014)

267 28/10 ***__ Coin Heist (2017)

268 02/11 ***__ Tammy and the T-Rex: Gore Cut (1994)

269 03/11 ***__ Borat Subsequent Movie (2020)

270 06/11 ****_ On the Rocks (2020)

271 06/11 ***__ Follow Me (2020)

272 07/11 **___ The Craft: Legacy (2020)

273 08/11 ***__ African Kung-Fu Nazis (2019)

274 08/11 ***__ Lady Bloodfight (2017)

275 08/11 ****_ Whip It (2009)

276 16/11 **___ Final Girl (2015)

277 17/11 *____ Street Fighter Assassin's Fist (2014)

278 18/11 **___ Drive Angry (2011)

279 20/11 ****_ Devil (2010)

280 22/11 ***__ Montana (2014)

281 22/11 ***__ The Great Illusionist (2020)

282 23/11 **___ Rage and Honor (1992)

283 24/11 ****_ Super (2010)

284 24/11 ***__ Level 16 (2018)

285 25/11 **___ Spin (2016) NO LETTERBOXD

286 28/11 ***__ Boss Level (2020)

287 29/11 ***__ Possessor (2020)

288 29/11 **___ The Lesson (2015)

289 30/11 ***__ The Tournament (2009)

290 01/12 **___ R.I.P.D. (2013)

291 02/12 ***__ Cube 2 Hypercube (2002)

292 02/12 ***__ Cube Zero (2004)

293 03/12 **___ Seoul Station (2016)

294 05/12 ***__ The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special (2020)

295 05/12 **___ Dance to Death (2017)

296 06/12 ***__ The Dare (2019)

297 08/12 **___ The 2nd (2020)

298 08/12 ***__ The Saint (2017)

299 11/12 ****_ Die Hard (1988)

300 15/12 **___ Hard Kill (2020)

301 15/12 ***__ I'm Your Woman (2020)

302 15/12 ***__ Momentum (2015)

303 15/12 **___ Run (2013)

304 16/12 ***__ Avengement (2019) 

305 16/12 ****_ Galaxy Quest (1999)

306 16/12 **___ The Condemned 2 (2015)

307 17/12 **___ Hitman Redemption AKA Asher (2018)

308 19/12 ****_ Tag (2015)

309 20/12 ***__ The Bag Man (2014)

310 20/12 **___ Freerunner (2011)

311 20/12 ****_ Peppermint (2018)

312 20/12 ****_ Man On A Ledge (2012)

313 21/12 **___ Paradox: A Rusty Lake Film (2018)

314 22/12 ***__ Electra Woman and Dyna Girl (2016)

315 22/12 **___ Get Lucky (2013)

316 23/12 ***__ Versus (2000)

317 23/12 **___ High Life (2009)

318 24/12 ***__ Parker (2013)

319 25/12 **___ Wild Card (2015)

320 26/12 ***__ Jiu Jitsu (2020)

321 26/12 ****_ WW84 (2020)

322 26/12 ****_ Soul (2020)

323 27/12 ***** His House (2020)

324 27/12 ***__ I'm thinking of ending things (2020)

325 27/12 ***__ Becky (2020)

326 27/12 ***__ We Can Be Heroes (2020)

327 27/12 **___ Fire with Fire (2012)

328 27/12 ****_ Hustlers (2019)

329 27/12 ***__ Taxi (1998)

330 27/12 ***__ Dead Rising Watchtower (2015)

331 28/12 ***__ Cam (2018)

332 28/12 ***** Transporter (2002)

333 28/12 ***** Transporter 2 (2005)

334 28/12 ****_ Transporter 3 (2008)

335 28/12 ****_ The Transporter Refueled (2015)

336 28/12 **___ The Last Days of American Crime (2020)

337 29/12 ****_ Death to 2020 (2020)

338 29/12 ***__ Girls Against Boys (2012)

339 30/12 ***__ I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore (2017)

340 30/12 ****_ Knuckledust (2020)

341 30/12 ***__ Honest Thief (2020)

342 30/12 ****_ Guardian (2014)

343 30/12 ***__ Ruin Me (2020)

344 30/12 ****_ Crawlspace (2012)

These are the ones that either didn't appear or were lockdown canned

XX 11/01 _____ Children of Men (2006)

XX 20/03 _____ A Quiet Place Part II (2020)
XX 02/04 _____ No Time to Die (2020)
XX 17/04 _____ Promising Young Woman (2020)
XX 17/04 _____ Antlers (2020)
XX 01/05 _____ Black Widow (2020)
XX 15/05 _____ Spiral (2020)
XX 15/05 _____ The Woman in the Window (2020)
XX 22/05 _____ F9 (2020)
XX 29/05 _____ Artemis Fowl (2020)
XX 12/06 _____ Candyman (2020)
XX 01/07 _____ Free Guy (2020)
XX 17/07 _____ Top Gun Maverick (2020)
XX 24/07 _____ Jungle Cruise (2020)
XX 31/07 _____ Morbius (2020)
XX 07/08 _____ Ghostbusters Afterlife (2020)
XX 07/08 _____ Infinite (2020)
XX 16/09 _____ The King's Man (2020)
XX 18/09 _____ Without Remorse (2020)
XX 09/10 _____ Death on the Nile (2020)
XX 16/10 _____ Halloween Kills (2020)
XX 23/10 _____ Snake Eyes (2020)
XX 06/11 _____ Eternals (2020)

XX 20/11 _____ Godzilla vs Kong (2020)
XX 20/11 _____ The Man from Toronto (2020)
XX 18/12 _____ Dune (2020)
XX 18/12 _____ Coming 2 America (2020)

Gigs

001 23/01 **___ Robert Henke @ Barbican
002 05/02 **___ Jockstrap @ EartH
003 05/02 ****_ Anna Meredith @ EartH
004 10/02 ****_ Frost @ The Old Market
005 10/02 ***__ Ryan Vail & Elma Orkestra @ The Old Market
006 10/02 ****_ Anna Meredith @ The Old Market
007 02/03 **___ Lia Paris @ Heaven
008 02/03 ***__ Stealing Sheep @ Heaven
009 02/03 ****_ Ladytron @ Heaven

These were the gigs that COVID got to

XX 11/03 _____ GFOTY @ The Gallery
XX 11/03 _____ Anamanaguchi @ The Gallery
XX 15/03 _____ Poppy @ Heaven
XX 28/03 _____ Joe Goddard @ Night Tales
XX 28/03 _____ Juan Mclean @ Night Tales
XX 15/05 _____ Ray Keith @ The Roundhouse
XX 15/05 _____ Paranoid London @ The Roundhouse
XX 15/05 _____ Scalping @ The Roundhouse
XX 15/05 _____ Squarepusher @ The Roundhouse
XX 21/05 _____ Despacio @ The Roundhouse
XX 24/05 _____ Scooter @ Brixton Academy
XX 23/05 _____ Faye Webster @ All Points East
XX 23/05 _____ Jessy Lanza @ All Points East
XX 23/05 _____ Tops @ All Points East
XX 23/05 _____ Holy Fuck @ All Points East
XX 23/05 _____ Otherliine@ All Points East
XX 23/05 _____ Kelly Lee Owens @ All Points East
XX 23/05 _____ Crumb @ All Points East
XX 23/05 _____ Sir Was @ All Points East
XX 23/05 _____ Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever @ All Points East
XX 23/05 _____ Yellow Days @ All Points East
XX 23/05 _____ The Avalanches @ All Points East
XX 23/05 _____ Lapsley @ All Points East
XX 23/05 _____ Whitney @ All Points East
XX 23/05 _____ Glass Animals @ All Points East
XX 23/05 _____ Caribou @ All Points East
XX 23/05 _____ Tame Impala @ All Points East
XX 24/05 _____ Scooter @ Brixton Academy
XX 29/05 _____ John Maus @ All Points East
XX 29/05 _____ Jenny Beth @ All Points East
XX 29/05 _____ Grandmaster Flash @ All Points East
XX 29/05 _____ Kim Gordon @ All Points East
XX 29/05 _____ Anna Calvi @ All Points East
XX 29/05 _____ Chromatics @ All Points East
XX 29/05 _____ The Orb @ All Points East
XX 29/05 _____ Johnny Marr @ All Points East
XX 29/05 _____ Iggy Pop @ All Points East
XX 29/05 _____ Kraftwerk 3D @ All Points East
XX 24/07 _____ Groove Armada @ Blue Dot
XX 24/07 _____ Roisin Murphy @ Blue Dot
XX 24/07 _____ Daniel Avery @ Blue Dot
XX 24/07 _____ Haai @ Blue Dot
XX 24/07 _____ Henge @ Blue Dot
XX 24/07 _____ Pussy Riot @ Blue Dot
XX 24/07 _____ BCUC @ Blue Dot
XX 24/07 _____ !!! @ Blue Dot
XX 24/07 _____ A Certain Ratio @ Blue Dot
XX 24/07 _____ DJ Yoda @ Blue Dot
XX 24/07 _____ Liz Lawrence @ Blue Dot
XX 24/07 _____ Porridge Radio @ Blue Dot
XX 24/07 _____ Une @ Blue Dot
XX 24/07 _____ Black Futures @ Blue Dot
XX 24/07 _____ Plastic Mermaids @ Blue Dot
XX 24/07 _____ Lazarus kane @ Blue Dot
XX 24/07 _____ Holodrum @ Blue Dot
XX 24/07 _____ Sinead O'Brien @ Blue Dot
XX 24/07 _____ The Goa Express @ Blue Dot
XX 24/07 _____ Robin Richards @ Blue Dot
XX 24/07 _____ The Starlight Magic Hour @ Blue Dot
XX 24/07 _____ Indian Queens @ Blue Dot
XX 24/07 _____ PVA @ Blue Dot
XX 24/07 _____ Too Many Man @ Blue Dot
XX 24/07 _____ DJ Acid Rephlux @ Blue Dot
XX 24/07 _____ Good Afternoon DJs @ Blue Dot
XX 25/07 _____ Metronomy @ Blue Dot
XX 25/07 _____ Squarepusher @ Blue Dot
XX 25/07 _____ Tangerine Dream @ Blue Dot
XX 25/07 _____ Ride @ Blue Dot
XX 25/07 _____ Beak> @ Blue Dot
XX 25/07 _____ Tourist @ Blue Dot
XX 25/07 _____ Sinkane @ Blue Dot
XX 25/07 _____ Tim Burgess @ Blue Dot
XX 25/07 _____ Lanterns on the Lake @ Blue Dot
XX 25/07 _____ Nihiloxica @ Blue Dot
XX 25/07 _____ Homoelectric @ Blue Dot
XX 25/07 _____ Melt Yourself Down @ Blue Dot
XX 25/07 _____ All We Are@ Blue Dot
XX 25/07 _____ Los Bitchos @ Blue Dot
XX 25/07 _____ Just Mustard @ Blue Dot
XX 25/07 _____ Julia Bardo @ Blue Dot
XX 25/07 _____ Henge @ Blue Dot
XX 25/07 _____ We Are Not Devo @ Blue Dot
XX 25/07 _____ Ttrruuces@ Blue Dot
XX 25/07 _____ Otish Mensah @ Blue Dot
XX 25/07 _____ Discolypso @ Blue Dot
XX 25/07 _____ Intergalactic Planetary Kids Rave @ Blue Dot
XX 26/07 _____ Bjork @ Blue Dot
XX 26/07 _____ Spiritualized @ Blue Dot
XX 26/07 _____ EOB @ Blue Dot
XX 26/07 _____ BC Camplight @ Blue Dot
XX 26/07 _____ Anna Meredith @ Blue Dot
XX 26/07 _____ Lost Souls of Saturn @ Blue Dot
XX 26/07 _____ Onipa @ Blue Dot
XX 26/07 _____ 808 State @ Blue Dot
XX 26/07 _____ Pumarosa @ Blue Dot
XX 26/07 _____ Pongo @ Blue Dot
XX 26/07 _____ Rosie Lowe @ Blue Dot
XX 26/07 _____ Crazy P @ Blue Dot
XX 26/07 _____ Psychedelic Porn Crumpets @ Blue Dot
XX 26/07 _____ Oh My God! It's the Church @ Blue Dot
XX 26/07 _____ Dry Cleaning @ Blue Dot
XX 26/07 _____ Regal Disco @ Blue Dot

XX 10/10 _____ New Order @ O2

XX 20/10 _____ Chemical Brothers, Tokyo Garden Theatre
XX 23/10 _____ Ray Keith @ The Roundhouse
XX 23/10 _____ Paranoid London @ The Roundhouse
XX 23/10 _____ Scalping @ The Roundhouse
XX 23/10 _____ Squarepusher @ The Roundhouse
XX 13/12 _____ Poppy @ Shepherds Bush Empire
XX 02/05 _____ Scooter @ Brixton Academy
XX ??/?? _____ Joe Goddard @ Night Tales
XX ??/?? _____ Juan Mclean @ Night Tales

XX 19/06/21 _____ Anamanaguchi @ The Gallery

XX 06/10/21 _____ New Order @ O2

Streaming Gigs

001 25/03 ****_ Charlotte de Witte Lockdown Session @ KompassKlub

002 25/03 ****_ DJ Yoda Live Set

003 28/03 ****_ Nina Kraviz @ Reconnect

004 28/03 ****_ Paul Oakenfold @ Reconnect

005 27/03 ***__ Scooter "I want you to Stream"

006 01/04 ***__ DJ Yoda Vinyl Set

007 08/04 ****_ DJ Yoda History of Video Games

008 10/04 ****_ Baby Metal @ Tokyo Dome Red Night 

009 11/04 ****_ Baby Metal @ Tokyo Dome Black Night
010 12/04 ***__ RZA vs DJ Premiere
011 15/04 ****_ DJ Yoda DJ's choice
012 16/04 ***** DJ Yoda 80's set @ Snowbombing
013 17/04 ***__ Robyn
014 19/04 ****_ Sofi Tukker @ Reconnect
015 19/04 ***** Slipmatt @ Big Fish Little Fish
016 23/04 ***** The Tale of Us
017 23/04 ****_ Charlotte deWitte @ Ghent
018 24/04 **___ Ed Sheeran @ PlayOn Fest
019 24/04 **___ Anne Marie @ PlayOn Fest
020 24/04 **___ Weezer @ PlayOn Fest
021 25/04 **___ Anitta @ PlayOn Fest
022 25/04 ***__ Charli XCX @ PlayOnFest
023 25/04 ***__ A-Trak @ Friends Within Doors
024 26/04 ****_ Charlotte de Witte @ CRSSD Festival
025 02/05 ****_ DJ Yoda @ Shambala
026 07/05 ****_ Charlotte de Witte & Enrico Sangiuliano @Ghent
027 07/05 ***** DJ Cheeba Double Vision
028 09/05 ****_ OMD @ Hammersmith Apollo

029 20/05 **___ DJ Yoda x Endless
030 11/06 ****_ DJ Yoda at the Movies

031 11/06 ***__ Charlotte de Witte @ Gravensteen Castle
032 18/06 ****_ DJ Yoda Food Set

033 20/06 ****_ Andy C One7Four Stream

034 24/06 ***__ DJ Yoda Glastonbury Set

035 25/06 **___ Little Simz @ Glastonbury

036 25/06 ****_ LCD Soundsystem @ Glastonbury 2016

037 26/06 ****_ DJ Airsun @ Bootie Pride

038 27/09 ****_ Space Brothers @ Luminosity Beach Party

039 27/06 ***** Chemical Brothers @ Glastonbury 2000

040 28/06 ****_ Solar Stone @ Luminosity 2015

041 28/06 ****_ Parallels @ Dynmc Fundraiser

042 30/06 ***__ Amon Tobin ISAM 2.0 @ Outside Lands

043 01/07 ***** DJ Yoda Old School Set

044 04/07 ***** DJ Airsun US road trip

045 08/07 ****_ DJ Yoda Hip Hop & Soul

046 11/07 ***** DJ Airsun at the Beach

047 15/07 ***** DJ Yoda 1984 Set

048 18/07 ***** DJ Airsun Christmas in July

049 24/07 ***__ The Naked and Famous Album Launch @ home

050 25/07 ****_ Orbital @ Studio Blue Dot 2020

051 26/07 ***** Hot Chip @ Blue Dot 2019

052 07/08 ***** DJ Airsun Summer Camp Party

053 21/08 ***__ DJ Airsun Pretty Princesses Party

054 28/08 ****_ DJ Airsun 90s Party

055 04/09 ***** Ionnalee Konsert @ Fjuk 

056 05/09 ****_ Hot Chip @ Streamland

057 05/09 ****_ Miss Special K & MC 3Man

058 06/09 ****_ Charlotte de Witte @ Exit Life Stream

059 18/09 ****_ DJ Airsun Wild Animals

06025/09 ****_ DJ Airsun Urban Wasteland

061 01/10 ***__ Colin Benders @ Mysteryland 2020

062 02/10 ****_ DJ Airsun Dive Bar Road Trip

063 03/10 ***** Adriana & Jupiter Gatling Tag der Deutschen Einheit

064 09/10 ****_ DJ Airsun Evil Queens 

065 15/10 ***__ Parfait @ Possession Boiler Room

066 16/10 ****_ Krafty Kuts Jungle Cake The Lockdown

067 06/11 ***__ DJ Airsun Onesie Night

068 13/11 ****_ DJ Airsun Alien Invasion

069 20/11 ***__ DJ Airsun Disney Night

070 27/11 ****_ DJ Airsun Thanksgiving Leftovers Night

071 04/12 ***__ DJ Yoda Bestival Christmas Set

073 04/12 ****_ DJ Airsun Trip to Toy Island Set

074 05/12 ***__ Caravan Palace @ Main Square 2019

075 12/12 ***__ DJ Airsun Christmas Pod Set

076 18/12 ****_ Hot Chip DJ Set @ Hot Chip & Friends

077 18/12 ***__ Jarvis Cocker DJ Set @ Hot Chip & Friends

078 18/12 ***__ Superorganism DJ Set @ Hot Chip & Friends

079 18/12 ****_ Kero Kero Bonito DJ Set @ Hot Chip & Friends

080 19/12 ***__ Dillon Francis @ Hot Chip & Friends

081 19/12 ***__ Django Django @ Hot Chip & Friends

082 19/12 **___ Myd @ Hot Chip & Friends

083 19/12 **___ LA Priest @ Hot Chip & Friends

083 19/12 ***__ Lou Hayter @ Hot Chip & Friends

Cirque

001 08/02 ****_ Luzia, Royal Albert Hall, London

and Covid got to this one
XX 03/06 _____ Drawn to Life, Orlando

Streamed Cirque

001 27/03 Special #1 Kurios, O & Luzia

002 03/04 Special #2 Amaluna, Bazzar & Volta

003 10/04 Special #3 Alegria, Kooza & Ka

004 18/04 Special #4 Zed

005 24/04 Special #5 Singalong Alegria, Luzia, Mystere...

006 01/05 Special #6 One Night for One Drop

007 08/05 Behind the curtain of Luzia

008 10/05 Iris

009 12/05 30th Anniversary Concert

010 17/05 Special #7 Crystal & Axel

011 23/05 Behind the curtain of Kurios

012 30/05 Special #8 Corteo, Volta & Totem

013 30/05 A Wind of Change

014 11/06 Best of Contortion

015 12/06 Special #9 Saltimbanco, Nouvelle Experience, Cirque Reinvete

016 19/06 Behind the Curtain of O

017 28/06 Special #10 La Nouba, Varekai & Quidam

018 03/07 Best of Aerial

019 16/07 Special #11 Luzia, Bazzar & Kurios

020 21/07 Behind the Curtain of Crystal

021 27/07 Special #12 Toruk, Dralion & Amaluna, 

022 31/07 Best of Juggling

023 07/08 Behind the Curtain of Toruk

024 16/08 Best of Clowning

025 22/08 Special #13 Mystere, O & Ka

026 29/08 Behind the Curtain of Kooza

027 04/09 Best of Dancing

028 13/09 Best of Trampoline

029 19/09 Special #14 Ovo, Bazaar & Alegria

030 03/10 Behind the Curtain of Ovo

031 11/10 Behind the Curtain of Mystere

032 05/11 Special #15 Luzia, Corteo & Volta

033 06/11 Special #16 Varekai, Alegria, Quidam

034 28/11 Spotlight on Kurios

035 28/11 Spotlight on Alegria

036 28/11 Spotlight on Bazzar

037 04/12 Spotlight on O

038 13/12 Spotlight on Axel

039 22/12 Spotlight on 'Twas The Night Before

Countries

The New
16/01 Ukraine
19/01 Slovakia
13/02 Jersey
15/02 Guernsey

The Old

15/02 Jersey

Covid meant these trips were canned
XX USA

XX Japan


The Transfers
16/01 Poland

Games Completed

001 25/01 Lightmatter
002 19/02 Noita
003 21/03 Horace
004 13/04 Watch Dogs
005 26/04 Heaven's Vault

006 16/05 Borderlands 3

007 01/06 Escaper

008 02/06 Unheard

009 04/06 Discolored

010 05/06 140

011 11/06 Hidden Around the World

012 11/06 Dr Langeskov, the Tiger and the Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist

013 11/06 The White Door

014 12/06 Kids

015 12/06 Minit

016 12/06 OneShot

017 14/06 Quadrilateral Cowboy

018 16/06 Akurra

019 17/06 Bonbon

020 16/07 Superfluxus

021 06/08 Supraland Crash

022 09/08 Fall Guys 

023 31/08 The Sexy Fatale

024 21/09 What Remains of Edith Finch

025 10/10 There is no Game: Wrong Dimension

026 26/10 Mario Galaxy

027 08/11 Tacoma

028 15/11 Watch Dogs: Legion

029 29/11 Weird Park Broken Tune

030 01/12 Twisted Lands Shadow Town

031 13/12 I Am Dead

032 16/12 Paradise Killer

033 22/12 Mountain Crime Requital

034 28/12 Palindrome Syndrome

035 29/12 Immortals Fenyx Rising

Boxsets/TV Series

001 The Mandalorian Series 1

002 Busted! Series 2
003 Inside 9 Series 5
004 Hunted Series 5
005 X-Men Series 1
006 X-Men Series 2
007 Avenue 5
008 Limmy's Homemade Show Series 1
009 Tiger King
010 After Life Series 2
011 Race Across The World Series 2
012 Gangs of London Series 1
013 Spaced Series 1

014 Floor is Lava

015 Umbrella Academy Series 2

016 The Duchess
017 Nurse Ratched

018 The Queens Gambit

019 Ultimate Beast Master Series 1

020 Alice in Borderland

021 Taskmaster Series 10

022 The Mandalorian Series 2

023 Taskmaster NZ Series 1

2019 Diary

In an attempt to optimise the blogging, for 2019 I kept a hidden diary. Now the year is over I can share this and start over for 2020. Highlights in bold.

Shows & Stuff

The first of my highlights wase finally getting to see "Then She Fell", the Lewis Carrol inspired immersive theatre production in New York. That was an exemplary, intimate and sometimes personal show that friends have recommended for years. It was great to finally tick that off.

Also during my North America holiday I took in 4 new cirque shows: Volta, Corteo, the relaunched Alegria and Crystal. All were unique and whilst Alegria had the best single trick (which I'm not going to spoil here) the best show for me was Crystal as I'd never been to their ice skating shows before. With a second now doing the rounds I have something to go after in 2020.

and my final highlight was getting a near-ringside seat for what was initially a Smackdown taping but became picked up Raw later in the year. So around 6 hours of live wrestling entertainment. Very geeky but with a crowd of thousands and a friend all sharing our geekiness, the atmosphere was superb.

001 04/01 ****_ Jerry Sadowitz @ Leicester Square Theatre. "Some people always walk out."
002 05/01 ****_ Josh Widdecombe @ Top Secret Comedy Club "Drunk hecklers were my friends"
003 19/01 ****_ Jerry Sadowitz @ Leicester Square Theatre. "More people walked out again."
004 22/01 ***__ Jena Friedman @ Soho Theatre. "Very much work in progress"
005 27/01 ****_ Royal Rumble @ Belushi's "58 countdowns but not counted out!"
006 31/01 ****_ Pun Run @ The Phoenix. "Always a fun night out"
007 15/02 ****_ All In A Row @ Southwark Playhouse. "Well written but a grey puppet?"
008 21/02 ****_ African Gaze @ University of London. "Shit posters for shit films"
009 21/02 *____ Staging Magic @ University of London. "I Expected more than books"
010 25/02 ***__ Old Rope @ The Phoenix. "I saw Alan Carr Live!"
011 28/02 ****_ Red Nose Day Comedy Spectacular @ Wembley Arena. "All for charidee mate!"
012 14/03 ****_ Kendal Mountain 2019 @ Rio Cinema. "Way too extreme for me!"
013 23/03 ****_ Bakerloo Line Walk. "20 miles of stupidity"
014 26/03 ***** Classic Album Sundays @ Ace Hotel. "De La Soul still holds up"
015 03/04 **___ DJ Yoda Album Launch @ Spiritland. "Nice album, great system, loud crowd"
016 07/04 ****_ Wrestlemania 35 @ Belushi's "A rather good show indeed!"
017 05/04 ****_ O2 Climb @ The O2. "Thought it would be harder"
018 13/04 ***__ Hot Sauce Festival @ Peckham Rye. "I got some Hot Ones Top 10"
019 19/04 ****_ Longleat Safari Park. "A Great Day Out"
020 20/04 ****_ Wooky Holes. "Great caves and good circus"
021 06/05 ***__ Putt in the Park. "Not bad with a group"
022 11/05 ****_ Jeff Koons @ Ashmolean Museum. "Shiny shiny"
023 22/05 ****_ War of the Worlds. "A few snagging issues but a good couple of hours"
024 30/05 ****_ Gherkin. "Work related great view from the top"
025 31/05 ****_ The Crystal Maze. "Best we've ever seen"
026 09/06 ****_ Mean Girls. "The crash scene was WOW!!"
027 10/06 ***__ The Play that Goes Wrong. "Not bad, not great"
028 11/06 ***** Then She Fell. "Amazing Lewis Carroll adaptation"
029 14/06 ****_ Volta. "Not as extreme sports focused as I thought"
030 16/06 ****_ Alegria, A New Light. "A great relaunch"
031 16/06 ***__ PY1. "Incredible production, strange performance"
032 17/06 **___ Aura. "Great reason to go to church"
033 19/06 ****_ Corteo. "Finally, got to see this one"
034 21/06 ***** Crystal. "Surprisingly great ice skating show"
035 26/06 ****_ Duke Mitchel Announcement Night. "So much randomness"
036 27/06 ***__ Bug 59. "Failed to remain awake at the start"
037 05/07 ***__ Wingjam. "It got too busy, too long queues"
038 19/07 ****_ BlueDot 2019. "It was very muddy"
039 28/07 ****_ DukeFest 2019. "Crazy video and film selection"
040 02/08 ***__ Natural History Museum. "Don't go here enough"
041 03/08 ***__ Illusionists. "French guy was the best guy"
042 27/08 ***** Found Footage Festival Vol 9. "Their best one yet"
043 31/08 ***__ Blank Walls. "Not bad graffiti event"
044 07/09 ***** Upfest. "The best street art festival"
045 08/09 ****_ Cheltenham Paint Festival. "Pretty good street art festival"
046 25/09 ****_ An Audience with Louis Theroux. "Keanu interviews Theroux"
047 02/10 **___ Gamerdisco. "Too Sega heavy this time"
048 03/10 ****_ Banksy's Gross Domestic Product. "The reflections made it hard"
049 18/10 ***** Obey @ Stolenspace. "Some great pieces"
050 19/10 **___ Rochdale Uprising. "A small festival in a rubbish town"
051 20/10 ***** Bring the Paint. "A great reason to visit Leicester"
052 08/11 ***** Smackdown & Raw Live. "Good family fun"
053 13/11 ***__ Pun Run. "Nerd pun night"
054 27/12 ****_ Bridget Riley @ Haywards Gallery. "Dizzying!"

Films

I'm really pleased with my film tally for 2019, smashing my target and making it very difficult to better in 2020, but I'll give it a shot.

My first favourite film was actually the first film I saw. One Cut of the Dead snuck under most peoples' radars having been shown at Frightfest in 2018 and having a very limited cinema run in the UK. However it's an amazing piece of cinema that takes the typical zombie film trope and flips it on its head. Highly recommended.

My second favourite film was Ready or Not. A splatter fest of a horror comedy where a bride-to-be becomes the target in a hunting game around an old country house. A very entertaining film that had me laughing more than most this year.

and my final choice is Parasite, which is a stunning piece of Korean film making that mixes genres around a well constructed story to produce a film that most who have seen it have raved over. It gets a wider release in January so go see it. I think I'll go see it again!

001 05/01 ***** One Cut of the Dead. "Japanese Meta-Zombie Comedy Fest"
002 13/01 ***** Twisted Pair. "Breen is a nutcase! Hilarious!"
003 14/01 ****_ Three Identical Strangers. "Scientists can be twisted sometimes"
004 18/01 ****_ Sorry to Bother You.  "Success comes in horse form"
005 20/01 **___ High Kicks. "Aerobics meets Karate; includes mullets".
006 21/01 ****_ The Naked Gun
007 21/01 ****_ The Naked Gun 2 1/2
008 21/01 ****_ The Naked Gun 33 1/3
009 22/01 ***__ Glass. "McAvoy good, Willis bored, Jackson vegetable"
010 23/01 **___ The Challenge of the Tiger. "Really crap 80s kung-fu flick"
011 24/01 *____ Fist of the Vampire. "Shit vampire fight club yarn"
012 25/01 ***** One Cut of the Dead. "Still great second time around"
013 26/01 ****_ Escape Room. "Not as gory as Saw"
014 26/01 ****_ The Rock. "Connery and Cage in Alcatraz"
015 27/01 ***** Con Air. "My favourite Nicholas Cage film"
016 27/01 ****_ Face Off. "Weird face rubbing going on"
017 29/01 ***** Deadly Prey. "Blonde Rambo in the woods"
018 30/01 ***__ Death Machines. "Crazy woman with crazier hair"
019 06/02 ***** Alita Battle Angel. "Knocks Avatar for six! Incredible!"
020 06/02 **___ Dave Made A Maze. "Sounded like a good idea"
021 08/02 **___ Tammi and the T-Rex. "What were they thinking?"
022 08/02 ***__ Lego Move 2. "More of the same!"
023 09/02 ****_ Bohemian Rhapsody. "Will win the populist vote"
024 10/02 ****_ Mary Queen of Scots. "Aren't Scottish people the coolest?"
025 14/02 ***__ Der Fan. "Das ist Crazy, ya?"
026 15/02 **___ Who Killed Captain Alex. "Ugandan Kung-Fu zero-budget giggle"
027 15/02 *____ The Divine Enforcer. "Vigilante Priest takes on Vampire"
028 15/02 *____ Raw Force. "Really bad Asian Zombie film"
029 17/02 ****_ Lady Terminator. "Definite classic bad movie"
030 17/02 **___ Superman 4. "Super Turd, What went wrong?"
031 17/02 ***__ Inframan. "Odd Power Ranger Type Movie"
032 17/02 ***__ Hell Comes To Frogtown. "Did this inspire Mario Brothers?"
033 17/02 ***__ The Alien Factor." Silly effects but ok story"
034 17/02 ****_ Starcrash. "Star Wars but without the budget"
035 17/02 ***__ Battle Beyond the Stars. "OK ensemble space opera"
036 19/02 **___ Message From Space. "I couldn't keep up"
037 21/02 *____ Beyond The Black Rainbow. "Could have snipped 90 minutes"
038 22/02 ***__ Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla. "It has Godzuki in it"
039 23/02 ****_ The Godfather. "The Good one"
040 24/02 ***__ The Godfather Part 2. "The OK one"
041 24/02 **___ The Godfather Part 3. "The Poor one"
042 24/02 ***__ Abducted in Plain Sight. "Wow, genuinely bonkers"
043 24/02 ***__ Revenger. "Korean Hunger Games Variant"
044 26/02 ****_ Revelations. "25 years on. RIP Bill!"
045 04/03 ***__ Piercing. "Too much like Audition"
046 04/03 ***** Fighting with my Family. "Excellent feel good wrasslin' movie"
047 05/03 *____ The Rollerblade 7. "Can't direct, fight, act or even rollerblade"
048 06/03 **___ Battlefield Earth. "Why did I do that, again?"
049 08/03 ****_ Captain Marvel. "Solid Girl Power Marvel Flick"
050 09/03 ****_ R.O.T.O.R. "Ginger moustached terminator gets lassoed"
051 09/03 *____ Supersonic Man "Really really really bad Superman"
052 09/03 *____ Petey Wheatstraw. "Scraping the Blaxploitation Barrel"
053 09/03 ***__ Sorceress. "Should it have been Sorceresses?"
054 09/03 ***__ Deathstalker 2. "Tongue in Cheek Barbarian Film"
055 10/03 ***__ Hercules in New York. "Some of the best dubbing!"
056 10/03 ***__ Pumaman. "A very cheap Superman rip-off"
057 10/03 ***__ Future War. "Chubby Terminator and his T-Rexs"
058 10/03 ***__ Fantastic 4 (1994). "Surprisingly alright for a taboo film"
059 10/03 **___ Highlander 2 The Quickening. "Shean shlurs and shords shwing!"
060 16/03 ***** Raid. "Amazing Indonesian Martial Arts"
061 16/03 ***** Raid 2. "More Amazing Indonesian Martial Arts"
062 17/03 **___ The Italian Job. "Not sure what the fuss was about"
063 18/03 ****_ Under The Silver Lake. "Very weird LA mystery"
064 19/03 *____ Run Like Hell. "5 guys playing in the woods"
065 21/03 *____ Run Like Hell. "4 women and a ninja playing in the desert"
066 22/03 ****_ Us. "More twisted stuff from Jordan"
067 24/03 *____ Final Sacrifice. "Hooded wrestlers chase kid and trucker"
068 28/03 ****_ Deep Cover. "Fishburne vs the drug dealers"
069 31/03 *____ Killdozer. "Really shit"
070 06/04 **___ Batman & Robin. "Intentional camp? I'm not sure"
071 12/04 ****_ Troll 2. "Goblins not trolls but funny"
072 12/04 **___ Gore Gore Girls. "The gore is way over the top"
073 14/04 ***__ Creatures from the Abyss. "Killer fish that can swim in the air"
074 15/04 ***__ Silent Night Deadly Night 2. "Origin of the Garbage Day meme"
075 23/04 ***** Avengers, Infinity War. "Prep for tomorrow night"
076 25/04 ***** Avengers, End Game. "A superb ending to the chapter"
077 30/04 ****_ 8th Grade. "Went for the soundtrack, but not a bad film"
078 03/05 ***__ Tolkien: "Posh boys drink tea!"
079 04/05 **___ Incredible Melting Man. "Nice effects, too much screaming"
080 04/05 **___ Jason X. "Yes, it's the space one"
081 04/05 *____ Black Devil Doll From Hell. "I'm lost for words!"
082 04/05 *____ Tales from the Quadead Zone. "Really really shit!"
083 04/05 *____ Things. "How did this get made?"
084 04/05 ***__ Zaat. "Weird fish monsters on attack"
085 06/05 *____ Death Bed, the Bed that Eats. "It really is about a killer bed"
086 08/05 *____ The Corpse Grinder. "Really shite old film"
087 09/05 ****_ Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. "Bros mess up robbery"
088 09/05 ***** Fateful Findings. "Incredible Neil Breen Production"
089 11/05 ***__ High Life. "Baby making in space"
090 11/05 ***__ Berry Gordy's The Last Dragon. "Has someone called Bruce LeeRoy"
091 12/05 ***__ Never Too Young To Die. "Kiddy Bond featuring Lazenby"
092 13/05 ***__ Snowpiercer. "Great idea but a few holes"
093 20/05 ****_ John Wick 3. "Gratuitous comic book action, death by horse"
094 21/05 **___ The Hustle. "I chose...badly"
095 27/05 ***__ Batman. "Prince fest"
096 27/05 ***__ Batman Returns. "Penguin Fest"
097 27/05 ****_ Batman Forever. "Probably my favourite one"
098 27/05 **___ Batman & Robin. "Still campy"
099 31/05 ***** Book Smart. "Incredibly funny and smart film"
100 03/06 ***__ Rocketman. "Worst Kingsman Ever!"
101 05/06 ***__ Dark Phoenix. "Too many WTF parts but enjoyable"
102 08/06 **___ Mortal Engines. "St Pauls Cathedral meets Star Wars"
103 19/06 ***__ The Dead Don't Die. "Very quirky zombie comedy"
104 23/06 *____ Murder Party. "One very good joke but zero budget"
105 24/06 ***** Baby Driver. "Super cool, more so second time around"
106 29/06 ***** Bloodsport. "My favourite Van Damme film"
107 30/06 ****_ Kickboxer. "Most 80s brother ever!"
108 30/06 ***__ Double Impact. "The body guard is hilarious"
109 30/06 ***__ Universal Soldier. "Same producer as Terminator, it shows"
110 30/06 ****_ Hard Target. "Fun cajun action film"
111 30/06 **___ Street Fighter. "It's so bad"
112 03/07 ***** Spiderman Far From Home. "I really enjoyed this one"
113 06/07 ***__ Toy Story 4. "I laughed, my friend jumped"
114 07/07 ****_ Midsommar. "A Swedish Wickerman"
115 08/07 ***__ The Man who Killed Hitler and then Bigfoot. "A bit ploddy"
116 08/07 **___ Hellboy. "It didn't need the reboot"
117 08/07 ***__ Happy Death Day 2U. "Never saw the first but I liked this"
118 17/07 ****_ Wonder Park. "The only theme park I'll do this year"
119 17/07 ***__ Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. "Nice cast, rubbish film"
120 17/07 ****_ The Kid who would be King. "A rather enjoyable kids film"
121 17/07 *____ The Con is On. "A real waste of talent"
122 17/07 ****_ Better Start Running. "My kind of road trip"
123 17/07 ****_ Slaughterhouse Rulez. "The fourth Cornetto?"
124 28/07 ***__ Dons of Disco. "Italidisco Milli Vanilli"
125 29/07 *____ Steve's Hollywood Story. "Bad as in bad"
126 31/07 **___ House of Sweat and Tears. "It's a bit too slow"
127 03/08 ***__ Hobbs & Shaw. "It knows it's level"
128 04/08 ***__ Synecdoche New York. "Always confuses me"
129 07/08 ****_ Reservoir Dogs. "Afternoon kip opportunity"
130 09/08 ***** Old Boy. "A new print but still great"
131 16/08 ****_ The Jerk. "Steve Martin's best? Possibly"
132 17/08 ****_ Enter the Dragon. "Almost as old as me, and way more active"
133 18/08 **___ Killer Kate. "Crazy family vs a hen party"
134 19/08 ****_ Ghost World. "Surprised I didn't see it sooner"
135 19/08 ***** Ghost Dog. "Super cool and still holds up"
136 20/08 ***__ Crocodile 2: Death Swamp. "CGI Croc on the rampage"
137 24/08 *____ Elves. "Some amazing dialogue"
138 25/08 ****_ Angel has Fallen. "Surprisingly alright"
139 26/08 ****_ Paper Moon. "Great old B&W flick"
140 26/08 ****_ Midnight Run. "My favourite Bobby De Niro film"
141 26/08 ***__ Berry Gordy's The Last Dragon. "Second visit to this nonsense"
142 26/08 ****_ Ocean's 11. "A classic that still holds up"
143 26/08 **___ The Burbs. "Shite Hanks Shite"
144 26/08 *____ Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. "Really disappointing"
145 31/08 ****_ The Legend of Ricky-O. "Still cheesy but entertaining"
146 11/09 ****_ Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. "I liked this, a little unsettling"
147 20/09 **___ Good Burger. "Better than I though, still rubbish"
148 22/09 *____ Ax 'Em. "Someone had an idea but no clue what to do with it"
149 22/09 *____ Hard Rock Zombies. "Shite"
150 22/09 **___ Between 2 Ferns. "I don't like Zach that much"
151 23/09 ***** The Day Shall Come. "Funny but that ending :o"
152 24/09 ****_ Serenity. "A hero called Malcolm, Super!"
153 26/09 ***** Ready or Not. "Laugh out loud splatterfest"
154 28/09 ***__ Robocop. "It has aged, badly"
155 29/09 ****_ Dredd. "Still holds up"
156 29/09 ****_ The Matrix. "A classic but tired now"
157 29/09 ***** Mad Max Fury Road. "Bonkers, I love it"
158 29/09 ****_ Edge of Tomorrow. "I liked it, many didn't"
159 29/09 ****_ Aliens. "A classic that still holds up"
160 29/09 ***__ Predator. "I've seen this so many times now"
161 10/10 ***** Joker. "An incredible piece of cinema"
162 15/10 ***__ Frankenstein. "A 30's classic"
163 15/10 ***__ Dracula. "Another 30's classic"
164 15/10 ****_ Monster Squad. "A goonies horror ripoff yarn"
165 19/10 ***__ Zombieland 2 - Double Tap. "Enjoyingly forgettable"
166 25/10 ***__ Luce. "I'd have preferred Knives Out"
167 01/11 ***__ Evil Dead. "The scary one"
168 01/11 ***__ Evil Dead 2. "The crazy one"
169 01/11 *____ Evil Dead 3. "The one that sent me to sleep"
170 03/11 ***__ Gemini Man. "I like the HFPS"
171 04/11 *____ A Night to Dismember. "Too much voiceover"
172 10/11 ***__ Le Mans '66. "Car racing and stuff"
173 11/11 *____ Blood Freak. "Turkey man eats drug addicts"
174 11/11 ***__ Ogroff Mad Mutilator. "Minimal script and budget"
175 15/11 ****_ Rise of the Synths. "A documentary about synthwave"
176 17/11 ****_ The Irishman. "It's really long but engaging"
177 19/11 ***__ The Amazing Johnathan Documentary. "Not bad"
178 23/11 ****_ Anna and the Apocalypse. "Zombie Christmas Musical"
179 23/11 **___ London Rampage. "Rubbish wrestling film"
180 25/11 ***__ Silent Partner. "Old heist film, not bad"
181 25/11 ***** Knives Out. "Great who-dunnit"
182 26/11 ****_ Promade. "Bonkers Japanese Firefighting manga"
183 04/12 ***** Parasite. "Super good Korean genre-busting film"
184 05/12 ****_ Jay & Silent Bob Rebooted. "One for the fans only"
185 07/12 ***__ The Streetfighter. "Classic Sonny Chiba. Super theme tune"
186 08/12 ***__ Revenge of The Streetfighter. "More Chiba. Great last fight"
187 08/12 ***__ The Streetfighter's Last Revenge. "Final Chiba."
188 09/12 **___ Charlie's Angels. "It's pretty bad"
189 13/12 ***** 6 Underground. "Dumber than Fast and Furious"
190 13/12 ***__ Overdrive. "Straightforward car heist"
191 14/12 ***__ Jumanji The Next Level. "More of the same"
192 14/12 ***** Knives Out. "Disappointing to see this a second time"
193 15/12 **___ Sleight. "Made for TV movie?"
194 18/12 ****_ The Force Awakens. "Still holds up"
195 18/12 ****_ The Last Jedi. "Still holds up"
196 18/12 ****_ The Rise of Skywalker. "A fitting finale"
197 27/12 ****_ The Rise of Skywalker. "Happy to watch it again"
198 31/12 ****_ Anna. "Better than Red Sparrow, not as good as Nikita"
199 31/12 ****_ Uncut Jewels. "Good lead performance"
200 31/12 ****_ Detective Pikachu. "Good family fun"

Gigs

Another target that I smashed, due in part to me attending more festivals so being able to see many more artists than I would be able to at individual gigs. Buried in amongst the list were some friends' bands too, which I was happy to support.

If I had to pick a top 3, and it's not easy to do so with so many great acts, I'd pick Lamb at Union Chapel, a wonderful intimate performance from an act that deserve more of a following set in a great location where sitting down drinking tea is preferred over pushing your way through a crowd trying not to spill a pint.

At the Funk and Soul weekender I caught The Allergies show which is a mini supergroup consisting of DJ Moneyshot (Ninja Tune), DJ Rackabeat, Andy Cooper (Ugly Duckling) and a few others playing some incredible funky hip hop.

and the final performance would be from a band called Scalping, who I knew nothing about but caught during The Blue Dot festival. They just came on stage, went straight into the first track and played continuously through to the end of the set with no audience interaction or breaks in the performance and then walked off. The tracks were all superb with Prodigy like energy. One to keep an eye out for.

001 07/02 **___ Let's Eat Grandma @ Alexandra Palace
002 07/02 ****_ Chvrches @ Alexandra Palace
003 15/03 ***__ Natural Selection @ Numidie
004 15/03 ***__ Lemmy Ashton @ Electric Brixton
005 16/03 **___ Alex Metric @ Electric Brixton
006 20/03 ***__ Salami Rose @ Roundhouse
007 20/03 ****_ Hidden Orchestra @ Roundhouse
008 20/03 ***__ James Holden @ Roundhouse
009 20/03 ****_ Cinematic Orchestra @ Roundhouse
010 02/04 ***__ Giorgio Moroder @ Eventim Apollo
011 13/04 ****_ HVOB @ Electric Brixton
012 21/04 ***** Mixhell @ Camden Underworld
013 21/04 ***__ Absolute Valentine @ Camden Underworld
014 21/04 ***__ WaveShaper @ Camden Underworld
015 21/04 ****_ Starcadian @ Camden Underworld
016 27/04 ***__ Skratcher @ Brickworks
017 27/04 ****_ DJ Yoda "Home Cooking Tour" @ Brickworks
018 27/04 ****_ DJ Yoda AV @ Brickworks
019 29/04 ***** Lamb @ EartH
020 05/05 *____ Barb @ First Timers Festival
021 05/05 ***__ Flaps @ First Timers Festival
022 05/05 ***__ John Fletcher @ First Timers Festival
023 05/05 ***__ Androidgynous @ First Timers Festival
024 05/05 **___ World Foods @ First Timers Festival
025 05/05 ****_ The Dionysus @ First Timers Festival
026 05/05 ****_ Underwire @ First Timers Festival
027 05/05 ***** Breakup Haircut @ First Timers Festival
028 15/05 ***__ Noble & Heath @ Jazz Cafe
029 15/05 ****_ Allergies @ Jazz Cafe
030 17/05 **___ Mr Thing @ British Library
031 17/05 ****_ Krafty Kuts @ British Library
032 18/05 ****_ Holly Walker @ Funk & Soul Weekender
033 18/05 ***__ Love Come Down DJs @ Funk & Soul Weekender
03418/05 ***__ Yazmin Lacey @ Funk & Soul Weekender
035 18/05 **___ Drez & Back in the Day Crew @ Funk & Soul Weekender

036 18/05 ***__ J Felix @ Lunars, Funk & Soul Weekender

037 18/05 ***__ DJ Question Mark @ Lunars, Funk & Soul Weekender

038 18/05 ***** Krafty Kuts @ Funk & Soul Weekender

039 19/05 ***__ Continental Drifts @ Funk & Soul Weekender
040 19/05 ***__ Cykada @ Funk & Soul Weekender
041 19/05 ****_ Loyal @ Funk & Soul Weekender
042 19/05 ****_ Carnival Collective @ Funk & Soul Weekender
043 19/05 ***** The Allergies @ Funk & Soul Weekender
044 19/05 ***** DJ Cheeba @ Funk & Soul Weekender
045 19/05 ***** DJ Yoda @ Funk & Soul Weekender
046 24/05 ***__ Jadu Heart @ All Points East

047 24/05 **___ Petite Noir @ All Points East

048 24/05 **___ Ibibio Sound Machine @ All Points East
049 24/05 ***__ Little Simz @ All Points East
050 24/05 ****_ Kate Tempest @ All Points East
051 24/05 ***__ Steve Mason @ All Points East
052 24/05 ***__ Roisin Murphy @ All Points East
053 24/05 ***** Hot Chip @ All Points East
054 24/05 ***** The Chemical Brothers @ All Points East
055 25/05 **___ Nudes @ All Points East
056 25/05 ****_ Angie McMahon @ All Points East
057 25/05 ****_ Dream Wife @ All Points East
058 25/05 ****_ Temples @ All Points East

059 25/05 ***__ Amyl and the Sniffers @ All Points East

060 25/05 **___ Bakar @ All Points East

061 25/05 ****_ Anna Calvi @ All Points East
062 25/05 ****_ Jarvis Cocker @ All Points East
063 25/05 ***__ The Raconteurs @ All Points East
064 25/05 ****_ Interpol @ All Points East
065 25/05 ****_ The Strokes @ All Points East
066 26/05 **___ Mild Orange @ All Points East
067 26/05 ***__ Yves Tumor @ All Points East
068 26/05 ***__ Baloji @ All Points East
069 26/05 ****_ Moxie @ All Points East
070 26/05 ****_ Toro Y Moi @ All Points East
071 26/05 ***__ Kurt Vile and the Violators @ All Points East
072 26/05 ****_ Beach House @ All Points East
073 26/05 ***__ Maribou State @ All Points East
074 26/05 ****_ Metronomy @ All Points East

075 26/05 ***__ James Blake @ All Points East

076 26/05 ***__ Christine and the Queens @ All Points East
077 18/06 *____ Sans Pression @ Franco Fest
078 21/06 ***__ Benderz @ Packer Park
079 22/06 ****_ Great Time @ Molestice
080 19/07 ****_ Self Esteem @ Blue Dot
081 19/07 ***__ Du Blonde @ Blue Dot
082 19/07 ***__ Une @ Blue Dot
083 19/07 ***__ Sandunes @ Blue Dot
084 19/07 ****_ DJ Fallback @ Blue Dot
085 19/07 ***__ DJ Acid Rephlux @ Blue Dot
086 19/07 ****_ Denise Johnson @ Blue Dot
087 19/07 **___ Kinkajous @ Blue Dot
088 19/07 ****_ Kate Tempest @ Blue Dot
089 19/07 ***** Hot Chip @ Blue Dot
090 19/07 ***__ Tokimonsta @ Blue Dot
091 20/07 ****_ Henge @ Blue Dot
092 20/07 ***** Scalping @ Blue Dot
093 20/07 ***__ Henge Takeover @ Blue Dot
094 20/07 **___ Clangers @ Blue Dot
095 20/07 **___ Karryn @ Blue Dot
096 20/07 ***__ TVAM @ Blue Dot
097 20/07 ***__ Elder Island @ Blue Dot
098 20/07 ***** Kraftwerk @ Blue Dot
099 20/07 ***__ 808 State @ Blue Dot

100 21/07 **___ The Lucid Dream @ Blue Dot

101 21/07 ***** DJ Food @ Blue Dot
102 21/07 ****_ Lost Colours @ Blue Dot
103 21/07 ***** Audiobooks @ Blue Dot
104 21/07 ***__ Antics DJ @ Blue Dot
105 21/07 **___ Kerouac @ Blue Dot
106 21/07 ****_ New Order @ Blue Dot
107 21/07 **___ Kayla Painter @ Blue Dot
108 27/07 **___  Duett @ Retro Future Festival
109 27/07 **___  Vincenzo Salvia @ Retro Future Festival
110 27/07 ***__  Maxthor @ Retro Future Festival
111 27/07 **___  Sunglasses Kid @ Retro Future Festival
112 02/08 **___ Gospel House Choir @ Natural History Museum
113 02/08 ****_ DJ Yoda @ Natural History Museum
114 09/08 ****_ Despacio @ Meltdown 2019

115 10/08 ****_ Despacio @ Meltdown 2019

116 24/08 ****_ Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy @ One Day at the Disco Festival
117 24/08 ***__ Inner City @ One Day at the Disco Festival
118 24/08 **___ Mr Saturday Night @ One Day at the Disco Festival
119 22/09 ***** DJ Yoda's Tarantino AV show @ Everyman Crystal Palace
120 16/10 **___ Flora Yin-Wong @ King's Place
121 16/10 ***__ Kelly Moran @ King's Place
122 19/10 ***__ Roadhog @ The Old Market Tavern
123 24/10 ***__ Futurecop @ Elektrowekz
124 27/10 **___ Double Mixte @ Roundhouse
125 27/10 ***__ Desire @ Roundhouse
126 27/10 ***__ Chromatics @ Roundhouse
127 28/10 ***__ Ekcle @ Union Chapel
128 28/10 ***** Lamb @ Union Chapel
129 05/11 **___ Shy Girl @ Scala
130 05/11 ***** The Black Madonna @ Scala
131 05/11 ***** Georgia @ Scala
132 16/11 **___ Holly Lester @ Bugged Out 25th
133 16/11 **___ Jungle @ Bugged Out 25th
134 16/11 ***__ Jay Carder @ Bugged Out 25th
135 16/11 ***** Erol Alkan (Chill Out Set) @ Bugged Out 25th
136 16/11 ****_ 2ManyDJs @ Bugged Out 25th
137 16/11 **___ Erol Alkan @ Bugged Out 25th
138 24/11 ****_ Nitzer Ebb @ Village Underground
139 29/11 ***__ !!! @ EartH
140 30/11 ***__ 2ManyDJs @ O2 Arena
141 30/11 ***** Chemical Brothers @ O2 Arena
142 07/12 ***** Underworld @ Wembley Arena

Countries

As a stretch target I like to try to visit 5 new countries but I only managed 4 this year and 2 are very small ones. Isle of Man was a nice weekend away but at a very tourist-unfriendly time of year with not much open but there's so much good in getting some sea air in you I still enjoyed it. I've vowed to go back.

Also at the start of the year I stretched my europe tally with another extended weekend to Latvia and Lithuania. I found Riga extremely small as a capital but with character. I also found Riga's ice to be particularly slippery causing me to go over like a twat and needing physio to sort out my back when I returned home. Vilnius was bigger and more walking meant I was happier. They also had some a small street art scene that got me around more of the city than usual tourists. I'm pleased to say I didn't slip once there!

and towards the end of the year I snuck in another little extended weekend to the south of France with a day trip into Monaco. Nice was nice, Cannes was not so engaging, probably due to it being a little out of season, but we liked Monaco despite it's hills and expense.

With more weekend breaks than I'm used to I didn't do my two big holidays that I usually do. In the Summer I did visit the US and Canada which I might write up one day. That was a fun multi-city tour to cities I'd not spent much time exploring outside of theme parks, which I was moving away from. Montreal in particular was amazing and I could easily go back there.

To compensate for the lack of a second big holiday, work sent me to India for a week...which was nice! We did get a couple of days sightseeing in Bangalore and Chennai with that.

The New
03/02 Isle of Man
09/02 Latvia
11/02 Lithuania
07/10 Monaco

The Old
08/06 USA
15/06 Canada
18/06 USA
09/07 India
05/10 France
10/10 Scotland

The airport transfers only
08/07 UAE
17/07 UAE

Games Completed

and just to be super OCD for this year I thought I'd keep a tally of the games I finished so I can see how much time I'm wasting in this space. I've stopped buying games immediately and now pick them up when everyone else has given up on them,  the marketing hype is over and the initial patching periods have passed (that one in particular is systemic in the industry unfortunately).

Of the ones I finished this year I'll recommend "Return of the Obra Dinn" which is a logical puzzle played out around the story of a ship returning to port with its crew killed and you jump back in time to figure out who all the crew were and how each died. Really clever stuff.

Sniper Elite 4 is my style of action game. Slow, stealthy, and usually killing folks from a distance. I lack the reflexes for run and gun style gaming now so this is much more composed and sensible.

and Luigi's Mansion is a highly polished, if a bit short, exploring game that I am quite pleased to have completed 100% even if I did fluke the final boss.

001 10/01 Just Cause 4

002 12/01 Return of the Obra Dinn
003 06/02 Pikuniku
004 14/02 Headlander
005 16/02 Spiderman DLC
006 23/02 VVVVVV
007 27/02 Eastshade
008 02/03 The Plainscreek Killings
009 07/03 Chromagun
010 09/03 The Birdcage 2
011 17/03 Puzzle Agent

012 19/03 Potatoman Seeks The Troof
013 21/03 Rituals
014 29/03 Unheard
015 15/04 Borderlands 2
016 22/04 Supraland
017 16/05 Lego Super Heroes 2
018 02/06 Gato Roboto
019 07/07 Lego Super Villains
020 28/07 Sniper Elite 4
021 31/08 A Short Hike
022 21/09 Contrast
023 03/10 My Friend Pedro
024 03/11 Bioshock Infinite
025 07/11 Luigi's Mansion 3
026 14/11 Superliminal
027 04/12 Youropa
028 08/12 Drizzlepath: Deja Vu
029 25/12 House of Da Vinci 2

Target summary

So at the start of the year I'd set the following goals for the year:

Ride 1 new rollercoasters - Pleased to say I bettered this target by riding none, and the break from the scene has been great. I have no idea what's being built, I'm ready for surprise announcements and I think I can be excited about the hobby again. Will I go back to it? Yes, but not to the same level, I'm already overlooking parks for other things in my 2020 plans. I do miss the people and if I'm attending trips with the club it'll be more for that reason than the rides.

See 100 live acts - I saw 142. Smashed it!

Watch 100 films - I saw 200. Smashed it!

Visit 5 new countries - only 4 but my US/Canada trip was epic and made up for the shortfall.

Visit 2 new US states - no chance of this in 2019 as my route took me elsewhere. 2020 for sure!

See 1 new Cirque du Soleil show. I saw 4. Smashed it!

Walk 1000 miles: According to the tech I managed 1475.

2020 Targets

See 150 live acts.
Watch 250 films.
Visit 5 new countries. I have 2 pencilled in but can squeeze some weekend hops I'm sure.
Visit 2 new US states. I might be able to get 4.
See 1 new Cirque du Soleil show. I've got a trip planned with 1. I could possibly squeeze in another.
Walk 2000 miles. This'll be a good stretch for me.
Complete 1 year of an exercise course. Already underway...

Bug 59

This is not the video they showed, it was an exclusive very rude animation by David Wilson that got presented and I don't expect it to be uploaded to Youtube any time soon.

Netballs section

pic.twitter.com/Ofo4H5FiyB

— Natasia Demetriou (@Natasia1andonly) May 6, 2019

pic.twitter.com/5CdKfKELqt

— Roberto Umberto (@RobJPRuff) May 7, 2019

The baby girl video at the end of this episode of Ellie & Natasia

Compilation of Jeremy's here

Bug 58

After a year's break Bug is back at the BFI. I couldn't go to the first one (I'd double-booked) but here're the videos that featured.

2018 year in review

So I set myself some goals for 2018. Let's see how I did and how what I've got planned for '19.

Rollercoasters: Ride 100 new ones and reach 2000

I rode 102 and reached 1999, which is a real stinker of a number to finish the year on because now it looks like I will choose the landmark one when I didn't really care which ride it ended up being. I'm taking a break in 2019 from coastering, having removed myself from most of the groups I was in. For 2019 I'm setting myself the goal of only riding 1.

Gigs: See 100 live acts.

I saw 102, following a hasty bit of emergency scheduling in December. My favourite acts were Red Snapper, Anna Meredith, Despacio (does that count?), They Might be Giants & The Chemical Brothers. I'm quite chuffed with this one and will aim to do the same in 2019.

Films: See 100 new ones.

I saw 125, although some I had seen before but not on the big screen. Within these I did a few back-to-backs including the Qaatsi trilogy, John Wick double-bill, a mystery all-nighter, a modern horror all-nighter and a John Carpenter all-nighter. My favourites were Fatal Deviation (yep), The Villainess, Don't Breathe & A Quiet Place  I'm quite happy repeating this one in 2019.

Countries: Visit 5 new ones.

I managed 4: Bosnia & Herzegovina, Morocco, Andorra and Montenegro. I did Bosnia twice though. It was a good year for holidays as I also went to Croatia, France, and the US twice. For 2019 I'm looking at keeping things closer to home for the most part with trips to some of the principalities and small islands I've yet to visit.

US States: Visit 2 new ones.

 I got 3 new states (West Virginia, Michigan & Rhode Island). This leaves me with 5 to get.  I am toying with the US for a themed-trip in the Summer though it'll be to cities I've been to before. The new states will need to wait until another year.

Cirque du Soleil. See 1 new show.

I saw Luzia in Boston and very good it was too. I'd like to do another for next year but think I may be able to do a trip with more than that.

Travel 1000 miles on a treadmill.

This is a new one, and I won't be running from the start but I need to get a gym routine in place and figure this will be a nice goal to aim for. 

Gig #102: Joe Goddard @ Phonox

My final "gig" of the year ended up being a Joe Goddard DJ set at the Phonox nightclub in Brixton, which I knew as Plan B many years ago. I thought I'd get there late but the venue was still dead when I entered. I hung around for an hour or so and as I gave up and left there was a big queue gathered outside.

The music was good and the club sounded and looked great. The crowd however were a clubbing crowd and not a Hot Chip crowd so I didn't really feel the right vibe, hence the early departure. 

Gigs #100-101 Blackbyrds & Digitalism @ The Jazz Cafe

A plan to attend a Digitalism DJ set became a chance to see 70s Jazz/Soul combo The Blackbyrds as I got into the venue early and this band were on first. They sounded really good with lots of Motown sounding stuff coming from an excellent live band.

After they finished a big chunk of the crowd cleared out to allow Digitalism to take to the stage. At least I think it was them. There were 2 guys playing and I don't know what they looked like. I left after an hour and once on the train had a horrible thought I'd left during the house DJs set.

I'll never know.

Film #125: Free Solo

Nothing to do with Star Wars but a documentary about a man who climbed El Capitan in Yosemite without a rope.

Gripping stuff!

Gigs #97-99: Brutallixmas @ The Monarch

Having missed some acts on Saturday I needed to play catch up so saw this free event at The Monarch pub in Camden Town. 3 rock/punk acts, so not my usual thing but it was a night out.

Lakes were up first and my favourite of the three. They did a nice cover of E17's "Stay Another Day".

Adults were up second and weren't that great. The lead singer wasn't sure what was going on and kept introducing each song with "which one are we doing now".

Up last were Brutalligators who I didn't like only because their guitarist chose to stand and block my view for the other two acts; some people have no awareness.

Film #124: Aquaman

Roman Reigns calls his brother a dick who in turn calls him a bastard. Another baddie got his costume from Power Rangers. Someone covers Toto's "Africa" terribly and Amber Heard discovers grapes whilst looking hot. Halfway through it turns into Indiana Jones.

I liked it.

Gigs #95 & #96: Thundercat & Flying Lotus @ Brixton Academy

A chance to see a bunch of acts in one venue was quickly thrown out when our group chose to remain in the bar drinking and when we went to the venue 2 hours after opening, the queue was going around the block so we went back to the bar.

When it was time to try again at 11pm it was just me left, the others had given up. So of all the acts on the card I only got to see 2.

Thundercat was too bass driven for my liking.

Flying Lotus had no progression, and his 3D show wasn't as impressive as a remember it being when we saw it in the Summer. Although I did like he played some Twin Peaks.

Coupled with my first attempt at getting glasses resulting in a broken pair and a free for all to get another pair and a venue so packed I barely made it past the bars at the rear of the venue I'm surprised I stuck around for as long as I did. 

Gig #94: DJ Yoda @ Winterville

An impromptu gig on the way home as I found out DJ Yoda would be playing a Cut n Paste 80s mix for free at Winterville in Clapham. Considering how much I've seen him over the last couple of years it was a little weird that I hadn't seen him at all in 2018. So it was good be reacquainted.

The set opened with 99 Red Balloons and finished with Sweet Dreams, and throughout we had some of the cheesiest, 80s classics including J. Geils Band, Kraftwerk, Foreigner & Toto.

and for someone who usually plays an hour set, it was great to see him going nearly 2 hours tonight.

Fun!

Film #123: Spiderman into the Multiverse

Oh, this is really really really good.

A different take on the Spiderman story, beautifully animated, a well written story and some bizarre twists. I liked it much better than any of the other Spiderman films...well, except the classic 70s one that is.

Film #122: Bad Times at the El Royale

An ensemble film that features a group of characters meeting at a run down motel. Why are they are there, who's going to die and who's going to survive? I like these sort of collection films, Smoking Aces being another, and I did enjoy this. There are a couple of OMG moments and all of our showing jumped at one particular bit, which doens't happen that often.

Strong acting from the cast, and a nice contained story made this enjoyable. 

Film #121: Assassination Nation

A rather odd film that takes social media data leaking to its extreme as a group of four friends are terrorised by their fellow townsfolk. The film has an energy and vibe that wouldn't be amiss if Charli XCX had been asked to create a film. Strong female roles with an FU attitude.

But what starts off as a modern take on Heathers, becomes a mess in the final third.

It's worth seeing but it lacks the legs to make it a classic.

Gigs #91-93: Disco @ Electric Brixton

A disco themed night in Brixton.

Norman Jay was ok, a great selection of obscure records mixed with the occasional anthem, but he couldn't mix. I guess when you're an MBE for your contribution to music you don't need to.

Nicky Siano was terrible. He played with the EQ as if he was an EDM DJ faking a set, and destroyed some great produced music with his meddling. He did play Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now". I wish someone had.

Marshall Jefferson gave the venue the much needed kick it needed and really took it up a gear, but with his set starting at 2am we were too tired to make it through his entire set.

A great crowd helped the night go quickly.