Hola, as my Trestles review didn't go up on Gobshites, I thought I'd post it here. They're playing the o2 academy in Liverpool. GO GO GO there, because of this review:

“Too much is mediocre, it’s just alright.” So says Al O’Hare, one quarter and lead singer of The Trestles. Last night was living proof of that. The two acts either side of The Trestle’s stellar performance fade into obscurity in my mind. The first, a capable but strained performance from youngsters “Half Cut Harry” (www.myspace.com/halfcutharry) who have notes of Keane, James Blunt and The Fray – all OK, all mediocre. Honestly, they were acceptable, and kudos must go to the bassist who played with a broken jaw, but with a lead singer whose mind and voice wandered elsewhere, there was little charisma to the band. High points were their cover of “Whiskey in the Jar” and the impassioned “Silver Rain”. I would recommend them as a young act with promise, but in my mind they still have a way to go.

Next up were The Trestles. Al O’Hare’s considerable stage presence resonated with Billy Bragg zeal, as he sang of Liverpool and beyond. The band were strong, and seemed to light up Zanzibar, the darkest bar I have ever visited, with a wave of sound.

They opened their section of the show with “The Civilised”, a riotous rock song that opens up the stage to the audience. It’s less a man preaching than a gathering of friends listening to someone voice what we’ve all be thinking. A rebellious, motivated shout to remember how we felt at seventeen, a refusal to lie down and take simply what we’re given. The guitar riff will be stuck in your head, and, as all the best opening songs do, The Civilised immediately makes you know the band, what they’re about and hits you with foot tapping, hip-shaking and head nodding.

O’Hare follows this up with thirty, which while I might not be able to empathise with, I can understand the point. Growing up doesn’t have to mean getting dull, and I’m sure that the crowd can get on board with that. It’s a remarkably age-varied gathering tonight, and this adds strength to The Trestle’s argument. Next up is Ghosts of Redundancy, a sentiment that, once again is felt in Liverpool’s Zanzibar. O’Hare’s ability to write lyrics that hit home, speak the truth and that yet are coupled with music that refuses to allow room for self-pity are a startlingly accurate metaphor for Scousers themselves.

Hard Faced Town, the title track of their recent EP, again pairs lyrics that resonate with honesty and a Beatles-esque pop musical accompaniment to make a surprisingly mellow sound. The lyrics “Why does it always come down to those with and without?” strikes a particularly notable chord, particularly as it follows a song about redundancy, but again refuses to sink into self pity.

The gig is wrapped up with “Drink of Water”, a personal possible favourite. The venue falls quiet as “I want…” echoes around the room, going on to list O’Hare’s desires, yet somehow speaking to everyone in the room, asking, what is it that we want. The band are unfailingly good, taking the crowd’s collective mood up and down seemingly at their whim, allowing for no respite and betraying strains of old (read: good) Oasis, Lemonheads, Springsteen and, correct me if I’m wrong, Suede.

This is the modern antidote to mediocrity. To make an audience feel as though merely nodding your head is not enough movement, to make them laugh and cry along with the lyrics and to let the crowd know that this is not just a song, it is an expression of opinion, is far too rare. I know of only a handful of contemporary acts that can make a roomful of people truly feel something; Frank Turner, Reuben, Scroobius Pip, Liam Frost and now, The Trestles. My one argument would be that if they want a hard-faced town, they should try Manchester.

The final act that I saw was so bad that to name and shame them seems cruel. They were called Man Get Out. Basically, they were a rubbish stereotype of an 80’s synth band. They were handsome, well dressed and young with decent equipment, so I don’t know why they weren’t making something worth listening to, but there you are. My friend enjoyed them, however, so I suppose if you like both HIM and Erasure, they could be good.

In summary, one-third of the night that I experienced was great, making those, I suppose, not bad odds. The Trestles: awesome, Half Cut Harry was potentially good, and currently acceptable and Man Get Out needs to borrow my Bob Dylan vinyl.


ta my lovelies.

Henry Holland

can I just say oooOO000h.

This is the new H! by Henry Holland range for Debenhams. It's reasonably priced, and goes up to a size 18. http://bit.ly/961Nab

Ok, so I have been more than slacking on the blog front, because I'm more of a twitterer (http://twitter.com/rosannahynes). Today, though, i thought I'd go on an extended talk about
1. Plus size fashion blogs - my newest addiction.
2. Baking as a form of therapy - not a new, but a fervent belief of mine.

Ok, so firstly. As a girl who isn't skinny, but also not bothered by this, I've found that fashion blogs, or at least the famous ones, are written by girls who can fit in sample sizes. The trouble is, I love reading about fashion. I just want to read about fashion I could physically put on. I understand that being overweight isn't healthy, or conventionally attractive, and god knows how I loathe being described as "curvy" "more to love" or "big n' beautiful". To be honest, even typing that made me feel a bit sick. I'm not blogging to change people's perspectives, and I know that if is want to be thin, all I have to do, as a great man once said, is "put down the fucking fork".

But that isn't the point, is it. The point is that I'm healthy, like food and love clothes. That's it. And so, it is nice to read a fashion blog by someone like the amazing Messy Carla, whose street fashion blog is, quite simply, adorable. Her blog, "a fashion blog in a size 16", includes gimme-gimme jewellery, her own inspiring outfits, videos of the latest normal and plus size designers and links to other great blogs. Via her, I found this (http://frenchforcupcake.blogspot.com)this (http://dollface-is-candysweet.blogspot.com), and (my personal favourite) this(http://blog.musingsofafatshionista.com).

Baking is a related issue. I love to bake (even though I'm not terribly good, because it's awesome to create something physical with your hands. Particularly in my third year, where I've been snowed under with work, midnight (often literally) baking is my thereapy of chioce. I think it's partly because I have to wait for it to be ready, which generally gives me 15 minutes of thumb-twiddling in which to read the paper, create a template on quark (it takes me roughly this long to create something publishable these days) or just look out the window, thinking.

It's also nice to have things to give out that don't cost very much - I have something of an acerbic personality, in case you can't tell, and I like to remind people that I'm nice really. Plus, I'm not huge on cakes and biscuits and stuff, so it's a good way to justify buying the ingredients, etc. This week I made kinder egg cookies, which needed considerably more chocolate, but were otherwise tasty and came out kind of like Galettes (buttery french biccies that go well with black coffee). I know that a lot of the boys I know like my baking habit, leading to me getting the nickname "mum". Which is a bit strange, really. I like the french for cupcake (linked above) blog because she has recipies as well as fashion stuff up there.

Here's a link to my twitpic (www.twitpic.com/photos/rosannahynes), where a lot of my page designs are up, and if you give me feedback, you can expect love and baked goods.

I'm currently unbelievably stressed, what with money and work and uni and all the rest of it, not to mention the fact that I'm worrying that I've just outgrown all the people I live with, and that we have nothing in common anymore.

Despite all of this, which is basically crap, I've found that three things have the miraculous power of calming. These things are Season Two of the Wire, Johnny Cash (and the Walk the Line soundtrack) and baking. The first two are fine, they don't cost me any more money that I've already spent (Spotify and an impulse purchase of all five series in a boxset) but the third is proving problematic. Basically, I'm not great at baking, I don't have all the equipment I need and the ingredients cost money I currently don't have. But it's so addictive! I think it's because I have to physically wait for something, meaning that I am provided with at least 15 minutes in which I can read the paper, design templates on Quark, dance to country music in my kitchen...anything, really. And the best part is that at the end of it, i have something to show for my 15+ minutes of solitary freedom. The other problem is that I'm not overly fond of cakes and biscuits and stuff, I'd rather have crisps. So I tend to get left with vast amounts of cakes and stuff that my flatmates don't eat either.

That's pretty much all I have for you kids right now.

Gigs, etc.

This weekend, I went to see The Trestles, an ace Liverpool band who, in the tradition of all the bands I truly love, sang something worth listening to. The lyrics are heartfelt, the tunes are catchy and melodic. I love that sound, like one man with a backing band. The review I wrote, alongside a podcast from Paddy Hoey and some of The Trestle's music can be found on the unrivalled http://gobshitesmiscellany.blogspot.com/

Other things that happened this week:
I got a pair of Vivienne Westwood shoes for £35.00. They haven't been off my feet, despite snow, rain and having to work my outfits around my footwear.

I made peanut-butter cookies. Pretty damn good.

I organised my vintage photoshoot, which is going to look amazing.

I also finished my Paul Du Noyer interview, which you can see below, you lucky sausages.