The Libertines at Hyde Park

There has been a huge amount of controversy over the BST Hyde Park Libertines concert on July 5th, with all kinds of crowd problems and general poor handling of the event overshadowing the quality of the actual music that day. As someone who attended the gig, it is completely true that none of the news stories have been exaggerated. Whilst some stories may blame the crowd more than the organisers and vice versa, both can be outlined as the cause for the serious problems caused. First of all, in the crowds defence I don't quite think the newspapers really understood the magnitude of the event. The Libertines reforming is the biggest musical story of the year by far, and the opportunity to see a band who haven't played live since 2010 due falling out and huge tension between Pete and Carl was not one to be taken lightly. There is no way the excitement of the crowd can be understated, everyone was buzzing, relishing the chance to see a fantastic band perform live, myself included, so the organisers didn't really take into account how much crowd excitement there would be. Nonetheless, some people definitely took it too far, flairs being a good example of this, whilst somewhat amusing, they can be dangerous, my friend himself behind hit on the eye by a flair, causing a nasty burn. Also the climbing on the delay tower which I was near too also wasn't very intelligent, again whilst funny a lot of people could have been hurt. Not just during the Libertines were there problems, during the Pogues, a man suffered a heart attack, and the incredible lack of response from the security was shocking, and fortunately the man survived, but nonetheless it asked real questions of the security of the event. The fact they took checking for alcohol more seriously than crowd safety so they could make more money was ludicrous. On a whole however, the crowd problems in my opinion were a minor dent in what can only be described as a brilliant, surreal experience. Not only the Libertines, having also watched The Enemy and The Pogues as well, though Shane MacGowan didn't look particularly healthy, were brilliant. The Libertines were sensational, the passion from the crowd and then them reflecting that passion back was fantastic. My highlights of the set would definitely be 'I Get Along' and 'Death On The Stairs', both capturing the emotional state of this resurrected band. A real top experience and definitely in my top 5 performances, a great time and now I very much look forward to seeing them again in September, in a more controlled environment so they hopefully don't have to keep stopping.

My first review

My first review comes very simply in the form of my absolute favourite film with undoubtedly my favourite actor, Drive. This neo-noir crime thriller is much more than Ryan Gosling staring deeply at Carey Mulligan. Oh no this is a true masterpiece in my opinion that reflects a great connection between director and lead actor, mixed with a truly stunning soundtrack and a great supporting cast of actors. The combination of Winding-Refn and Gosling produce a performance of real quality refined with brutal violent scenes and an excellent display of emotion. The story one smile tells is vital, it really defines the character when comparing his violent nature and his love for Irene and Benicio, the way his smile makes up for the lack of dialogue, it basically speaks for itself in my opinion. The supporting actors are by no means severely overshadowed by Gosling's performance, with Albert Brooks and Bryan Cranston both putting in great individual performances, the former's being subtly brutal in the most intelligent way. This great acting, coupled with an electrifying soundtrack really brings the film deeper into this neo-noir, almost Vice City like category. Cliff Martinez almost outdid himself with the soundtrack, the inclusion of specifically Kavinsky's 'Nightcall' and Riz Ortolani's 'Oh My Love' really outline the plot and the character, with 'Nightcall' I feel being a song that perfectly reflects Gosling's character. Overall it can be said that though it doesn't stick to it's traditional written roots, this film is a resounding success due to a brilliant adaption by Nicolas Winding-Refn and a host of top actors playing their roles superbly, just topped off with perhaps the best movie soundtrack to date, in my opinion, Drive is a modern classic and will remain so for years to come, a truly exceptional piece of cinema.