Tuesday 30 June 2009

What's a girl to do?

Someone who constantly gets it right is Natasha Khan. I didn't get to Glastonbury this year, but just from watching the videos and looking at the images in the BBC gallery it seems she put on her usual brilliant show. And (sorry for such a girly outburst but...) omg I looooove her make up!

Natasha is someone who always seems to try new things with make up, such as with her look at the Brit Awards 2008 when she had a rainbow of colour bursting from her eye and dripping down her neck . . .

Love it. And it doesn't seem at all contrived, none of it, not the music, the fashion, the make up, the artwork... unlike some *cough*Lady Gaga*cough* current artists. Now I'm off to play with some Barry M . . .

Thursday 25 June 2009

Roll up, roll up...

In the absence of me making anything recently (I've had a creative drought - these things happen!), I have been scouring the web every day in search of treats for the blog and yesterday the web turned up a slice of gold. This absolutely beautiful photography by Josh Goleman focusses on the wedding of "Adam and Halli". The event is picture perfect in every way. The dress, the colours, the barn dripping with fairy lights, the bunnies on top of the wedding cake, the carnival-style kissing booth and signs... not to mention that the pair look so happy and in love! I have no idea who these people are but their wedding has made me go weak at the knees!

Josh Goleman's full photo gallery.
Adam and Halli's wedding site.



NB: Anyone else find the way blogspot messes up your spacing when you upload images incredibly annoying?!

Thursday 4 June 2009

Shoegazer Creative: Ele the elephant

Shoegazer Creative:
I made this vintage-inspired elephant decorative toy for a friend's recent birthday. I made the pattern from scratch by looking at how other felt toys were constructed and working to similar shapes and principles, altering the shapes as needed. The most difficult part was the trunk, which came out a little bit wonky but hopefully that just adds to the character and charm of the little elephant!
I hope you like her:

Materials used include:
Wool felt
Embroidery thread
Plastic toy eyes
Stuffing

Wednesday 3 June 2009

Florence and the Machine - Brighton

Florence and the Machine - Brighton - Concorde 2 - 2.6.09

In a venue tucked under the Brighton promenade lays a stage littered with flowers and empty bird cages. Faded bunting stretches out above the audience and tangles in amongst the gothic wrought iron arches and pillars. As the sun fades outside, its last throws of light illuminate the stained glass alcoves, throwing an eerie light across the room.

Florence and her band take to the stage in a swirl of fog and launch into a set list that includes most of the tracks from her forthcoming debut album Lungs (out July 6th). “I’ve just been singing about coffins... now I’m going to sing about cutting someone’s eye out,” giggles Florence after paying homage to the gothic splendour of the venue as she leaps from My Boy Builds Coffins in to Girl With One Eye.

It’s testament to Florence that the crowd remains transfixed despite not yet being familiar with over half of the songs. Each track is performed with powerful vocals and a dramatic stage presence which sets Florence apart from many of her contemporaries. Her enjoyment of performing each song to the maximum both in terms of vocals and movement is refreshing.

Where many bands perform their most well-known songs with tour-weary reluctance, Florence rips hers up with all the excitement of a child tearing wrapping paper off a particularly large present, and seems delighted that the gathered crowd are enjoying her work. Recent release Dog Days Are Over, new single Rabbit Heart (out June 21st) and her cover of club classic You’ve Got The Love generate a rousing response from the audience, as does a screaming rendition of Kiss With A Fist.

Maybe it’s because I’m at a gig in Brighton instead of London for the first time in ages, but there is a distinct lack of pretention to proceedings tonight which gives the gig a feel of those from the early 2000s - before the big “indie” boom. On the whole, the audience are wearing what they want rather than what they feel they should. Couple this with Florence’s disarmingly friendly banter with the crowd and it becomes crystal clear why this gig was one of the best I’ve been to in a long time.

Florence has come a very long way since I first saw her (with Dev Hynes as ‘the Machine’) at a free festival back in 2007, and I would thoroughly recommend you seek her out this summer. Do yourself a favour though, and approach her as an artist in her own right, not as one of “2009’s top tips” or as a member of the infuriating “new females” clan (female is not a genre).

Keep an eye on Shoegazer Fashion for Poppy's review of the night (and Florence's outfit!)

Review in brief:
Venue: Refreshingly un-corporate! Good size for an intimate gig. Bad toilets.
Gig expereince as a whole: A perfect end to Florence’s tour and a perfect way to introduce us to her debut album. Uplifting, dramatic and unpretentious.

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