Max Tundra - Halloween night
I should have plugged this before now, but just a reminder that Max Tundra is playing the Menagerie, University St, Belfast, tomorrow night, doors 8.30pm, dress freaky, £7 on the door. He will be playing a live set with Becky Jacobs, presumably concentrating on his new album 'Mastered by Guy at the Exchange' (Domino). Support comes from Clone Quartet (live set) and Jupiter Ace (DJ set). Looks like I'm going to miss it, which is a shame....

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Culture?? What culture?
As you may have noticed in the news today, Belfast has failed to make the shortlist for the European City of Culture 2008. Despite being an early bookies favourite, Belfast lost out to Birmingham, Bristol/ Bath, Liverpool, Cardiff, Oxford and Newcastle/ Gateshead. The obvious reason seems to have been the ongoing sectarian violence and collapse of the power-sharing executive, but the committee must surely have been aware of the flipside to the much-hyped Cathedral Quarter/ Waterfront Hall story. The closure of the Arts Theatre, the lack of decent rehearsal space for bands and artists, the absence of major art galleries, theatre companies and the inability to see a film in the city centre after 9pm on a weeknight were surely contributory factors in the decision.
Everyone that lives here knows that there are a lot of good things about the arts and culture in Belfast. The fact that most of it remains at a relatively underground level is a shame though. One piece on the television even used Van Morrison to illustrate Belfast's culture, and while I don't expect them to latch on to the latest unsigned bands I should expect them to at least have heard of David Holmes!
If the powers that be ever decide to bid for this again let's hope it's not as blinkered and highbrow as this attempt.

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28 Days Later Q+A at the QFT
This Northern Ireland premiere of the latest Danny Boyle movie was well worth the effort. Without wishing to spoil it for people who have yet to see it, the movie is set in a plague infected Britain where most people are either dead or zombies. It is certainly not an easy view and in the wrong hands it could have been a disaster, but it's a credit to both Boyle and the screenwriter Alex Garland that it succeeds. In fact the deserted central London scenes are near-genius, an empty capital revealed to the soundtrack of 'East Hastings' from Godspeed You Black Emperor's first album. Boyle, Garland and the two stars (Cillian Murphy and Naomie Harris) all hung around afterwards to answer questions and give us a bit of insight into the making of the movie. Tales of early morning filming in central London and remote locations in the Lake District, the influences of Nicholas Roeg, the Dogme school and George Romero, and a detailed denial of why the title isn't connected to the menstrual cycle (you can always trust a Belfast audience to ask an odd question!). However, it was noticeable that Boyle and Garland didn't seem that comfortable together and perhaps their blending of disparite influences hasn't led to a happy working relationship. Whatever, it turned out fine in the end, go and see it.