Comedian Micky Flanagan is bringing his new show, Back In The Game, to Hall for Cornwall, Plymouth Pavilions and Colston Hall Bristol in 2013.

Micky Flanagan, one of British comedy’s biggest stars, will travel the length and breadth of the UK and Ireland for what will be the most anticipated comedy tour of 2013.

Starting in February and finishing up at London HMV Hammersmith Apollo in May, the Back In The Game tour follows on from the huge critical and commercial success of last year’s Out Out jaunt where over 200,000 tickets were sold and all 150 dates were a sell out.

The DVD, Micky Flanagan Live: The Out Out Tour, has been the number one selling standup DVD in 2012, with his show-stealing performances on the small screen earning him a prestigious British Comedy Awards nomination and The Sun’s Comedian Of The Year Award.

Micky has appeared on The Royal Variety Performance, Mock The Week, Have I Got News For You, 8 Out of 10 Cats among others, and next year will cement his reputation as one of the superstars of British standup.

Micky Flanagan hits Hall for Cornwall in Truro on March 5, 2013; Plymouth Pavilions on March 6, 2013; and Colston Hall Bristol on April 24, 2013. Tickets go on sale at 9am on May 18, 2012.

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Post tags: Bristol, Colston Hall, Cornwall, Devon, Hall For Cornwall, Micky Flanagan, Pavilions, Plymouth, Truro

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Rock legends Thin Lizzy are set to visit Colston Hall Bristol this winter as part of their continuing UK tour.

Scott Gorham commented on the huge demand to see Thin Lizzy live: “The response has been amazing – there are some towns we haven’t played with this line-up and demand for us to play there means we can add more shows – so here you are!”

Thin Lizzy is one of rock music’s most recognisable names. The fiery Dublin band exploded onto the scene with a fresh sound, look and attitude.

Led by the incomparable Phil Lynott, the band reached many peaks and influenced generations of musicians with classic tracks such as Jailbreak, The Boys Are Back In Town, Still In Love With You, Cold Sweat, Emerald and Don’t Believe A Word.

Most rock historians would agree the pinnacle of their commercial success was in 1983, followed by the bands’ premature demise, as they played their last gig in September of 1984.

Just two years later, the world was shocked when Lynott passed away at the age of 36.

Some 25 years have passed, the world has changed, but the amazing body of work that is Thin Lizzy still retains all of its vibrancy and influence. A new lineup has formed to take Lizzy’s music to a whole new generation of music fans.

Thin Lizzy hit Colston Hall Bristol on December 4, 2012. Tickets go on sale at 9am on May 18, 2012.

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Post tags: Bristol, Colston Hall, Thin Lizzy

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Swedish indie-rockers The Hives are set to visit O2 Academy Bristol this winter as part of a five-date UK tour.

The Hives‘ fifth album, Lex Hives, is set for release on June 5. The first single from the record is called Go Right Ahead.

Frontman Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist told the NME: “There’s no formula, but it definitely sounds like The Hives. Every good band there is has a certain sound.

“We haven’t really listened to other music for almost two years because we’ve been working on the album. There’s a few different tempos. And then there are some songs that are in a style that I don’t think anyone has done before, at all.

“I’m really excited about it. And if it’s exciting to me, then it’s exciting to most other people as well.”

The Hives first garnered attention in the early 2000s with the release of their ‘greatest hits’ album Your New Favourite Band, featuring their most well-known song, Hate To Say I Told You So.

Known for performing in ever-changing, matching black-and-white suits, the band puts emphasis on their energetic live shows, notably with Howlin’ Pelle‘s engaging onstage banter and his guitarist brother Nicholaus Arson‘s crazy stage antics.

The Hives hit O2 Academy Bristol on December 10, 2012. Tickets go on sale at 9am on May 18, 2012.

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Eighties new-wave legends Ultravox are set to visit Colston Hall Bristol this autumn.

The Bristol show will be the first time Ultravox have played live since their Return To Eden reformation tour of 2009.

The latest gigs will follow the hugely anticipated release of their forthcoming new album, Brilliant – their first in 28 years.

The legendary quartet of Midge Ure, Billy Currie, Chris Cross and Warren Cann have created a record that not only stands alongside the finest work of their career but firmly places them as both a huge influence upon, and a vital contemporary force within, today’s musical climate.

Midge Ure said: “It’s always such an important part for us, the presentation of the live show, building the environment to play the music in.

“We want to make our take on it as individual and memorable as possible, so that when you walk out of the venue and you put the record on in six months’ time it takes you right back to the moment when you saw it live on stage.”

The Brilliant tour will feature new material from the album alongside classic tracks from the band’s hugely influential back catalogue.

Midge Ure added: “We’re cherry picking what will work in the context of a set. There’ll be a good element of the Brilliant album played live and we’re really looking forward to taking these songs out on the road.”

Ultravox hit Colston Hall Bristol on September 21, 2012. Tickets go on sale at 9am on May 18, 2012.

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Post tags: Bristol, Colston Hall, Ultravox

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Quirky indie rockers We Are Scientists are set to visit Thekla Bristol this summer.

Formed in California in 2000, We Are Scientists found fame in 2005 with their second album, With Love and Squalor, which sold 100,000 copies in its first six months of release.

Although modestly popular in America, the album became a gold-selling hit in the UK, where the band’s sound – part post-punk revival and part indie rock, with a touch of Eighties synth-pop – drew parallels to popular bands like Editors, Franz Ferdinand, and the Killers.

The record boasted the top 40 singles Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt, The Great Escape, and It’s A Hit.

Their second success was with Brain Thrust Mastery which charted at 11 in the UK album chart, with two top 40 singles, After Hours and Chick Lit.

The band toured heavily in support, playing a number of European festivals and opening shows in America for Kings of Leon.

The guys’ most recent album, Barbara, was released in the UK back in 2010.

We Are Scientists hit Thekla Bristol on July 23, 2012. Tickets go on sale at 9am on May 16, 2012.

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Britpop legends Blur will play an Olympic concert warmup show at Plymouth Pavilions this summer.

With only a handful of dates up for grabs, Plymouth Pavilions have managed to pull one of the biggest comeback tours of recent years.

Performing warmup gigs in just three cities, Blur will head to the West Country ahead of their highly anticipated sold-out return to London’s Hyde Park later this summer.

The band will head to the seaside for a gig at the historic Winter Gardens in Margate on August 1, followed by a return to Wolverhampton for the first time since 2009 to play two shows at the Civic Hall, and finally Plymouth Pavilions on August 7.

The gigs will follow the release of Blur 21: The Box on July 30.  Some 21 years since the release of their debut album Leisure in 1991, the band’s body of work has been compiled and gathered together into one box.

Blur’s seven studio albums are collected with over five hours of previously unreleased material including 65 tracks, rarities, three DVDs, a collector’s edition book and special limited edition Seymour 7in vinyl.

Blur hit Plymouth Pavilions on August 7, 2012. Tickets cost £35 plus booking fee. To maximise the chance of buying tickets, fans should sign up now at the Blur website. Tickets go on general sale at 9am on May 18, 2012, and are only available from the Eventim website. UPDATE: There will be 300 standing tickets for sale to ‘over the counter’ bookers at Plymouth Pavilions – not available via the website or phoneline.

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Post tags: Blur, Devon, Pavilions, Plymouth

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Rather like the humble egg or potato, one of the nicest things about Baroque music is that, however you serve it up, it usually provides a satisfying result.

Conductor, Simon Ible, is a past-master of inventive programming, and this highly-effective mix of the familiar and less-familiar, preceded by the now-customary introductions – themselves entertaining confections of historical fact and amusing anecdote – proved a winning combination.

Handel’s D major Suite provided a bright and breezy opening, with trumpeter, David Shead, eminently able to cope with the high-octane tessitura.

Telemann’s somewhat quirky ‘Les nations anciennes et modernes’ afforded an interesting interlude, although the final movement seemed rather drawn out, and less satisfying as a conclusion.

Space unfortunately dictated that Bach’s F minor keyboard concerto be given on the piano, and though Jonathan Watts’s articulate performance sought to convey every nuance, the harpsichord’s distinctive timbre might still have been the worthier protagonist.

Telemann’s Trumpet Concerto in D demonstrated David Shead’s equally-impressive ability to produce well-rounded tone at every dynamic level.

However, Bach’s Double Violin Concerto emerged head and shoulders above all else.

For here was such wonderful chemistry between Malcolm Latchem and Catherine Hayek, resulting not only in a flawless ensemble, but one where both players’ tonal and expressive individuality still shone through.

With equally sympathetic accompaniment, this was surely one of the best string experiences for a long while.

PHILIP R BUTTALL

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Post tags: Catherine Hayek, David Shead, Devon, Jonathan Watts, Malcolm Latchem, Philip R Buttall, Plymouth, Sherwell Centre, Simon Ible, Ten Tors Chamber Orchestra

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South Westerly Veering North East, an exhibition of work by Margaret Deans, Christine Linfield and Anne Scarratt, is at The Schoolhouse in Morvah this summer.

Margaret Deans, Christine Linfield and Anne Scarratt have worked together for more than a decade.

The new exhibition explores their different responses to working directly in the changing landscape of coast and moor, from Scilly to the Shetlands.

Their paintings interact with each other while retaining strongly individual approaches.

Margaret Deans lives in West Cornwall where the land meets the sea, the endlessly changing light fuels her painting.

She told SouthWestShows: “Colour is my primary focus and I am exploring levels of abstraction. It seems that I get nearer to the essence of a place if I leave something unsaid.

“The work shown is oils and mixed media, often completed on site and using local materials for texture. The paint is encouraged to move and recombine in new ways as I explore the relationships between colour, light and abstraction.”

Christine Linfield lives and works on Dartmoor, her inspiration coming from the land, the sea and constantly shifting weather patterns, the more elemental the better.

She said: “Whenever possible I work on site, using thick paint – oil and acrylic – layering, removing, re-layering, using not only brushes and palette knives but bits of stick, rags and mainly my fingers as this gives me a feeling for the painting, the way the paint is applied and what emerges.

“For me it is about my response to the landscape. I often feel that I paint what I struggle to say.”

Anne Scarratt lives in the South Hams, but her interest in geology, which informs the textures of her work, often draws her to the Cornish coast.

Having spent her working life as an architect, with a pencil in her hand, Anne builds her work from initial drawings in her sketchbook, often carried out perched on a windy cliff enjoying the privilege of being part of the landscape.

She said: “I work with knives and brushes, with sticks and found objects, mud and sand, as well as with paint, exploring different techniques to capture my interpretation of memorable places.”

South Westerly Veering North East is at The Schoolhouse, Morvah, near Penzance, from June 23 to July 6, 2012.

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Post tags: Anne Scarratt, Christine Linfield, Margaret Deans, Morvah, Penzance, The Schoolhouse

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Mark Watson is bringing his new show to Colston Hall Bristol and Hall for Cornwall Truro this autumn.

Mark Watson was a victim of identity theft. Someone successfully posed as him and took all his money.

It made him think about the power of the internet, the nature of identity, the way to stop crime forever and live in a better world, and some other smaller matters.

He has now finished thinking about these things and is ready to present his findings, laced with a barrage of new jokes, stories, observations and anecdotes, in his new show.

The performance may contain optional audience interaction, games, improvisation and unaggressive banter.

If you’re coming, email markwatsonspreview2012@gmail.com for pre-show briefing.

As well as hosting the anarchic surreal quiz show We Need Answers on BBC Four, Mark’s other television credits include Would I Lie To You, You Have Been Watching, Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, Have I Got News For You, and Mock the Week.

Mark Watson hits Colston Hall Bristol on October 13, 2012, and Hall for Cornwall in Truro on October 15, 2012. Tickets are on sale now.

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Post tags: Bristol, Colston Hall, Cornwall, Hall For Cornwall, Mark Watson, Truro

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Post-punk legends The Psychedelic Furs are set to visit The Fleece Bristol this summer.

The West Country show will follow the band’s appearance at the Hop Farm Music Festival in Kent on July 1.

The Psychedelic Furs formed in the late Seventies and are known as leaders of the British post-punk scene of the early Eighties.

After their track, Love My Way, reigned over the Stateside airwaves in 1982, the band went on to superstar status in 1986 when their Pretty In Pink hit became the title song of a John Hughes teen movie.

Following a hiatus in 1992, co-founders of the band, brothers Richard and Tim Butler, decided to reform the band in 2001.

In 2010, the band launched a tour of the UK and US, performing their classic album, Talk Talk Talk, in its entirety.

The Psychedelic Furs hit The Fleece Bristol on July 4, 2012. Tickets go on sale at 9am on May 11, 2012.

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Post tags: Bristol, The Fleece, The Psychedelic Furs

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