Trance done the best way, by Above & Beyond as they stopped by toon on last month’s Group Therapy Tour.

I know what you’re thinking. Trance music is liked and listened to by people who drive up and down the high street in modified Citroen Saxos, playing their choons so loud you would think the end of the world was nigh. If this is the case, then I can assure you that you’ve not heard real trance music; just a hard house remix of a dodgy 90’s floor-filler, from an album that spells ‘energy’ with just an ‘r’, ‘n’ and a ‘g’. Leave Trance to the boys who know it best. I would therefore, like to introduce you to Pavvo, Tony and Jono, and together they form the trance outfit Above & Beyond. If you, like me, were lucky enough to see them on their UK Group Therapy tour at the O2 Academy, then I’m sure you don’t need to be told that live entertainment doesn’t come bigger or better than this.

The only way to experience Above & Beyond is by seeing them in the flesh. Don’t get me wrong, they’ve released some spectacular albums, but sometimes huddling round a laptop in your student digs just doesn’t cut the mustard. As I’m sure you’re aware, the O2 Academy is no small venue, and the main room was filled to capacity. Luckily there was just enough room to bust-a-move to some of the previously unheard and exclusive club mixes from their latest album, Group Therapy.

Their new work sounds more sophisticated than previous endeavours. Although their releases to date aren’t to be sniffed at by any measure, they may have been a touch formulaic in their construction. For example, open with a big beat intro, fade it into a softer background beat accompanied by female vocals, and build upwards to a monumental drop. Hey presto, you have the age old, tried and tested recipe for trance perfection. Group Therapy however, is different. The boys have explored different ingredients to sprinkle over the existing recipe. This has resulted in a less in-your-face sound that gives the vocals room to breathe, instead of suffocating them under a thick, bass heavy gravy. If you don’t believe me then give ‘Love Is Not Enough feat. Zoe Johnston’ a listen and you’ll see what I mean. In addition to the usual trance and vocal mixes, are some lighter, progressive trance tracks such as ‘Sun In Your Eyes’ and ‘Back Room Boys’ which give the album variation and prove the trio are more than capable of cooking up something totally different, yet just as tasty.

Initially, I had trouble convincing a hesitant friend to accompany me. He had never really listened to Above & Beyond, and had certainly never seen them perform live. However, after ten minutes of being in amongst the masses of fans, I caught him trying to clamber up the stage scaffolding in a bid to give the boys a big trace-filled hug. In an atmosphere like that you can’t help but join in and stare in wonder at the pyrotechnic solar storm unfolding before your very eyes. When Jono dropped ‘Thing Called Love feat. Richard Bedford’, the O2 shook like a garden shed in a tornado. I haven’t seen a crowd react like that since Cliff Richard announced he might be retiring.

As a live act, there is no other, full stop. There’s a good reason why these boys attracted a crowd of over a million on Barra Beach in Rio de Janeiro. The only criticism I had was the fact that they didn’t heed to the cries of the crowd and play another tune before bed time. In my book, it was all over too soon. I urge you to give this experience a go if you haven’t already. The atmosphere is equivalent to Glastonbury on speed, but all in the space of four hours on a Thursday evening. If you missed out then you might have to wait another year or so before they cross the Tyne again. Alternatively, you could tag on to the end of their UK tour, or you could wait to see if my letter writing skills can persuade them to make a return visit on their way back home. Watch this space, I’ll keep you posted.

Not to be confused with the ’Summer of 69′ crooner, his almost namesake entertained The Sage last month.

Entering the stage and uttering the words ‘I’m gonna make you all sad’ doesn’t exactly fill you with confidence, but once Ryan Adams strums his guitar and opens his mouth, you realise the intent in his words. However, let us not feel disheartened. You soon settle in as the charisma oozes from the man and fills you with a sense you are witnessing something truly special.

The Sage sets the perfect scene with its intimate concert hall and outstanding acoustics. Ryan slinks on stage wearing his classic denim combo and ruffled greasy hair. He immediately encapsulates the audience opening with ‘Oh My Sweet Carolina’, a profound melodic tune that honours the reasons behind his success. Standing alone, he sings effortlessly, syncing his guitar and harmonica in a way that no words need be said. Every song speaks for itself, riddles with heartache, and the odd story about a guy ‘just trying to get some boobs.’ His latest album Ashes and Fire may not be considered his best piece of work, however tracks such as ‘Dirty Rain’ still provide an insight into his uniqueness. This show was to prove no album showcase and old fans of the classic albums Heartbreaker and Gold were not to go home disappointed.

Apart from the odd tear, one thing you are guaranteed when watching Ryan Adams live is a host of crazy anecdotes, and luckily he didn’t disappoint. Beginning a story with ‘this one time we took a bunch of speed’ and describing the scary scenes he’d witnessed on a stroll for chicken the night before in Newcastle just emphasised his eccentricity. His efforts with the audience are appreciated as laughter echoes around the room among his strange tales. He continues and delves into his back catalogue with versions of ‘Rescue Blues’ and ‘New York, New York’, which he plays beautifully on the piano. You can’t help but be in awe of the guy, who’s obviously got some internal strife that appears through the meaning and depth of his lonely voice in ‘Sweet Lil’ Gal’. More upbeat tracks follow as ‘English Girls Approximately’ and ‘Come Pick Me Up’ leaves the crowd begging for more. In a short encore he surprisingly cracks out an old Alice In Chains unplugged tune ‘Nutshell’, a well-received cover that he adapts perfectly to suit the style he now has the pleasure of calling his own.

Critics tend to shun Ryan Adams much as people do Dylan, ‘too may albums, all sound the same.’ Bollocks. Ryan Adams’ uniqueness stems from his ability to emote a crowd. This interesting character has continued to make music under a host of guises and still sells out shows as ‘Ryan Adams’ within minutes. Judging by the atmosphere in The Sage, Ryan Adams will be welcomed back years from now if he dares venture into Newcastle city centre again.

Photography: Netball Club

Netball

Newcastle 1sts 31-25 Birmingham 1sts

With the entire success of the season hanging on this final match against Birmingham, the encounter was inevitably a big occasion. Newcastle went into the match as the favourites having won their league unbeaten, but history between the two teams favoured Birmingham after they secured a marginal victory against the Royals at the beginning of the season. Yet with a full capacity crowd to support the first team, the atmosphere gave the team even more encouragement to achieve the win.

However the team failed to take advantage of this energetic environment and went behind in the first quarter, trailing by 3. The team sustained their attack, pushing Birmingham in the second quarter and immediately closed their lead after excellent movement down the court by Rachel Saville, Joanna Murnane and Katie Rimmer connecting defence with attack.

At half time the firsts managed to level the score line. Words from Captain Sally Burden gave the team the edge that they needed to take the lead. Shooters Hannah Swainson and Fiona Moss upped their game and began to take chances in their shots, adding to their confidence whilst withstanding the brutality of the Birmingham defence.

Going into the final quarter of the match, Newcastle were up 21-17 and everything came down to the final 15 minutes. Birmingham seemed as if they could steal the lead at any point, but the team pressed on, showing how much they wanted the win and deserved promotion into the premiership. The defensive unity of Sally Burden and Mia Archer remained tight, keeping the shooters out of the circle, where they proved very dangerous with an impeccable shooting percentage. The final few minutes ticked by slowly however they held their nerve and concentration, using the energy of the crowd to push through to the final whistle. As the umpire called time, the entire club invaded the court to celebrate the 31-25 win.

The efforts that the girls have put in all season has certainly proved worthwhile, showing on Wednesday just why they were nominated at the Athletic Union awards for not only team of the year but club of the year. Next year the firsts will play amongst the best teams in the country and can now officially call themselves the 6^th best team in the country.

Tom Stade on being a comedian: “the money ain’t great but the hours are awesome! It enables me to continue my high-school lifestyle’’.  And as I spoke to Tom whilst he lay in bed at 2.45pm I thought to myself, maybe I’ve chosen the wrong career path…

Feminists fight against ‘banter’ culture

Photography: Garry Knight (flickr)

Back in October, Lauren Stafford took aim at the misogynistic culture which seems to be increasingly prevalent in society, and considered the action which is being taken by feminists to counter this problem.

Occupy Grey Street

Newcastle students and residents occupy Grey Street on behalf of 'the 99%' Photography: Francesca Scott

The ’99%’ came to Newcastle and occupied the area around Grey’s monument. Emily Clark urged us all to get involved.

Rise of the machines?

Could films like The Terminator have a prescient message about our future? Photography: Onir (Flickr)

Elliot Bentley suggested that we should be wary of the potential threat which increasingly advanced robotics poses to the future of humanity

Preachers should not pass go, should not collect £200

Photography: Duncan (Flickr)

Susie May Beever considered the religious apirations of some of Occupy St Pauls’ supporters, concluding that despite it’s worthy message, claims of celestial support were somewhat overblown.

The Kony 2012 brand

Photography: Debo b happy (flickr)

Jack Torrance urged us to rethink the merits of the Kony 2012 campaign which he said was like any other corporate brand

Racism brings not just football but society into disrepute

Photo: Getty images

In light of not just the Luis Suarez and John Terry racism allegations but also Newcastle’s home-grown Josh Cryer scandal, Charlie Scott spoke out about the abuse which has cast a cloud over football.

Was it right to publish footage of Gaddafi’s death?

Footage of Gaddafi's final moments was broadcast around the world. Photography: Abode of Chaos (Flickr)

After footage of Gaddaffi’s death was plastered across the news, Laura Wotton and Kathryn Riddell considered just how graphic the media should be.

Behind the mask of anonymous

Photography: Frederic Bisson (Flickr)

Deputy Editor Elliot Bentley takes a look at the facts behind this mysterious ‘hacktivist’ movement

The Stand, May 1

The packed out crowd at The Stand weren’t just treated to one superb comedy act last Tuesday evening, but two.

Tom Stade’s show was brilliantly supported by comedian Mick Ferry, who did a great job warming up the crowd with a routine filled with a mixture of adult humour, witty one-liners and self-deprecating storytelling.

Stade’s performance was a lengthy hour-long routine without breaks, but he managed to fill the time efficiently with non-stop jokes, many of which involved members of the audience, whether they were willing or not. His material shows real promise ahead of his DVD out later in the year, and was a perfect blend of shocking, almost scandalous, content with short bursts of stories about marriage, shopping in Primark, the English perception of Canadians and of course, the trademark and ever-hilarious ‘meat van’ sketch at the end.

The show went down very well with the audience who lapped up very second, and part of this was down to the way he instantaneously built a rapport with the entire audience, with his levels of confidence and charm. My ribs are still hurting from laughing and my face is still sore from smiling all, which can only be a good thing.

‘Hyperlocal’ news providers aim to give readers content otherwise not covered by declining but larger regional papers Photography: Jesmond Local

Community news organisation Jesmond Local found itself the centre of attention on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme last week.

The episode explored issues facing local journalism including declining newspaper circulation and revenues for most local and regional titles, the job losses as some daily publications transition to weekly formats and, at worst, closures all together.

Jesmond Local forms part of an increasingly popular trend of amateur ‘citizen journalists’ setting up ‘hyperlocal’ website to quench the appetite people have for news about the area they live in that was once provided by traditional print journalism.

Speaking to The Courier, editor Ian Wylie and Deputy Editor Dan Howarth, who both teach at the University, explained Jesmond Local’s purpose:

“We’re not trying to reinvent the local newspaper, we’re really going back to basics.

“[It’s success] is predicated on the will of the local people to get involved and give user-generated content.

“The strength of Jesmond Local will be because people contribute to it, they feel an ownership of it.”

Wylie and Howarth also spoke of how hyperlocal websites presently can’t be direct substitutes for local newspapers. “We’re not even close to getting a sustainable business model yet.”

However, both sounded positive about the current status of the organisation and the impact its had on the Jesmond community. “I think we’re at the stage now where we’ve got a small following of really interested, regular readers.”

Jesmond Local also involves several Newcastle journalism students as reporters. Speaking to The Courier, contributor Linda Guma said: “Being a part of JesmondLocal has provided me with insight into hyperlocal community journalism and the ways in which it fosters a social cohesion.”

Bob Cooper also commented: “It’s also helped teach us some real cutting-edge practical skills for our future careers as journalists.”

Medic students rub shoulders with the Eggheads on set Photography: Arthur Okonkwo

Five fourth-year Medics have taken on the most formidable quiz team in the country, the Eggheads, in a bid for some quick cash.

At approximately this time last year, while nursing hangovers, Arthur Okonkwo, Matthew Alley, Liam Mcentee, Matthew Tuck and Jonny Hacking came to the conclusion that surely the swiftest way to make a bit of money was to win a game show.

So, having the time on their hands afforded by Medical degrees, they applied for everything from Take Me Out to Million Pound Drop and The Chase.

Although unable to reveal whether their theory was proved right or wrong in one respect, it did take a good few months before they received an interview from early evening quiz show Eggheads.

Never having been the most dedicated fans prior to the offer, they then committed themselves to watching it religiously every day. As the show is divided into five rounds, the first four on specific categories and the final on general knowledge, they gradually decided who would tackle which subject area based on their answers during their extensive television viewings.

However, they probably wish that they’d allowed for a far more vigorous application regime, given that it automatically allowed Liam to “blag” the spot in the final round, which was, according to Arthur, “a bit of a mistake”.

“He told us he was amazing at general knowledge.

“At one point we tried to push him to take politics, but he was determined that he was only there to take part in the last round.”

For the other four, their knowledge was overlapping and diverse.

However, the interview process brought far more of their imagination to the test than their knowledge of geography or food and drink.

Given the question ‘Where would they go if they go back in  time?’, Team Captain Matt Alley’s response was WWI and II, so he could help out with the war effort, in a medical sense. However, an answer didn’t come as easy for Matt Tuck, who, after lengthy hesitation and the comment “you’ve really sprung this on me” came to the conclusion that, as nothing that exciting had happened in his lifetime, he’d most like to go back to see the Queen’s Coronation.

For Liam the interrogation cut deeper. Asked what items he would take to a desert island, his ipod was revealed as a firm favourite, as were sausages.

“Out of the four teams they interviewed we were definitely the worst there,” says Arthur, “we got through on charm.”

However, the others also believe it might have been down to Arthur’s interesting fact; that, as he owns a small plot of land, holds the authority of a Lord.

Speaking on the filming of the show, the five claim the Eggheads were, in their eyes, “exactly what you’d expect them to be like.

“CJ was a bit of a twat. Dermot was really nice though, really cool.

“Some bits of filming were pretty strange. When you go head-to-head with an Egghead you’re actually sat right next to each other, but you’re not allowed to look at them.

“It’s hard when you’re only a few inches away.”

Unfortunately, they are unable to give too much information until the episode hits our television screens.

“We definitely did better than I thought we would. I expected to get absolutely spanked. You’ll have to wait and see though,” said Alley.

The episode is to be aired on the 23 May. However, Arthur was keen to reassure readers that, should they miss it, it will be available on iplayer for seven days afterwards.

Continued the theme the two Matts are also waiting to hear back from Million Pound Drop.

When the group was asked whether they would consider turning game-show pro, their reaction was primarily one of uncertainty:

“We think we might stick with our Medical degrees for the time being. You know, gain a bit more knowledge first.”

I’ve warned of the potential spanners and creepy pursuers that your love life can throw at you, and of the stories that will resurface during your hen-night so that your friends from university, as well as from home, will be fully clued up on every time you’ve declared yourself under house arrest due to embarrassment. However, I haven’t often delved into the territory of when Cupid gives you chemistry with someone who’s intoxicating rather than intoxicated…

If you retire from singledom and make it long-term (i.e. you’ve had to remember an anniversary), it takes regular maintenance to keep things heated. When Kate Hudson whipped out the love fern in How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, you were perfectly within your rights to cringe; however, on a metaphorical level, long-term relationships need attention, otherwise they’ll suffer the same fate as the poor love fern (still note that presenting somebody with a plant in this way isn’t socially acceptable).

After some time you’ll have a full picture of your partner’s personality; after a really long time you’ll come to understand exactly why they are that way. When your beau starts bopping along to the little orange turd that loves life on the EDF advert, you realise just how much their ‘individuality’ is endearing. People usually couple up with those who neutralise their personality. If you’re a worrier, you’ll be compatible with someone laid-back, as being around them will naturally calm you down, and you’ll come in useful when they have deadlines – cue the anti-procrastinator!

Finding a balance between having plenty in common and having enough differences is what’ll keep things harmonious and interesting. Communication and compromise are rightly preached to couples, though it’s wise to keep in mind that arguments, as long as they’re not frequent and are for good reason, show that you’re both invested enough in the relationship to care.

Moreover, idealising lovers to the extent that their flaws are easy to tolerate is key to making love last and it’s still possible to do so with a realistic perception. The sight of your sweetie’s toes poking out of the bed being enough to make you believe that you’re sleeping next to a yeti is something that most well-adjusted human beings can just about cope with; on the other hand, aggression should never be tolerated.

Believing that the grass is greener is like thinking that Burger King’s chips are better than McDonalds’ just because you haven’t tried them – don’t be fooled! Pining for the unavailable is hard to control, like saying no to riding a mechanical bull, but you’ll always thank yourself for doing it.

Love that’s lasted for a long time becomes unconditional and is fuelled by selflessness rather than a drive for self-fulfilment. Security is essential, but there should always be a tiny part of you that’s afraid to lose them. Do something together that gives you an adrenaline rush; kiss as much as you did in the beginning; have enough space so that you miss each other sometimes; remember why you chose to be with them and appreciate the silly things they do to make you grin. Somewhere down the line we hope that the Bible verse ‘love is patient, love is kind…’  will apply to our situation, but until we get there: all’s fair in love and war, everything happens for a reason and hell hath no fury like a woman scorned…