Pete's Pad: July

A shorter newsletter this month, as I calculate that I’ve been on holiday 18 out of the 31 days in July - and am in fact in Chamonix as you read this (although it was actually written a week ago).

The first of those bits of time off was for our annual trip to the south west coast of Scotland, attending the weird and wonderful Kelburn Garden Party. If you want a bit of background on the shindig, I covered most of it off in this article from last summer, but basically it’s a lovely little music and arts festival on a very pretty estate just outside Largs.

It would appear Glastonbury stole all the good weather the weekend before, as tent-pitching Friday was very wet. Thankfully there were only occasional showers during the next two days, but the site was still mostly welly-mandatory. The Neverending Glen was looking radiantly green and the river was raging down the middle when we took the customary wander up and around to see the art installations and check out some of the soundsystems in the woods. It’s always a family-friendly event and our young team had a great time trying circus skills, doing a crafting workshop with old friends, running between tents and (mostly) avoiding guy-ropes. They were also big fans of the band we escaped the rain to stumble across in the Smuggler’s Tent: Angus Mtizwa & the Totems. Hailing from Zimbabwe, they were funky and fun.

With a two and eight year-old to care for, I didn’t see that much late night music, but we did have a wee dance to LWS going back-to-back with Peverlist in an agreeable early evening slot on Saturday at the Landing stage. I also sneaked out to see some of Man of Moon closing the Pyramid stage later that night. We’ll be back there next July if anyone wants to join - but this year’s edition proved that even when the weather’s not on its side, this is one of the most perfectly-sized, topographically-interesting and good vibes-ey festivals going.

The gods of scheduling placed another big music event on the Tuesday evening after getting back from Kelburn, so I was back over the M8 to Hampden Park to see Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s show. This was courtesy of a PR connection via work, with the national stadium’s catering company putting a few journalists up in on of their corporate boxes for the duration. Very nice it was too - lovely food and drink and a decent view of all the punters down below. After a warm up DJ set by Muuuuuuuuustard, Compton’s finest pulled up in his Buick GNX and started testing the impressive stage setup. Maybe I just haven’t been to a stadium gig in a while, but his sound was properly, seat-shakingly, loud. The massive video wall behind him was also impressively crisp and there were plenty of pyrotechnics to distract from the fact he was very small and far away to the majority inside the arena. As for the music, well, he didn’t play either of my old favourites (this and this), but I suppose it’s a new tour, so I happily made do with hits like TV Off and Not Like Us. I had assumed that SZA would be a support act before Kendrick came on, but instead they did a few songs each in succession, as well as some duets. She seems like a fun lady, and I liked her interpretation of a kilt, as well as the twerking song, but the rest of her stuff was a bit too slow-jamz saccharine-sweet for me. Overall though, it’s quite a performance they put on and the mostly young crowd were absolutely lapping up the spectacle.

Alright, that’s it for music.

Our foreign jaunts have only been short haul, so no plane movie reviews, and this summer’s crop of blockbusters has been distinctly underwhelming, so here’s a few things I’ve been watching while on my own couch.

I’ll start with a few series conclusions, probably the biggest of which was Squid Game. It very nearly jumped the shark with the baby plot line, which stretched credulity to breaking point on several occasions (who’s changing it’s nappy, etc?), but then the programme has always been a soapy melodrama masked by constant violence and competition pressure. I’m not really sure of my position on spoilers, but what I will say is it was for the most part a suitably grim ending to a memorably dystopian drama - that sting in the tail being particularly delectable. I’m not keen on the US remake that’s about to start production, even if it is being written by Dennis Kelly and directed by David Fincher - there’s only so much bleak killing for sport one can take.

Similarly, I’m quite relieved The Handmaid’s Tale is finally over. The penultimate episode was almost worth the slog of the previous seven, with all June’s thwarted rebellion finally coming to a head - enjoyably cathartic stuff. But that made the parade of loose end tie ups in the finale all the more disappointing - so much gratuitous slo-mo and tedious monologues and lingering emotion close-ups. Not to sound harsh, but I’ll be content never having to see Elizabeth Moss’ face ever again.

I also got round to finishing the second - and apparently final - season of Andor. I wrote a few lines about before after watching the first three episodes; commenting that it was slow, dialogue-heavy and action-light. I suppose that continued to be the case, but then again that approach is quite unique and refreshing within the Star Wars production universe. Taking time to really build characters you care about and develop complex storylines did eventually pay off, with the consequences for both sides during the final few episodes feeling all the more important as a result. A lot has been said about the show’s timing, given it’s theme of rebellion against dictatorship, and it was certainly satisfying watching the various Imperial dweebs get their comeuppance, but also right and proper that the difficulty of resistance was demonstrated - even if it did occasionally get a bit bogged down in Clone Wars-style galactic administration chat. Despite not being nearly as swashbuckling as some of the other small-screen outings, this has easily been the best thing Lucas Film has been involved in.

I also finished latest run of The Bear this week, as it continued to meander along engrossingly enough. I’ve said it before, I’ll probably say it again - I could do without the American rock soundtrack and Chicago tourist board intervening shots, but when the show concentrates on its best characters, it really shines. As someone who actively avoids pressure cooker situations, I was steeling myself for the wedding episode, but much like a lot in this season, it turned out to be quite charming - as opposed to THAT intense Christmas episode in the second season. The Bear is at its best when it’s letting them enjoy the script, oftentimes being really funny, but also - like in that superb final show - giving some fine actors the space to really act.

It wouldn’t be one of my mailers without a few documentaries.

Easily the most important this month was Gaza: Doctors Under Attack - which finally got broadcast in the UK by Channel 4 - where the BBC baulked. It seemed journalistically rigorous to me, giving the IDF its right to reply, but using on-the-ground footage and interviews with those involved to evidence the systematic targeting of hospitals and medical workers in Gaza. Obviously it’s very hard to watch at times, but as I seem to be saying a lot lately, it feels like one of the small things we can do is bear witness, tell as many people as possible to watch too and try to raise viewing figures to send some kind of message.

Entirely inconsequential in comparison, but surprisingly engaging nonetheless, was Hill - a doc about Damon stepping out of the shadow of his father Graham. I hadn’t realised quite the circumstances of his death and the mess it left for the family - or how Damon was a professional motorbike racer and only got into single seat cars in his 20s. The pressure he puts on himself to emulate his Dad’s world championship win, how he wangles his way into a Williams drive and then how he deals with the death of teammate Senna are all quite something. I remember being really into F1 around that time and loved Ayrton the most, so to get a bit more insight into the aftermath of his crash was fascinating too. I was never a huge fan of Damon, but in comparison to the likes of Mansell and Schumacher, he comes out as positively heroic. Schuey really was an uber-arsehole in his prime, but then Hill was the perfect foil for his shit-housery, being an easily-riled charisma vacuum. Still, it’s a story worth telling and shows that there was plenty of drama going on long before Netflix got involved in the competition.

A couple of quick tips before I leave you to your own summertime sojourns.

Mandy is back on the Beeb. The creation of Diane Morgan - or Philomena Cunk in yet another guise - is a joy to watch, as she repeatedly fails to find a job in new and hilarious ways. Clocking in at 15 minutes an episode, I think might be perfect, at least for this kind of comedy - and more creatives should take heed and trim down run times where feasible.

I also spotted that the Red Riding trilogy is now on Netflix. If you missed it first time round (2009 on Channel 4) it’s a superb three-parter, led by Andrew Garfield and Sean Bean. I won’t give too much away, but it’s a sort of grim-oop-north thriller following a young reporter uncovering institutional corruption.

Right, that’ll do it for this month - I hope you’re having a lovely time of it too this summer.