Or Blow Me a Kiss, Because That's Lucky Too...
Jarvis Cocker is directing this years Meltdown festival at the freshly refurbished Southbank Centre and what an absolute delight it is turning out to be.
For last night's Forest of No Return, Disney tribute concert, le Jarv managed to cobble together the worlds most insane collection of emotionally, chemically and mentally damaged artist's to perform on one stage. It was a wonderfully colourful melange although we were taking bets on who would and wouldn't show up and which chemically dependent artist would have to be rushed to hospital first.
The gig itself ran over an hour late and guesswork tells us that this was due to the antics of one Grace Jones whose rendition of Trust in Me was pushed further down the schedule than originally planned but well worth waiting for if only for the ballooning dress that required its own wind machine and her completely brilliant use of 'hat'. She is still hot, utterly and mind blowingly *mental* but drop dead sexy with it.
Having heard Nick Cave turn Heigh Ho into a horribly fantasmagorical Murder Ballad I waited with anticipation for Pete Doherty to sing the Cockney Chimney Sweep wonder that is Chim Chim Che-ree. He was spot on, absolutely nailing the characterisation and voice of the song. He couldn't have been more in character if it had been written exactly for him. Unfortunately he didn't reappear as scheduled to join someone else on stage later in the evening leaving us to speculate that perhaps his probation related curfew meant he had to be home early innit?
Other highlights randomly include; any time Beth Orton was onstage, the orchestra following along and managing to pre-empt and predict wherever Shane McGowan took his rendition of Zip-a-dee-do-dah, and what we believe to have been Damien Hirst's diamond encrusted skull used as prop.
Not only was the stage packed full of celebrities and artists but so too was the audience. We managed to spot Maquita Oliver, a Magic Number, and Simon Amstell among others.
The playlist below is what I think actually happened, rather than what was printed on the programme:
Act I
1. Opening - Ken Nordine
2. Jungle Book Overture - instrumental featuring Marshall Allen & Terry Adams
3. AEIOU - Roger McGough
4. I'm Late - David Thomas
5. Clock Sequence - instrumental
6. Little April Showers - Skye Edwards & Ed Harcourt
7. Little Wooden Head - Howie B
8. Baby Mine - Beth Orton
9. I Wanna Be Like You - Jarvis Cocker
10. Monkey Chase - instrumental
11. Angry Cricket - instrumental
12. Hi Diddle Dee Dee - Nick Cave
13. Home Sweet Home - Nick Cave, Jarvis Cocker, Shane McGowan, Pete Doherty
14. Headless Horseman - Richard Strange
15. Tiger Fight - instrumental
16. Siamese Cat Song - Gavin Friday
17. A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes - Leafcutter John (with David Coulter)
18. Bare Necessities
19. Trust in Me - Grace Jones
Act II
20. Bella Notte - David Coulter
21. Feed the Birds - Fenella Fielding
22. Whistle While you Work - Terry Adams
23. Heigh Ho - Nick Cave & David Thomas
24. A World of my Own - Ed Harcort
25. Chim Chim Che-ree - Pete Doherty
26. Castle in Spain - Gavin Friday
27. Love is a Song - instrumental
28. Blue Shadows on the Trail - The Smoke Fairies
29. When I See an Elephant Fly - David Thomas
30. Pink Elephants on Parade - David Thomas (featuring Marshall Allen & Terry Adams)
31. Some Day My Prince Will Come - instrumental
32. He's a Tramp - Roisin Murphy
33. Zip-a-dee Doo Dah - Shane McGowan
34. Stay Awake - Beth Orton acapella
35. Second Star to the Right - Beth Orton
36. Desolation Theme - instrumental
37. When You Wish Upon a Star - Jarvis Cocker
For last night's Forest of No Return, Disney tribute concert, le Jarv managed to cobble together the worlds most insane collection of emotionally, chemically and mentally damaged artist's to perform on one stage. It was a wonderfully colourful melange although we were taking bets on who would and wouldn't show up and which chemically dependent artist would have to be rushed to hospital first.
The gig itself ran over an hour late and guesswork tells us that this was due to the antics of one Grace Jones whose rendition of Trust in Me was pushed further down the schedule than originally planned but well worth waiting for if only for the ballooning dress that required its own wind machine and her completely brilliant use of 'hat'. She is still hot, utterly and mind blowingly *mental* but drop dead sexy with it.
Having heard Nick Cave turn Heigh Ho into a horribly fantasmagorical Murder Ballad I waited with anticipation for Pete Doherty to sing the Cockney Chimney Sweep wonder that is Chim Chim Che-ree. He was spot on, absolutely nailing the characterisation and voice of the song. He couldn't have been more in character if it had been written exactly for him. Unfortunately he didn't reappear as scheduled to join someone else on stage later in the evening leaving us to speculate that perhaps his probation related curfew meant he had to be home early innit?
Other highlights randomly include; any time Beth Orton was onstage, the orchestra following along and managing to pre-empt and predict wherever Shane McGowan took his rendition of Zip-a-dee-do-dah, and what we believe to have been Damien Hirst's diamond encrusted skull used as prop.
Not only was the stage packed full of celebrities and artists but so too was the audience. We managed to spot Maquita Oliver, a Magic Number, and Simon Amstell among others.
The playlist below is what I think actually happened, rather than what was printed on the programme:
Act I
1. Opening - Ken Nordine
2. Jungle Book Overture - instrumental featuring Marshall Allen & Terry Adams
3. AEIOU - Roger McGough
4. I'm Late - David Thomas
5. Clock Sequence - instrumental
6. Little April Showers - Skye Edwards & Ed Harcourt
7. Little Wooden Head - Howie B
8. Baby Mine - Beth Orton
9. I Wanna Be Like You - Jarvis Cocker
10. Monkey Chase - instrumental
11. Angry Cricket - instrumental
12. Hi Diddle Dee Dee - Nick Cave
13. Home Sweet Home - Nick Cave, Jarvis Cocker, Shane McGowan, Pete Doherty
14. Headless Horseman - Richard Strange
15. Tiger Fight - instrumental
16. Siamese Cat Song - Gavin Friday
17. A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes - Leafcutter John (with David Coulter)
18. Bare Necessities
19. Trust in Me - Grace Jones
Act II
20. Bella Notte - David Coulter
21. Feed the Birds - Fenella Fielding
22. Whistle While you Work - Terry Adams
23. Heigh Ho - Nick Cave & David Thomas
24. A World of my Own - Ed Harcort
25. Chim Chim Che-ree - Pete Doherty
26. Castle in Spain - Gavin Friday
27. Love is a Song - instrumental
28. Blue Shadows on the Trail - The Smoke Fairies
29. When I See an Elephant Fly - David Thomas
30. Pink Elephants on Parade - David Thomas (featuring Marshall Allen & Terry Adams)
31. Some Day My Prince Will Come - instrumental
32. He's a Tramp - Roisin Murphy
33. Zip-a-dee Doo Dah - Shane McGowan
34. Stay Awake - Beth Orton acapella
35. Second Star to the Right - Beth Orton
36. Desolation Theme - instrumental
37. When You Wish Upon a Star - Jarvis Cocker