Ghost Train

Book Review: TALES OF TERROR FROM THE TUNNEL’S MOUTH
Written by: Chris Priestley
Published by: Bloomsbury
Released: 2009
260pages
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And so I have reached the end of the line: the third and final (to date) portmanteau Tales of Terror anthology from modern master of the macabre Chris Priestley. What a bittersweet joy it was to disembark from this scenic journey; I really could read these wicked little yarns all day long! I just hope that more instalments are forthcoming following the release of Priestley’s Frankenstein-esque novel, Mr Creecher, in October.

Despite recycling the same storyteller-and-audience framework established in Uncle Montague (click HERE for my review) and Black Ship (HERE), I was still enraptured by the ambiguity which surrounded Tunnel's Mouth's peculiar story time: who is this detail-reluctant Woman in White who has boarded the train to Kings Cross, why is schoolboy Robert Harper so quick to submit to her spectral stories despite his uncertainty towards his curious carriage companion, and what is keeping Robert's neighbouring passengers in such a deep trance-like slumber?

As the train draws to an unexpected stop at the mouth of a foreboding dark tunnel, its steep enbankment cloacking the carriage in an unnatural twilight, the mystery surrounding the strange, unrelenting storyteller steams forward undeterred as logical Robert senses supernatural forces are at work: why else does he keep having such vivid dreams of the make-believe yarns she spins, why else do his legs feel weak and his eyes so heavy at this time of day, and why else can he not rouse the dozing commuters around him?

Priestley shrewdly works in a delightful correlation to the dreadful events in Uncle Montague – making it feel like Robert inhabits the same shared, nightmarish universe as the eccentric teacher from hell – and while the pay off at the climax isn’t as bone-chillingly ghastly as Black Ship’s startling sting in the tale, it is nevertheless a well-worked – and finely set-up – twist even if we all anticipated a twist by this stage in the series anyway.

The short stories themselves are a stronger and more twisted batch than Black Ship’s castrated selection, but then they aren’t restricted to sea-themed scares this time around. From malicious mannequins (“Gerald”) to botanical beasts (“The Glasshouse”) and ferocious fairies (“The Little People”), I was particularly impressed by the variety of imaginative devices employed, even if they are all familiar tropes of the horror genre.

My personal favourite chapter was “A New Governess”, which really captured the creepiness of Victorian-era ghost stories such as The Turn of the Screw and genuinely made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. “Gerald”, too, was a devilish voodoo delight at making the innocent deadly, and “Sister Veronica” shocked me in its tortuous brutality because it was the only story which didn’t imply supernatural phenomena (rather juvenile malevolence) in its all-too-plausible horror.


In a CR@B Shell: A strong end to a superb trilogy; Tales of Terror from the Tunnel’s Mouth makes the horrific entertaining without sugar-coating the frights, and I don’t care if it’s meant for a teen audience – I loved it, and I’m exceedingly jealous of Chris Priestley’s effortless knack for sumptuously poetic and evocative prose!
aaaaa

Live from the Tainted Junction

Who? Diana Vickers
What? Live on Tour
When? Monday 10th May, 2010
Where? The Junction, Cambridge
Why? To celebrate and promote the release of her debut album
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Let’s be honest: the Junction is neither a spacey nor refined venue. It’s adequately sufficient, in a low-key, shadowy, student-friendly kind of way, but it’s no Royal Albert Hall. Hell, it’s no Norwich Arts Centre, but when the lights are down, the drinks are flowing and the amps are cranked up to 11, nobody will complain about the puddle of WKD beneath their feet. Especially not Diana Vickers, who positively beamed as if on top of the world as she stepped out onto the Cambridge stage wearing a funky mosaic dress at just after 9pm last night. I guess that’s what achieving a number one single and album in the last few weeks can do to somebody’s confidence - not that the 18 year-old songstress was ever lacking in that.

Opening with the ballsy forthcoming second single, “The Boy Who Murdered Love”, and closing with the crowd-pleasing, number one debut “Once” (what else?), before returning to the stage to round out the night with a more mellow encore in the shape of ballad “Notice”, Miss Vickers was on stunning form throughout the far-too-short set (a meagre 55 minutes). But it was unquestionably a case of quality over quantity as the setlist was not cluttered with “Remember when I sang this on week six of the X Factor?!” filler, but powered by the strongest tracks from her brilliant debut album Songs From the Tainted Cherry Tree, which Diana clearly had a blast showcasing to the up-for-it attendees. Her pride in her material is evident, and every track was another of her favourites for one reason or another.

Highlights included:

* An animated performance of up-tempo “You’ll Never Get To Heaven” with much dancing, posing and thrusting; quite befitting the vivacious number. Yet not once did Diana’s powerful vocals waver – where did she get the energy from? And what was in her water...?

* The Gary Lightbody penned “Just Say Yes”, replete with amusing anecdote about how the Snow Patrol front man asked for ‘his’ song back. Diana got so lost in the music that she apparently knocked over her red wine!!

* Tommy the Trumpet’s appearance for latina-flavoured “My Hip”. Diana pre-warned us that ‘he’ hadn’t been too smooth in rehearsal earlier in the day, but the brass horn pulled through when it counted. Quite how Diana could muster the breath to play the instrument that far into her set is beyond me. Bravo.

* Cherry Tree is a rousing and full-bodied album which has clearly clicked with the public, and nothing screams success like an audience signalling number "1" throughout "Once" and swaying collectively during "Notice". "I wanna see those fingers in the air!"


CR@B Verdict: As her career continues to blossom, the venues will get larger and the setlists longer, but this was a powerful if lean performance from a talented, enthusiastic and energetic young lady. What a voice. What a dress. What a night.
*****

Gig Review: IMOGEN HEAP @ THE JUNCTION

WHO? Imogen Heap
WHAT? Ellipse World Tour
WHEN? 12th February, 2010
WHERE? The Junction, Cambridge
WHY? To promote her recent album, Ellipse, and connect with her UK fanbase (Why else do artists tour? D'uh!)

A packed Cambridge Junction were in attendance to watch writer/producer/singer/genius Imogen Heap – fresh from her most recent Grammy glory – play a selection of songs from her ever-amassing back catalogue. The stage was a mystical enchanted woodland, with a giant four-dimensional tree (replete with symbols, triangles and all manner of percussive products hanging from the branches) looming large over Immi's electro-deck and renowned transparent-shelled piano. The projection and light display really complemented the music wonderfully and really transported you away from the cramped, sticky-floored venue.

This was more than simply a 'gig', this was a musical and visual experience, with the audience witnessing first-hand the astonishing production which harmonises all manner of blips, bleeps and tweets (the sound-chip of a toy blue tit) into sweet, audible gold. It was truly an immersive experience, and Immi was as humble, chatty and anecdotal as ever – when she wasn't concentrating on her art.

SET-LIST (and album each song is taken from):

1. FIRST TRAIN HOME (Ellipse)
2. WAIT IT OUT (Ellipse)
3. BETWEEN SHEETS (Ellipse)
4. HEADLOCK (Speak For Yourself)
5. BAD BODY DOUBLE (Ellipse)
6. SPEEDING CARS (The O.C. Soundtrack)
7. LITTLE BIRD (Ellipse)
8. HALF LIFE (piano) (Ellipse)
9. A-HA! (Ellipse)
10. CANVAS (Ellipse)
11. THE WALK (Speak For Yourself)
12. SWOON (Ellipse)
13. 2-1 (Ellipse)
14. TIDAL (Ellipse)
ENCORE:
15. HIDE AND SEEK (Speak For Yourself)
16. JUST FOR NOW (a cappella) (Speak For Yourself)
17. THE MOMENT I SAID IT (piano) (Speak For Yourself)

The entire set was an absolute joy, if totally devoid of any songs from Frou Frou's Details and iMegaphone (not that this was a huge problem), but moments of note from the night include:

-- The guitarist from support act Back Ted N Ted donning a large Immi-esque wig for Bad Body Double. I'm assuming Ms. Heap took it as a good-natured homage, rather than an insult to her crazy do.

-- The projection of hundreds of little birds onto the tree centre-piece during... Little Bird.

-- Audience member, guest cellist and VERY brave soul Anna Scott guesting on A-ha! and being persuaded to stay on for another song – which she had only been told to learn mere hours before the doors opened!!

-- Immi adorned some seriously funky shades as she rocked out on a Key-tar during an extended riff on Tidal.

-- There were no electrical looping equipment (“Parrot”) malfunctions this time around, but Cambridge was the city in which Just For Now *nearly* didn't happen in 2007 (I was present then, too!). Ever since then, the vocally multi-layered track has been sung WITHOUT instruments – and a LOT of faith in the audience's ability to sing... in time. It paid off.

-- Hide And Seek. Simply because it's Hide And Seek.

CR@B Verdict: An awe-some and inspiring experience

*****