Thursday 15 September 2011

Hand cuffs, Free t-shirts and Live Music

On Tuesday I managed to acquire some tickets to the premiere of British musical festival film You Instead.

Amy and I got to Camden for the premiere at the Odeon thinking it was just a screening until I noticed that the actors were outside (well it was the lead actor's twin brother but I can't tell them apart). We didn't have to wait long before we were allowed to sit in the very hot screen. We squeezed past the photographers taking photos of the actors to get to the room. I managed to tell Amy, 'It's Archie from Monarch of the Glen!' but I think only me and my sister watched it. Anyway, we managed to get seats in the same row as the actors, which was quite cool and then after waiting until the seats filled up, the actors and director came out and introduced the film.

I had heard about the film before but not really delved into my research so it was quite enjoyable to watch. It was set at T in the Park music festival and was about two rock stars who, after an argument, get themselves hand cuffed together. Of course it was predictable and we all knew the ending but it was fun to watch. The lead actors were great, they performed live on stage and in some ways felt like a documentary.

After the film everyone tried as quickly as they could to leave the cinema and make their way to the Camden Barfly. This is because we were all invited to the after party. On our way out  we were given a free t-shirt, some badges and the offer of being hand cuffed while we walked to the Barfly. We declined this offer. When we got there, we were given two free drinks and all crammed into the small venue.

A singer who appeared in the film was first to perform, a very quiet, soulful lady who played a strange instrument, it looked like a mini xylophone. Next were a band, The Great Gatsby, who had won a competition. They were quite fun, I enjoyed their music but some of their songs felt a bit samey. Then Luke Treadaway himself got up on stage a performed acoustic versions of the songs in the film, I particularly liked the song You Instead. Lastly Natalia Tena, the lead actress, performed on stage with her band (not from the film, her actual band) Molotov Jukebox who were awesome. Besides guitars and drums, they had a trumpet, violin and she played the accordion. The music was great, it was a mix of ska, punk, gyps and pop. It got most people who could move, dancing, including me and Amy. But sadly we had to leave to catch our last train home.

It was great night! If you fancy seeing the film, You Instead is out 16th September and here is the website http://www.youinstead.com/