Crystal Fighters Secret Gig 18-04-13

Crystal Fighters Secret Gig

18.04.13

Hoxton Square Bar And Kitchen

From butthurt to appeasement 

Recently it was brought to my attention that Crystal Fighters, one of my favourite bands of the moment were going to be doing a secret show for fans. With secret being the operative word here, the gig wasn't  heavily advertised and you had to enter your email to be sent the invite.  Printouts in hand, myself and my good pal Alice (and her beautiful mother and friend) arrived at the venue (7PM), stood in line and ordered in our respective beverages of choice. We admired the indie art adorning the walls, we jumped at the offer of free posters and stickers. But little did we know what was going to follow...

After waiting for about an hour and a half we finally got closer to the function room's entrance, at which point we went out for a cigarette and returned to learn that we'd made into the confines of just-before-the-cut-off-point. The bouncer told us that we'd definitely be getting in (cue fist clenched-eureka- elbow-towards-your-body-action*) but we were told that there was no more entry til 9:30. That was okay though, because we were definitely going to get in, right? 

We watched as those with wristbands were allowed into the packed little room in front of us, how had they managed to get in we wondered, when we'd arrived there wasn't many people (we were blind to how many people were now queueing up outside down the street behind us). It turns out some people had got there mega early, fair enough. Oh AND (so I've heard) 150 guest passes had been given out to a 250 capacity gig FOR FANS. 

This slightly angered me, I had thought that due to the fact this was a free gig for fans it wouldn't be a 'press thing' had I known I could have secured definite entry and saved us from the 2 and a bit hours (maybe more?) agony we endured. What made it worse was that a quick scour of twitter revealed a few triumphant guest listers who acknowledged the hourdes of fans queuing up and then gloated about being on the list #nobiggie. Cue butthurtness. 

I suppose  found this experience was refreshing, going to a gig as a punter, a massive fan with no responsibility but to enjoy myself rather than focus on what I could potentially report on. Though one of the perks of my journalism role is that I do get to see my favourite bands, tonight technically there was nothing separating me from everyone else waiting in line. And like them I was angry  envious  at each and every suited media mogul who fleeted past me gaining instant access.

"There is no more entry to this gig tonight, could you please clear this area". Nobody moved. Five minutes later "You're not going to be let in, please clear this area, if you want to stay the gig will be played through the speakers". To a diehard fans this statement provided little compensation. A group of us decided to stay, Alice and I hung on whilst the rest of our group decided to grab a bite. Crystal Fighters took to the stage. The curtains were opened in front of the doors so we could glimpse what we were missing. The throng pushed, we were told to step back, "we" pushed still, breaking into dance and song. 

"Are this band quite big then?" the bouncer shouted over the music at us. 
"Not really, they're just really good, they have a lot of fans" came Alice's reply.
"They're signed to Atlantic" informed music journo knowledge?!?
Though we were mad at the bouncer for letting people who had pushed in front of us (a fan on fan don't punishable by seething looks and sometimes rude oratory output) in and for essentially doing his job he then redeemed himself. 
One clever gal decided to ask someone leaving the room whether they were coming back and if they could have their wristband if they weren't. Bingo, they didn't. Of course the bouncer shouldn't care, its  a numbers game after all. So this became the new system. People crossed the threshold, were queried and wristbands were given to the initially butthurt hangers about.
"Be nice, we're next". 
And finally we were in, cue appeasement. 
"There's no way we're going to get any further in" did say Alice. But oh how she was wrong. Utilising my slightness, MASSIVE bag and determination, I got us to the front because lets face it when you're barely legal or < if you're not at the front (or as close to) its not worth it. 

Crystal Fighters played a blinder of set, featuring  their latest numbers 'Wave', 'Separator' as well as the old favourites 'Champion Sound', 'Solar System' and 'Xtatic Truth'. There wasn't a single person not jumping, dancing, flailing or a combination of the three. 

Sebastian looked like a wizard and danced like a hippy. Honestly it was like he was in his own little world but still managing to sing perfectly in the real time of reality. 

Gilbert rocked the pianos and synths out back. 

A topless Graham brought the noise on guitar 

And Ellie also lent her impressive vocals and stagewomanship to the success of the gig. Looking beautiful in a dress designed by a friend. Go check out some of her acapella work on YouTube!

All in all, we came away very happy with Crystal Fighter's performance and our persistence to see them do so. We came, we danced and we conquered. Drowned in accumulated sweat we made for the exit and made some new friends including one of Crystal Fighters themselves. Ellie was absolutely lovely to meet and chat with.

The bouncers even took a selfie on my phone. What sports.

To conclude, the unwavering performance of The Crystal Fighters dissipated most  of the trials and tribulations it took to see them. They were a treat to the ears of us that managed to get in. But if it is true that there were so many guest passes given out to a fan show then I hope the next one is better arranged, especially given it was marketed as an "operative word" FAN affair. 

* Does anyone know the proper term for that clenching your fist and shouting 'Yesss!' action?

LINKS

Crystal Fighters

Hoxton Square Bar

Stevie Gee

What we could see at this point

Visual Update #3

Went to see Trance | Won A Limited Edition All Saints Tee | AAA| The Orb Gig @ Electric Brixton | The Orb Gig Banner | Razda/Robbie being a beaut' | Ploughing through all the orders at Gem's Dry Skin Cream | Zombie Makeup Practice.

Gem's Dry Skin Products

Do you suffer from dry skin? Eczema or any other related skin condition? In today's post I explain why I throughly recommend Gem's Dry Skin Cream.

There are so many good points about these products that it's a wonder where to begin but having a keen interest in skincare products and knowing how effective Gemma's products are I simply couldn't keep her cream a secret anymore. Not only is there a cream but Gemma has also recently launched a lip balm, great for the current lip unfriendly weather!

The Cream

Having studied aromatherapy at a great length, Gem sought out and researched all the ingredients needed to relieve dry skin symptoms with a view to soothe her mother's skin complaint. Following the success of this (a few days!!) word spread around the local community and it was there that the foundations for her business were laid!

The cream itself is an entirely home made ointment using completely natural ingredients and offering a competitive, effective alternative to over the counter steroid creams. It is made with cocoa butter, beeswax, sweet almond oil and a blend of essential oils, a formula specifically aimed at combating dry skin problems. Since it's release into the big wide world, it has greatly benefited people of all ages from toddlers to the elderly and has some staggering reviews on both the Website and Facebook page. Some happy customers have even supplied photographic evidence to support the overflowing testimonials.

I myself suffer from occasional dry patches and this cream is my go to- I know exactly whats in it and that it works. You apply it to the source of dryness and almost immediately feel the soothing effects of the formula. Gem reccomends you apply the cream at least twice a day with the best times being morning and evening especially after having a bath or shower. The cream should and has done time and time again proved to clear up dry patches with continued use. An added bonus is that it smells divine!  But don't just take my word for it. there are plenty of testimonials , photos and videos for you to see across her pages!

The cream can be purchased in two sizes- a 60ml pot retailing at £8.00 and a larger 120ml retailing at £15.00. A little cream goes a long way, making these pots a great investment! And if you head  over to the facebook page, you can keep up to date with Gem on her journey, testimonials and even the occasional seasonal offer!

The Lip Balm

In the last few months Gem has also rolled out a deep conditioning lip balm which couldn't have come at a more perfect time as winter's bitter frostiness attacks our lips leaving them chapped and cracked. I was very lucky to be one of the first people that tested this balm and I can unanimously declare it one of the best lip balms I've tried. Its silky consistency is second to none meaning it glides on and you again you don't need alot to do the trick. I found the gloss extremely moisturising thanks to its ingredients (a reworking of the cream's ones). You can keep Gem's Lip Balm super handy, ready and waiting at your service due to it's handbag/ pocket friendly size! Gem will soon be rolling out a chapstick  applicator version too- an extreme lip salve that sees her cream reincarnated to work on chapped lips! So stay tuned! If you'd like to purchase the deep conditioning lip balm, retailing at £3.00, send Gemma an email at info@gems-cream.co.uk      

LINKS

Gem's Dry Skin Cream Website
Gem's Dry Skin Cream Facebook
Gem's Dry Skin Cream Twitter

Disclaimer: I was given the products featured in this post for consideration by Gemma. I have not been compensated for this post, I just couldn't keep Gem's amazing products a secret! Also Gem's Cream was featured in The Daily Telegraph's magazine today (06.04.13) !

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Visual Update #2

Photo Shoot with Nobuyuki Taguchi | Cookies | My Article on The Huffington Post | Vice The Fashion Issue | Zombie Makeup | Alex Paterson in a chicken mask| Alex Paterson at the Dub Bunnies Event| Setlist| This is what happens when I'm left to clean.

Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Easter is up there with Valentines as one of the best times of year for the chocolate business and given both the season and the popularity of my cookies I thought I'd share my recipe for these sumptuous treats. This past year I've been well and truly channelling my inner domestic goddess, taking to the kitchen to whip up food from scratch and not only is it very rewarding but I've found the results to be a lot better that shop brought ready made alternatives. But on with the recipe (which I adapted from this one) and makes around 12-14 cookies you'll need:

Ingredients

• 125g of Softened Butter
• 125g Caster Sugar
• 50g Light Brown Soft Sugar
• 50g  Dark Muscavado Sugar
• 1 Egg lightly beaten
• 225g Self Raising Flour or 175g of Self Raising with 50g of Cocoa Powder for Chocolate Cookies
• 200g Chocolate Chips
• 1-2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 of Salt
• 1/2 Tbsp Cinnamon

What you'll need

• Measuring Scales
• A Tablespoon
• A Teaspoon
• A Mixing Bowl
• A Regular Bowl 
• Oven Trays
• Greaseproof Paper
• Wire Cooling Rack(s)
• Sieve

1. First of all preheat your oven to 180 degrees or gas mark 4.
2. I like to make sure I'm prepared so grab your oven trays and cut your greaseproof paper to size so they're all ready to be adorned with your cookies.
3. Measure out all of your ingredients, I reccomend you do all of the dry ingredients first as it stops them sticking to measuring bowl later. Pop the self raising flour in a bowl for now. Measure out your sugars before putting them straight into the mixing bowl. Then you can measure out your butter.
4. Taking a spoon (I find a metal spoon a lot easier to use than a wooden one for this task) cream the sugars and the butter together.
5. Now add in your egg and vanilla extract (I'm quite liberal with the vanilla as I love its taste so I use two tsps but one is fine!)
6. Now using a sieve sift in your flour and/or cocoa powder, cinnamon and salt into the mixing bowl, give this a stir to combine the ingredients.
7. Add the chocolate chips to the mixture and continue stirring ensuring a thorough combination of all your ingredients. At this point I like to stick my hands in and combine the mixture into one big ball, but this is not essential to the next step, once combined you can leave it as it is if you like.
8. Roll bits of the mixture between the palms of your hands to create balls of your cookie mixture that can go straight onto your oven tray. Alternatively if you want more precisely shaped cookies roll the whole mixture in a log shape and cut it up. When placing on the trays be sure to leave ample space as the cookies will spread out in the oven. I can fit about 6 to a tray. 
9. Put your trays of cookies in the oven for 7-10 minutes depending on how soft you'd like them. 7 minutes will make them very soft, 10 will leave them golden brown around the edges but still soft and chewy. From experience I tend to go for 10 minutes. 
10. Once cooked, immediately place your oven trays on wire racks and cover with a tea towel. Then and I STRESS THIS leave them to cool for 15-30 minutes. The cookies need time to cool down and sort of 'set', if you try to take them off the tray too early theres a chance you'll waste half a cookie! So take a breather- watch tv, do 20 sit ups or whatever you need to do to fill that time. 
11. Carefully start to peel your cookies away from the greaseproof paper, they should come away whole. Tap the bottoms to make sure they're done cooling before transferring them to a destination of your choice; be it your mouth, plate or biscuit tin. 

Overall these cookies have gone down a massive treat in my house so I find myself making them quite regularly.The great thing about them is not only are they delicious but they don't take an awful long time to make and you can experiment with the skeleton recipe adding ingredients to your taste for instance you could add fruit, nuts, seeds, spices and even confectionary, its up to you! I myself, decided to use three sugars instead of the two in the skeleton recipe as dark muscavado further enhances the end result with dark sweet undertones.These cookies will keep for a few days but you probably won't even have to consider this as they turn out anything like mine they won't last a day or two (at the maximum!) And there you have it your very own homemade decadent treats, perfect with a cup of tea and much better than shop brought ones!

Do you make your own cookies? Will you try this recipe? Let me know your thoughts! And Happy Easter!

A Eulogy To Music Stores

Tea Tuesdays #1- Twinings Double Mint

Introducing a new feature to my blog- Tea Tuesdays where I'll be offering up my thoughts on a different variety of tea I've managed to get my mitts on! As a nation we are known for our unfaltering tea consumption and I am no exception to this rule! 

Today's tea is TWININGS DOUBLE MINT SENSATION.  

Twinings are arguably one of the biggest players in the tea industry, for as long as I can remember a varied selection of their infusions have been a permanent feature in my kitchen cupboards at home. They're my go to for all my everyday herbal tea needs. 

As you can see in the pictures Twinings have nailed the packaging, synchronising it's colour with that of the tea. But what of the taste, I hear you ask..

The traditional peppermint leaf recipe has been given a boost with the addition of mint oil, to reap the full benefits of this it is recommended you infuse your teabag in boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Personally I prefer to leave my teabag in for the duration of (my short lived) drinking to get a fuller, stronger taste. Once you have steeped your tea you should be left with a dark green toned tea. 

Any product that bears the word 'sensation' should live up to its name and I can confirm that the use of mint oil in the blend induces a certain menthol zingy aftertaste which I can only compare to that feeling of breathing out fog on a cold morning except the fog is the taste of peppermint. Double Mint Sensation is also naturally caffeine free. Peppermint tea itself has been said to be beneficial to the digestive system so I'd suggest the best time to drink it is after a meal! 

Overall I really enjoyed this brew and I'm delighted Twinings have delivered on the sensation front with a tea that not only tastes great when you're drinking it but also stays with you that little while longer.

Disclaimer: This blog post is not compensated nor sponsored by Twinings or anybody else. Twinings regularly allow people to request samples of their tea via their website and this is what I did!

What do you think of the new feature? Have you tried Double Mint Sensation? 

Let me know your thoughts!

Tweet me @abitha_arabella | Comment on this post