Page 47 - NLP244603 "NE Volume" Magazine (56pp 240 x 170 self cover)

STAGE REVIEW
GIG REVIEW
SAINT ETIENNE
AT THE FIRE STATION, SUNDERLAND – 10/06/2022
NE VOLUME RATING 
Sunderland’s newest music venue, The Fire Station, finally welcomed indie- dance favourites Saint Etienne after the original gig date had to be postponed when the venue wasn’t quite ready to open at the end of last year. Saint Etienne, comprising of Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs, were joined on vocals by Debsey Wykes who has long collaborated with the London band. Formed in 1990, Saint Etienne treated the Sunderland audience to a career- spanning setlist offering up indie-dance and electro-pop classics. Opening with ‘Like A Motorway’, they raced through hit after hit, with their faithful fans dancing in their seats. Newer hits like ‘Fonteyn’ from their latest album nestled perfectly alongside favourites such as ‘Nothing Can Stop Us Now’ and ‘He’s On The Phone’. With a phenomenal double encore, with Sarah Cracknell donning her trademark feather boa, the crowd would have happily stayed on for more. EMMA CHESWORTH
A WAY HOME
AT GALA THEATRE, DURHAM – 27/06/2022
GIG REVIEW
DEATH VALLEY GIRLS
AT THE CLUNY, NEWCASTLE – 16/06/2022
NE VOLUME RATING 
Towering on stage, goth/electro-rocker William Denton Wilde kicks off tonight’s show with trademark low-slung bass, leathers and Jesus & Mary Chain moments of howling feedback. Standouts ‘Paradise Lost on Leif’, ‘Dead House’ and ‘Baby Blue’ contribute to a set that could soundtrack any early-mid 80’s Bret Easton Ellis novel, complete with dark post-punk references, performance stage attire and an attitude that screams both intellect and rebellion. A quick change-over allows a palette refresh before four-piece Death Valley Girls move onto the stage for a back-to-the- audience, deliberately hypnotic, distant opener. Building and building in noise and anger, there’s a gentle release as the set kicks in, with pop/dirge/psych- rockers ‘Disco’ and ‘Love Spell’ standing out in a show full of three-minute pop tunes combining tribal drum beats, B52 melodies and Sabbath drones - it’s quite the mix. Perhaps a few vocal issues, or moments of unclear PA system levelling aside, the Death Valley Gang deliver a knockout blow. DAMIAN ROBINSON
NE VOLUME RATING 
For a quarter of a century, communities across County Durham fought to keep their villages alive after being condemned to fail by the council. In 1951, a third of County Durham villages were classified a Category D and therefore no longer worthy of investment. A Way Home brings to life this remarkable tale of communities and what makes a community. Written by Christina Castling, it tells the story of one family desperate to stay rooted in their village, as Bet and Frank Cartwright share their two-up, two- down with their daughter Kathy and her husband, Joe. Bet is determined they will not be forced out of their home and is at the forefront of the campaign to stay when the council wants people to relocate to the likes of Peterlee and Newton Aycliffe – places Bet dismisses as ‘all straight lines and no soul’. Throughout the two-hour- long play, Jacqueline Phillips gives a consistently strong performance as Bet, displaying determination, despair, anger and eventual acceptance. On being delivered the news that their village is in Category D, she is ready to fight. She refuses to accept the Council’s view that the houses are uninhabitable saying: “We’re
inhabiting it. It’s been inhabited for 100 years!” Frank and his son-in-law Joe (played with superb comic timing by Luke Maddison) both work down the pits and they are a strong family unit. When Kathy finds out she is expecting a baby, she and Joe consider amovetoanewhouseinoneofthe towns but know they will devastate Bet with their news. When they do relocate, it causes a rift between mother and daughter. Relationships between families and friends must have been really tested during this period, with emotions high and strong feelings on all sides. A Way Home is not sentimental and it doesn’t look at the past through rose-tinted glasses, with Bet’s house having broken floorboards, smashed windows and damp; however, the play shows that communities are more than houses - more than bricks and mortar. The fact many of the Category D villages are still here also shows the 1951 Durham County Development Act did notsucceed.MuchofthepackedGala Theatre rose to their feet at the end of the play. It was the final night of what has been a sublime tour of village halls and community centres across County Durham. EMMA CHESWORTH
MattJamie GIG REVIEWS // NE VOLUME MAGAZINE // 47