JT Leroy review - pseudonym, avatar, literary hoax

★★★ JT LEROY Revisiting the scandal of 2006: Kristen Stewart shines as Savannah Knoop/JT LeRoy

Revisiting the scandal of 2006: Kristen Stewart shines as Savannah Knoop/JT LeRoy

Based on Savannah Knoop’s memoir Girl Boy Girl: How I became JT LeRoy, Justin Kelly’s film skims the surface of the sensational literary hoax of the early 2000s, that far-off time before avatars, gender fluidity and fake online identity were part of everyday life.

P!nk, Principality Stadium, Cardiff review - stunning theatrics astound

Back and bolder than ever, P!nk opens her UK tour in Cardiff

“I want to be just like P!nk,” a little girl screams as the lights begin to dim and the introductory music grows louder. It’s no wonder this leg of the Beautiful Trauma World Tour sold out in under 15 minutes. The whole stadium is packed full of adoring fans, in a sea of varying shades of pink, visiting from all over the UK and some further afield. A man takes to the stage offering an out-of-tune version of the 20th Century Fox intro sequence, gesturing towards a popular viral video shown onscreen.

CD: Norah Jones - Begin Again

★★★★ CD: NORAH JONES - BEGIN AGAIN Rag tag recordings show musical maturity

A rag tag set of recordings only serves to show Jones's musical maturity

There's a remarkable lightness to the way Norah Jones has glid through her career.

Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train, Young Vic review - shards of power amidst much that is overwrought

★★★ JESUS HOPPED THE 'A' TRAIN, YOUNG VIC Shards of power amidst much that is overwrought

Stephen Adly Guirgis play is best when most reflective

An entirely electric leading performance from the fast-rising Ukweli Roach is the reason for being for revisiting Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train, back in London for the first major production since the late Philip Seymour Hoffman brought his acclaimed Off Broadway premiere of it to the Donmar in 2002. Since then, author Stephen Adly Guirgis has to be honest written better plays, not least the thrilling The Motherf**er with the Hat which doesn't try so hard to flag its bravura at every turn.

theartsdesk on Vinyl 47: The Beta Band, Ry Cooder, The Cardigans, Sgt. Pepper goes jazz and more

THEARTSDESK ON VINYL 47 The Beta Band, Ry Cooder, The Cardigans, Sgt. Pepper goes jazz and more

The most wide-ranging monthly record reviews on Planet Earth

Let’s cut straight to the chase. Here are reviews of 48 records, running riot across genre boundaries and categorizations, from preposterous pop metal to woodland-themed classical piano pieces. It’s the wildest vinyl ride in review-land, an adventure for the ears. Dive in!

VINYL OF THE MONTH

Vula Viel Do Not Be Afraid (Vula Viel)

CD: Ladytron - Ladytron

★★★★ LADYTRON - LADYTRON Sterling and noisy comeback from Brit electro-pop dons

Sterling and noisy comeback from Brit electro-pop dons

When Ladytron appeared in 1999, at a time when electronic music was glutted with pop-trance, Mitsubishis and superclubs, they drew instead directly on the post-punk synth-pop explosion of 20 years before, The Human League and the like. While all about revelled in warmth, hedonism and groove, Ladytron embraced the android: crisp in appearance, dry and enigmatic of lyric, symmetrically stylish.

The Music of Harry Potter, CBSO, Seal, Symphony Hall, Birmingham review - orchestral wizardry

★★★★ THE MUSIC OF HARRY POTTER Quidditch match of two halves has enough magic to charm the Muggles

Quidditch match of two halves has enough magic to charm the Muggles

Imagine an orchestral concert made up exclusively of contemporary works by living composers: a programme in which every note was written within the last two decades. Imagine not only that this concert is sufficiently popular to fill a 2,000-seat hall with a noticeably youthful and diverse crowd, but that its format is already being replicated regularly by pretty much every major UK symphony orchestra. Now ask yourself how much critical attention such a concert would receive? You wouldn’t be able to pick up the Sunday review supplements for sheer weight of coverage, would you?

CD: Hawkwind - Road to Utopia

The grizzled, grimey drug-rockers get an easy-listening makeover with somewhat surprising results

Implausible times call for implausible music, and it doesn't come much more unlikely than this. Hawkwind, the die-hard troupers of gnarly cosmic squatter drug-rock, have re-recorded highlights from their catalogue, arranged and produced by Mike Batt. Yes, Mike “Wombles” Batt. Mike “Elkie Brooks” Batt. Mike “Katie Melua” Batt. Mike “Bright Eyes” Batt.