Western Morning News, The

More Strings to His Banjo ; Box Office Now Booking

FIVE-STRING banjo player Leon Hunt and his band The Scoville Units (named after the measure of heat in a chilli) are in Devon for three live shows next week. Leon's healthy disregard for the traditional boundaries of banjo playing has earned him an international reputation for his experimental style and techniques. A former student of Bela Fleck, his exploits with Daily Planet and Southern Exposure have been making waves on both sides of the Atlantic. Using his earlier musical influences - hi...

Spanning the Years and Uk ; Box Office Now Booking

Punk Outfit Test Out Coastal Waters Ahead of Support Gig ; Box Office Now Booking

Fresh Take On Jazz Bears Close Scrutiny

EXPERIMENTAL post-jazzers Polar Bear return to the Westcountry next week armed with tracks from a brand new album to delight fans and new converts alike. Led by wild-haired drummer Seb Rochford (also a key player in Hendrix-inspired jazzers Acoustic Ladyland), Polar Bear's sound appeals as much to jazz traditionalists as to people who don't normally "do jazz", like hip-hop and indie rock lovers. There are elements in the band's sound that suggest they have gone beyond the vast history of jazz...

Pop Darlings Wash in On a Rare Tide ; Mercury Music Prize Winners Gomez Make a Welcome Return to the Uk. Jackie Butler Eyes Their Exeter Appearance

EARLY acclaim can be as much a curse as a blessing for a fledgling band. Being presented with gongs and catapulted into the limelight as fresh, young twentysomethings can present a massive challenge to longevity. But some 11 years after winning the Mercury Music Prize for their debut album, Bring It On - a collection of catchy, low-fi, blues- inspired pop-rock songs - Gomez continue to ride their quirky musical wave, constantly pushing towards new horizons.

Key to Accessorising Is Handbags and Gladrags ; Shopfront

IF YOUR budget won't quite stretch to a whole new outfit then the experts always say treat yourself to a new handbag or some jewellery - and there's nowhere better to do that than Stolen From Susie in Totnes High Street. This small shop at the very top of the street, in the ancient Narrows, is a real find and the key to its success is Sue Chapman - whose sister's catchphrase, when asked where she got her stuff, was often "Oh, I stole it from Susie".

Passport Gives Access to Surreal World of Its Own ; Crossing the Pond

LIFE is comic. There really is no need for farcical authors like Kafka when you've got things like passports to deal with. I am travelling to London to have the children's British passports renewed specially, as I don't want to entrust our other passports to the post, what with the strike and all. When I typed my postcode into the "your nearest office" box on the Internet, it came up with "Newport". Correct me if I'm wrong, but the words "Newport" and "near" are a bit of a stretch.

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Life Gets Better for Lucie ; Musical Notes Coming Soon

Showcase for Young Talent ; Musical Notes Coming Soon

Folk and Flamenco Fusion ; Musical Notes Coming Soon

Festival Promises a Feast of Music in a Seaside Setting ; Musical Notes Coming Soon Musical Notes Coming Soon

Ska Heroes Conjure Up Misspent Youth ; Review the Specials, Plymouth Pavilions

THERE are certain songs and bands that instantly transport you back to another time and place - The Specials, and their wonderful ska-fuelled repertoire, do that for me. Play the first bar of Gangsters and I'm right back on the dancefloor in my misspent youth. Judging by the ecstatic crowd at the Plymouth show last week, I'm not alone. You can tell it's a male-dominated audience when there's no queue for the ladies' loo, and it was indeed a sea of predominantly bald- pated fortysomethings - s...

Lou's Still Hoping for One Good Thing ; Embracing Everything From Trance to Folk, Lou Rhodes Is a Difficult Act to Categorise. Simon Parker Looks Ahead to Her New Album and Westcountry Gig

EMERGING from the trip-hop scene that brought the world Tricky and Portishead, Lou Rhodes' searing vocals have been turning musical heads for almost a decade. I first came across her characteristic style, quite by chance, in an Edinburgh cafe. The enthusiastic barista introduced me to The Cinematic Orchestra, an eclectic electro-jazz ensemble who specialise in live improvisation. The album was Ma Fleur and the girl with the golden vocals was Lou Rhodes.

Timmy Is a Tower of Inspiration

Vibrant Colours Capture a Sense of Special Places

ONE of Scotland's most renowned living artists will be offering art lovers a visual tour of some of Europe's loveliest locations when he stages his first ever solo show in Cornwall. John Brown's A Sense of Place exhibition opens tomorrow at Lemon Street Gallery, Truro.

Film Daredevil 11.45pm, Bbc1 a [...]

Unlikely Action Hero Laps Up Adventure

FOR us Brits, the year 2012 means the Olympics - for the ancient Mayans it signalled the end of the world. And considering that nothing fuels an action blockbuster like an apocalyptic prophecy, Hollywood has unsurprisingly chosen to sink its teeth into this real- life legend. 2012 is the latest disaster movie from German director Roland Emmerich, the man behind Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow - and its special effects promise to go where no CGI has gone before.

Living Her Dreams Without Swanking ; Oscar-Winning Actress Hilary Swank Recalls Her Joy in Playing American Heroine Amelia Earhart to Susan Griffin, Who Then Reviews the Movie

WHEN Hilary Swank walks into a luxurious suite at London's Soho Hotel there's none of the bravado you might expect from a two-time Academy Award winner. If anything she looks a little nervous as she sits back in the sofa, and places her hands under her knees. Uncharacteristically tall for a Hollywood leading lady, she's wearing vertiginous black heels, her tiny frame accentuated by skinny black jeans, a black vest top (from Marks & Spencer, she reveals) and a red Chanel cardigan.

Spoken Word On Stage ; Box Office Coming Soon