Morning:
3°c
BBC accused of having a 'culture of secrecy' after it refused to reveal how much it pays its top presenters and stars
More...
Precious is a new-style weepie but one that is much more bracing than depressing
Precious
Theatre
Ian McKellen is captivating throughout. He delights in the play’s gallows humour, yet is also maudlin and poignant
Waiting for Godot
Theatre
Slight quibbles notwithstanding, this will set the West End’s stock riding high
Enron
Utterly, utterly brilliant. You really are in for a treat
Though 'Trilogy' has won rave reviews, I personally found myself exasperated after about an hour
We went on a quiet sunday evening and the food was excellent, but the experience let down by the service and ambiance
London,
David Smyth's rating
Reader rating
Description: The American outfit play psychedelic indie-rock.
Phone: 0207748 2728
Website: www.troxy.co.uk
Email: info@troxy.co.uk
Trains: Tube: Tower Hill/Bank; DLR: Limehouse 
Extra info: Pub, Party Hire
Get grinning: Flaming Lips
I was starting to become cynical about The Flaming Lips wheeling out the same old schtick on the psychedelic Oklahoma band’s umpteenth tour: the endless confetti, ringmaster Wayne Coyne’s giant hamster ball and the dancers dressed as animals. Then a huge balloon bounced off the back of my head and I was grinning like a two‑year-old again.
On record, in contrast, the fun has stopped. Latest album Embryonic is the career weirdos’ weirdest in years, a collection of half-formed jams with a sense of undefined menace missing from its cuddly immediate predecessors. It proved awkward to fit the new songs into a generally joyful set.
Funereal ballad Evil was accompanied by a clip of a monkey undergoing vivisection that severely dampened the mood. The thunderous riff of See the Leaves felt like being hit with a sledgehammer not a balloon.
At their best, as on euphoric encore Do You Realize??, the band can take a gloomy line like: “Do you realise that everyone you know someday will die?” and make it sound like a beautiful, wonderful thing.
Sometimes here that magical touch was gone, but more often, as when Coyne swung his strobe light, banged his gong and an incredible new laser effect made it look as if we were approaching light speed, it was impossible not to be enthralled by this unique world yet again.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
