Off Topic The Review Thread

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Went to the SSE Hydro in Glasgow last night to see Massive Attack perform their 3rd, and most successful, album Mezzanine on it's 21st anniversary tour. Normally, these anniversary tours are a bit of a greatest hits bash out for the band, raking in some cash from their fans wanting to relive their younger days - not so last night.

Opening with a Velvet Underground cover, it became immediately apparent this was going to be different. Large screens showed a futuristic city-scape, with loads of green spaces like something you would imagine designers in the 50s would create for their vision of now. Starting to think it was getting a bit trippy, the screens started to flash up bold writing with statements like "ONCE UPON A TIME DATA WOULD SET US FREE". Turns out the band have commissioned Adam Curtis to create a full visual show for the tour (this was the first night, so there was no inkling this had been planned). Some very graphic footage to some tunes depicting atrocities of war, anti-war slogans then flicking to clips of Trump, Putin, Blair, Saddam. Lots of propaganda with regards to fake news, how agencies are stealing our data and using it to shape our lives - how the dead remain with us through data, film footage of dead celebrities, a big dig at pharmaceutical companies and how their products are doled out .

As a show it worked perfectly, very moving, the music was superb, guest vocals from Elizabeth Fraser from Cocteau Twins were hauntingly beautiful as were those of Horace Andy. The tour continues tonight in Manchester, playing the O2 in London 22nd Feb....if you were a fan of the album, grab a ticket!

Proper reviews, and some footage here...

Live review: Massive Attack Mezzanine XX1 at Glasgow SSE Hydro, 28 Jan 2019 | The List https://www.list.co.uk/article/1063...zzanine-xx1-at-glasgow-sse-hydro-28-jan-2019/

Massive Attack cover Velvet Underground and The Cure as they kick off dazzling 'Mezzanine' UK tour https://www.nme.com/news/music/watc...nniversary-tour-dazzling-glasgow-show-2439899

Elizabeth Fraser's voice is stunning.
 
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Not so much a review as a suggestion. If you complete a self assessment tax return, especially if you are at that time of life when you are making larger pension contributions, get an accountant to do it for you. I got myself into a panic before Christmas trying to do it myself and seeing a truly eye watering and bewildering amount come up as tax owed, to the extent that I deleted everything rather than submitting and sought professional advice. Obviously a professional who works on a just in time basis given today is deadline day as I’ve just had a call from him to give me a new figure on what I owe and it’s half what my own calculations had got. Plus measures in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again. It’s still a lot but I’m sure I do owe it as things looked very odd on my salary slip last year.
 
Not so much a review as a suggestion. If you complete a self assessment tax return, especially if you are at that time of life when you are making larger pension contributions, get an accountant to do it for you. I got myself into a panic before Christmas trying to do it myself and seeing a truly eye watering and bewildering amount come up as tax owed, to the extent that I deleted everything rather than submitting and sought professional advice. Obviously a professional who works on a just in time basis given today is deadline day as I’ve just had a call from him to give me a new figure on what I owe and it’s half what my own calculations had got. Plus measures in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again. It’s still a lot but I’m sure I do owe it as things looked very odd on my salary slip last year.

More DT done hers recently bastards taking money on account ... bit of photoshop and legal preparation and a new bathroom in one house travelled a few miles to Kingston so when I have a bath in Wimbledon I am actually in Kingston

The money I have saved on travelling will not be declared

If only I could do that in France
 
Tyres are knackered
Knackers are tired
Psycle Sluts innit.
More DT done hers recently bastards taking money on account ... bit of photoshop and legal preparation and a new bathroom in one house travelled a few miles to Kingston so when I have a bath in Wimbledon I am actually in Kingston

The money I have saved on travelling will not be declared

If only I could do that in France
I’m not sure I fully understand that. Mrs SB has her own company and pays corporation tax on account, but I think that’s standard. Or perhaps it’s dividend tax. They were asking me, on PAYE, to pay my income tax on account the numbers were so big. My accountant on one glance said ‘nah, that won’t be happening’. In a reassuring Brummie accent.
 
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Psycle Sluts innit.

I’m not sure I fully understand that. Mrs SB has her own company and pays corporation tax on account, but I think that’s standard. Or perhaps it’s dividend tax. They were asking me, on PAYE, to pay my income tax on account the numbers were so big. My accountant on one glance said ‘nah, that won’t be happening’. In a reassuring Brummie accent.

We have reduced the final figure to be paid online ... including the tax on account
changes within forms maybe live but everyone does it to calculate the submission
Money needed to be shown as repairs and offset to reduce total ... if you haven’t spent on repairs then creative accounting can help

You ain’t seen me right?
 
Psycle Sluts innit.

I’m not sure I fully understand that. Mrs SB has her own company and pays corporation tax on account, but I think that’s standard. Or perhaps it’s dividend tax. They were asking me, on PAYE, to pay my income tax on account the numbers were so big. My accountant on one glance said ‘nah, that won’t be happening’. In a reassuring Brummie accent.

I've got my own limited company, and they changed the tax-free dividend tax from £5k down to £2k this year. My accountant had me paying my PAYE on account, and I've now ended up with a £1k refund - which is nice. Hopefully my corporation tax will be low too as I spent a load on travelling expenses last year....
 
I've got my own limited company, and they changed the tax-free dividend tax from £5k down to £2k this year. My accountant had me paying my PAYE on account, and I've now ended up with a £1k refund - which is nice. Hopefully my corporation tax will be low too as I spent a load on travelling expenses last year....
Probably not the place for it but my wife pays herself a minimum wage style salary on low/no income tax and then takes the real money in dividends, but as you say she’s been telling me that it’s getting meaner and meaner. She puts a staggering amount of stuff on expenses. I think it’s fair enough for people who have no company pension, no sick pay, no paid holiday etc. My son is on the special builders self employed tax scheme, and is delighted to be getting a £5k refund (for two years) this time round. Until I noted that it’s because he is underpaid. How on earth a company grunt like me on old style PAYE managed to be stung so hard is beyond me.
 
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Probably not the place for it but my wife pays herself a minimum wage style salary on low/no income tax and then takes the real money in dividends, but as you say she’s been telling me that it’s getting meaner and meaner. She puts a staggering amount of stuff on expenses. I think it’s fair enough for people who have no company pension, no sick pay, no paid holiday etc. My son is on the special builders self employed tax scheme, and is delighted to be getting a £5k refund (for two years) this time round. Until I noted that it’s because he is underpaid. How on earth a company grunt like me on old style PAYE managed to be stung so hard is beyond me.

Sounds like Mrs SB has a similar accountant to mine! That's how I run my business, minimum wage, expenses and dividends - my travellimg expenses alone were astronomical (and I don't do fancy hotels!) without all the other little add-ons the accountant puts in. I used to be VAT registered as there was a nice loophole that made me an extra 8%, but they've closed that now, too.
 
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Went to the SSE Hydro in Glasgow last night to see Massive Attack perform their 3rd, and most successful, album Mezzanine on it's 21st anniversary tour. Normally, these anniversary tours are a bit of a greatest hits bash out for the band, raking in some cash from their fans wanting to relive their younger days - not so last night.

Opening with a Velvet Underground cover, it became immediately apparent this was going to be different. Large screens showed a futuristic city-scape, with loads of green spaces like something you would imagine designers in the 50s would create for their vision of now. Starting to think it was getting a bit trippy, the screens started to flash up bold writing with statements like "ONCE UPON A TIME DATA WOULD SET US FREE". Turns out the band have commissioned Adam Curtis to create a full visual show for the tour (this was the first night, so there was no inkling this had been planned). Some very graphic footage to some tunes depicting atrocities of war, anti-war slogans then flicking to clips of Trump, Putin, Blair, Saddam. Lots of propaganda with regards to fake news, how agencies are stealing our data and using it to shape our lives - how the dead remain with us through data, film footage of dead celebrities, a big dig at pharmaceutical companies and how their products are doled out .

As a show it worked perfectly, very moving, the music was superb, guest vocals from Elizabeth Fraser from Cocteau Twins were hauntingly beautiful as were those of Horace Andy. The tour continues tonight in Manchester, playing the O2 in London 22nd Feb....if you were a fan of the album, grab a ticket!

Proper reviews, and some footage here...

Live review: Massive Attack Mezzanine XX1 at Glasgow SSE Hydro, 28 Jan 2019 | The List https://www.list.co.uk/article/1063...zzanine-xx1-at-glasgow-sse-hydro-28-jan-2019/

Massive Attack cover Velvet Underground and The Cure as they kick off dazzling 'Mezzanine' UK tour https://www.nme.com/news/music/watc...nniversary-tour-dazzling-glasgow-show-2439899

Mate, I’m so jealous.
One of the best bands around from that era/genre and along with Portishead (with the subliminal vocals of Beth Gibbons), great music to put on after a heavy session and chill the **** out to.
 
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Mate, I’m so jealous.
One of the best bands around from that era/genre and along with Portishead (with the subliminal vocals of Beth Gibbons), great music to put on after a heavy session and chill the **** out to.
Look up Adam Curtis on YouTube mate, you will love his stuff. Epic long visual essays on how the world got to where it is. His three parter The Trap is depressingly convincing. Here’s a taster

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Look up Adam Curtis on YouTube mate, you will love his stuff. Epic long visual essays on how the world got to where it is. His three parter The Trap is depressingly convincing. Here’s a taster

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Here's some footage from the Manchester gig.....the sound isn't the greatest, but captures the video show well

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By the way, what a waste of an experience, watching a whole gig through your phone screen!