I hate it when there are two great gigs on the same night. This is the case on Thursday when Willy Vlautin of the Americana/ country band Richmond Fontaine plays The Victoria and Krautrock duo Cluster play the Town Hall. They will both be amazing.
Colour present a rare solo performance by Willy Vlautin. The set will consist of music from Richmond Fontaine’s back catalogue as well as his own. Vlautin is also a sucessful writer whose work has been compared to Raymond Carver and Charles Bukowski. His third novel, Lean on Pete was published this week. The video above is a promo for the book but also gives you an idea of the beautiful music he makes. read more…
The Rea Garden is a lovely hidden space next to the Custard Factory with an entrance on Floodgate Street. I have seen some great projects there over the last few months including Project Pigeon and The Funeral of the Site. The new resident artist is Claudia Borgna who will be working and exhibiting at the site throughout February and March.
Claudia’s work investigates ‘the ‘evolution of landscape’, a process started and effected by modern life-styles and consumerism. Her installations are the materialization of an ongoing observation and questioning of how the ‘plastic’ and the natural realms interact with one another and thereby come to create new ephemeral orders’.
Throughout her residency Claudia expects to create a series of installations from recycled plastic bags, which will be temporary and will evolve over the next 10 weeks. There will be an opportunity to meet her each Friday at The Rea Garden, where she will be on site along with Behind Closed Doors and Ian England of Project Pigeon.
There will be two public openings, giving the audience the opportunity to see the work transform during her residency. The first private view takes place on Friday 12th February 6 – 9pm. The installation will then be availiable to view Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 February 11-4pm.
There will be a second private view at the end of Claudia’s residency – Thursday 11th March 2010, 6pm – 9pm. The work will then be on view for a further two weeks.
Either love it or loath it Valentine’s Day is fast approaching. Here are a few neutral things that are happening on Sunday 14 February:
- A Book Crossing event at Urban Coffee Co from 2pm. Focusing more on a love of literature, they will be holding a ‘book dating’ event. As they say: ‘Could you make somebody fall in love with a book you really love in just 2 minutes?’ Author R.J. Ellory will also be there to talk about his latest novel and life as an author. The event is free but all donations will go to Life Uplifted by Change In Africa (LUCIA), a Birmingham based charity.
- The Victoria will be screening quirkily romantic films WALL-E and Juno from 6pm for free. Every Sunday, The Victoria has 2 for 1 cocktails from noon to midnight, but they have also created a special Cherry Valentine cocktail (Cherry Brandy, Ameretto, Bubbly & a cherry) to celebrate the day in style.
- The Electric Cinema have special screenings of Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Strictly Ballroom.
- There will also be the Chinese New Year Celebrations from 12-4.30pm at the Arcadian.
Chinese New Year, falls on Sunday 14 February this year. There will be all sorts of celebrations at the Arcadian Centre. This year promises ’mesmerising acrobatic and cultural performances’. There will be Kung Fu demonstrations, children’s dances (ahhh), Cantonese opera, and traditional dance. All will be free. The celebrations will start with a bang, with an extravagant dragon and lion dance closely followed by Fire Crackers. Stalls will line Hurst Street and there will be a performance space in the Hippodrome.
The Chinese New Year Celebrations will take place from 2.30pm to 4.30pm. More information can be found here.
Since the mid-1960s Bridget Riley has been celebrated for her distinctive, optically vibrant paintings synonymous with the Op art movement. From 6 February to 23 May, her work can be seen at the Waterhall gallery, part of Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery.
The exhibition is touring from Southbank Centre; the first in a new series of solo artist’s exhibitions from the Arts Council Collection. The show also features works from the artist’s own collection. Admission is free.
…) 2010 is going to be a difficult year for museums, galleries, all cultural organisations so all the more reason to visit (…and donate)!
The Lunar Society is a gathering on the first Friday of every month at the Hare & Hounds in Kings Heath organised by the folk behind Moseley Folk Festival. A great chance to see up and coming musicians play, with support from local talent.
The Lunar Society has some great gigs lined up this year and starts off on Friday with banjo player Dan Walsh. Hailed as the finest banjo player in the UK, he is an eclectic and exciting musician with a unique style taking in folk, funk, bluegrass, jazz, rock and even Arabic styles of playing.
Supporting are James Summerfield who I saw perform last year at a Colour night (highly recommended) and new lead guitarist of Little Sister, Abie Budgen.
Other treats over the next few months include:
Friday 5th March – Starless And Bible Black + The Gardenelles + Beneath the Oak.
Saturday 10th April – The spectacular King Creosote + Guests. Tickets here.
I really enjoyed watching Withnail & I the other week at The Victoria as part of their free weekly film night Moving Pictures. Every Sunday critically acclaimed, must see films are shown alongside shorts by local filmmakers (currently from ScreenWM). The screenings start at 6pm and are shown in the cosy downstairs bar. Free popcorn is availiable! As nominations are made this month, February’s films are on an Oscar theme:
7th – American Beauty (1999, Mendes) + Atonement (2007, Wright)
14th – WALL-E (2008, Stanton) + Juno (2007, Reitman)
21st – The Departed (2006, Scorsese) + The Dark Knight (2008, Nolan)
28th- Slumdog Millionaire (2008, Boyle) + The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008, Fincher)
Are you passionate about Birmingham? Are you frustrated that more often than not it’s the same old/mediocre things happening in Birmingham that are publicised and hyped? Are you puzzled when people say that nothing ever happens in the city?
More Canals than Venice is hoping to expand in the next few months and include a lot more of what really takes place in this fine city. To do that I need your help. I am looking for passionate writers interested in all forms of art and culture to contribute to this blog.
If you would like to be part of the future of MCtV and share with the world your favourite things about Birmingham please email me at:
pixiesixer [at] morecanalsthanvenice [dot] co [dot] uk
Flatpack Festival is back this year from 23rd- 28th March. As always, we will be treated to a programme of weird and absolutely beautiful films, music and workshops that will take place in venues right across the city. For the fourth Flatpack Festival bus trips, art deco cinemas and optical illusions will be a few of the offerings. I can’t wait!
The festival will launch with a rare screening of FW Murnau’s 1927 Oscar-winning romance Sunrise, accompanied by a newly commissioned live score by jazz pianist Alcyona. Highlights at this year’s festival include a celebration of puppets in classic and contemporary film; an exploration of the 1930s from cinema design to Birmingham’s literati. Dublin collective Synth Eastwood present one of their legendary events in our fine city, and Ghost Box Records will also present a Sunday feast of haunted audio and creepy 70s television.
If you would like to volunteer at this year’s Flatpack Festival click here. I have helped out in various capacities for the last two festivals, and will be assisting them this year too. It really is a wonderful festival and a great experience. Go on, you know you want to!
On Saturday the Electric Cinema is having a clear out of all the spare posters left over from screenings from the past few years. The majority are in immaculate condition, including those from The Dark Knight, Star Trek, The Wizard of Oz, Quantum Of Solace and Watchmen. These posters are unavailable in the shops. It’s a great opportunity to get hold of some beautifully designed posters printed especially for cinemas. Proper collectors items. The sale takes place from 12.30pm until 3pm, with prices starting at £5. Get there early!
