Straight in at the deep end...

http://www.mobygratis.com/film-music.html

Sunday Nights

It's my first day at school tomorrow.

And so I put my head into my Transformers lunch box and cry.


PicLinks
http://nicolelavelle.tumblr.com/

Are you sitting comfortably?

The Pipe and Slippers

Stokes Croft

Venturing out into the great unknown - or rather, the a-bit-further-down-Gloucester-Road-great-unknown - my fellow explorers and I managed to stumble across Stokes Croft watering-hole, The Pipe and Slippers.  Not going to lie, both Cel and I have noticed it before - it's not the kind of name that you can easily forget. It was just, with the sprawling lady's legs on the sign, and the achingly cool student-types sucking on rollies outside, I was just worried that it might be another one of those mind-blowingly 'scene' gastro-pubs caught between a satellite town Wetherspoons and the canteen at Ikea. But WORRY NOT...

Dark wood furnishings, mis-matched armchairs,  pies pies pies, a gluttonous selection of spirits, patchy worn leather, Weihenstephan Hefeweissbier, Dog Dancer Scrumpy, candles, and Sunday roasts... what's not to like?

As well as acting as as an ever-comfortable extension of your front room in the daytime; each Friday, Saturday and Sunday night sees a dazzling selection of Bristolian DJ's guaranteed to keep the pipe smoking into the wee small hours. Perhaps the best bit was the baffling selection of currency (real or fake?) stuck to the back of the bar. At least if you ran out, you could try paying with the $1 bn note... 

Check out sister pubs The Windmill and The Lazy Dog. They damn sure got this one right, so I guess the others won't be far off...

See: http://www.barwarsltd.com/the-pipe-and-slippers/about/


PicLinks:
http://welovetypography.com/
http://www.etsy.com/?ref=so_home

I'm #1 so why try harder?

Less of a post, more of a get-your-ticket-now-I-don't-care-if-it-is-in-Swindon-that-is-close-enough-to-Bristol-and-this-man-is-an-absolute-genius.

Watch this:

Read this: 

Get your card and click on this:


http://fatboyslim.net/wordpress/5-night-stand-tickets/


DONE.


And you can't blame us for being so completely enamoured with every thing Norm is, says or does. Here's a sneaky what he gave us Bestivallians last Sunday...

"They know what is what but they don't know what is what. They just strut. 


What the..."


Best DJ in the world? For the moment, yes. 

Onwards and... downwards: Welcome to Bristol.

Have you ever sat down to a difficult piece of work? I mean really difficult. Like, the existential nature of thewhat?subconscious dialectical dichotomy of expressive subjectivity in theIdon’tgetthisatallandIdon’tknowhowtobeginbecau sethisisdefinitelytoocomplicated.

Or, have you ever tried to tidy a room so chaotic, so unmanageable, so disgusting that you can’t even start? Or attempted to navigate your way around an anally detailed reference book? Searching in vain for one idea, one concept that you know will pass you by. Or, how about trying to eat a burger too large for your mouth? Cutorsquish? Cutorsquish?

It’s all the same simple equation. You + something that attracts you, overwhelms you, confuses you. It seems too much for you to handle, but you WANT TO BE A PART OF IT.

To be perfectly frank, that is exactly the situation that I have found myself in. Granted, I am not sitting in front of a Double-Cheese-Flame-Grilled-Halloumi-Chilli-Quarter-Pounder-With-Bacon-And-Onions puzzling on how to eat it. In fact, having recently defected southwards once again, I am now floundering in the astonishingly vibrant, living, breathing city of Bristol.

Bristol Artists. Bristol Entrepreneurs. Secret Bristol. Fleece Bristol. Alfresco Disco. UrbanFusion Bristol. Crack Bristol. Bristol Birds. Bristol Blokes. Headfirst Bristol. Propaganda Bristol. Bristol In:Motion, Bristol Festival of Ideas, Pressure Bristol, Pick Bristol...

There is so much choice, it makes for one hell of a case of indigestion. Obviously, grumpy or not, all that is left to do is swallow my Gaviscon, adjust my goggles, and dive straight in.

Here's a first taste:

THIS is our local...

Image courtesy of John Swa - www.goldenlionbristol.co.uk

OK, maybe this is a little more representative...

With an open-mic each Monday, regular live musicians on Tuesdays, and a vast array of nights, artists and events nearly every other night of the week, this is certainly one hell of a local. Heading along last Tuesday, George and I were treated to the gentle Norah Jones-esque guitar songstress Nuala along with a couple of her hand-picked guests. DISCLAIMER: She's great, but her guests can occasionally be a little...beige. 


Anyway, let's just have a look at what's on this weekend, shall we?


Friday 16^th September

Dub from Atlantis

Beginning as a club night in the city, this motley cru have set up a record label, created some darn good reggae and dub nights in Bristol, and endeavoured to make sure that heavyweight dub is back on the map. Mixing live music with DJ sets, the Dub from Atlantis original dub is not unlike fellow dubbers Easy Star All Stars, Toots and the Maytals and the Trojan Sound System.

Entry £3

http://www.dubfromatlantis.com/

Saturday 17th September

Eastpole Orchestra

A far cry from the previous nights shenanigans, this five-piece Balkan-Bristol band are sure to get you moving. Reminiscent of Orkestra del Sol, Gypsy Hill Soundsystem and the Molotov Jukebox, this hyper-frenetic musical mix includes Middle Eastern and North African rhythms as well as Eastern European and Klezmer melodies. Guaranteed to make you get up and get sweaty, this heady cocktail of gypsy magic is certain to be one night you will not forget. 

Entry Free

http://www.myspace.com/eastpoleorchestra

There is a lot more to come. I have a feeling that my already substandard concentration span is about to take another battering. 

Hello, Bristol...

"Electro Swing?" "Well.. it's kind of more Swing than Electro. But still is Electro. You know?"

White Mink

Voodoo Rooms 
12 August
Midnight  - 3am

Electro Swing is exactly what it says on the tin. A literal blend of various elements of electronic music mixed with samples taken from the swing and jazz of the 1920s to 40s, it is hard not to stop your toes tapping and hips shaking when you hear it. No, honestly. It's like Astaire and Rogers, or vodka and lime, or marmite and cheese, this is mix that works. A sort of Creamfields meets The Great Gatsby. 


And although Edinburgh may not be renowned for its decadent demeanour or its banging swing scene, this year's Fringe Festival sees White Mink come to West Register Street's Voodoo Rooms each Thursday, Friday and Saturday night this month. Pioneered by DJ Chris Tofu, godfather of the movement, and founder of London's Electro Swing Club (of which there are now several throughout Europe), this is a blend of cabaret, swing, dance, magic, drum & bass, jazz, house and many more that is guaranteed to please even the most dubious of punters. 


As the fringe blurb proclaims, White Mink "blur[s] the line between fantasy and reality", and this couldn't be more right. White face paint, pearls, polka dots, cognac cocktails, crackly black and white cinema reels, cigarette holders and shiny shoes; from the moment you entered it felt as though the clocks had actually gone back, but raving was totally the thing to do. 


Featuring guests Le KKC Orchestra and The Twilight Players, interspersed with mixes from the DJ booth all night, the all-dancing crowd had plenty to get their teeth into. The French KKC Orchestra - fresh from Too-luuuse - were a sure-fire crowd pleaser; with their franglified rap, dextrous guitarist-cum-bassist, and Amelie Poulain-esque demoiselle on keys. Effortlessly charming the crowd, the band cranked out some vessel-bursting energetic swing mixes, and had just enough English for the somewhat well-oiled crowd to be able to bark out the choruses. Their finest moment was undoubtedly the break into drum and bass, which not only sent the dancers into raptures, but was evidently the kind of thing the KKC-ers lived for. Speaking to the band member after it became obvious that, as players on such a new platform, they essentially assess crowd reactions and adjust their set accordingly, something which worked to win the audience over in Glastonbury's Shangri La this year. Watch this space for more from this French trio...


Although this seemed like a seriously hard act to follow, dancing laddies The Twilight Players, didn't even break a sweat. Their understated entrance, air of self-consciousness, and preppy dress - each sporting wide-shouldered tweed jackets and matching brown and white loafers - didn't provoke much confidence. Yet they soon proved us wrong, and embarked on a remarkable display of energy, hilarity and (surprisingly) flexibility. Mission most certainly accomplished.

For both the acts, the DJ, the dancers, and even the unassuming punters of the bar next door, this was a night to be proud of. Electro Swing, fresh from it's somewhat hidden adolescence, shows that it is made of tough stuff, and there is no doubt that it is here to stay.

White Mink
The Voodoo Rooms

19a West Register Street

Edinburgh, EH2 2AA

Phone: 0131 556 7060

Email: info@thevoodoorooms.com

Website: www.thevoodoorooms.com

19 - 20 August, 25 - 27 August 2011

Schpank

Spank
16 - 23 August, Midnight - 3am
Underbelly, Cowgate

Spank is infamous. Three hours of comedians, music (of sorts), heckling and an obscene amount of alcohol in the dank depths of the Underbelly.

To be honest, you've got to be drunk.

Aside from that, there really isn't that much else to say.