GOOD ISHT IN JANUARY AND BEYOND IN THE WEST AND WALES REGION…
Shake off the snow and banish the back-at-work blues with this little lot… There are shovel-loads of good tings coming your way in 2010 so read on and battle that boredom with 247 Magazine!
LIVE MUSIC
Bristol Acoustic Music Festival
15 – 17 Jan, The Folk House and St Georges, Bristol, day tickets £7
A festival celebrating the diversity of acoustic music in Bristol. Performers include one man electro band Kid Carpet, who plays broken-hearted modern music replete with dodgy samples, singing, carboot sale keyboards, pathos and sellotape. He’s joined by The Cedars, four musicians who play ukuleles, clarinets and glockenspiels, singer songwriter Beth Porter, Slow, a rootsy singer songwriter outfit and folked up Joni Mitchell-esque musician Rachael Dadd. There will also be performances from Ilya, folky fivepiece Babel, Bristolian shoegaze-influenced six piece The Fauns, young alternative acoustic act Emily & The Whispers, The Mandibles, Bristol’s own gypsy jazz maestros, and The Madness Of King George – who play irresistibly upbeat latin, ska and reggae beats. www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk
Kerrang Relentless Tour 2010
26 Jan, O2 Academy, Bristol, £15 adv
29 Jan, Cardiff University SU, Cardiff, £15 adv
The Kerrang Relentless tour hits the region for dates in Bristol and Cardiff with some of the hottest new bands in rock. Acts on the tour include American punk-pop group All Time Low, Welsh emo-rockers The Blackout, London based fourpiece Young Guns, and electro infused metallers My Passion.
The Red Stripe Music Awards
28 Jan, The Croft, Bristol
29 Jan, Barfly, Cardiff
The Red Stripe Music Awards is open to bands playing any kind of original music, and provides a platform for talented, unsigned musicians to showcase their skills. Last year, singer songwriter Ben Howard was crowned winner, this year it could be you! Bands and artists are invited to enter details via www.redstripe.net for more information.
CLUBBING
Propaganda
Every Wednesday at Syndicate, Nelson St, Bristol, £3 NUS/£4, 9.30pm – 3am
An indie clubnight of mammoth proportions, Propaganda bring the party to Syndicate every Wednesday for a mashup of the best new and classic indie from DJ Dan in room 1, alongside a selection of punk, rock, metal, ska and emo in room 2.
Tiesto
12 Mar, Cardiff International Arena, £27.50
Ok, so this isn’t happening in January, but it’s a pretty massive gig so we just had to include it. Tiesto is a legendary DJ with his own brand of pumping, dynamic trance, and he was voted world’s number one in DJ Magazine’s prestigious poll for three consecutive years.
FILM
Where The Wild Things Are (PG)
2 – 14 Jan, Chapter Arts Cinema, Cardiff, www.chapter.org
This much awaited adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s story is well worth the wait. When Max, a misunderstood and disobedient little boy, is sent to bed without his supper, he creates his own world where everyone can be happy — a forest inhabited by ferocious wild creatures whose emotions are as wild and unpredictable as their actions. Spike Jonze brings his innovative style to this magical tale of a boy who finds he can be the ruler in a world where only the wild things are…
Haneke Double Bill: Funny Games (18) and Hidden (18)
31 Jan, Arnolfini, Bristol, £6/£4.50conc 2.30pm www.arnolfini.org.uk
Known for his bleak and disturbing style, Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke’s films often tell the tale of problems in society. He won the Palme d’Or for best film at Cannes 2009 for his film The White Ribbon. These two films are both thrillers: Funny Games tells the tale of two young psychopathic outsiders who invade a family’s remote lakeside home, and Hidden tells the tale of a TV talk show host who receives mysterious video tapes containing footage of his house, and becomes convinced that a pivotal figure from the past is responsible.
ART
Welcome to Stokes Croft
23 – 30 Jan, The Emporium, 37 Stokes Croft, Bristol.
An exhibition organised by young Bristol based photographer Rory Mizen, which celebrates the positive and diverse creativity of the people living in and around the Stokes Croft area of Bristol. The exhibition will showcase some of Mizen’s photographs, taken over the last six months (see http://mizerphotography.webs.com/ for more of his work) and will also feature street art provided by www.threenine.eu and music from talented local artists. The opening night is 23 Jan from 7pm – 2am and will see performances from Bristol’s home-grown “purple” dubstep artist extraordinaire Guido/Punch Drunk/If Symptoms Persist (www.myspace.com/guidoproductions), Jagos/Passion FM/Something’s What We’ve Done (http://www.myspace.com/jagosproductions) as well as live music from up and coming Bristol band Benny Sensus (www.myspace.com/bennysensus). Every other day, the exhibition will be open from 11am – 5pm.
Crash And Burn
16 – 20 Jan Centrespace Gallery, 6 Leonard Lane, Bristol, www.centrespacegallery.com
A “cleansing” retrospective of painting (landscapes) and drawings (figurative). Unsold works will be torched afterwards. With art and philosophy diplomas, many works have a “twist”. 100% of the gross receipts of the exhibition will be donated to charities working in Africa. For further info, contact angusmacaskill@googlemail.com
Richard Bevan
Until 30 Jan, G39, Wyndham Arcade, Cardiff CF10 1FH, www.g39.org
Acclaimed artist Richard Bevan has produced two site-specific film works to be shown at g39 throughout the winter, continuing an exhibition programme exploring relationships between art and cinema as a gallery based medium. Richard has also made a limited edition artist’s book in collaboration with Pernille Leggat Ramfelt as part of the show. Bevans work looks at the tension created between film as a medium, and light as it’s agent – from good film conditions with the right light, to the turbulence of filming in near darkness.
THEATRE
The Revenge Of Rumpelstiltskin
28 Jan, The Rondo Theatre, Bath, £10/£8conc, 7pm, www.rondotheatre.co.uk
It is the year 1906, they heyday of Georgian theatre and the birth of pantomime. A resourceful troupe of actors will once again bring a glimmer of the glamour of London to the provinces. With a gripping storyline, yards of tasteful scenery, the latest theatrical contraptions and music by Henry (the fairy queen) Purcell, this production will bring laughter and ‘improvement’ in equal measure and cannot fail to buff up the tarnished reputation of pantomime. For more info see www.miracletheatre.co.uk
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
Until 17 Jan, The Tobacco Factory, Bristol, £15/£7conc, www.tobaccofactorytheatre.com
In a brand new re-telling of this much-loved folk tale which forms part of The Thousand and One Nights, Travelling Light Theatre and the Tobacco Factory bring their imagination and inimitable style together to depict a unique and magical world that is rooted in the cultures of ancient Persia, India and Arabia. The play tells the tale of two brothers: for the good-hearted Ali Baba, a poverty stricken wood-cutter, life is all toil and hardship. But for the proud Kasim Baba, married to a Merchant’s daughter and as rich as trees are rich in leaves, life is easy. The two brothers are alike as chalk and cheese. Then, quite by accident, Ali discovers a secret and from then on life for the two brothers will never be the same again…
To Kill A Mockingbird
2 – 6 March, New Theatre, Cardiff, £23.30 – £8conc, 7.30pm, www.newtheatrecardiff.co.uk
“Shoot all the bluejays you want if you can hit ‘em. But remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird…” One of the greatest modern classics, written by Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird is the powerful story of a fight for racial justice in a community divided and ruled by prejudice and discrimination, set in Alabama in the great depression of the 1930s. Adapted for the stage by Christopher Sergel.
COMEDY
Jimmy Carr: Rapier Wit
29 Jan, The Millennium Centre, Cardiff, £22.50, www.wmc.org.uk
A ‘rapier’ is the long sword of a gentleman. ‘Rapier wit’ is defined as clever, quick, intelligent humour. Please note, Jimmy Carr doesn’t have ‘the long sword of a gentleman’ and even if you like him, ‘clever, quick and intelligent’ is a bit of a stretch. The TV funnyman brings his sarcastic brand of comedy to Cardiff.
Pappy’s World Record Attempt: 200 Sketches In An Hour
22 Jan, Tobacco Factory Theatre, Bristol, £12, 8pm, www.tobaccofactorytheatre.com
Fresh from Channel 4 and a sell-out run at the 2009 Edinburgh Festival, Pappy’s Fun Club are described as “the funniest sketch troupe on the Fringe”. They return to take the UK, and the record books, by storm…
Tom Wrigglesworth’s Open Return Letter To Richard Branson
3 Feb, The Glee Club, Cardiff, £10/£11adv/£7 NUS, more otd, 7.30pm, www.glee.co.uk
Direct from a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Festival, Wrigglesworth is out on the road and railing against Richard Branson and Virgin Trains in this true story where one random act of kindness caused good to triumph over evil. Tom will be recounting a story of unfettered chivalry involving himself, the world’s biggest jobsworth (played by a Virgin Train Manager), a distressed 75-year-old, a brown paper bag from the onboard canteen and his subsequent attempts to introduce ‘Lena’s Law’.
EVENTS
Fashioning an Ethical Industry (workshop)
27 Jan, Arnolfini, Bristol, 2pm, www.arnolfini.org.uk
A workshop on ethical fashion in conjunction with Stephanie Syjuco’s Anti-Factory Bristol project, www.fashioninganethicalindustry.org. Part of the Craftivisim season of events at Arnolfini, a participative exhibition responding to the resurgent interest in craft as it relates to socially-engaged art practice.
2nd Bristol Winter Cider Festival
29 – 30 Jan, The Passenger Shed, Bristol, £7.50 per session otd/£6.50 per session adv, 7.30pm – 11.30pm
A two-day festival of cider, food & live music! Over 100 ciders and perries will be on offer as well as hog roast rolls and cheese platters, and a range of soft drinks for the drivers. The Mangledwurzels, a Scrumpy & Western tribute to Somerset’s finest, The Wurzels, will be playing a full show at all three sessions. Tickets are available at www.pavilionshop.co.uk or on 01225 330304. More than just a Wurzels tribute band, The Mangledwurzels play Wurzels songs, old and new, blended with self-penned titles and pop standards ‘mangled’ in true Wurzels tradition.
