London agenda for Thursday 9 August 2012
1. Watch an array of performers, cabaret artists, fire-eaters and titillating entertainers in an explosive environment at Storytelling Speakeasy [Le Cool]
2. Watch people recreate famous sitcom episodes live in Hackney [Run Riot]
3. Hear the extraordinary Artwork at Plastic People [Don’t Panic]
4. Celebrate the life of Greenwich-born comedian Bob Hope [Ian Visits]
5. Attend the Greenwich Summer Festival [Tired of London]
6. Be astounded by Philip Glass’ Hotel of Dreams at Hackney House [London In Stereo] Event is free but you need to email Hackney House for tix.
09 Aug 2012
Escapologists - Conscience or Regret
An old drum machine, an acoustic guitar and a tune – sometimes it’s all you need, as Escapologists prove with their new single “Conscience or Regret”, taken from the forthcoming album “Fireworks”. Based on the lo-fi principles shown here, the album’s production may have more in common with a back garden display than the Olympic opening ceremony – but handmade stuff is always more humane, and Escapologists have a wonky charm that will hit home with many.
08 Aug 2012
Oh My Beautiful World by Lavender Diamond
Lavender Diamond is an LA based quartet. They’ve worked with the likes of OK Go, M Ward and long-time Flaming Lips Collaborator David Fridmann. Their second album, Incorruptible Heart, is out Oct 8 on Paracadute. Today’s MPFree, taken from said album, is the musical equivalent of waking up groggily from the best sleep ever. Steam below, download here. Now stretch …
08 Aug 2012
London agenda for Wednesday 8 August 2012
1. Very quietly, watch films in St Martin’s Courtyard at the Silent Cinema International Film Festival [Run Riot]
2. View a documentary following the extraordinary quest of the Afghan cricket team to qualify for the 2011 World Cup at the Frontline [Frontline]
3. People need a trip to the Florence Nightengale Museum like they need a hole in the head [Ian Visits]
4. Find Chen Guanming’s rickshaw [Tired of London]
5. Watch the fabulous How to Dress Well, with Deptford Goth, at Birthdays [London In Stereo]
08 Aug 2012
More Olympic art - the Orbit gets painted all brooding
Last week we looked at how three painters took on the Olympic Stadium. Here’s another take, by Colin Ruffell, in which the Orbit is the star. Looks better here than in real life, IMO. Softer curves, more brooding shadows. Whether that makes it good art or not I will leave to your discerning taste.
Colin Ruffell’s paintings of London are on show, with work by Fran Slade, at the Graham Hunter gallery on Baker Street.
Wharf interviewed him in 2010.
See also:
Three artists take on the Olympic Stadium. Who’s painting it best?
Watch a timelapse video of the ArcelorMittal Orbit being built
08 Aug 2012
White Eyes by DRMS
When we received an unassuming mail-out from Oakland 8-piece DRMS (pronounced drums), nothing could prepare us for the rich musical treats contained within. Fronted by Emily Ritz, DRMS stay just on the right side of jazzy. Intricate, imaginative instrumentation, gorgeous group vocals … they’re as thrillingly contemporary as they are traditional, an enticing mix. Their John Vanderslice-produced, self-titled debut is available now via their Bandcamp page.
07 Aug 2012
Innocent as a Child – Kaimera Productions
Etcetera Theatre
“They want me to be bad… maybe even evil. It sells better.” Kyle Tubridy would have you believe that he’s a victim of circumstance, abused by first his father and then a trusted therapist before being hounded by the press. But can his testimony be trusted? An ambitious – or foolhardy – psychologist decides to tackle the Tubridy case in Innocent as a Child, the spellbinding debut show from Kaimera Productions. Director (and psychology graduate) Geoffrey Williams’ compelling script soars above the usual standard of earnest theatrical psychobabble, combining Kyle’s own self-assessments with the thoughts of three successive therapists. The six-strong cast is reliable throughout, although Daniel Tremlett inevitably draws the spotlight as the unhappy Kyle – gaining and losing years in the blink of an eye, he’s as convincing as a boisterous child as he is years later in a procession of doctors’ offices. Finn Milton’s brooding, rigidly controlled Dr Nagel is the perfect foil to Tremlett’s tremendous physicality, whilst Amy Scott shines from among the supporting characters as the ageing therapist who realises only too late what Kyle’s allegations may have cost her. A sensitive and absorbing treatment of the hugely emotive subject of child abuse, this expertly crafted play may yet prove to be one of the highlights of this year’s Fringe.
07 Aug 2012
Amy Wright – Occupied
Three years after packing in her job for a year out which is technically still going, comedian and ex-teacher Amy Wright has amassed a collection of material so eclectic that her hour-long show might as well have bolts through its neck. Confessional poems, drum’n’bass nursery rhymes and some long-overdue advice for singer/coconut water salesperson Rihanna jostle for space in this compendium of quirk, hammered together in an order largely dictated by the audience (“Do you want to hear my joke yet?”) and delivered in the oddly Pavlovian Northeastern coo which immediately makes Sarah Millican fans roll over to have their funny bones rubbed. Wright’s giggly, scattergun delivery and chatty asides are reminiscent of Josie Long, although she largely steers clear of the latter comic’s politicised subject matter to talk about chipmunks and (sigh) struggling to get a boyfriend. A half-hour set which focused on the strongest parts of her set would have made it much easier for Wright to maintain the gig’s energy, but Occupied is nevertheless an endearing and frequently very funny full-length debut.
If you miss her Camden Fringe show, Amy Wright will be in Edinburgh later this month.
07 Aug 2012
London agenda for 7 August 2012
1. Have some pleasant alcohol with former chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, Prof. David Nutt [Le Cool]
2. Hear a brief history of typefounding in Islington, from A to B [Ian Visits]
3. Drink tea at Dr Johnson’s House [Tired of London]
4. Listen to the amazing Evelinn Trouble for free at The House of Switzerland [London in Stereo]
07 Aug 2012
London's first cashmob comes to @Pagesofhackney this Thursday. What's the deal?
On Thursday afternoon at 1pm a group of people, many of them strangers, will descend on the Pages of Hackney bookshop and embark on a preplanned spending spree. It will be part flashmob, part supermarket sweep.
What on earth is going on?
Ken Banks is the man behind the cashmob. I asked him to explain the idea.
Snipe: What’s a cashmob?
Ken: Our website explains the concept quite well.
“A “cash mob” takes place when a group of people arrange to meet at a local shop or store. When they get there, instead of dancing, singing or carrying out other “pointless acts” [the hallmark of a flashmob], they spend a predetermined amount of money. Cash mobs are generally organised by people who enjoy the fun, excitement and novelty of a cash mob, or others who are concerned about the plight of local businesses and want to do something to help.”
Snipe: Is cashmobbing new?
Ken: We believe this is the first cash mob in London. There have been attempts to get them going in the past but none seem to have got any serious traction. We’re hoping to use the London cash mob as the launch event, and to try and raise awareness of cash mobbing as a way to direct customers back to local businesses, many of which are struggling at the moment.
Snipe: Why Pages of Hackney?
Ken: We were looking for a locally-owned business in an area which was being negatively affected by the Olympics, and to support those which were being by-passed by the crowds. We also wanted a business with wide appeal to cater for a wide range of shoppers. Pages of Hackney fitted the bill on both counts.
Snipe: Should we expect more cashmobs in the future?
Ken: Absolutely! The idea is to use the London cash mob as something of a launch event. Through the Cash Mobbers website people can easily arrange their own cash mobs, and we’re hoping the London event will motivate them to do that. We don’t want to stand in the way of people, so they’re fully in charge of what they organise and how they promote it. Cash mobbing is a fantastic concept, and since reading about it earlier in the year it’s been my dream to democratise it. We need cash mobs in every town.
Twitter – @cashmobbers
The Pages of Hackney cashmob event – This Thursday, 9th August at 1pm
Webiste – Cashmobbers.net
07 Aug 2012
Snipe Highlights
Some popular articles from past years
- The best church names in London, and where they come from
- The five best places in London to have an epiphany
- Diary of the shy Londoner
- Nice Interactive timeline lets you follow Londoners' historic fight against racism
- Could red kites be London's next big nature success story?
- 9 poems about London: one for each of your moods
- Only 16 commuters touch in to Emirates Air Line, figures reveal
- Hope and despair in Woolwich town centre
- London has chosen its mayor, but why can’t it choose its own media?
- Summer Camp: Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days
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