Hello
Hello Thor are curating one of Rough Trade's legendary afternoon gigs at the Notting Hill Arts Club this weekend. Woop!
An extension of Rough Trade's classic in-store gigs (just with a bit more room, and fewer records), the RoTa shows have been graced / curated by the likes of Hot Chip, The Line Of Best Fit, Warp, Jamie T, Saddle Creek, Fortuna Pop, Truck, Jonquil, Yuck and more.
It's on Saturday (21st May) from 4pm until 8pm and it's completely for FREE.
Warm Brains - new band from ace DIY producer Rory Attwell (Fair Ohs, Male Bonding, Fists). They make fuzzy, dreamlike, carefully-woven, lo-fi slacker tunes as heard on debut single Old Volcanoes.
Fists - recently described as a "one band John Peel show" Fists' sound ranges from bittersweet vocal harmonies to stomping garage rock. Or as Artrocker put it "they sound like a drunken art collective playing country songs they’ve never heard before. Which is meant to be a compliment.”
We Show Up On RadaR - combining the optimism and joy of the Flaming Lips with the melancholy of Daniel Johnston, WSUOR's music is gentle, mischievious and magical indie pop to dream to.
Not Cool - these gutter pop pioneers specialise in frenetic, melodic and slightly demented post punk. Think Fugazi or Pavement, but from Downham, south London.
Facebook event here: http://www.facebook.com/?sk=inbox&setup#!/event.php?eid=201457909891967
with super cool poster by Angi from Fists
.
It's gonna be ace!
love Bex
x
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
Sunday, 17 April 2011
FUN-Raising at Jumpers for Goalposts
Please come along to the Alley Cafe on Thursday from 8.30pm for an evening of music, craft & entertainment. ish.
Becky
x
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
Jumpers FUNraiser
Check out the blog here for more info
Get yourself added to the facebook event (& invite your friends too!)
Comment on LeftLion
It would be super awesome to see you there. It's Pretty Good Thursday (21st April), so you've got the day off afterwards (Good Friday). So, why not come and share a cup of tea or organic ale with us, bring some unusual craft materials and a pound or two to donate to our chosen charity and have a good time.
Becky
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Peruvian Delicacies
My big sister now lives in Peru. This means that I now think Skype is one of the best inventions of the last 100 years, I regularly get postcards with llamas on and I worry about her whenever there's an earthquake / mudslide / flash flood / tsunami etc. It's a bit different to when she was just up the road in Sheffield.
It also means that when she comes back for a visit we get to taste the delights of Peruvian cuisine. Ever eaten Peruvian food? Had any in your local Peruvian restaurant? Thought not... there's definitely a reason why. My sister assures me that some of the Peruvian cuisines are actually very well thought of and that posh Peruvian restaurants are opening up in various cities across the world. Based on what we ate on Saturday I might hold off on booking a table...
Here is what she cooked for me, Anders and Abi:
Menu:
Starter - Papas A La Huancaina
This is a sort of cold salad. You put boiled potatoes, boiled eggs & olives onto some lettuce leaves and cover them in the special sauce. To make the sauce you need onions, bread, peanuts, chillies, garlic, condensed milk and feta. Yes. All of those things. Mushed up into a sauce. It's an unusual flavour combination and a strange consistency - not a dish I'll be hurrying to repeat. Initially I thought it was pretty tasty, with a nice light chilli spice and a creamy peanut flavour at the fore. However soon the heaviness of the sauce took me down and I realised I couldn't even face eating the mouthful I'd just put onto my fork.
Main - Arroz con Pollo
This was actually delicious, so I can't complain too much. It's basically chicken and rice, but this basic description doesn't do it justice. In the Cuscenian version you cook the rice in beer as well as stock, adding chilli, garlic and plenty of coriander. It's really tasty, richly flavoured and surprisingly light for a dish with so few vegetables.
Dessert - Picarones
To round off our Peruvian experience my sister had brought home a packet of mix to make Picarones. These are sweet potato donuts. I know. Sweet potato donuts. You fry the mix into little rings and eat it dipped in molasses syrup (or golden syrup in our case). Actually they were pretty nice, but another heavy heavy treat. I don't know how people in Peru eat this sort of cuisine every day.
Luckily she also treated us to a big bottle of posh Pisco - Peruvian brandy - with which to make Pisco Sours - a delicious citrussy cocktail comparable to the fabulous caipirinha, but with less heartburn. I think I can definitely say they were the highlight of the meal for me.
We had a brilliant evening and I love getting to spend time with my sister again. However... next time I'm cooking.
Becky
x
It also means that when she comes back for a visit we get to taste the delights of Peruvian cuisine. Ever eaten Peruvian food? Had any in your local Peruvian restaurant? Thought not... there's definitely a reason why. My sister assures me that some of the Peruvian cuisines are actually very well thought of and that posh Peruvian restaurants are opening up in various cities across the world. Based on what we ate on Saturday I might hold off on booking a table...
Here is what she cooked for me, Anders and Abi:
Menu:
Starter - Papas A La Huancaina
Main - Arroz con Pollo
This was actually delicious, so I can't complain too much. It's basically chicken and rice, but this basic description doesn't do it justice. In the Cuscenian version you cook the rice in beer as well as stock, adding chilli, garlic and plenty of coriander. It's really tasty, richly flavoured and surprisingly light for a dish with so few vegetables.
Dessert - Picarones
To round off our Peruvian experience my sister had brought home a packet of mix to make Picarones. These are sweet potato donuts. I know. Sweet potato donuts. You fry the mix into little rings and eat it dipped in molasses syrup (or golden syrup in our case). Actually they were pretty nice, but another heavy heavy treat. I don't know how people in Peru eat this sort of cuisine every day.
Luckily she also treated us to a big bottle of posh Pisco - Peruvian brandy - with which to make Pisco Sours - a delicious citrussy cocktail comparable to the fabulous caipirinha, but with less heartburn. I think I can definitely say they were the highlight of the meal for me.
We had a brilliant evening and I love getting to spend time with my sister again. However... next time I'm cooking.
Becky
x
Friday, 25 March 2011
Dr Who!
As mentioned before we recently held a special magical Jumpers for Goalposts party at the Alley Cafe where we celebrated the magic of Dr Who via the medium of improvised music & craft. Here's the evidence (bit bumpy, don't get motion sickness!)
In case you've never been, Jumpers for Goalposts is held on the 3rd Thursday of every month at the Alley Cafe in Nottingham. Essentially it involves a lot of larking around with child-friendly craft materials (googly eyes, pipe cleaners, lollipop sticks) making wonderful creations for our competition AND live music. That time the live music was the audience, usually it's a proper band. Come down and join in and see for yourself how much fun you can have with glitter glue and a pint of organic cider!
Becky
In case you've never been, Jumpers for Goalposts is held on the 3rd Thursday of every month at the Alley Cafe in Nottingham. Essentially it involves a lot of larking around with child-friendly craft materials (googly eyes, pipe cleaners, lollipop sticks) making wonderful creations for our competition AND live music. That time the live music was the audience, usually it's a proper band. Come down and join in and see for yourself how much fun you can have with glitter glue and a pint of organic cider!
Becky
Flash!
In Popbitch this week they pointed the reader towards an amazing website. I recommend a visit (needs sound ideally):
Possibly the greatest use of flash on a website ever. Don't, under any circumstances, skip the intro. But you have to wait for the site to load. That's when the guitar solo kicks in: http://www.evangelcathedral.net/
Becky
Tuesday, 15 February 2011
Black Swan, Good Hair and things to do this week
Hello,
How are you? What've you been up to lately? Have you changed your hair? I like it!
Here's some things we've been up to lately:
- Bird watching - we've got lots of little blue tits, great tits, blackbirds & robins fluttering around in our garden, along with a big fat squirrel that keeps eating all their seeds!
- Getting ready for the awesome new Fists release on Hello Thor records (details in previous post)
- Going to the auctions (it's a different world)
- Making more things on my sewing machine (tea cosies & placemats are my latest adventures)
- Practising for Jumpers for Goalposts (scroll down for more info)
- Going to Just The Tonic (only once, saw Paul Foot & thought he was really very funny)
AND...
- Watching loads of films & TV - round-up & recommends here:
Misfits - If you haven't got into this TV series yet then DO. It's funny, rude, a bit gory, endearing and exciting. About a bunch of asbo kids who get magic powers from a storm. That does it no justice. *RECOMMENDED*
Going The Distance - Anders will tell me off for adding this to my list, but I enjoyed it. If you're a fan of the romcom this strays slightly away from the usual format (by just being a bit less lame and having characters you're a bit more likely to want to be friends with) - e.g. Drew Barrymore is the main character and she's not a control freak like every other female in rom-com land. I liked it.
Black Swan - I still don't know how I feel about this film 2 weeks after seeing it and I'm still talking to people about it. That seems pretty good to me. However, I found it a bit annoying, over-blown and trashy too. It's hard to pigeonhole and hard to describe without giving anything important away. My enjoyment of it was shared 50-50 with annoyance, so this isn't a glowing recommendation from that point of view. I would however still say you should watch it, if only because it will keep you talking. *RECOMMENDED*
Beetlejuice - I am aware that I'm the last person in the world to see this film, but isn't it fun?! I love the bit where they all do a dance around the dining table and I bet that was awesome to film. Plus it has the woman in from all the Christopher Guest films. Love her.
30 Rock - We went for a marathon of the latest series at Bones' house and it was AWESOME. If you've never seen it then it's about Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) who is head writer on a SNL-type of show in America. It's also got Alec Baldwin in and he is hilarious. It's got a really high gag-rate, you care about the characters but it never tries to make you cry and Anders hearts Tina Fey. Watch it from the start, it will be a pleasure and a joy. **RECOMMENDED** (Big time!)
The Baader Meinhof film (I'm getting the name a bit wrong there) - This is often on those "films you should watch" lists, but I wasn't really feeling it that much. It's about a terrorist group in Germany in the 60's and is a bit confusing if you don't know anything about the situation (me) before you watch it. Interesting, some good performances and nice to see a mix of real-life footage and drama, but overall left me a bit cold.
Good Hair - This is the Chris Rock documentary about black hair. It's absolutely fascinating, a peek into a world I knew very little about. AND there is a hair styling contest. It's worth watching for that alone. One of the stylists entered before and her theme was "brokefront mountain" (no I don't get it either) and there was an awful video she made of her and some women dressed in cowgirl outfits with a bit of hay. It made NO sense and her entry in this documentary is even more random. A thoroughly enjoyable film, well-presented, good structure, interesting and funny in places. **RECOMMENDED**
So, that's what we've been up to.
Now on to what's coming up this week:
1 - Jumpers for Goalposts - Thursday @ Alley Cafe, FREE
This is a monthly event we run where you can come, hang out with your friends, hear a bit of music (usually just 1 band will play a few songs) and make something shit out of plasticine and pritt stick and straws. We call that part the Creative Competition and there are mega prizes involved. It's also very hard-fought and sometimes people create actual amazing things, not just rubbish penis-related puns!!
Anyway, this month we are doing something a little bit different. In place of our usual (talented) musical act YOU will be the band. Come and join in as we create an intergalactic jam session on tiny instruments. No musical talent needed (phew!), jsut enthusiasm and a willingness to have a go on a kazoo (no euphemism). We'll be playing a very exciting special TV theme tune... if we can all learn it quickly enough over the night to make our final performance a success then we will film it and share our talent with the world!
2 - Record Breakers - Saturday @ the Arts Theatre, £10 in advance
This is a huge gig organised by Denizen Records which features some of the best musical acts Nottingham has to offer, all together on one stage. Come along to see the likes of Yunioshi, Kogumaza, Dearest, Swimming, Hhymn & Fists ply their trade in this gorgeous venue. There are Late Of The Pier DJ's and apparently a world-record attempt too! You can get £10 tickets, or even get a cheap group booking deal from http://www.hellothor.com/.
what a lot of stuff. I'm tired now. See you thursday or saturday or both!
Bex
x
How are you? What've you been up to lately? Have you changed your hair? I like it!
Here's some things we've been up to lately:
- Bird watching - we've got lots of little blue tits, great tits, blackbirds & robins fluttering around in our garden, along with a big fat squirrel that keeps eating all their seeds!
- Getting ready for the awesome new Fists release on Hello Thor records (details in previous post)
- Going to the auctions (it's a different world)
- Making more things on my sewing machine (tea cosies & placemats are my latest adventures)
- Practising for Jumpers for Goalposts (scroll down for more info)
- Going to Just The Tonic (only once, saw Paul Foot & thought he was really very funny)
AND...
- Watching loads of films & TV - round-up & recommends here:
Misfits - If you haven't got into this TV series yet then DO. It's funny, rude, a bit gory, endearing and exciting. About a bunch of asbo kids who get magic powers from a storm. That does it no justice. *RECOMMENDED*
Going The Distance - Anders will tell me off for adding this to my list, but I enjoyed it. If you're a fan of the romcom this strays slightly away from the usual format (by just being a bit less lame and having characters you're a bit more likely to want to be friends with) - e.g. Drew Barrymore is the main character and she's not a control freak like every other female in rom-com land. I liked it.
Black Swan - I still don't know how I feel about this film 2 weeks after seeing it and I'm still talking to people about it. That seems pretty good to me. However, I found it a bit annoying, over-blown and trashy too. It's hard to pigeonhole and hard to describe without giving anything important away. My enjoyment of it was shared 50-50 with annoyance, so this isn't a glowing recommendation from that point of view. I would however still say you should watch it, if only because it will keep you talking. *RECOMMENDED*
Beetlejuice - I am aware that I'm the last person in the world to see this film, but isn't it fun?! I love the bit where they all do a dance around the dining table and I bet that was awesome to film. Plus it has the woman in from all the Christopher Guest films. Love her.
30 Rock - We went for a marathon of the latest series at Bones' house and it was AWESOME. If you've never seen it then it's about Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) who is head writer on a SNL-type of show in America. It's also got Alec Baldwin in and he is hilarious. It's got a really high gag-rate, you care about the characters but it never tries to make you cry and Anders hearts Tina Fey. Watch it from the start, it will be a pleasure and a joy. **RECOMMENDED** (Big time!)
The Baader Meinhof film (I'm getting the name a bit wrong there) - This is often on those "films you should watch" lists, but I wasn't really feeling it that much. It's about a terrorist group in Germany in the 60's and is a bit confusing if you don't know anything about the situation (me) before you watch it. Interesting, some good performances and nice to see a mix of real-life footage and drama, but overall left me a bit cold.
Good Hair - This is the Chris Rock documentary about black hair. It's absolutely fascinating, a peek into a world I knew very little about. AND there is a hair styling contest. It's worth watching for that alone. One of the stylists entered before and her theme was "brokefront mountain" (no I don't get it either) and there was an awful video she made of her and some women dressed in cowgirl outfits with a bit of hay. It made NO sense and her entry in this documentary is even more random. A thoroughly enjoyable film, well-presented, good structure, interesting and funny in places. **RECOMMENDED**
So, that's what we've been up to.
Now on to what's coming up this week:
1 - Jumpers for Goalposts - Thursday @ Alley Cafe, FREE
This is a monthly event we run where you can come, hang out with your friends, hear a bit of music (usually just 1 band will play a few songs) and make something shit out of plasticine and pritt stick and straws. We call that part the Creative Competition and there are mega prizes involved. It's also very hard-fought and sometimes people create actual amazing things, not just rubbish penis-related puns!!
Anyway, this month we are doing something a little bit different. In place of our usual (talented) musical act YOU will be the band. Come and join in as we create an intergalactic jam session on tiny instruments. No musical talent needed (phew!), jsut enthusiasm and a willingness to have a go on a kazoo (no euphemism). We'll be playing a very exciting special TV theme tune... if we can all learn it quickly enough over the night to make our final performance a success then we will film it and share our talent with the world!
2 - Record Breakers - Saturday @ the Arts Theatre, £10 in advance
This is a huge gig organised by Denizen Records which features some of the best musical acts Nottingham has to offer, all together on one stage. Come along to see the likes of Yunioshi, Kogumaza, Dearest, Swimming, Hhymn & Fists ply their trade in this gorgeous venue. There are Late Of The Pier DJ's and apparently a world-record attempt too! You can get £10 tickets, or even get a cheap group booking deal from http://www.hellothor.com/.
what a lot of stuff. I'm tired now. See you thursday or saturday or both!
Bex
x
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