Culture Diary w/c 22-10-2012
Monday – Dig! 6.30pm @ FACT
Winner of the Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, Dig! is the real life story of friendship and professional rivalry between Portland bands The Dandy Warhols and the Brian Jonestown Massacre. Filmmaker Ondi Timoner set out wanting to explore the scene and ended up with one of the best music docs ever committed to film. Full preview…
Tuesday – The Bent Moustache 8pm @ Sound Food & Drink
No, we hadn’t heard of The Bent Moustache either, but you may well have seen their frontman Ajay Saggar at ATP or a Kurt Vile gig before now, doing the live mixing. He’s done the same for The Fall and on tracks like Hey Mate (I’ve Got Plenty To Spare), it’s clear it was more than just an earner, so obvious is the influence. But elsewhere, The Bent Moustache are very much their own band. Check them out for yourself this Tuesday.
Thursday – Euros Childs 7.30pm @ Studio 2 Parr Street £8
In the mists of the past, there was a thriving annexe of Britpop exploding out of Wales. Super Furry Animals and Cerys Matthews’s Catatonia probably claimed most column inches in the NME and Melody Maker, but not far behind were Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, led by Euros Childs. Their winning blend of up-beat psyche pop added much to the aural landscape of the time, and while they split in 2006 Childs never really went away. Touring new (ish) record, Summer Special, he’s the perfect antidote to the onset of Autumn.
Friday - Random Acts: Artist Interventions into Broadcast 11am – 5pm @ FACT
This day of talks and performance celebrates the first birthday of Channel 4′s short-form daily arts strand, Random Acts. Speakers include founder of (new media collective) Ant Farm Chip Lord, and artist Marisa Olson, while performances from Jeremy Bailey and IKAST Project add to the day’s appeal.
Saturday – Two Gallants 8pm @ Leaf £12.50
Two Gallants, the San Franciscan two-piece land in Liverpool for the first time in five years, and the same amount of time has elapsed since their last (self-titled) album. Their return, accompanied by new record, The Bloom and the Blight will be a sight and sound for sore eyes and ears. Particularly bearing in mind the more than favourable reviews for said album: “Their fourth LP is heavy with muscular cowpunk riffs that conjure up a meaty, moody vision of North America”, said the NME.
Sunday – Turner Monet Twombly @ Tate Liverpool £12/concessions
It was fair to conclude, when this exhibition was announced, that quality would be guaranteed. The expression ‘shooting fish in a barrel’ springs to mind. But that says nothing of the thought that was required in curating the works: it amounts to nothing less than a labour of love, the three retrospectively bound together by fascinations and preoccupations echoing throughout the ages and their works alike; this week is your last opportunity to get along and see it. Read our interview with exhibition curator Jeremy Lewison.
Biennial Picks
Wednesday – The Wildness 6.30pm @ FACT £5 (£4 members/concessions)
Directed by Wu Tsang, Wildness is a portrait of the Silver Platter, the iconic LGBT-friendly bar on the eastside of LA catering to the Latin community of the 60s. The screening is followed by a Q & A with Wu Tsang and FACT curator, Omar Kholeif.
Thursday – UNSETTLE: The Pendle Witches 7pm Cafe Valise@ Metal, FREE, booking required
Described as a ‘unique audio-visual event evoking the alienating nature of the famous Pendle Witch Trials of 1612′, expect a night of spoken word, music and film at an historic location at Edge Hill Railway Station. Conceived in response to the 400th anniversary of the trials and hosted by the ever-excellent HIVE Collective and key instigator, artist and musician Sam Wiehl, we’re promised a brass composition originally performed in 1996 by the world famous Black Dyke Band.
