Busy weekend in Brighton

I've got a busy weekend coming up with some festive fun sandwiched in between seeing two very funny men.

It all kicks off on Friday night when I'm going to see Eddie Izzard live at the Brighton Centre and while I've been a fan of his for ages this will be the first time I'm seen him live. Ooo and I've just realised that this is the perfect excuse to show one of my favourite YouTube clips:



Anyway back to Brighton! On Saturday I'll be having a mosey round some of the Artists Open Houses and my first stop will be to Ourhouse near Brighton Station as my friend will be displaying some of her stuff there as one half of Yukka & Stamp.
With about 75 houses opening their doors to visitors the festival is a great way to find an unusual Christmas present for someone including these cute Christmas Creatures by Mibo who will be at 33 Coventry Street:


After looking at the Artists Open Houses we'll be popping down to New Road for the Christmas Crackers Market to have a look at the variety of festive stalls selling hot food, produce and gifts. I'll probably end up staying a while as they will also be serving mulled Pimms and Baileys (I'm assuming as separate drinks as I can't imagine they'd be very nice mixed together!) There will also be traditional carol singers and the day will end with the switching on of the Theatre Royal's Christmas Lights.

Finally on Monday night (ok not the weekend but it's not far off!) I'll be going to Brighton Dome to see Rob Brydon. Clearly the organisers had heard that I was disappointed to miss out on seeing the show when he was here at the beginning of the year so they've brought him back down just for me :)

Charlotte

Rodrigo y Gabriela

Oh this is a terribly tenuous Brighton link but I haven't been this musically inspired for years and I really want to pass it on.

Rodrigo y Gabriela played at Brighton Dome back in 2006 (that's the terribly tenuous Brighton link!), but as I'd never heard of them then the gig unfortunately passed me by.

It wasn't until last year that I came across these 2 Mexican guitarists on a Latin album and was instantly blown away. Rodrigo y Gabriela are an instrumental acoustic duo whose playing is very hard to categorise. Doing so kind of shoe horns them in to something that simply doesn't do them justice. But if I tried I'd say heavy metal inspired riffs on an acoustic guitar with a percussive backing - but all done on 2 guitars. See - enough to put anyone off!

I went to see them play live at Hammermith Apollo last night and the atmosphere was one of the most electric I have ever experienced at a live gig. Even better than Salt-n-Pepa supporting Madge in the mid 80s. (That was a joke.) I doubt they will ever come back to Brighton as although they are not well known by today's music industry standards, they can easily sell out somewhere like the Hammersmith Apollo, but if you get a chance see them live - their talent and sheer passion and originality is quite mind blowing.

Check them out on You Tube below - even if guitars aren't your thing - they really are something else. How DOES she get those percussive sounds out of that guitar! Love it.

Brighton firsts

Scanning through the news pages today I picked up on two Brighton inventions or firsts and I think you'll agree that the phrase from the sublime to the ridiculous as never been more apt!

The first piece which caught my eye was from the Guardian about Geoff Smith a Brighton based composer and performer who has reinvented the piano. Rather than being fixed to 88 notes from 88 keys the fluid piano has sliders so that different scales can be accessed and there is also a horizontal harp on the top of the piano for even more options.

The next first from Brighton today comes from Fay Miller a wedding cake specialist who now sells Divorce cakes. Apparently there is a growing trend for divorce parties and so Fay spotted a gap in the market for specialist cakes. You probably won't be surprised to hear that the idea for Divorce parties originated from America!

I guess if nothing else the two stories help to show the diversity of what Brighton has to offer from high-end culture to fun and frivolity :)

Charlotte

Christmas in Brighton

Well we can no longer deny that Christmas is well and truly on its way proven by the fact that the Brighton Christmas lights will be switched on this evening. The fun kicks off at 5pm in East Street with the Heart FM DJs playing music and announcing competitions with lots of lovely prizes.

The lights will be switched on at 6pm with a special appearance from the stars of this year's Theatre Royal pantomime - Peter Pan and Captain Hook. Of course Santa and his helpers will also be there although watch out for Silas the Ghostwalker! And after all the festive fun the shops will be staying open late so that you can get cracking on your Christmas shopping.

But if you are still looking for Christmas present ideas or if you feel you deserve a treat yourself then you'll be delighted to hear that this weekend is MADE 09 - Brighton's Design & Craft Fair.

The fair will be on from Friday - Sunday at the Corn Exchange and tickets are just £5 per person with children under 14 getting in for free! From intricate glassware to vibrant knitted textiles, elegant ceramics to dazzling jewellery, there is something for everyone and every pocket as work is priced between £20 and £1500.

For further tips on how to make the most of the build up to Christmas in Brighton then check out the new section on the website which includes our Advent Event (AdEvent?) Calendar which lists an event for every day of December and do make sure you check each one as there are some fab competitions in there as well!

Charlotte

Meet the camp crusaders...

She's the most beautiful superhero you'll ever see - but don't let those sultry looks deceive you - she's packs a mean punch in a fight and has many deep, dark secrets. Meet DIVA - a member of the first ever gay superhero team.

Or if Diva doesn't quite do it for you - you can always try Glitter, Mr Muscles, Butch, Prowler, Indigo or Liberty (the leader and first ever transvestite superhero thank you)

World's first all gay superhero team!
Pff to Superman and Spidey - move over darlings and make way for the mighty Spandex - the world's first all gay superhero team.

And what's even more exciting is that their crime headquarters is right here in Brighton...Exciting but maybe not surprising...

Spandex is the brand new comic book series by artist Martin Eden, who wanted to do something never done before. It follows the exploits of glamorous transvestite Liberty and her team as they battle the evil doings of the like of the Pink Ninjas. (yes the baddies are all gay too).

The first issue introduces the characters and their Brighton headquarters and is available at selected comic stores and at www.spandexcomic.com.

Apparently Indigo has her very own Indigo Room full of deadly weapons and er costume changes.

Looks great fun and I think I may try and get my hands on one at lunch...!

Happy superheroeing - oh, I mean gay superheroing.

Sarah
VisitBrighton

Joogleberry returns

It's time for us to hand over to another guest blogger....

Hi Folks, Sue Popper here, I set up and ran Joogleberry Playhouse, an entertainment venue in Brighton which attracted the likes of Amy Winehouse, Newton Faulkner and the Kooks to its stage as well as the cream of Brighton’s talent. People loved Joogleberry for its great service and atmosphere along with the handpicked programme, and in 2006 this was recognised with a prestigious award for being the Best Venue to Entertain your Clients at the BAHBAs.

In 2007 I sold the venue but kept the name and after my trip to incredible India I returned to Brighton to set up a music and entertainment agency called Joogleberry Acts featuring great artists who performed at my venue as well as others I personally recommend.


Joogleberry Acts now brings entertainment to all kinds of events from private parties and weddings to corporate events, award ceremonies, venues and festivals across the country, and anyone with a desire for interesting, high quality recommendations provided by the Joogleberry brand.

Have a look at some of the acts: www.joogleberry.com/acts/music

It was hard to leave the venue I’d started from scratch and put my heart and soul into but it was also extremely liberating! Now I can concentrate on the areas of expertise I most enjoy, work with acts that would have never been possible with the restrictions of the old venue and take my artists to new heights.

It’s like a planet exploding with shooting stars cascading in every direction. Now Joogleberry is entirely free of limitations and I can share my wonderful performers and special Joogleberry energy with everyone! And really, wouldn’t it have been selfish to keep all those amazing acts in just one place?

For your first taste of the new mobile Joogleberry why not come to the launch of our first showcase event at the Brunswick, Hove on Thursday 19 November ~ Joogleberry’s Got Soul!

Email me for ticket information and whenever you want some help with your entertainment needs.

Back to you soon people,

Jooglelove

Sue Popper
07930 160737
sue@joogleberry.com
www.joogleberry.com
www.twitter.com/joogleberry
www.facebook.com/joogleberry

Nikky French wins musical mash up

You may remember my post re Brighton musical mash up maestro Nikky French recently, who was number 3 in a shortlist of musicians to win a competition to create a mash up using nothing but the sounds of the Hyundai i30 .

Well guess what - he won!

Nikky's entry received a whopping 11,725 of the 43, 731 votes, securing him top spot.

In fact Nikky has gained somewhat of a cult following for his car creativity as well as becoming some what of a local celebrity in the Hanover area of Brighton since entering the contest.

Brighton is famous for its thriving music scene, many of whom got right behind Nikky with their support.

Lucky old Nikky has a won a brand new Hyundai i30 for his efforts, which is rather cool as apparently he's never owned a car before.

So if you hear a Hyundai car door slam it could be Nikky. If you ask nicely maybe he'll treat to you a live mash up...

30beats is a homage to everything mechanical, making music with a sample pack of beats to integrate into your very own musical masterpiece. The sample pack is still available to download for anyone that has not had a go making their own mechanical mash-up yet.

Here's Nikki's winning mash up:



Sarah
VisitBrighton

Brighton Firework Displays

Well by now we should have just about recovered from all the Halloween festivities but don't get too relaxed as we now have Bonfire night to look forward too!

On Thursday night head over to the Sussex County Cricket Ground in Hove for the Brighton Lions Firework Display which has been named as one of the Top 10 displays by The Times. There will be fast food outlets and Muller Wine will be on sale to keep you warm in between the oo's and the ah's.

And as Bonfire Night is on a Thursday why not treat yourself and stay in Brighton for the weekend?

That way firework fans can also see the display at the Neville Recreation Ground as well as enjoying all the other things happening in the city over the weekend including:

• Knitting Month at Hove Museum,
• Our Man in Havana at the Theatre Royal Brighton,
• Krater Comedy Club at Komedia
  
• The Brighton Marina Christmas Market.

Charlotte

Singers needed for Lucky Voice Brighton's Charioke Marathon!

Today I'm going to hand you over to Stuart Waterman to tell you what it's like to work for Lucky Voice:

One of the first questions people ask when you tell them you work at Lucky Voice is: “Do you just sing all day?”

Unfortunately this isn’t quite the case, although we do start each Monday at our London HQ with an office sing before the morning meeting. We do four songs (they have to be different every week) using our streaming karaoke service Lucky Voice Home, and then it’s onto the business of business.

People seem to respond to Lucky Voice’s brand of singing because it’s not about how good a singer you are, or how amazing your taste in music is – it’s about relishing that great feeling of singing your heart out with friends.

Group singing is nothing new, of course. It’s something that has been done for as long as humans have had voices, and it’s why hearing a football crowd singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” never fails to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

When we were looking for a new venue outside of London, Brighton was the obvious choice. People in Brighton know how to have a good time, and as the bar’s success has shown, they also clearly love to sing. It launched in June and offers something a little different to most other nightlife establishments in the area.

With high-quality cocktails, plush booths and easy-as-pie touchscreens for creating your ideal karaoke playlist, it’s a place to shake off the working week in luxury with your mates.



Singing enthusiasts will have an opportunity to spend a whole ten hours at Lucky Voice Brighton on Monday 9^th November, when we host our first Charioke Marathon. It runs from 1pm to 11pm, with participants raising money for their chosen charity beforehand using JustGiving.com – like this Diana Ross fan!

It’s being organised by Refugee Action and has attracted teams singing for charities including Serenity Foundation, Terrence Higgins Trust and Children of the Andes.

Prizes will be given out on the day to singers who excel in individual categories – e.g. “Best Power Ballad Rendition” - and have been donated by Firebox.com, ASOS.com, Lush, EMI and American Apparel among others.

However - we need more singers! So if you’d like to take part and do some good while feeling hella good, email Refugee Action’s organiser extraordinaire Esme at esmep@refugee-action.org.uk! Lucky Voice will be providing free throat-soothing soft drinks all day, so if you Just Can’t Get Enough of free karaoke it’s time get involved!