The Weekend Ahead in Brixton

Friday 18: It’s time to transport yourselves back to the 1970s with a little bit of funk from The Soul Immigrants, playing at Upstairs in the Ritzy for their ‘Around the Decades‘ night. 8.30pm, free, The Ritzy

Saturday 19: Another new market for Station Rd  – the monthly Retro and Vintage market starts today from 10am-5pm. Once you’ve got your glad rags sorted, head to Plan B for the Reggae Roast Jamdown session. Reggae Roast, Plan b, from 9pm, £8 Advance and £10 on the door. 

Sunday 20: A perfect autumnal Sunday in Brixton = brunch at The Lido Cafe, a walk to the top of the hill in Brockwell Park for views of the City, and – after a big Sunday lunch – catching the highly recommended film, ‘Weekend’, at The Ritzy at 9.15pm.

OxJam Brixton 2011

It’s OxJam Brixton today. The festival is taking over four venues – The Windmill, Dog Star, Plan B and Upstairs at The Ritzy – with up to 30 acts including drum ‘n’ bass DJs Logistics, the Work It! DJ team and the BAC Beatbox Academy with performance poet MC Angel.

They aim to raise £6000 for Oxfam with the money from the tickets, costing £10 each for a day pass. Here’s what you can see for a tenner:
PLAN B (6pm-Midnight)

Nu:tone B2B Logistics ft. SP:MC
Ayah Marar
Drop/ Dead
Somethink Sounds
DJ Strago

THE DOGSTAR (3pm – Midnight)

Work It! DJs
The Stow
Wara
The Great Malarkey
Electrixcity
Vibeadeliks
Jack Leon Colton
Hejira
Colomboloco
BAC Beatbox Academy ft. Deanna Rogers and Paul Cree

THE WINDMILL (3pm-11pm)

Kay Suzuki
Beaty Heart
Lo-Fi
Spectre Spector
A Sweet Niche
Soccer 96
Stinger
Little Big Noise
Zoe Konez
Mercy Alexander

UPSTAIRS AT THE RITZY (7pm-11pm)

Russell Swallow & The Wolf
I Am A Pilot
Jon Nickoll
Grace Banks
We Are Goose
Tim Lacy

Brixton Bank Holiday Weekend

Saturday:

A perfect, active start to the weekend – get your fingernails dirty at the Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses (tip from @BrixtonBugle).

And then, if a month of rioting, rain and recession have got too much for you, lose yourself in the 1990s at The Windmill’s first annual ‘Retrospectacular‘. Bands will be performing their favourite albums from the year 1991 only (next year it’ll be 1992). That means covers of both Nirvana and Madonna…  The Windmill, Brixton, 4pm onwards, £5

Sunday:

John Brown and Friends are performing live folk music by Brockwell Hall in Brockwell Park from 2-6pm (tip from @Emmanusquelle). Or spend the day out west at Notting Hill Carnival (Sunday is usually the quieter day to go) and then come back to Brixton all fired up for the Deadly Rhythm Carnival After Party at Plan B. David Rodigan is heading the bill. Plan B Brixton, 10pm onwards, £10 

Monday:

There are four showings of Almodovar’s ‘The Skin I Live In‘ at The Ritzy today – try to catch one. And you could even grab a quick pint afterwards at the newly refurbished Trinity Arms (tip from @loveiseveryone).

The Brixton Week Ahead

Brixton Blog is on holiday this week but you lucky things can enjoy lesbian speed dating, art in Dulwich, record-breaking performances at the Ritzy and lots of live music.

Monday 4: For ‘ladies who love ladies’, the Ritzy is hosting ‘Chicks on Speed‘, a lesbian speed dating event in the Upstairs bar with live DJs and a ‘sexy host’. From 7pm, Ritzy Upstairs

Tuesday 5: OK, it’s not Brixton. But if you have time on a weekday, then hop on the P4 bus to the Twombly and Poussin exhibition at the Dulwich Picture Gallery. Seventeenth century French painter Nicholas Poussin is exhibited here next to 20th century Cy Twombly to draw new comparisons between the two artists.

Thursday 6: The Prince Albert is putting on an Open Mic night from 9pm and after that head to the Offline Live Music Special at Plan b, featuring Brixton musician Morton Valence, the Lost Cavalry and DJs.

Saturday 7: In honour of its centenary, the Ritzy is attempting to break a world record by putting on 100 performances of live music, comedy, dance and spoken word  all in one day. You can buy tickets for the charity event for the two halves of the day – before 5pm or after 5pm. There’ll be an all-day BBQ and acts include Nina Conti and Levi Roots. See here for the full list.

Weekend Ahead in Brixton

Friday: A new gallery is opening today on the Camberwell/Brixton border, just off Coldharbour Lane. It’s called Coldharbour London, it’s in a beautiful warehouse space and it’s very ‘Shoreditch’. In this opening exhibition, ‘Illumination’, five contemporary artists play with ideas of light. Most beautiful is ‘Twins’ by Lawrence Lek.

Update: A few of you on Twitter have also been recommending the return of the Sambalanca night at Living Bar – disco, dub, Afro, and Tropical rythms from these Camberwell DJs. Free before 11pm, £3 after.

Saturday: Fat Freddy’s Drop are playing at the Brixton Academy and Reggae Roast – a new London reggae collective – are hosting the after party at Plan B. Plan B, Brixton Rd. Free before 11pm, £5 after.

Sunday: It’s the Brixton Farmers’ Market on Station Rd until roughly 1pm – Dulwich bakery Coco are joining the traders from this Sunday, selling cakes with ‘floral’ flavours such as elderflower and rose. In the evening, Simo Lagnawi is playing traditional Moroccan Gnawa music at Ritzy Upstairs.

Brixton Bank Holiday Weekend

How to spend your entire bank holiday weekend in Brixton:

Friday 27 and Saturday 28: Two of the world’s top hip-hop producers, Just Blaze and The Alchemist, go head to head at Plan B for two nights running. Just Blaze vs The Alchemist Soundclash, £12 advance tickets, 10pm-4am, Plan B.

And over at Coldharbour Lane, Living Bar is re-opening with a launch night that includes new resident DJs Maxi Jazz of Faithless and Rob Birch from Stereo MCs.

Saturday 28: After a night’s partying, try a more relaxing workout at the new ‘Tai Chi in the Park‘ classes from 11am-12pm. Strength-building and energy-giving tai chi for all abilities – outside in Brockwell Park AND for free.  Classes will be taking place May 28th, June 4th, June 11th, June 18th and June 25th. Map and details on the website.

Sunday 29: Levi Roots is hosting the Lazy Sunday festival in Brockwell Park. Expect Caribbean music, steel bands and cookery demonstrations. And Reggae Reggae Sauce.

Monday 30: I love bank holidays because it means another day to spend wandering around Brixton Market – see here for top food shop tips. If you’re feeling daring later on, show off your singing, dancing or joke-telling skills at the Ritzy’s monthly Open Mic Night.

The Brixton Week Ahead

Tuesday 17: The Lambeth Readers’ and Writers’ Festival is taking place this week. At tonight’s event, Ian Smith talks about his new biography of Edward Whymper, a mountaineering hero who completed the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865, aged just 25. Shadow of the Matterhorn: The lIfe of Edward Whymper with Ian Smith, 7pm, Minet Library.

Thursday 19: Photofusion is hosting its first ever ‘Slideshow Slam!’ – an evening event for members and the interested public. There’ll be slideshows of work by Photofusion members such as Robert Hackman and Krystina Stimakovits plus music and a cheap bar. For photographers and photography fans alike.

Friday 20: It’s the Readers’ and Writers’ festival again –  Lambeth Libraries have put together a Women Writers’ Panel with authors Chris Manby, Lotte Daley, Gillian Hudson and Helen Smith. They’ll discuss chick lit and more. Women writers’ panel, 7pm, Brixton Library.

And the weekly Bump! night at Plan b features Xploder and Kiss FM DJ, DJ Swerve. But will it live up to David Rodigan’s fantastic Bump! appearance last week?

Saturday 21: As part of their campaign to stop cuts to public services, Lambeth Save Our Services has called a ‘People’s Assembly’ at the Town Hall from 12-4pm – ‘a festival of resistance and an organising centre to…plan for action’. There will be workshops, music and speeches. Speakers include Ted Knight (the former Lambeth Council leader), UK Uncut, and John McDonnell MP.

Sunday 22: Try out Kizomba dancing – an Angolan dance genre –  at the beginners class at El Penol club on Brixton Rd from 6pm. You’re encouraged to stay on at the club night afterwards to practice your moves.6pm-6.45pm at El Penol, 382-384 Brixton Rd. 

The Weekend Ahead in Brixton

Now all the fuss is over and the Sarah Burton dress has been revealed, we can get on with the rest of the weekend. Here’s what’s in store:

Tonight: The Come Dine With Me Royal Wedding Special at 8pm tonight gets contestants to host themed street parties – one of them is Vincent from Brixton and he’s hosting a mock-Martinique wedding party ‘with his guests expected to cross dress’. The party was actually filmed some weeks ago of course.

If you fancy something a little more exciting, Plan B is holding their ‘Bump!’ club night with electro/Italo disco duo Heartbreak.

Saturday: Wim Wenders’ 3D film about the modern-dance choreographer Pina Bausch, ‘Pina’, is showing at The Ritzy at 15.20, 18.10 and 21.30. It looks GREAT.

Monday: The Brixton Windmill is re-opening – join the procession from Windrush Square at 2pm, processing up the hill to the Windmill itself for the opening ceremony with Chuka Umunna and a ‘guest celebrity’ at 3pm.

The Brixton Week Ahead

A brass band welcomed the first swimmers of the season at the Lido

 

Saturday 2: The Windmill is hosting electro-pop band Bearsuit, while Upstairs at the Ritzy has BBC 1Xtra’s DJ Edu playing ‘old skool beats’ for Back and Forth (A Night of Pure Old Skool).

Sunday 3: Take advantage of free swimming at The Lido this weekend – but will not paying offset the cold? Brrr. To warm up, there’s free jazz in the evening at The White Horse.

Wednesday 6: This looks like lots of fun – a night of entertainment at The Dogstar with Heart and Lung Unit. There’ll be storytelling, comedy and live music from contributors such as Brixton novelist Alex Wheatle, singer-songwriter Marc Picton and comedian Chris Dangerfield. All for only £3. You can read a review of the last event here.

Friday 8: It’s Faithless‘ last ever concert and they’ve chosen Brixton Academy for the final goodbye. The gig is even going to be broadcast live at cinemas across the UK, although not at the Ritzy.

Saturday 9: Help the dedicated ‘Friends of Brixton Windmill‘ plant the herb garden at the Windmill, 10.30am-12.30pm, in time for the re-opening of the windmill on 2 May. No experience needed and equipment provided. Read their wonderful blog here.

Every Saturday, Plan B holds the Community night as a platform for ‘innovative house, techno, disco and other forms of electronics’. Tonight it’s the Residents Party, dedicated to those who have a long-term association with South London. Headlining are Foolish Felix and rising Camberwell star Kid Who?. And you can get on a £3 guestlist if you email brixton@planbgroup.co.uk with a list of names and the subject ‘Brixton Blog guestlist’.

New Year’s Day fun

Lost for how to fill the first day of the year? Here are some Brixton-based ideas:

– The Ritzy is screening ‘The Hangover’ at 2pm especially for New Year’s Day . This is actually a good film.

– FOOD. If the Market’s open, get to Nour Cash and Carry and buy the goods to cook up a feast. Or just grab some plantain, jerk chicken and curry from Take Two.

– A walk in Brockwell Park. Or a swim at the Brixton Rec, in preparation for Brockwell Lido’s outdoor swim (brrr) on 8 January.

– For those who saved themselves for partying on New Years’ Day (gah), Plan B is hosting the afterparty for the Together 10th anniversary, with two rooms of electro-bass, breaks and house including the Stanton Warriors and Jurassik. And Brixton Jamm is hosting an all-day event – the Kerfuffle New Years Day/Wiggle After Party.