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Weekend Guide

Welcome back, all you wonderful UJ readers, to our first Weekend Guide of '09! In response to feedback, we've slightly streamlined the new Guide to make it an even more digestible oasis of pre-weekend escapism - but, with everything from pop-up shops to camp-disco soup, free-floating art to a Tiki-tinged anniversary, we're still bringing you the finest selection of distractions to keep you occupied over the weekend. As ever, if you have any opinions or suggestions, do please drop us a line.

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This weekend's picks: Sign up to receive your daily fix automatically

FRI NIGO AT DSM SAT CARMINA BURANA SUN FAUST

FRIDAY

djA Bathing Ape Book Signing
Before A Bathing Ape-founder, Nigo, opens his popup space in the DSM basement this Saturday with Jun Takahashi, the man himself will be signing copies of BAPE's 15th anniversary retrospective tome, made up of 368 pages detailing its design history and celebrity clientele. With only 100 available, and flocks of fans expected to be flying in, we suggest getting there early for a piece of fashion history.

 

Time:
7pm
Place:
Dover Street Market, 17-18 Dover Street, W1S 4LT
Cost:
£30
Info:
doverstreetmarket.com

MusicS*O*U*P
With Circus now firmly relocated to Shoreditch High Street, and Bistrotheque's marvellous Bourgeois and Maurice nights camper and wittier than ever, it's only right that (Disco Bloodbath's) Dan Beaumont's deliciously messy night is becoming such a slot on the East London radar. Set in that most delightfully random iniquitous den, expect the Star to be veritably plump with revellers as the Italo-disco seeps joyously out of their beautiful, gay, fluoro- flecked ears.

 

Time:
5pm-2am
Place:
Star of Bethnal Green, 359 Bethnal Green Road, E2 6LG
Cost:
Free
Info:
starofbethnalgreen.com
SHOP

We Love Sprouse
Following on from his debut collaboration with Steven Sprouse in 2001, Marc Jacobs has taken the Louis Vuitton label to new, day-glo graffiti heights in a tribute to the now deceased New York artist with a capsule collection of Sprouse/LV items adorned with signature graffiti and rose prints. In store today.

Info:
welovesprouse.com
COMP
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SATURDAY

artNasser Azam: Life In Space
I'm often in another space: my mischievous mind conjuring exotic, far-away places - like Acapulco or my bed - while my body is locked elsewhere in less delightful tasks. Perhaps it's time to take a lesson from Nasser Azam, who manages to conjoin mind and matter so perfectly. From his Bacon-inspired zero-gravity paintings to abstract representations of human form, it's hard not to get lost in the realms of physical and psychological liberation.


Time:
9.30am-5.30pm
Place:
County Hall Gallery, Riverside Building, County Hall, SE1 7PB
Cost:
Free
Info:
azam.com

This week's ORIGINAL pick: Carmina Burana
Taken from a medieval collection of poems, Carl Orff's cantata (a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, to you - yes, I Wiki'd it) is supposed to be sung alongside magical images, according to its protracted Latin moniker. So who better than Franz Abraham and the O2 Monumental Classics Series to give it its due with over 250 performers, an immense set, and fireworks. They didn't party like that at the round table, oh no.

Time:
6:30pm
Place:
The O2, Peninsula Square, SE10 0DX
Cost:
£30-£50.
Info:
theo2.co.uk
COMPETITION

Como Shambhala Rituals @ the Met
If you're still feeling a bit grotty post-New Year/last weekend, the ever-swanky Met hotel has the answer. Their new indulgent 'Como Shambhala Rituals' includes tea on arrival, holistic massage and facial, lunch or afternoon tea, and a gift set to take away. And because we want our subscribers to feel extra perky this weekend, we have a treatment session for you and a friend to give away. Tell us why you need the pampering to enter (click here).

Info:
metropolitan.como.bz
Shop
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SUNDAY

theatreFaust.2360 Words
Forget the serious portrayals of Dr. Faust and his doomed wish for endless knowledge that have come before. This diminutive Russian production literally blows them out of the water - with dirt, talcum powder, smoke, fire, and little men on strings, all backed by 2360 carefully chosen words presented as surtitles amongst echoey sound effects, fantastical dream images, and queer happenings. Almost worth selling your soul for. Almost.

 

Time:
8pm
Place:
ICA, The Mall, SW1Y 5AH
Cost:
£13.50
Info:
ica.org.uk

nightlifeHula Boogie! 6th Birthday
It's funny who we choose to revere; yes Chopin may be one of the great musical genius' of our time, but does a man who wore a beard on only one side of his face really deserve our adoration? Well, obviously. We say, in appreciation of such lunacy, don a half beard and head down to the concert marking 160 years since his last public appearance. The way you'll be looking, it might be yours too.

 

Time:
7pm-1am
Place:
South London Pacific, 240 Kennington Road, SE11 4LD
Cost:
£12
Info:
southlondonpacific.com
SEE

London Art Fair
The UK's largest showcase of modern British and International contemporary art is the perfect place to get an industrial-sized art-fix whilst learning a thing or two. Take in live performances, commissioned exhibitions, talks and tours whilst heeding the opportunity to nab an exclusive piece of art, particularly if you're feeling flush. Don't miss the Robotic Chair at Flowers: it'll mess with your mind.
Fri & Sat 11am-7pm, Sun 11am-5pm. Ends Sunday 18th

Info:
Details in UJ Agenda
hear
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EAT & DRINK

The Avalon
This new foodie boozer at the wrong end of Balham Hill kinda has to be good to make up for its less than inspiring location - there was even an abusive, screaming nutter at the bus stop outside the night we went which was almost a step too far, we decided, and must have been put there by one of the local competition in an aim to sabotage the place.

Luckily The Avalon feels very much a safe and stylish haven to retreat into, the bar being spacious and welcoming in a way we've come to expect from gastropubs, and the dining room one of the nicest I've stepped into in a long time. Dominated by two enormous chandeliers that look a bit like gilded oversize lobster pots but are in fact welded together from parts of a ship, the room manages to be both grand and cosy, thanks partly to the lighting which, hallelujah, they've got right (why do others find it so hard?), as well as a sweeping banquette and an antiquey-looking mirrored wall at one end.

At £13.50 the roast Wagyu beef with all the trimmings (a special that they're sticking with for now) is sure to prove a hit, and also worth trying are the wood pigeon starter and the coriander and hazlenut roast pears for pudding,

And you can get your picture taken with the screaming nutter on the way out.


Hours:
Mon-Thurs 11am-12am / Fri-Sat 11am-1am / Sun 12-10.30pm
Place:
16 Balham Hill, SW12 9EB
Cost:
£35
Web:
theavalonlondon.com
Book:
020 8675 8613
Weekend guide by AC, SH & MaM, food review by SL
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Reproductions of any portion of this website only with our express permission. Urban Junkies is a free daily mailer. All listings and features are editorial: We do not receive any payment from venues, artists or promoters. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of information listed but we cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions.