Urban Junkies London | Weekend Guide January 23-25

Deep poundings in Charterhouse and citywide whisky galore; pop birthday celebrations in Camden and neo-classic glamour in Shoreditch; crayon tossing in Bethnal Green and a silent revolution on the South Bank. 2009 has clearly found its legs. And damn do they look good.

This weekend's guide is brought to you in association with Net-a-Porter. And with London Fashion Week a mere stone's throw away, why not spring straight into the new season in style. Whether it's the dark arts of Givenchy, some uptown Oscar De La Renta, or a little Marc Jacobs arm candy that you're craving, the folks at Net-a-Porter have all the answers for the coming Spring.

FRIDAY

Nonsense In The Dark
The Filthy Dukes' infamous Kill 'Em All is apparently out to fill the old Charterhouse meat cellar with plenty to go bump in the dark to. Leading the main line-up alongside the likes of Joakim & The Discos and Brodinski, the Dukes will be met in the adjoining rooms by such emissaries of the Friday night foot-shuffle as Yuksek, Matt Walsh, Lou & Nova, and Durrr's Rory Phillips. Hardly nonsense.

Time:		10pm-6am
Place:		Fabric, 77a Charterhouse Street, EC1M 6DR
Cost:		£13
Info:		fabriclondon.com/

Bureau Burns Night
Putting their members-only policy on hold to celebrate all that is good and grand in Scottish tradition, Soho's smallest, most efficiently hidden members' bar, Bureau, invites you to a kilt-themed dress-up night of haggis canapés, homemade shortbread, and both cinematic and alcoholic Rob Roys alike from their impeccably well-manned cocktail trolley. Numbers are rather limited, mind, so act fast.

Time:		6:30pm-late
Place:		Bureau, 13 Kingly Court, W1B 5PW
Cost:		Free, but RSVP essential
Info:		bureauclub.com/

SHOP

Taschen Book Sale
With all that retro fetish photography amidst their collection, snapping up a 'slightly used' copy from the Taschen archive without a pair of gloves might be a little hygienically precarious. But, with ex-display copies form their vast library of coffee-table books - covering everything from international architecture to Audrey Hepburn, Paris to pants - going for 50-75% off, grab yourself some finger-protection and head on over!

Info:

Fri Jan 23 - Sun Jan 25

SATURDAY

This week's ORIGINAL pick: Be's 2nd Birthday
Packing out Camden's favourite venue with a cracking, just-edgy-enough line-up, week after week, can't be the easiest job in the world. And yet the Be brigade are still storming strong as they come into their 2nd birthday, celebrating the occasion with Wave Machines and Shock Defeat live, DJ sets from their regular bastions of new wave naughtiness and disco delight, and a special DJ spot from the Norwegian queen of cool pop, Annie.

Time:		8pm-2:30am
Place:		Proud Galleries, Stables Market, Chalk Farm Road, NW1 8AH
Cost:		£10, £5 before 9pm
Info:		be-at.co.uk

Shall We?
Pairing a young, exotic, buxom sitarist with a glam, six-pack-touting organist might sound like the premise for a contemporary feel-good chick-flick (or perhaps an avant-garde porn epic). And yet, the incomparable voice and musical talent of Bishi, together with the maverick organ-playing (your heads are truly gutter-bound now, aren't they you little filth-mongers) of the Grammy-nominated Cameron Carpenter should, in fact, yield a perfectly inimitable musical extravaganza.

Time:		7:30-10pm
Place:		St Leonard's Church, Shoreditch High Street, E1 6JN
Cost:		£6
Info:		bishi.co.uk/

BOOK AHEAD

Burns Night Whisky Tasting
Sure you could get yourself all raucous and merry with the young, part-time Scots around Shoreditch and Camden - all haggis-infused almost-punk moshing and cheap shots of mediocre whisky. Sounds appealing, no? Or you could just man up and book a spot on the Vinopolis tasting nights: six premium Scotches (including one of my personal favourites: a mahoossively smoky Caol Ila 12yo) followed by haggis, neeps, and tatties galore.

Info:

Thurs 22 Jan & Mon 26 Jan, 7pm
£49 - spaces limited, so book ASAP

SUNDAY

HungaMunga Burns Night
If you're looking for an excuse to push the Burns envelope even further after your expansive weekend of kilt-flapping faux Scottish accents and whisky quaffing/guzzling, then what finer reason can there be than the incredible unicycling bagpiper, Count Adriano de Bombast? Sure there'll be The Bobby McGees, the Hibernian Gameshow, and endless waves of music and glee. But really: a Count. Playing the bagpipes. On a Unicycle. Bobby would be so proud.

Time:		7-11:55pm
Place:		IBGWMC, 44-46 Pollard Row, E2 6NB
Cost:		£6
Info:		workersplaytime.net

International Mime Festival
Bin those accursed images of skinny, little French chaps prancing around (and not in a 'Friday night in Shoreditch' kind of way), wearing black tights and thick, severely unflattering make-up (ditto). As, once more are the leaders of international new-wave mime and physical performance descending upon the South Bank this weekend to wreak crazed, trapeze-swinging havoc of surreal, wing-flapping - if rather quiet - proportions.

Time:		Various
Place:		Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX
Cost:		Various
Info:		southbankcentre.co.uk

DON'T MISS

The Man With The Kaleidoscope Eyes
Dubbed 'the graphic entertainer' back in the '60s, Alan Aldridge put his idiosyncratic stamp on everything from Rolling Stones album covers to lyric books for the Beatles; he illustrated the much-adored children's book, The Butterfly Ball and was, at one point, the Art Director for Penguin. Drawing together his kaleidoscopic illustrations, together with sketches, personal letters, and films, this is the first retrospective of the genius of Alan Aldridge. And it's ending on Sunday, so don't miss it.

Info:

Design Museum, until Sun Jan 25

EAT & DRINK

Albion
Trendy cafe/delis can often be disappointing. Tempting you in with shelves of prettily packaged goodies, half of which, you realise on closer inspection, are out of date, and stacks of panini and pastries that were freshly-made last week. With a Conran caff, on the other hand, you know you're in for a quality experience.

Albion, the ground floor 'Caff & Shop' part of Sir Terence's ambitious new Boundary venture, is warm, light and welcoming, with the smell of freshly-baked treats wafting through from the kitchens to greet you and caff staples like HP Sauce and ketchup on the tables.

Breakfast is available all day, with fish and chips and shepherd's pie for lunch and delectable sweet stuff (the hazelnut cupcakes with buttercream icing are something else), and hot chocolate made from real chunks of chocolate, at teatime (or any time) through to midnight.

Food is served on vintage china by extremely nice staff in dapper Joe Casely-Hayford uniforms, the shop specialises in British produce and the entire building utilises rather impressive green technology.

It's been over twenty years in coming (a new private venture from Tezza that is) but the first signs are reassuringly good.



Hours:		Mon-Sun 8am-midnight
Place:		2-4 Boundary Street, E2 7JE
Cost:		£25
Web:		albioncaff.co.uk
Book:		020 8675 8613

Weekend guide by AC, food review by SL

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