FORUM

EAT

DRINK

SHOP

SERVICES

LIFESTYLE

HEALTH

ARTS

STYLE

MUSIC

TRAVEL

Nissan Qashqai
Weekend Guide March 7 - 9 Search the Urban Junkies archives
Sign up to receive your daily fix automatically

Well then, it certainly looks as though Spring might be starting to edge her frisky way in on those old Winter blues. With Friday rocking to an inimitably Latin vibe, Saturday laced in a celebration of food and sexuality, and Sunday a hive of weekend recovery, all systems are most definitely go.

This weekend's guide is brought to you by the New NISSAN QASHQAI. Bold, compact, versatile, take on the city and beyond in the URBANPROOF QASHQAI. This spacious crossover car can handle whatever the roads throw at you. Dodge traffic confidently, take on the bumps and humps, and experience expert traction and manoeuvrability with ESP + optional ALL MODE technology.

This weekend's picks:
Baile Funk, La Bomba 1st Anniversary, Dance Club
Zepellin, Birds Eye View Special, Taste East
Cabaret Carnival, Late Night Tales Sessions, Hunga Munga's Cartoon Time
London Open City, Opera, Eugene Onegin
BearKnuckles,
The Clissold Arms, The Barnsbury
Nissan Qashqai
Good Cause - Its all about the giving

Super Sunday
Whilst National Hair Day should be an event of celebrity pomposity and glossy spreads, Toni & Guy are using it to raise some much needed money to help refurbish the children's wing at King's College Hospital. Opening their hallowed academy doors, a cut or colour from one of their International Artistic Team is going for a mere £40, and remember, since it's all for a good cause, you're not treating yourself: you're helping the kids.

Time:
11am-4pm
Place:
Toni & Guy Academy, 75 New Oxford Street, WC1A 1DG
Cost:
£40
Info:
www.toniandguy.com
Drink - Going out - Friday

Baile Funk
Certainly not the most obvious space for a huge Brazilian hip-hop/dance/funk night (an Irish venue in North London? Did nobody think to recommend Barrio North maybe? Or Guanabara?), but nevertheless huge and Brazilian it most definitely is. Shipping over hip-hop queen Tati Quebra Barraco and MC duo Cidinho and Doca, together with a host of local Brazilian-ized DJ talent, expect a heavy-hitter of booty-shaking Funk Carioca.

Time:
8pm-4am
Place:
The Galtymore, 194 Cricklewood, NW2 3EB
Cost:
£20
Info:
myspace.com/bailefunk

La Bomba 1st Anniversary
Yes, yes, so another venue we wouldn't usually stick on our list, except that this La Bomba birthday at Ministry might actually turn out to be a bit of fun. Think even more Latin-drenched celebrations on the cards, only with a meaty club vibe soaked in, as a virtual pod of DJs pump out the hip-hop, techno, house and reggaeton until the wee, wee hours of the morrow.

Time:
10:30pm-5am
Place:
Ministry of Sound, 103 Gaunt St, SE1 6DPL
Cost:
£15, £12 adv
Info:
club.ministryofsound.com

Dance Club
The Compañía María Pagés made your jaw drop, and you're chomping at the bit to catch the foot-flurries and hair-flinging of the Farruquitos, and Carmen Linares and Miguel Poveda's virtuosic wailing. Or maybe not, and you just fancy a bit of heel-stomping regardless. Either way, starting with beginners and intermediate classes, tonight's flamenco club at Sadler's Wells completes Friday's Latin line-up on a more traditional, yet still throbbingly high-energy note.

Time:
7:15pm (beginners), 8:15pm (improvers), 9pm (club)
Place:
Sadler's Wells, Roseberry Avenue, EC1R 4TN
Cost:
£8
Info:
www.sadlerswells.com
Drink - Going out - Saturday

Zepellin
After Modern Times rolled over and gave up the ghost, this new gentlemen-only night from spiffing chap Johnny Vercoutre might be just the thing to make use of one's rather extensive vintage finery. Dress code is strictly shirt and tie or 'military', though expect a distinct vintage bent. And for you delicate women-folk who can't handle such exclusivity, it's all about the pinstripes and trilbies, or fake 'taches at the least.

Time:
8pm-1am
Place:
The Slaughtered Lamb, 34-35 Great Sutton Street, EC1V 0DX
Cost:
£10, £5 before 9pm
Info:
www.facebook.com

Birds Eye View Special
Of course, if Zepellin feels a touch too misogynistic, how's about an evening of art-dance-film misandry instead? Expect lashings of messy fun as Girlcore and the irrepressible Laundrettas host this something-for-everyone night with live sets from the oestrogen-heavy Peggy Sue & the Pirates, Florence & the Machine and Plaster of Paris, DJ spots from the 'Core and the Broken Hearts, plus visuals from Bopa and a screening of Anna Biller's schlock '70s-styles sexploitation cult masterpiece.

Time:
7pm
Place:
Whitechapel Gallery, 80-82 Whitechapel High Street, E1 7QX
Cost:
£7 adv.
Info:

birds-eye-view.co.uk

Taste East
As part of Uncle Ken's move to highlight the blessed virtues of East London beyond the usual raging house parties and hangovers, Taste East is turning Spitalfield Market into a feeding (and drinking) frenzy of gourmet market stalls and farmyard antics, with an array of music and physical theatre, cookery, butchery and wood carving to keep the rest of your body occupied.

Time:
12-5pm
Place:
Spitalfields Market, Crispin Place, E1 6DW
Cost:
Free
Info:
www.spitalfields.co.uk
Nissan Qashqai
Drink - Going out - Sunday

Cabaret Carnival
Whilst I'm admittedly still a little unsure as to quite what an orphanage in Cambodia has in common with a gaggle of ladies (and men) twirling nipple tassels, if it means that we get to help them out whilst resting our eyes on the none too shabby likes of Luci Furr, Alaska Blue and the Frivolitease lasses, then I think Pudsey Bear might be in an eye-patched run for his money.

Time:
7pm
Place:
Madame Jojo's, 8-10 Brewer Street, W1F 0SE
Cost:
£10
Info:
www.madamejojos.com

Late Night Tales Sessions
As compilations go, the Another Late Night and Late Night Tales series have been providing soundtracks for the wee hours for bloody ages. And yet, whilst their latest offering churns out a predictably squelchy, rare set from '70s rock to acid-edged interstellar travels, its launch night, once more in the loving embrace of the Lock Tavern and with Groove Armada at the helm, should be a fairly lively, memorable affair.

Time:
4-11pm
Place:
The Lock Tavern, 35 Chalk Farm Rd, London , NW1 8AJ
Cost:
Free
Info:
www.lock-tavern.co.uk

Hunga Munga's Cartoon Time
Think Blue Peter meets psychotropic-tinged kids' party meets creative East London. That's right children, it's Hunga Munga time! So, with live music from KateGoes and Slapper, a questionable fancy dress theme, and the usual hordes of lovely folk, rifle through your recycling bin for anything that can be painted, knitted, or sticky-back-plasticed to add to the pile and get ready to enjoy a Sunday of childhood rediscovery.

Time:
4pm-12am
Place:
Bethnal Green Working Men's Club, 42-44 Pollard Row, E2 6NB
Cost:
£6, £5 before 7pm
Info:
hungamunga.co.uk
See - Arts and exhibitions
London Open City
From the Romans through to the Victorians and our eco-friendly postmodernists, through wartime, economic fluctuation and political reform, from roadways to the Underground and domestic spaces, as a modern city with such an ancient heritage the story of London is a history of change, reinvention, and the struggle for balance. Presented by Design for London, this exhibition at Somerset House uses models, walks, lectures and discussions to discover how we are using our beautifully complex and organic city today, and how we might borrow examples from around the world to help reshape it for the future.
Time:
Mar 6 - Apr 27, 10am-6pm
Place:

Somerset House, Strand, WC2R 1LA

Cost:

Free

Info:

www.somersethouse.org.uk

Opera
Presented jointly by Artprojx and the Birds Eye View series, Opera is a new cinematic collection drawing on the Tate's current Modern Painters exhibition through the recurring themes of the music hall and opera. Featuring work from artists including Alice Anderson, Karen Knorr, Rut Blees Luxemburg and Susanne Winterling, expect the unexpected, anywhere from disembodied animations to provocative staged urban snippets, with a soundtrack of the suitable operatic and neo-classical to bind them. And just in case you miss it on Friday, Opera is back at the Prince Charles on Sunday at 11am.

Time:
Mar 7, 7:30pm
Place:

Tate Britain, Millbank, SW1P 4RG

Cost:

Free, but places limited

Info:

www.tate.org.uk

Eugene Onegin
With its daring duels, tragic love story, and rich exploration of the relationships between art and lit, Pushkin's uniquely iambic tetrametered tale of the titular Russian dandy, Eugene Onegin, has been an inspiration to the Fiennes and Tchaikovskys of the world alike for the last two hundred years. And for the next month, the Royal Opera House is reviving the late Steven Pimlott's fantastically dramatic 2006 production, with Antony McDonald's designs and a stunning cast to give full weight to Tchaikovsky's stirring score.

Time:
Mar 8 - Apr 7, Various Times
Place:
Royal Opera House, Bow Street, WC2E 9DD
Cost:
£6-£660
Info:
esales.roh.org.uk
Nissan Qashqai
Hear - Something for the ears

BearKnuckles
Cross the fun of Bloc Party with the meat of Queens of the Stone Age and you're not too far away from the sound of BearKnuckles. The band recently climbed into a Cage Rage ring for Don't Panic. It turns out that skinny indie boys don't fare so well against eight foot homicidal man-mountains.

Info:
Click here to watch what happened and to listen to and download their track Move and React.
Don't Panic
Eat - culinary sampling

The Clissold Arms
Kinks fans will be chuffed to learn that, after much petitioning to save the place, their beloved Clissold Arms in Muswell Hill - where Ray Davies and co played their first ever gig over forty-seven years ago (scary!) - reopens its doors this Friday.

Gastropub-preneurs Hugh O'Boyle and Caroline Jones have spent six months brightening up the establishment with a new galley kitchen, an oak panelled bar and vintage lamps, and have literally shed more light on the dining room with floor to ceiling windows and skylights. And, where there was once only a 'Kinks' Corner', there are now black and white photos of the band throughout.

The food is, unsurprisingly, hearty British pub grub, from ale and maple braised short rib of beef with lardons, pearl onions and horseradish mash to rhubarb & apple crumble, and there's brunch on a Saturday and roasts on Sundays.

You may well be tempted to spend all day and all of the night there.

Hours:
Mon-Sat 12pm-11pm / Sun 12pm-10.30pm
Place:
115 Fortis Green, N2 9HR
Cost:
£28
Web:
jobo-developments.com
Book:
020 8444 4244

The Barnsbury
The Barnsbury is one of those pubs that seem to have it all: a savvy owner, Jeremy Gough, who started out working for Conran Restaurants, a comfy decor with crackling logfires, and quirky touches like the wineglass chandeliers, and a nice walled garden for when the weather's fine.

And now the food's gone up a notch too, with the arrival of posh chef Denis Baudet (formerly of Bank and One Aldwych) who's created a pub menu with a bit more pizazz than usual - choose from grilled sole, crayfish tails and spinach with a butter sauce or prosciutto-wrapped rabbit leg with radicchio and parsely risotto. Quality wines, beers and real ales are served, of course, and there's even a grocers a couple of doors down where you can stock up on deli-like items plus homemade pies, pates and potted shrimps.

But my favourite thing about the place? Football strips are actively discouraged and there's not a flat screen TV in sight. So 'Up the Gunners!' elsewhere, if you please.

Hours:
Mon-Sat 12-11pm / Sun 12-10.30pm
Place:
209-211 Liverpool Road, N1 1LX
Cost:
£30
Web:
thebarnsbury.co.uk
Book:
020 7607 5519
Weekend guide by AC, food reviews by SL
Nissan Qashqai
My Word Whats for Supper? Birds of a Feather

FORUM

EAT

DRINK

SHOP

SERVICES

LIFESTYLE

HEALTH

ARTS

STYLE

MUSIC

TRAVEL

(c) 2008 Urban Junkies. All rights reserved.
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.