We went along to the launch at Brindley Place, where top chefs Surachet Patpun, Aktar Islam and Chris Duffy from Thai Edge, Lasan, and Falini cooked up a storm on a BBQ in front of Thai Edge. Each prepared a dish, whilst explaining to the gathered crowds not only the ingredients and recipe, but also the reasons behind their choice and combinations. It was all very much in the style of any good television cookery programme.

Celebrity chef Atul Kochhar was present to have a taste and judge between the three prepared dishes - although when it came down to making a decision as to a winner he was diplomatically vague, saying that they were all fantastic.

I was a personal fan of Chris Duffy’s Sea Bass, not least because there was a decent amount of it to go round for tasting - though be wary of bones, as they are sharp enough to pierce your lip.

Now in its third consecutive year, Taste of Birmingham will celebrate the very best cuisine the Midlands’ offers in the beautiful surroundings of Cannon Hill Park, from Thursday 10th July to Sunday 13th July 2008. Get down there and get involved with food.

Words / Photos : Tom Horton

Oh my goodness, were you there? Wednesday 4th June 2008: Infinity Festival @ Q Club

3 Universities got together to put on a huge charity event at the legendary Que Club. With a Dj set from Bloc Party, and super funky sounds from a Spectrum led Pete Jordan and Joebot back to back bonanza, the main room was a rockin’.

Other rooms were hosted by Birmingham University Jazz Society and Kerrang - as well as there being a full blown R&B room, and a drum and bass room. There was literally something for everyones taste - including free give aways by Rustlers (anyone fancy a burger?). You could even get screened for Clamidia, as there was a sexual health awareness stand who would happily furnish you with a glow stick in return for a bottle of pee - not a bad ploy! I’ve seen similar things run at popular student nights such as The Night Before at Oceana. It’s a great way to promote sexual health in young hedonistic students

Despite being huge and exciting, with stair cases to random hidden rooms, The Q Club could really do with a lick of paint inside (the novelty of a dusty old venues is starting to wear a bit thin), and the availability of free tap water is unfortunately non existent. I wonder if it’s still trying to sell itself on memories of the past, rather than looking to making a venue for the future.

3000 odd students got together to party the night away and raise loads of cash for the very worthy Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

Everyone I spoke to was having a fantastic night out - although I notice a growing trend for people to spend most of the night sat down texting on their phones.

Lots of photos from Infinity Festival can be found here

The Restless Debt of Third World Beauty

Woom Gallery Exhibition by celebrated South African artist Faith47. Her work depicts strong female characters in dilapidated environments. It focuses on the importance and the spirit of the strong female identity through adversity.

A super duper evening : )

As the sun continues to beat down across the region, Birmingham’s leading chefs and restaurateurs have revealed what they love most about summer, and the delicious seasonal dishes they have in store for visitors to this year’s Taste of Birmingham.
Andreas Antona (Simpsons), Raj Rana (Itihaas) and David Colcombe (Opus) toast a Taste of Summer
Now in its third consecutive year, Taste of Birmingham will celebrate the very best cuisine the Midlands’ offers in the beautiful surroundings of Cannon Hill Park, from Thursday 10th July to Sunday 13th July 2008.

Celebrity chefs Anthony Worrall Thompson and Aldo Zilli will be preparing mouth-watering menus alongside a host of the region’s leading restaurants, including Itihaas, Opus and Simpsons.

Chef David Cocombe from Opus said:
“Everybody looks forward to summer. For me, it’s all about enjoying quality seasonal produce and the occasional long lazy brunch. With any luck, we might even be in for some good English strawberries this year.”

Restaurateur, Raj Rana, from Itihaas, added:
“Customers are noticeably happier when the sun starts to shine! For us, summer can be a really hectic time as we cater for up to 3,000 wedding guests every weekend, but I always look forward to picnics, barbeques and eating outside.”

Andreas Antona, Chef Patron at the Michelin-starred Simpsons said:
“In England we are lucky to enjoy four distinct seasons, and the fresh produce that comes with them. At this time of year I look forward to spring lamb, beautiful Evesham asparagus and soft berries. Summer for me means plenty of sun and lots of golf. Even Chefs are happier in summer!”

All three restaurants have revealed the signature dishes that they will be preparing for visitors to this year’s Taste of Birmingham. From the Opus kitchen, guests can enjoy flaked free-range ham hock with potato salad, braised heel of Scottish beef and a Black Forest Martini.

Itihaas will be cooking up a salmon, goats cheese and spicy onion samosa, roast Tandoori quails with sea salt and black pepper potatoes and truffle-infused rice, followed by a reduced Gazara Tart with pistachio and coconut kulfi.

Simpson’s will be preparing melon soup with crab, braised pork cheek with polenta and Eton Mess.

Other leading restaurants taking part in Taste of Birmingham this year include Lasan, Aria at the Hyatt, Hotel du Vin, Malmaison, The Oriental, Fillini, Thai Edge and La Becasse.

Over 20,000 visitors are expected to enjoy a Taste of Birmingham this summer, sampling local cheeses, meat and fruits at the special Taste Kitchen with Sainsbury’s, meeting local producers at the delicious.magazine Producer’s Market and experiencing the Lavazza Aroma Zone, including the Barista-led Aroma Theatre.

Tickets start from £12 and can be bought from the box office 0871 230 5581 or through the website www.channel4.com/taste

If hip-hop, MCing and DJing are your thing then make sure you don’t miss this year’s BASS (British Art and Street Sounds) Festival, which starts on June 1st and runs throughout the month across over 40 venues in Birmingham, Leicester, Derby and Nottingham.

Billed as the biggest and longest annual celebration of British Art and Street Sounds, this year’s theme is The Elements of Hip Hop and will see artists from the UK, the US and South Africa come together to provide visitors with a host of events ranging from masterclasses and workshops to exhibitions and installations as well as theatre and dance performances.

The month long festival culminates in a two-day conference, at Birmingham’s Custard Factory and Manchester’s Contact Theatre, entitled MCs for Life with debates, workshops and films celebrating the art of MC Culture and featuring artists such as Black Thought, Ursula Rucker, Lord Finesse along with a further 40 artists from across the world.

The full line-up is available on www.bassfestival.co.uk

Like what it says on the tin really - another fantastic night put on by the guys at Ultra+. James Zambiela is a bit of a wizard on the decks, and Ultra+ had the bright idea of hooking up a  camera and projecting it on a nice big screen so everyone could see what was going on. One of the most excited crowds I’ve seen at the Factory for a while. There seemed to be an unusually high number of complete nutters (good nutters, not punch your face in nutters), making up an awful lot of high energy in the main room. Something in the water perhaps? I think the photos speak for themselves really. Someone made off with Shiela the Ultra+ mascot, a life size blow up doll of dubious origin who looks down upon the party goes from the rafters. Anyone with knowledge of her whereabouts is urged to keep it to themselves.

23rd - 25th May 2008 | | Birmingham Gay Pride

Despite there being no parade at Birmingham Gay Pride this year, it was the best Gay Pride I’ve ever been to! The sunshine was a definate improvement on the gloomy Prides of past, if you don’t count Sunday’s washout.

In the past I’d only watched the Gay Pride parades but with that cancelled I made my way to Hurst Street, it was entirely closed off and really impressive, full of bars, stalls, a funfair, music, a main stage and happy people.

‘Brotherhood of Man’ were the music highlight for me, with their winning 1976 Eurovision classic “Save All Your Kisses For Me”, they knew how to work a crowd and put last years losers ‘Scooch’ to shame. ‘Scooch’ were so uninspiring I just had to walk away. Still, even they didn’t manage to put me off Birmingham Gay Pride, I can’t wait for next year already! Maybe I just love funfairs and parties too much but I think it was more than that, there was a feeling of being part of a community that I’ve never felt in Birmingham before.

This was a fun packed family and friends day out, I’d recommend anyone to go, be it gay, straight, bi, transgender or whatever! ..Especially if the sun is out.

Words/Pics Christine Tellier

www.flickr.com/photos/cristilina

10th May 2008 || Spectrum presents DJ YODA`s Magic Cinema Show which combines visuals and music!

Super hot weather combined with a tragic warm up Dj playing a hellish assortment of R&B and Speed Garage (WTF???) resulted in the night starting off with practically everybody outside of the medbar sitting around the pool. Infact there was hardly any surface not covered by groups of people chatting, wearing shorts, and generally not dancing or getting involved in the night. It was more like an afternoon in the park playing Frisbee than a night of aural goodness.

Luckily the night cooled down a bit, and the offending Dj was booted off the decks accompanied by a small cheer. Tentatively, people started to migrate into the medbar, where some decent music had been started up.

Dj Yoda was met with a somewhat hesitant audience - some people had bought some Magic Cinema Show popcorn from a stand and were munching on it expectantly, others looked on at the popcorn munchers wondering wherever they should be eating popcorn too, or wherever they should be sitting down and worrying about the tall person in front. Some looked as if they were still trying to get over the Speed Garage, and many had clearly been in the sun too long.

I guess people just didn’t know what to expect from a live visual and audio show. I remember seeing Yoda at the med bar a few years back, and it was rammed full of static people staring at the screens for an hour or so, you couldn’t really move, and you wouldn’t want to dance in case someone turned round and said “excuse me could you not do that, I’m trying to watch the show!”.

This time around was completely different, aside from being able to move (It was still incredibly warm inside, and only the brave ventured up onto the stage), the show had plenty of opportunities to have a good ‘ole boogie without worrying too much about what was happening on any of the three huge projection screens. Dj Yoda has got this performance down pretty tight, and the latest show is whole new experience with fresh new material. Certainly not bad when you consider hes just one guy up there doing everything, when comparable acts such as ColdCut have a whole multitude of peeps and at least a thousand laptops, gixmos and gadgets interconnected by ten miles of cables.

I didn’t stay around for Atomic Hooligan, but I have it on very good assurance that he was bloody ace, and theres a pic of Pete Jordan poking him in the ear to prove it. See Below::

Words/ Pics Tom Horton

Photos Tom Horton Photography

03/05/08 Drop Beat Not Bombs

Drop Beats Not Bombs @ The Rainbow..etc

This latest Drop Beats managed to recapture the magic that has been a little lacking in recent Drop Beats Events - it was reminiscent of those crazy early days. The whole street closed down and several venues and spaces joined together to raise awareness for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and Campaign Against Arms Trade. Highlights included the Stage Bus which is a converted double decker bus / mobile sound system that can blow your trousers off- and the Rainbow Warehouse which boasted the almighty Trigger Sound System and the mind bending holographic visual interface. The beach area was also a real winner, it managed to give the whole event an almost festival feel - someone mentioned the term “blissed out”, and I think that pretty much sums its up. As with most events, one of the biggest factors that can determine a good time is the sort of people and crowd that turns up. Drop Beats was a place full of happy, smiley, friendly people - and I don’t mean the kind that have had one or two many liquorice allsorts towards the end of the night, but the genuine people you always hope to meet at a gig.

Photos / Words Tom Horton