What's On In Brum? - Your guide to what's on in Birmingham?

NYE @ the Custard Factory

This is quite simply, one of the biggest New Years Eve parties in the country.

Considered by many to be the most current and high profile NYE show ever at the Custard Factory, this line up is simply the crème-de-la-crème of electronic music.

Headlining in the lakeside marquee are the awesome 2manydjs, a firm favourite at the Custard Factory – in fact they sold more tickets for their last show in Birmingham than they did anywhere else in the country.

2manydjs changed the face of dance music with the release of their first compilation album back in 2003. Their albums and remixes cross the borders between indie, Rock’n’Roll, R&B, and turn it all into one big rave. Expect Dolly Parton rubbing shoulders with Destiny’s Child, ZZ Top blending into The Klaxons and massive recent remixes of MGMT and The Chemical Brothers.
2manyDJs are the biggest name in electronic music. Everybody wants them on their remixes. Everybody wants them on their flyers. And we’ve got them on New Years Eve!

We’re also proud to present Simian Mobile Disco in the Marquee for what is going to be the biggest night of the year. Since the massive success of ‘We Are Your Friends’ they’ve cemented themselves as the new stars of the electro scene, smashing up dance floors around the world with a sublime mix of their own remixes and massive floor fillers.

Simian Mobile Disco are without doubt one of the hottest names at the moment, and they’ll be dancing behind the decks just as hard as the crowd in front of them. When they played here earlier this year, they pulled in over 3000 people, so they can’t wait to play again on NYE.

Meanwhile, in the Factory Club, Stupid Underground will be taking control. Stupid Underground have become renowned for putting on some of the biggest free parties the city has ever seen and are fronted by resident DJ Get Carter. The Plump DJs blend of storming broken beats will force the dance floor into submission. They’ve played at Custard several times now and have become solid Factory favourites.  This year has been a good one for The Plumps, having picked up ‘Best Producer’ and ‘Best Single’ at the International Breakbeat awards, but they’ll be leaving those on the mantelpiece at home. The only thing on their mind will be blowing the crowd out of their minds.

The third room of music will take place in a space that even Custard Factory diehards may be unaware of known as The Gallery. Deuce Soundsystem hosted this fresh warehouse space for The Factory 13th Birthday back in November and they will be back in there again on New Years Eve only this time they will be joined by new kids on the block “We’re Not Famous”. Expect underground house & minimal techno with some fidget and bassline house thrown in for good measure.

There will also be a street shut down with cocktail bars & food stalls. Extra seating will be available in The Kitchen and The Old Library.

Finally if you really want to live it up there are a limited number of VIP tickets available for just £45. This will gain you access to the exclusive VIP area which will have a private bar & comfortable seating. This will also be where the DJs will be hanging out before and after their sets.

WEDNESDAY 31ST DECEMBER 2008/09
CUSTARD FACTORY
GIBB STREET
DIGBETH
BIRMINGHAM
B9 4AA

TIMES: 9PM-6AM
INFO: 07852 178 159
EMAIL: steve@factoryevents.co.uk

TICKET PRICES:
EARLY BIRDS £25 / £20 NUS
GENERAL TICKETS £32.50 / £27.50 NUS
MORE ON THE DOOR
VIP TICKETS £45
INCLUDES QUEUE JUMP ENTRANCE,
EXCLUSIVE AREA WITH PRIVATE BAR, COMFY SEATING AND AMBIENT LIGHTING

CREDIT CARD HOTLINE 0844 870 0000
ONLINE TICKETS: www.theticketsellers.co.uk
OUTLETS:
SWORDFISH RECORDS 0121 633 4859
OLD SKOOL DAZE (SELLY OAK) 0121 472 0777
JIBBERING RECORDS (MOSELEY) 0121 449 4551
SMOKIN VINYL (ERDINGTON) 0121 373 7051

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Scratch Club presents DJ Q Bert (13/09/08)

DJ Q Bert is widely regarded as the best DJ in the world, with 4 world DMC championships, an entry to the Technics DJ hall of fame and his work with Vestax to develop his own turntable; it’s easy to see why.

Considering these credentials it was an absolute blessing for the Scratch Club guys to bring him to the Rainbow Warehouse for one of two UK dates this year. With the other appearance being in the mighty Fabric in London, this night was always set to be huge.

From the word go it was obvious that the Birmingham Hip-Hop heads were out in force for this night, all sporting a little cheeky grin. With the line-up of support looking magical, these smiles could only continue to creep up their faces.

The venue was filling up nicely with Scratch Club residents holding the fort in The Beach and The Warehouse. Three times UK DMC Champion DJ Switch took to the stage, his consistently energetic and amazing turntable wizardry, really took the night up a level. The ever charismatic flow of Redbeard maintained the vibe, whilst the stunning stage presence and unison of energy from the Playaz Cliq boys had every head nodding in the place, with the perfect set to get the crowd hyped for DJ Q-Bert. The “shamanic beatbox explorer” MC Xander impressed the crowds with his massively dynamic, mind blowing beat box skills.

Now it was time for the man himself, DJ Q-Bert, and it really doesn’t matter how much footage you see of this guy, when he is there in front of you it’s a whole new level. Props are due to MC Kingpin who did an absolutely fantastic job of keeping the crowd hanging off the rafters, whilst Q-Bert gave us a lesson on all things turntable. He cut, juggled, drummed and crabbed his way through an amazing array of records, whilst the structure of the set was constantly picking up pace. This guy performs skills of the highest caliber with inch perfect precision, whilst smiling for a camera, ridiculous. Big up to Q-Bert for an extremely special set.

DJ Q Bert was followed by the amazing Mc Mash Clan who really boosted the tempo with an upfront and meticulous blend of d’n'b, breaks, dubstep, techno, hardcore, electro, gabba, jungle, hip hop, reggae, breakcore and psytrance.

Props are also due to everyone involved in making this night happen and a massive shout to Bass6 for doing a wonderful job of hosting the night. Everyone in the perfect Hip-Hop venue felt the full force of the Birmingham Hip-Hop scene, and anyone who had lost faith in the scene had their confidence more than fully restored. This night has set the bar very high for things to come. Watch out Birmingham!

Words: Josh Thomas
Photography: Tom Horton

You can see the rest of Tom’s photos from this night over here: Photos of Dj Qbert, Rainbow Warehouse

20th August 2008 Emerica visit Ideal Skateshop

Ideal Skateshop has found a new home at the custard factory, complete with its own mini ramp!

On Wednesday 20th August, some of the UK and Euro Emerica Team dropped in for a session on the ramps, joinen by a fair few locals. Here are some pics.

The ramps are run on a members only voluntary sort of basis, anyone wanting to skate is asked to pay a membership fee. A few quid in the pot everytime you turn up and you are free to skate away.

Ideal is open 10.30 am - 6.00 pm Monday through to Saturday and 12 Noon - 4.00 pm Sundays. But as they say on their website: “these times are not rules. just guidance. Please don’t grumble if we are a little late. we’re not the bank of England, we are a skateboard shop…Thanks”