Digbeth Residents Association will be holding a vintage-themed Jubbly Party on Warwick Street in Digbeth (next to the spotted Dog pub) on Sunday 3rd June.

Make sure you come along for a whole host of fun!

• Tea, cakes, sandwiches and ice cream served from 2-3pm
• Retro video games arcade
• Live music
• Retro fashion and prizes for best vintage costumes
• Hula Hoop competition
• Free-style cake competition – bake and bring your favourite cake

For catering purposes, please RSVP to contact@mydigbeth.co.uk or join the Facebook Event.

See you there!

When: Saturday 26th May, 19:00 onwards

Yes, we know Eurovision can be Eurotrash, but with friends, a drink and a sense of humour, it can actually be a bit of a laugh!

The Spotted Dog will be showing the contest in it’s full Eurotastic glory on Saturday, along with a DJ, BBQ and an opportunity to show Graham Norton how it should be done on the karaoke.

Free entry, fancy dress optional along with the accompanying drinking games. DiG does not condone drinking games, but if you want to take part there are forfeits for:

• Over-elaborate performance/costume/stage design
• Performers singing a ballad sat on stools, and then standing up at the key change
• Streakers/stage invaders
• Singing in a language that is not the country’s own or English, e.g. a Romanian singing in anything other than Romanian or English would be counted
• A sarcastic comment from Mr Norton
• “Wardrobe malfunctions”
• Other Eurovision cliches besides

See you there!

Monday, 21st May
The Spotted Dog
From 9pm
Traditional Irish Music – All musicians welcome to participate.

Tuesday, 22nd May
Jazz at The Spotted Dog – Richard Foote’s (bink!)
Music Starts at 9pm
Free Entry
Adam Jackson – Alto Sax
Richard Foote – Trombone
Rob Anstey – Bass
John Lowrie – Drums

Wednesday, 23rd May
Adam & Eve
Free Entry
Khaos Theory

The next Filum Night on Monday 28th May will be more of a Documentary Night… Featuring two Irish-themed docs:

Ireland in all her sins and graces
First up is a highly recommended documentary from 1992, written, narrated by and featuring J. P. Donleavy. Produced and directed by Katherine R.R. Carpenter for the Discovery Channel and RTÉ. Running time: 50 minutes.

Winner of the Worldfest Houston Gold Award 1992 and a Cine Golden Eagle award in 1993, J.P. Donleavy’s Ireland features the author reading passages from his book of the same title as well as from A Singular Country and The History of The Ginger Man while taking the viewer on a personal tour of “…the land that long knows how to tolerate suffering.” A lot on Ireland and on the author. One highlight is a peek into Donleavy’s study at Levington Park where he demonstrates how he revises his manuscripts – a manner quite unique.

Famine to Freedom
The second documentary is from the Discovery Channel’s “Moments in Time Series”. Running time: 50 minutes.

During Ireland’s potato famine in the 19th century, over a million people died of starvation and disease. Another 1.5 million emigrated to other countries. An excavation of one village reveals the lives of Irish farmers during these tragic times.

As per, tea and cream buns will be served free of charge. Enjoy!

Photo: Winkles!

For anyone who missed Digbeth Shuffle at the Spotted Dog last Saturday, you seriously missed out!

Here’s some photo evidence of the raucous party that capped off Flatpack‘s season of dance films for the International Dance Festival Birmingham. Entertainment included rockabilly trio The Magnificatz, DJs from Sugarfoot Stomp and spectacular go-go routines courtesy of The Actionettes. Not to mention an impromptu conga line at the end.

There’s also a run down of events at the Urban75 blog.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

An afternoon of some famililar classics and some lesser known standards by Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin and more, performed by two trios.

Exams will be nearly over, so put on your top hat, white tie and tails and come and celebrate. Anything goes!

Trio #1 – The Music of Cole Porter
Allan Young: guitar
Stuart Barker: double bass
Alicia Gardener-Trejo: saxophone

Trio #2 – Music Associated with Fred Astaire
Ben Lee: guitar
Nathan England-Jones: drums
Alicia Gardener-Trejo: saxophone

Due to its success, Matt and Pete will be running Photo Walks through Digbeth during the summer:

• The Digbeth North Walk covers the area around Fazeley Street to the left of Digbeth High Street.
• Digbeth South explores the roads to the right of the high street, and they hope to access a roof for some skyline shots.

Both walks cost £5 and end at the legendary Spotted Dog. For more information and to book your place, click here to visit the website.

If you like the idea of a photo walk, but don’t fancy joining a guided tour, Matt and Pete suggest using Birmingham Flickrmeets.

Monday, 14th May
ALL-ACOUSTIC SHOW
Adam & Eve
Free Entry
The Railway Social Club
Farisle
Lauren Pryke

Tuesday, 15th May
Jazz at The Spotted Dog – Lluis Mather Trio
Music Starts at 9pm
Free Entry
Luis Mather – Tenor Sax
Rob Anstey – Bass
Dave Hamblett – Drums

Wednesday, 16th May
Adam & Eve
Free Entry
Gucci Pimp
Dru-Amelia

Friday, 18th May
Hennesseys
SILVERSIDE
Silverside are a local band from Coventry playing upbeat popular covers including The Kaiser Cheilfs, Kings of Leon, The Fratellis, Sterophonics, and The Killers.

Sunday, 20th May
Music in the Garden
The Spotted Dog
An afternoon of some famililar classics and some lesser known standards by Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin and more, performed by two trios.

SILVERSIDE

The Spotted Dog are continuing their run of Single Handed on Monday:

Eilish Burke’s two-year-old son Conal is abducted, apparently by her ex-husband Padraig, though her family are unpopular locally as they are travellers with form and Jack’s lazy superior has already given the child up as dead.

As ever, it’s free entry, and your lovely host and landlord John will serve free tea and cream buns. Mmm…

Words and Image from Skiddle.com

Digbeth, a district on the outskirts of Birmingham, was once the heart of the industrial Midlands – boasting a battery, tea, and even a custard factory.

Nowadays these works have been swapped for high-spec retail premises and entertainment ventures, marking the redevelopment and regeneration of the area.

LAB11
LAB11 and its flagship night TRMNL is a subversive house and techno delight, stripping everything back to basics from the exposed brickwork, unfinished wood and raw edges.

Set in a derelict railway arch owned by Network Rail, LAB11 has been transformed into a hip dance music venue. Boasting a SMART lighting system and custom-built Funktion One soundsystem, headline acts to have already played include Radio Slave, Carl Craig and Barem, with many more headliners billed each Saturday.

Gibb Street Warehouse
Gibb Street Warehouse has taken over the old Space2 venue at the Custard Factory and has a raw industrial feel that brings to mind the heady acid house days. Curated by the masterminds of one of London’s most successful clubs, Fabric, Gibb St has already hosted a number of big-name promoters and artists such as Defected, Renaissance with Sasha, and Arkitekt with M.A.N.D.Y, proving its versatility as an accommodating dance venue.

The Arena (Pictured)
In addition to indoor warehouse venues, Digbeth has its own outdoor dancefloor in the form of The Arena, a 4000-capacity venue brought to us by the team behind the renowned Rainbow spot.

The Arena has been designed like an auditorium with a natural stage bordered by viaducts and complete with a multi-tiered viewing platform, cementing the coliseum feel and charm. With an aim to host six large-scale shows throughout the year – covering genres from house to techno through to drum & bass and old-school – revellers can look forward to collaborations from key-players such as Cocoon and Space Ibiza.

We Are Industry
Then there is We Are Industry, another outdoor concept débuting on the Jubilee weekend with two very special live shows from Booka Shade and Carl Craig, as well as sets from Dubfire, DJ T, and Huxley. Located just off Floodgate St, the details of this venue are still top secret, but if the standard is as good as the acts they have booked then it looks to be an exciting arrival.

HMV Institute and Club Air
Finally, the loyal HMV Institute and Club Air have been staples on the Digbeth skyline for some years now, with the former offering a combination of live gigs (Alabama Shakes are due to play soon) and student nights, whilst the latter continues to stay faithful to the trance and drum & bass scenes that made it famous with nights from the likes of Armin Van Buuren.

With so much springing to life in the little industrial area of Digbeth, a new lease of vivacity has been injected into the once stale clubbing scene of Birmingham. The closure of the likes of The Custard Factory and Q Club had left a longing hole in the electronic nightlife, resulting in clubbers travelling further afield to the likes of Manchester and London for their fix. Now the future looks bright, with the England’s second city finally gaining a music landscape deserving of its size and status.

Is Digbeth set to become the new clubbing capital of England? Time only knows.

What are our readers’ thoughts on this? Is Digbeth set to become a destination for clubbing? Is Digbeth set to become louder? We’re interested to hear what you think.