Written by Nicky Getgood on Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 ( Start discussion )
Tags: AtsuhiroIto, Capsule, links, peteashton, toblog, Vivid
Atsuhiro Ito | Pete Ashton – A gorgeous set of photos from the Capsule gig at VIVID.
Written by Nicky Getgood on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 ( Start discussion )
Tags: AtsuhiroIto, autechre, Capsule, links, morecanalsthanvenice, pixiesixer, TheRainbow, toblog, Vivid
Atsuhiro Ito « More Canals than Venice – What looks to be an astounding concert at VIVID this Wednesday 10 March – Capsule present Japanese musician/artist Atsuhiro Ito:
He uses a device he has made called an Optron, fluorescent light tubes with integrated guitar pick-ups which are sent through guitar amp stacks. ‘When a voltage applied to the tubes is altered, the lights flicker and the pick-ups harvest the electromagnetic noise perfectly synchronized with the flickering light. The intense noise creating a visual hallucination and the sounds veering from some kind of extreme techno to outright noise. ‘ Wow.
And if that’s not enough of a Capsule fix for one week, check out Autechre at The Rainbow Warehouse this Friday evening.
Written by Nicky Getgood on Monday, March 8th, 2010 ( Start discussion )
Tags: 7 Inch Cinema, ben waddington, Capsule, curtain show, Eastside Projects, flatpack festival, Ikon Eastside, irishcentre, John Kiernan, John McNicholl, katrice horsley, laterna magicka, lombard method, nlp theatre, rhubarb east, south birmingham college, stannes, stpatricksfestival, The Old Crown, the paragon, TheRainbow, Vivid, we are eastside
St Patrick's Parade 2009 by Vince Thompson
Digbeth is set to get brilliantly busy this month with the impending St Patrick’s Festival weekend, closely followed by the launch of We Are Eastside, which will coincide with 7 Inch Cinema’s Flatpack Film Festival.
St Patrick's Day Parade 2009 by Vince Thompson
This coming weekend sees the famous St Patrick’s Festival. The fun kicks off with a Festival Launch Party at The Irish Centre on Friday night, ‘a free evening of entertainment, dancing and a buffet’. To request tickets for the event email stpatricksbirmingham@gmail.com.
A Saturday of The Reel around The Bullring leads into the big Sunday parade, which starts with Mass at St Anne’s Church before the street parade and dancing around the St PatROCKs stage in South Birmingham College.
Post-weekend, the celebrations take a cultural turn with Irish film, literature and theatre events. NLP Theatre perform Singin` I’m No a Billy, He’s a Tim on Monday 15th March in The Paragon Hotel. On Tuesday 16th March you have a choice between an Irish Film Night at The Spotted Dog or a St Patrick’s Literary Festival at The Old Crown Inn. On St Patrick’s Day, Weds 17th March, Irish Storyteller Katrice Horsley will be weaving her magic at The Irish Centre, as will musicians John McNicholl and John Kiernan. Rather amazingly, all of these events are free.
Friction Arts' The Edge - part of We Are Eastside
Once you’ve recovered from the St Patrick’s festivities you’ve a little time to pause for breath before the launch of We Are Eastside on 27th March, ‘an online and printed guide to the artists, collectives, promoters and spaces helping to transform Birmingham’s industrial heartland into a thriving creative playground’. The weekend will be jam-packed, with the Flatpack Festival being joined by local arts organisations showcasing their wares.
On Friday there’s a Curtain Show at Eastside Projects whilst The Lombard Method goes all Cinematic on us. I personally will be striving to catch Monuments at Ikon Eastside and mischievous audio-visual antics Synth Eastwood: Fast Forward at The Rainbow Warehouse.
Supersonic 2009 - Capsule are leading We Are Eastside and I get to post a picture of someone's bum
Saturday promises to be rather magical, with the new Rhubarb East gallery opening with The Uses of Enchantment, ‘inspired by fables and fairy stories, nostalgia and psychology’ and Laterna Magicka at Ikon Eastside, which later hosts the new concert film Burning, featuring Mogwai. VIVID will be providing the late-night space to let your hair down, with an Eastside Plasticine Party of ‘Psychedelic claymation’ by Bruce Bickford, which I think I’ll need to see to understand.
If you’re still standing on Sunday there’s plenty going on, with Paul Sharit’s 70’s Flicker films at Ikon Eastside and Belbury Youth Club’s evening of haunted audio and creepy telly at VIVID. I love a good scare…
Try to catch one of Ben Waddington’s 90-minute weekend walking tours, ‘which will explore tradition, design and pyschogeography’. Ben gives bloody good tours so I’ll be aiming to make this one. Email admin@capsule.org.uk if it tickles your fancy.
So there we have it – we can finally see an end to the long, bitter winter and taste spring in the air, with lashings of Guinness and culture in equal measure. Swap your winter coat for a fetching emerald green number and enjoy!
Written by Nicky Getgood on Friday, February 12th, 2010 ( Start discussion )
Tags: Capsule, chriskeenan, links, modifiedtoyorchestra, Supersonic, toblog
YouTube – Supersonic Festival – 2005 – Tweeted out by @supersonicfest this afternoon, a funky Supersonic Festival 2005 promo film of live action in the Custard Factory, with music by Modified Toy Orchestra. Filmed by local lad Chris Keenan. I can’t wait for Supersonic 2010!
Written by Nicky Getgood on Sunday, December 27th, 2009 ( Start discussion )
Tags: Brian Duffy, Capsule, Created in Birmingham, knowing me knowing you, Modified Toy Orchestra, sara fowles, Supersonic, Vivid
Capsule blog photo: Sara of Needles & Hooks as well as Stitches & Hos
Last week was the last week of Capsule’s residency in VIVID, in celebration of their tenth birthday. First up on Thursday was Knowing Me, Knowing You where Capsule and Created in Birmingham ‘got together and invited a bunch of interesting people along to introduce themselves and say (for the sake of getting a conversation going) what they might do if they were to get their hands on VIVID for a little while.’ The results were interesting (especially the suggestion of packing the place with jelly) so fingers crossed that this can become a regular thing.
Saturday was the big bash closing party, culminating in a great performance by the poptastic and seriously circuit-bent Modified Toy Orchestra. It was the first time I’d had a chance to see them and they were brilliant. Hula Barbie stole the show in her new dress, there was a rather phallic rocket that counted to ten and some lovely projected visuals that reminded me of Brian Duffy describing how he once made the stars sing at Supersonic 2008.
Capsule have now cleaned up and moved out of the VIVID space, which is shut until 12th January.
Written by Nicky Getgood on Sunday, December 13th, 2009 ( Start discussion )
Tags: Capsule, light trap, pram, Vivid
On Friday evening I went to my first Capsule tenth birthday concert – Pram and Light Trap at VIVID on Heath Mill Lane. First up was Light Trap and I must admit to being pleasantly surprised by these – I thought they might be a bit heavy for my liking but I found them melodic and very enjoyable. Damn my silly musical prejudices and thank God I have Capsule to make me break them.
The break between bands was a perfect opportunity to enjoy the display pieces and this is what I really liked about it – it was half gig and half exhibition to appreciate. It was a nice and unusual mix.
Pram were everything they promised to be – a great, well thought-out instrumental performance that matched the gorgeous visuals perfectly. Unfortunately my pictures don’t do them justice because I’d had 3 bottles Purity Ale by then.
Capsule will carry on their celebrations in VIVID until the end of this week – with Knowing Me Knowing You this Thurs 17th Dec and a Closing Party on Sat 19th Dec (the Beak gig has been canceled).
Written by Nicky Getgood on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 ( Start discussion )
Tags: Capsule, links, morecanalsthanvenice, pixiesixer, toblog, Vivid
Capsule’s 10th Birthday « More Canals than Venice – It sounds like Pixie Sixer had a great time at the launch of Capsule’s tenth month-long birthday party in VIVID.
…Ami Shalev hanging from the ceiling, climbing anything and everything. Water and beer were everywhere. The sound technician had to cover all his kit to protect it from the onslaught. Amazing stuff. My ears are still buzzing this morning. A brilliant start to the celebrations!
Unfortunately it seems not everyone thought so – I hear on the grapevine that Capsule received a noise complaint from a local resident. I hope this is resolved sensibly, and doesn’t escalate into something that could spoil the party – I’ve yet to see Pram and Modified Toy Orchestra play, which I’m well excited about.
Written by Nicky Getgood on Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 ( Start discussion )
Tags: 7 Inch Cinema, Capsule, citizensheep, Custard Factory, devonshire house, Fazeley Studios, michaelgrimes, Rhubarb Radio
Back in September, Michael Grimes (aka Citizensheep) kick-started a lively online discussion about small but significant changes the Custard Factory could make as ‘It’s looking run-down, and suggests no-one really cares anymore about promoting it as a vibrant space, and no-one really goes there (except for loud music at weekends).’
A couple of months on and it’s looking even more under the weather – the boardwalk is more patchwork chipboard than flooring and going to the toilet is still a cold and uncomfortable ordeal. The website isn’t regularly updated, which can make it hard to find out what’s in store there. Far worse, a few tenants have suffered break-ins recently (I’m aware of three over recent months – two studios and one ground floor shop unit).
I’m not just saying this for a pointless moan – the Custard Factory is a vital piece of Digbeth’s vibrant make-up and is home to some of the most exciting elements of local life – Capsule, Rhubarb Radio and 7 Inch Cinema to name but a few (let’s face it, I could never name them all). As a regular visitor, seeing it fall short of its brilliant potential for a long period can be really frustrating, especially with its sister development Fazeley Studios serving as an example of how good things can be.
I’m hearing great rumors about the forthcoming opening of Devonshire House on Digbeth High Street. I really hope its restoration rubs off onto the original Custard Factory complex, and we can see it return to its former glory.
Written by Nicky Getgood on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 ( Start discussion )
Tags: 7 Inch Cinema, Capsule, Created in Birmingham, more canals than venice, Supersonic, Vivid
Thanks to Created in Birmingham and More Canals Than Venice for reminding me that Capsule’s tenth birthday is almost upon us (I’m rubbish at remembering birthdays, as my poor mother will testify). It seems VIVID on Heath Mill Lane will be playing host to the month-long birthday party:
Capsule will be taking over Vivid, an arts space in deepest darkest Digbeth where you can expect a number of exciting concerts, exhibitions and workshops with special guests including LIGHTNING BOLT, GEOFF BARROW of PORTISHEADS latest project BEAK>, MODIFIED TOY ORCHESTRA and many more. There will also be a night at the very prestigious Town Hall Birmingham with old and new friends as well as an evening with two heavy weight doom merchants SUNN 0))) + OM and of course plenty of cake.
Glad to hear there’s lots of birthday cake. VIVID will be hosting:
There’s lots more going on outside of the VIVID gallery over December too – check out Capsule’s Coming Up page for details.
Written by Nicky Getgood on Monday, November 16th, 2009 ( Start discussion )
Tags: birminghamlive, Capsule, links, oxbow, TheRainbow, toblog
Birmingham Live! » Blog Archive » Oxbow + Light Trap + Transitional @ The Rainbow, Digbeth – 11th November 2009 – A review with some spectacularly scary photos of Capsule’s Oxbow gig at The Rainbow, which evoked ‘a sensation of wrongness and deviancy’. Sounds like a great night.
Birmingham Post: Digbeth articles We Are Eastside – arts and culture
