Ginger DJ Rob

Image by Ginger DJ via Flickr I needed a break from my blog after May's daily spew of Fringe reviews. Luckily I have Twitter to remind me of my past happenings. Chelsea Flower Show With Kerry's RHS membership, we avoided the hoi polloi to visit the Chelsea Flower Show on a members day. We took a half-day off work and arrived about 3:30pm. First impression was how stupidly busy it still was. Seeing any of the show gardens meant shedding your manners and elbowing your way in. Anyone saying that the youth are rude obviously hadn't visited this place. There were one or two gardens that really impressed me including the Australian one with bar/pool. After about 3-4 hours we were pretty well much done with the place including a glass of Pimms at £5 and Kerry buying the most expensive but stylish Hunter wellies ever .   Xpress2, Maxxi Soundsystem 3 May's bank holiday weekend was mainly to celebrate Paul's birthday night though started without him as I warmed u...

Like the Bright Club's choice of venue for their 'sea' special, this was another inspired choice. The classic ' brat-pack ' film of the 1980's, The Breakfast Club was brought to life in Brighton's own Jubilee Library . A sell-out crowd waited in front of the main stage (well, ground floor) which consisted of a number of desks and a view of the suspended walkway with theatre prop: a vandalised locker. Strangely no one outside really noticed that there was a play going on inside. The actors entrance was ordered from the first floor all taking their place as if sitting in for detention and immediately sulked into their own character. The 'Brain' reads out the introduction letter to set the scene: Five high school student stereotypes and their punishment on a Saturday. Just like film, the actors were no teenagers but all had pinned down their look, attitude and accents very well. To complete the cast were the teacher and janitor characters. The mari...

Last year's Brighton Fringe highlight was Max and Iván's Televisionaries so their return to the Malborough Little Theatre was an instant purchase for us. Their classic Mario and Luigi sketch from the Televisionaries show started off the night and will probably go down as their own ' dead parrot ' in future. Although it was still very funny I was worried we'd see their material only remixed and relabelled for 2010. My worries soon went away as new sketches and characters appeared with the quality ranging from warm giggles to some red-hot hilarity. Although the whole show was excellent there were three highlights that really stretched the laughing muscles. The 'truth-jock' (bit like a shock-jock but went on about conspiracy theories ) who picked on Kerry or who should now be called 'Peace Gazelle' and says  neigh; the really bad comedian which we could hear his inner monologue (another question for Kerry or renamed as Julie to be embarrassed ...

If Brighton had its own Lonely Planet guidebook, Bom-Banes would be in it. Located in George Street in Kemp Town , its a shoebox of a cafe/restaurant/theatre/music venue that has the typical Brightonian personality being quirky, charming, hand-painted and talented. They have a regular 'musical' event which customers can dine on Belgian beers and food then be entertained by the hosts of Jane Bom-Bane and Nick Pynn who have a rich Fringe past. Expect a review for this at some point. For May's Fringe, Bom-Banes had secured some intimate gigs in their basement including one of our favourite festival comedians, Simon Munnery . I say intimate as there is literally only room for about 16 people where dining chairs have been rearranged, a sofa used in an alcove and a dining table/bench put against the opposite wall with cushions. ESSENTIAL TIP: go for the normal chairs otherwise you'll be very uncomfortable. If you sat in the front row, you would have to watch your feet if...

Image by Ginger DJ via Flickr On hearing their latest album, Black Light I was predicted they would concentrate their gig on their new 80's Roxy Music inspired sound. I was not wrong. After their excellent previous album, Soundboy Rock they new direction removes all their dance and reggae roots, everything that makes them who they. We had a nightmare getting into the venue. The gig was just one of dozens across Brighton for the Great Escape Festival which turned the town into one huge music festival. The concept is that you could buy a wristband for the whole weekend or just one day. However, Kerry and I bought priority tickets separate to this. When these tickets sold out the only option for our mate Mark to join us was to buy a day's wristband. This resulted in all of us queuing for over an hour to guarantee our entry with security guards discouraging those with wristbands that they would not get in. The support band, Art vs. Science, an Australian band were awful tho...

This was a bargain at just a fiver and one of the most memorable events of the Brighton Fringe. First, we got to avoid the normal £12.50 admission fee to the Sealife Centre to see some cool fishy goings on (loved the jellyfish under UV light); and two for possibly the geekiest comedy night we've ever been to. After a slightly confusing but very scenic route to the main auditorium we sat down in front of the main fish tank where sharks and turtles mingled. Apart from the cabaret band just in front of the pool, the main 'stage' was actually a floating pontoon so geeky excitment levels were high. This was Bright Club , described as 'the thinking person's variety night, making waves in London with a new mix of comedy, funny intellectuals and music. As part of the Brighton Festival Fringe they presented the subject of Sea with host, Rufus Hound , songstresses Strawberry & Cream, and a cast of scientists, archaeologists and funny people. An end-of-the-...

Just a 45 minute quickie I did tonight. After two or three sweet house tracks I build it up with some funky-ass tech-house including the excellent Mark Knight & D.Ramirez Vs. Underworld 's Downpipe (track 4) and my current favourite, Union Jack's Two Full Moons and a Trout (Luke Chable remix) which is track 5. Enjoy and spread the love on Mixcloud! Gingerdj Presents '4play B4 I Tech U In The Rear' by Gingerdj on Mixcloud

Brian Eno is the guest artistic director for this year's Brighton Festival and there were two events we made an effort to see. His Speaker Flower Sound Installation in Malborough House off Old Steine is worth a look and is free to get in. It's a grand and beautiful building to wander round in and the installation is quite interesting but not worth a long journey for. If you're in Brighton anyway than make the effort. Below is a video of me walking through a couple of rooms to give you an idea of what to expect. Nice use of coloured paper on the windows. We followed up the visit with the 6:30pm showing of Brian Eno's This is Pure Scenius . We were initially put off by the £20 price tag even if Underworld's Karl Hyde was performing because it was split into three performances. There was no guarantee to know which one Karl would turn up in but after speaking to the curator in Malborough House he was playing in all three. So for just £10 each we got excellent se...

Our Brighton Fringe marathon continues and so far its going well but nothing to really to shout to world about until now. It was no surprise that with an act name to include the word 'gimp' it would attract a lot of attention and it was a sell-out crowd of mainly excitable students at our favourite upstairs small theatre above a pub venue, the Three and Ten on Steine Street . Late Night Gimp Fight 's entrance was so original (not giving that away) and their opening song introduced all the performers' characters and mischievous humour so very well especially the wheel-chaired guy. All their sketches were well-paced, timed to perfection and almost always surprised the audience either with their originality or their close to the knuckle subjects. It just goes to show that you don't need over-the-top costumes and expensive props to guarantee a shed load of laughs. I really hope these guys get picked up for a TV show as their talent deserves bigger recognition. For...

I'd only seen Andrew Maxwell a couple of times on TV (including his stint on the Secret Policeman's Ball ) in very short doses but what I did see was very funny. As part of the Fringe, he was appearing upstairs in Komedia , Brighton. It wasn't exactly packed though perhaps people were either voting or queuing up to vote Green (apart from our ward). We were half expecting a warm-up comedian but the little Irish fellow built up his entrance and really needed too as the crowd just seemed non-plussed as if they were expecting a political debate. Once on stage he did his best to charm us by some shouting, swearing and asking where people came from to prompt any stories or opinions he had to say. Again, the crowd really weren't helping with the best heckle in answer to a question was a polite 'Pardon?' and the energy levels didn't get any higher than that. Maxwell admitted he forgot to book a warm-up guy and took on the whole show himself delivering almost two ...

Freerange is the domed arena at the back of St. Peter's church that provided some of the more quality Fringe netertainment. It doesn't quite match the heady days of the Udderbelly (the Fringe isn't really the same without it) but does capture a little of the alternative festival magic the Fringe so desperately lacks. Outside is a cosy forecourt with double-decker cafe, some organic food and drink stalls and a decent sized bar. Inside the Freerange dome was a table and seating arrangment for a large carbaret in front of the stage where the bingo machine and prize table (see photo) was waiting for the main act, Ida Barr . She's described as an ex- music hall star turned OAP rapper that is known for her unique brand of Artificial Hip Hop as well as her skill in bingo calling. Chatting to those sat next to us, we discover that Ida Barr is in fact played by the entertainer, Chris Green who also plays Tina C , the leggy Southern belle country singer. Ida Barr he...

With last night's zombie related improv a disappointment, I wasn't expecting too much from Off the Cuff's Cuff TV . The self-proclaimed 'Brighton's Best Improv Comedy' performed Upstairs at the Three and Ten pub and certainly had its good moments. A good format of different scenarios and there were two or three key performers that had the imagination and humour to entertain. At best I'd summarise it as your funniest mates having a laugh on stage. The video below shows them off quite well. Related articles by Zemanta How to survive a zombie apocalypse at Komedia, Brighton (gingerdjrob.com)

Ok, so the show title is a winner. It got us to buy the tickets and Brighton Fringe events can uncover some hidden gems every now and then. Unfortunately, ' How to survive a zombie apocalypse ' at Komedia wasn't one of them. It was a low budget affair (not like their website) with not much thought or expense into their costumes. The four person cast didn't really achieve that much stage presence. The general concept was a seminar with a professor leading his 3 colleagues to explain how to survive and improvising suggestion made by the audience. To be honest we were expecting a lecture format with some funny PowerPoint slides but the improv style had become a bit stale for us as there's a lot more funnier performances out there. The funniest bit for me was how to recognise the sounds made between a zombie and live human climaxing in a, well funny climax if you know what I mean. Otherwise, it achieved only a few giggles. If you're a fan of zombie related fil...

Brighton buddy, Julian turned 40 this week and he wanted a big blow-out. Bored of Brighton clubs (especially Audio), we answered his birthday wish with a time-machine going (or what seemed like going back 10 years) to Ministry of Sound . I really didn't fancy the multiple train journey or the shuddering feeling of waiting for the tube stations to open at 6am on a cold Saturday morning so opted for the drive with James tagging along. Before driving up to London we gave Julian his special present of a Venture Bros. mug we'd designed. This went down extremely well and surprised that no one picked up the copyright infringement. Nowhere outside the US actually sells the merchandise due to copyright issues. It was the Gallery 's 15th birthday and had brought back some of the biggest name DJs to celebrate. Check this out for a golden oldie special: Danny Rampling, Paul Oakenfold , Seb Fontaine , Tall Paul, Lottie and more. For Kerry and me, this really was a nostalgic journey...