6th February 2012

gigs clubbing art comedy theatre blog competitions

Illustration by Julie Khan

Everybody Frieze!

Yes, it’s here again. The distended corporate megalith that is Frieze Art Fair plonks its bad self down in Regent’s Park for a whole week of free Pommery, anxious back-slapping and mega-bucks art sales. The world’s most influential curators, critics and eccentric billionaires are descending upon our fair city, threatening to crush us all under the great tasselled loafer of wealth. ‘Get out my way paupers, I’ve got art to see!’

On the plus side, there are all manner of great art shows going on – aside from Frieze and Zoo, there’s new daubs from YBA cow-pickler Damien Hirst, the cream of Russian contemporary art on display in West London, the last ever Free Art Fair, and a cool-sounding collaborative art-fest in a massive Hackney warehouse. Plus those weirdos at auto-italia are hosting a bestial séance in the name of art! Baffling, but brilliant.

Spoonfed’s Arts Editor will be tweeting live from all of these events and more. Follow him at twitter.com/tomjeffreys.

Friday 9th

New work by maverick potter and occasional trannie Grayson Perry goes on show this autumn at Victoria Miro. The Walthamstow Tapestry incorporates Perry's trademark blend of high and low culture - arcane historical references vie for attention with smatterings of pop-tastic ephemera. Perry is a great craftsman and a unique voice in contemporary art

Channel 4 and The Saatchi Gallery first hooked up in 2007 to present New Sensations, an award for exciting award for fresh BA or MA graduates. This year, the panel (comprising artist Gavin Turk, Hawyard Gallery director Ralph Rugoff, critic Louisa Buck and gallery owner Alison Jacques) have narrowed it down to a shortlist of four artists

Hassan is a wealthy second generation Turk in the London suburbs, who wakes up one day after another night of women and wine only to find that something has happened that could turn his world upside down. The Great Extension is a comic perception of urban Britain, focusing on Islamic fundamentalism and tackling issues of multiculturalism, racism

Chew The Fat turn 12 tonight with a spring in their step and a belly full of bass. Their commitment to supporting new producers (A1bassline and Raffertie to name a couple of their more rinsing guests) has endeared them even more to us here at Spoonfed. And tonights line up looks appropriately brilliant. Headed up by Herve and Trevor Loveys'

Saturday 10th

Ian Davenport is clearly fascinated not only by the colour of paint but also by its physical properties. His huge multi-coloured works are created by letting the paint run down the canvas. These works examine the balance between the the natural world's tendency towards the random and the artist's desire for control. Whilst the process of creating

Tech-funk impresarios Lot49 throw down another serious line-up for their first party at East London rave den Hub Club. Tonight is the first in a series of parties at underground London venues as they take their multifarious musical maneuvers on a tour of the capital. Giving the 17k Turbo Sound rig a run for its money will be acid house pioneer

No Fit State number two features the talents of Wolf and Lamb - the NYC based label who've been heralded among the saviours of the stagnant house scene. Gadi and Zev - the production duo behind the label, headline tonight, with murmur label boss Geddes playing a more experimental set. Mic Newman - new kid on the Get Physical block - completes the

Spoonfed are very excited about tonight, as Bugged Out returns to celebrate its 15th (!!!) birthday with a masterclass in the very best DJ music across two neighbouring venues, Lightbox and Fire. Heading up the electro marathon will be Erol Alkan and the Ed Banger crew, whilst Dan Beaumont of Disco Bloodbath brings some East London disco to

Sunday 11th

Based on the life and work of American poet Emily Dickinson, Alison's House re-examines the circumstances around the discovery of her poetry, through the character of Alison Stanhope. 18 years after her death Alison's old house is put on the market, but still holding her secrets, how far are Alison's family obliged to protect the past?

When Seattle spawned five piece alt-rock outfit Mudhoney, little did they know that 30 years later they would still be tearing up stages across the world with their guitar driven noise bombs. Steering clear of the mainstream, they prefer to set the trends instead of following them. As soon as grunge hit the big time, Mudhoney decided it was

Monday 12th

Jasper Joffe set up the brilliant Free Art Fair back in 2007 to counter the growing dominance of market-based economics in the contemporary art world.

Coinciding with the bloated back-slapping monster that is Frieze, The Free Art Fair gives art back to the people. For free!

Register, turn up and with a bit of luck you'll get to take home a work by one of the artists involved - Cathy Lomax, Bob and Roberta Smith, Harry Pye or maybe Joffe himself.

A new weekly internet stand up and sketch show written and performed by top stand-up comedian and star of BBC2's Fist of Fun, Richard Herring.

Each week, all the material (untested and uncensored) is generated from topical events and news from planet Herring.

Download for free from iTunes or go and be part of the live audience every Monday night from 14 October to 12 December at 8pm.

Tuesday 13th

London-born contemporary artist Walead Beshty produces work on photographic paper that is, at its best, frequently staggeringly beautiful. His mastery of colour is pure and utterly mesmeric.

Beshty has a solo show this winter at Thomas Dane - we suggest you check it out.

Crying Out Loud theatre company presents breathtaking acrobat James Thierree, whose shows combine circus dexterity with magic, poetry and visual comedy to create incredible theatrical events. His latest, Raoul, is a hot ticket for the autumn.

Raoul tells the story of a young man travelling through alternate utopian fantasies in which appearances can be more than a little tricksy. Plot is secondary to a display of strength, poise and imagination which makes Thierree one of the most acclaimed physical performers in the world.

Wednesday 14th

A two-week long collaboratively organised art-fest at James Taylor Gallery in Hackney. They've invited six local arts organisations to take part in the fun, so there's separate exhibitions presented by The Centre of the Universe, Fieldgate Gallery, Five Years, Katie Guggenheim, Supine Studios, Transition Gallery and the hosts themselves, James Taylor.

Spread over two floors of this huge old warehouse, this is an amzing opportunity to see a whole range of projects from the very best of the Hackney art community. Katie Guggenheim, for example, is doing something related to '90s TV series Melrose Place.

A country singer reminiscent of Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan, Willy Mason is an artist with real pedigree. Born and raised in Martha's Vineyard, he has combined his parents' love of gentle American folk with a political and social conscience picked up from an adolescence spent listening to Rage Against The Machine and Nirvana.

Tonight he plays an intimate show in the glorious surrounds of St Giles in The Fields Church. This one should be a little bit special.

The Federals bring their garage rock to the Proud Galleries tonight. Though they may look like indie kids, their rock n roll attitudes prove that nothing could be further from the truth.

Ripping up the stage with their guitar driven rock, expect a chaotic night of musical mayhem.

Thursday 15th

Founded by Shalva Breus, editor of ArtChronika Magazine, the Kandinsky Prize is today probably the most important contemporary art prize in Russia.

This winter work by the short-listed artists is on display at the wonderful Louise T Blouin Institute in Notting Hill. There's work across a range of different media - painting, photography, sculpture and recorded performance - but the centre-piece is probably Boris Bernaskoni's fantasy recreation of a rural Russian village.

Guaranteed to be a fascinating show.

Managing to sound like Peaches, DAF and the Refused all at the same time, Cobra Killer are two well-dressed ladies who grew out of the digital hardcore scene of late '90s Berlin, thanks mainly to the support of Alec Empire (who has always been like the Charles Manson of German punk) and their playful live shows that are a stark contrast to the revolutionary bombast of their contemporaries.

Tonight they pay a visit to the Lexington, to headline an all-star show that also features slots from incredible DJ Scotch Egg side-project Drums Eyes and Angie Reed. Bring ear plugs and money.

The first lady of M_Nus and label mate Heartthrob touch down at T Bar for a rare, intimate, free session of minimal tech, house and twisted electronica.

Friday 16th

Talented musician, if.comedy 'Best Newcomer' 2007 and BAFTA nominee, Tom Basden performs his Edinburgh show Now That's What I Call Music Based Comedy at the Soho Theatre this weekend.

Expect lots of funny songs, ideas and visual gags ('Obamas in Pyjamas' is a highlight) from this talented young comic.

Maxi Priest is a renowned performer and remains the only UK reggae artist to have reached number one in the US. His music is often nearer to R&B and pop, but he has gained international acclaim over a career spanning 21 years.

If you love reggae, soul, lovers rock, gospel, and R&B then this is the concert for you. The UK's 'King of Lovers Rock', will perform some of his greatest hits including 'Close to you' and 'That Girl'.

On September 19th 2008, Corsica Studios threw open their doors to the first ever Trouble Vision party. Since then the night has got bigger and better, month on month, tirelessly keeping pace with dance music's breathless evolution.

Tonight Trouble Vision celebrate their 1st birthday with grimey bass monster Plastician, good times jungle heavyweight Shy FX and first lady of batty bass Hannah Holland. Meanwhile Dalston '90s RnB revivalists Work It! rock the the silent disco alongside Yo Mama and Trainspotter.

Holy sh... You can't ask for a more eclectic line-up.

Saturday 17th

Gosh those folks down at auto-italia are busy little bees this October. They're hosting five seperate events in just four days at their massive old car showroom in Peckham. Hectic!

Well this Saturday they're playing host to a bestial séance. Yes really, and it's courtesy of Better Place Portraiture (aka Darren Banks and Flora Whiteley).

Visitors share their memory of a departed pet, and the artists make contact and create a portrait of said pet. This sounds totally weird and, of course, awesome!

Wow. To celebrate the most notorious and well loved club in London turning 10, they have conjured a line up that dreams are made of.

Sentimental, vital, historical; the collected DJs represent the rise of one of the most respected venues in clubbing history.

Villalobos, Steve Bug, Andrew Weatherall, Bill Brewster; the prospect is both mouth-watering and butterfly-inducing.

Not only that, the club opens its doors at 11pm Saturday night and doesn't close them again until 5am Monday morning 30 hours later. Why not?

Sunday 18th

After making his name putting cows in alcohol, coating skulls with diamonds and employing staff to undertake the oh-so-challenging task of putting spots onto canvases, Damien Hirst has decided to produce some real paintings, with a brush and everything! And, check this out, he's actuallly done them himself.

Intriguingly he's shunned the whole White Cube thing in order to display these works at the Wallace Collection - it'll be interesting to see how they stand up in comparison to the Old Masters that occupy the rest of the museum.

As seen on Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle, Tony Law, winner of the Comedians' Choice award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival hits the roads of Britain for his first national tour.

Expect surreal yarns and playful imagery from this talented Canadian stand-up.

Note: 'Airline Style' Pricing - the earlier you book the cheaper the tickets. From £8-£18.