Category: Night Raids

05.06.10

This Saturday the annual Bizarre Ball took place at the Coronet in Elephant and Castle to a packed house and was a night to remember. Everyone apart from us (sorry but I’d left my gimp mask at my girlfriends house) were dressed up to the nines in leather, bondage, heels, corsets, masks, animal outfits, horror attire and way more!

It was a freak-fest of the highest order with stage action from sword eating Mongolian men to burlesque shows and of course the mighty Gallows playing live on this hallowed eve. The band came on with a Sex Pistols cover of ‘God Save The Queen’ in balaclavas and lead singer Frank Carter who is well known for his controversy over the years decided to pee in a potty and louse it into the faces of those moshing in the pit!

The booze poured expensively (fuck the Coronet for charging £4.50 a pint) and the girls rolled out in latex and the highest shoes known the mankind. A filthy night of fun was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone, here’s some shots from the night in question which was fully Raided, well done to all involved.

WELL DONE BIZARRE, SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

May 18th 2010

This month saw Cardiff’s often overlooked skate scene get a meaty feature in Sidewalk Magazine. To celebrate, Cardiff Skateboard Club teamed up with the ever-reliable party planners at the Buffalo Bar and threw a mighty shindig complete with big jams, lots of tasty skate videos and photographs as a backdrop and dirt cheap booze.

Essentially everything that those lucky enough to live and skate in Cardiff have come to expect as standard from Jim O and his troupe of lost boys by now.

The Buffalo Bar had never looked so good; the walls smothered with blown-up prints from local Cardiff lens-thrusters Mike Ridout and Phillip Mortimer, as well as an enormous version of the article itself. This was a night with more than one purpose however. Sure, we were there to celebrate a skate scene that’s as welcoming as it is tightly-knit, that goes without saying. But there was one major selling-point for those uncertain if getting licked on a weeknight was a good idea or not: new Steve King footage. Look out for the ‘Time Stretched Promo‘ and be sure not to sleep on an extraordinary talent, even if he himself sleeps on it.

Big props to CSC, City Surf and Al Power for throwing a top night. Follow them @iwantmycsc

Stanley

After a slow start to the year, London’s galleries have started to pick up the pace and deliver some quality shows. This group show is no exception, the Black Rat Press have put together an interesting mix of street artists who have undoubtedly led the way and opened doors over the last 30 years.

With famed artists like Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat being paired up with Shepard Fairey and Banksy, throw in Faile, Swoon, Barry McGee and Os Gemeos and we have a show with something for even the must critical of tastes.

Set under the arches next door to Cargo, The Black Rat is a perfect venue for “Now’s The Time” with the harsh brick walls showing off some of the worlds more famous contemporary artists. Seeing Banksy pieces alongside Basquiats can only lead to comparison between the status of the two artists, although the style of work on display is very different, their work is both message led, and mass media hyped. Basquiat was at the forefront of artists to emerge in the 80s before his untimely death at the age of 27, and Banksy shares a similar limelight, but I am sure he has a few more stencils (and stunts!) in him yet.

The Obey pieces look stunning, the standout being the Duality of Humanity piece, there are countless layers of screening and spray making up this Vietnam war image of a young boy with a mandatory assault rifle. Keith Harings style can be seen all over, from copy cat artists, to public safety signs. Like Shepard Fairey he created his own instantly recognisable style, albeit simpler, and stuck to it regardless of if it was on a wall, canvas or skateboard.

The other artists filling up the arches had a mix of mediums from cut out stencils on the walls, to steel figures to more simpler canvas’s. New Yorks Swoon and Fail offer their own patented styles of wheatpasted wonders to add to the elite list artists that firmly set their stall out on the street, but made a b-line to galleries. Os Gemeos, on the other hand are twin brothers from Brazil, and are still more at home on the street, the taller the wall the better as the Tate modern found out a couple of summers back!

The show runs until the 20th May and is free to view Tuesday-Saturday and is well worth checking out, especially as you can grab a beer and burger and enjoy some great art in Cargo’s garden too!

Words and photos by Phil Proctor.

Nike SB’s new bumper book on their European Ams had its London launch in a swish East End art gallery recently. The 600 page tome was the brainchild of Dutch skater and Fluff magazine editor Marcel Veldman in cahoots with Dutch design house Vijf890.

The book took a little over a year and a half to compile, and managed to succeed in capturing every single rider on the footwear company’s European amateur programme- all 117 of the bleeders! The London launch featured the lol’some Ramsgate escapade documented by Sidewalk editor Ben Powell, and saw a turnout of the great and good of the British scene as well as a smattering of the usual suspects for whom the lure of a free beer will see them crawl over broken glass (and we wholeheartedly include ourselves in that category).

The book is available through SB stockists for a short period, but come back next week for an interview with the top boy Veldman himself, and your chance to win a copy!

Never rains but it pours- London sees not one but two new launches this week. Last night (Thursday) saw the opening of the new WESC shop in London’s Carnaby Street along with the new Slam City Skates concession downstairs.

Carnaby Street was once the epicentre of fashionable London and after years of neglect it is once again resurgent as high rents in Covent Garden and elsewhere have seen such players as Howies, Eastpak and Vans set up shop here bringing a return to the bohemian vibe and- last night at least- the unmistakeable whiff of Illegal Regals being puffed on the street.

In attendance for the free Tiger beer and vodka/ oranges were the London contingent of the Blueprint squad, almost all the Palace Waywards and their respective better halves, party in a bottle Scott ‘Horsey’ Walker, Pointer footwear chaps Gareth Skewis and Greg Finch and a healthy smattering of London’s fashion/ style press. The shop itself is a 3- storey affair which does more with the space than WE’s previous venue which kind of always seemed half empty.

Former Etnies strongman Pete Turvey tillied the ship throughout the evening and made sure nothing got broken despite the best efforts of the stumblebums who made free with purloining the free drink as soon as the poor girl dishing it out abandoned all hope and fled. Many thanks for having us down and if you are passing do stop in- skateshop is in the basement!

Nike’s exhibition and subsequent collaborative shoe launch with Dutch skate mag Fluff opens Saturday, 10.30 on Bateman’s Row.

Words and photos by Phil Procter

Until this autumn street art in London was pretty much the reserve of East London and the white wall gallery spaces – but with One Foot in the Grove, the Mutate Britain crew (and friends) have put a solid marker down for the West on Portobello Road. The first part of this show was a huge success with and the remix show is opening on the 4th December with some added treats.

The initial show which ran last month attracted some big names back to the ‘grove, with the legendary Mode2 making a triumphant return to the Westway but instead of having Futura 2000 tagging alongside him, heavy hitters like Best Ever, Paul Insect and Part2ism supplied the graff’ to name a few. The Mutoid Waste Company destroyed any feeling of reality with their surreal sculptured visions – making a perfect fusion of mediums; to call this “art” doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface.

Mutoid Waste have really got metal abuse down to a fine art – from stomping robot/dinosaurs made from helicopters to fire breathing juggernauts, its so hard to put in to words, the iron age has truly come back to life, think Mad Max crossed with Jurassic Park and you will be somewhere close to the creations Joe Rush and Sam Haggerty’s crew have unleashed here.

This collective of artists is just what Portobello has been lacking for so long now. It’s always had positive, creative vibes from the markets, skate parks and bars, but rarely the intent to link up to create something en masse. One Foot in the Grove, has served as a concrete lined melting pot for these artists, and pushed them to create a huge collection of new works from over 50 artists.

The reopening of the show promises to build on the solid foundation of the first with added works and more additions to the gallery room, which will be freshly stocked with prints and original art as well as clothing, sculptures and not forgetting the food and fully licensed bar of course!

Expect to see works from Shepard Fairey, D*face, Nick Walker and Word to Mother amongst many more!

Opening times:

Opens December 4th to December 20th – FRI / SAT / SUN
FRI 12-10pm / SAT 12-10pm (NO ENTRY AFTER 9PM)
SUN 12-9pm (NO ENTRY AFTER 8PM)

You will be able to get into this exhibition on Saturday 12th December for £2 (instead of £3) as part of the Crossfire Xmas Jam and will be able to get a discounted pass at the door of Bay 66 skatepark on entry to the jam if you ask for one. This is one day out this year not too miss! Watch a video of the previous show here:

Never walk backwards into a mad mans nightmare. You never now what you will find.

Friday 13th is the most apt date to start an art show of one of Her Majesty’s most notorious guests. Charles Bronson has been the tabloids “face of evil” for as long as I have been alive, and it wasn’t until the media hype of his movie that I even thought to think “what is he inside for?” Do you know? Does it matter?

If ever art was a tool of expression, look no further than Here Comes Charlie. This is the largest collection of Bronson’s art, and its all here at the Amuti Gallery to see and is very open to interpretation. Oddly he has been dubbed “the ultimate outsider artist” but since he hasn’t spent much time outside solitary in the last three decades, he should take the crown of the ultimate INSIDER (con) artist.

The works on show here are akin to a comic book like Viz, but make no mistake, this isn’t mere scrawl. Since realising the pen is mightier than the sword, Bronson has turned his energy towards, writing award winning books, poetry and art. Having pretty much 24/7 on his hands gives him plenty of time for these pursuits, but having the mental strength to stay motivated and produce so much work is a feat in itself.

One almost constant feature is his nightmares and madness, Bronson constantly pokes fun at the fact he is a “loony” even penning a book “loonyology”. His visions take on an almost Monty Python style quality with thoughts jumping out of heads being just the start of the surreal scenes.

Most of the pieces are based around being in a maximum secure unit, hardly surprising as it is the only reality he has know for half his life, highlighting the constant security camera presence leads to wonder if he knows society has resorted to existing underneath big brothers watchful CCTV eye too…….

The Amuti Gallery is showing the work until the end of the month, and although a small gallery, they have plenty of Bronson’s (and others) work to view. Some pieces are available via their website and there will be some limited prints available any time too. If you’re a fan of art, or the notoriety of Bronson, the work is definitely worthy of checking out for an amazing insight in the creative mind of one of history’s major “hardmen”.

Where?

The Amuti Gallery
10 Woburn Walk
London
WC1H OJL

www.amutionline.com
www.freebronson.co.uk

Philip Procter