Is this a good thing? I'm sure it is - I got a new job down there which is pretty cool (the job's actually in Coventry but chances are I'd be living in Brum).
Right folks - anyone help me out here? Any good clubnights there, best places to see bands, any local bands I should be checking out (thus tempting the wrath of jaggers everywhere)...
Also: I know this is a music thread but if anyone can help with advice about what areas to stay, or is gay/gayfriendly and would like to meet for a pint and a good music talk, gie us a shout.
black sabbath
UB40 pal
bands i like
sunset cinema club
www.myspace.com/sunsetcinemaclub
hero machine
www.myspace.com/heromachine
untitled musical project
i thiiink
Thanks guys!
UB40? I knew there was some good reason for going to Birmingham!!
Can anyone name some good bars?
.
groups.myspace.com/birminghamgigs
Cool...
...cheers JD.
gay area
is around Hurst St - Equator is nice, dunno about the rest
good gigs at Academy, Glee, Barfly, and a bunch of other places - it's nice cos they're all quite close and you don't need no tube/buses/taxi/etc just like down 'ere
areas to stay - I'd say Edgbaston, Selly Oak, Kings Norton, or Solihull if you have to commute to Coventry.
Despite what most ppl say, Brum is actually a nice place to live, not too big, but with all the pros of big cities, all the happening, the gigs, etc. I work at B'ham Uni and I stay there on weekdays, but I'm thinking about a permanent move too, as soon as I can talk missus into leaving Knife City
Solihull
isn't actually in Birmingham.
The Nightingale (gay club) used to do an indie night. I'm not sure they still do it though...
Thats picking hairs really
Solihull IS more or less in Brum. And to fuel the argument even more (if you live there), I'm gonna call it the posh bit....
oi
its not in brum, but dont live here...unless you enjoy lloyds number one as your friday night. id go for edgebaston or moseley.
Please excuse my ignorance
I thought I knew more about Solihull than I actually do!
your excused
any interesting facts about *checks profile* Cardiff's geography you would like to share?
Well
I live in an area called Pontcanna, and apparently Van Morrison owns a house just down the road from me! I'm originally from Halesowen though, which, much like Solihull, is not in Birmingham.
If you're into
really experimental/alternative music then the Hare & Hounds pub is quality, but if not there's plenty of gigs in the Academy and the Sunflower Lounge is an ace little venue/hang out
Brum
We run a cool clubnight called Flux....
http://www.myspace.com/thisistomorrowuk
The venue's 'The Yardbird' is boss
Is Scruff Murphy's
near the Academy still there? Used to see Napalm Death hanging out in there all the time when i was at Uni. Rock.
Yes it is
Still has metal gigs
Don't live in Cov
it's a fucking dive. Brum on the other hand is pretty cool and on the crest of a renaissance of sorts. Plenty to do in the way of nightlife. There's the 'world famous' Snobs nightclub for a start.
Best places to live are city centre or south-west; Bournville, Selly Oak, Kings Norton, Moseley, Edgbaston.
Areas to avoid; Northfield, Rubery, Alum Rock, Sheldon, Chelmsley Wood, Aston, Handsworth, parts of Stirchley.
There's plenty of gay bars about Hurst St. as someone's mentioned. Subway City is the big gay nightclub which i'm reliably informed are good. They also put on a average-to-good Indie night (i think every other saturday)
The Custard Factory (location for Supersonic) is one of my favourite venues ever. Its pretty cool in the day too.
Thanks guys!
I'm trying to find an area with a train station - make it easy to hop to New St in the morning. Apparently there's no train station in Brum?
?
Of areas that are alright to live in outside of the centre, Kings Norton, Bourneville and Selly Oak all have train stations, and there's one at the University which is in Edgbaston. Moseley and Kings Heath don't have a station but have the 50 bus route which is the most frequent in the country (apparently).
I'd add Kingstanding to Captain_Robot's list of areas not to live in.
A word of warning though - the rail replacement bus to Coventry takes aaaaages.
Perry Barr
has a train station, but is very studenty.
no train station?
eh?
good places to live
kings norton, selly oak (thou prone to house robbing and crawling with students)
moseley, humm...bournville
haha I'm from Rubery!
avoid. some chavs tried to mug me about 30 yards from my parents house
Coventry's not too bad...
for some things. It does have a real hidden gem in the Tin Angel pub (city centre) and Taylor Johns venue (in an old coal vault on the Canal Basin. Owned by the same guy and if you're after something different always expect some great live music there. Very genuinely musically motivated. I've seen some fantastic gigs at the two venues from Mí & Lau, Richie Havens, Jeffrey Lewis, Hawk and a Hacksaw, Rollo Tomassi, Youthmovies, Bass Clef, Marissa Nadler, Simon Finn and Anni Rossi. A lot of them I hadn't heard before seeing them, but the surroundings definitely help and I've discovered some ace music there.
Given the choice though, Brum is definitely the best choice to live. Had friends living in Moseley and Edgbaston which are great places.
Where are you going to be working in Coventry?
we are starting a club night/gig night on the 1st august
at a modern art gallery called the woom...
1945 at the woom
19:45-4.00am
bands, art, film, eclectic music, something a bit different really...
bit of a jag, but an acceptable one i guess...
good areas: moseley, edgbaston, kings heath etc...but they are expensive, AND if you need to commute to cov, then solihull side will be a single direct train rather than having to go via new st every day....
No
There are no trains from Solihull to Coventry - it is a different line
Where is this event going to be held?
It sounds like something I'd like to come to.
Woom is in Hockley
It is walkable form Birmingham City Centre - just go to Snow Hill and walk east for a under a mile
*west
yep...tiny little sign above the door...
cheers JD
ooo
The Woom Gallery's great! Completely couldn't find it for ages when we played there though, despite walking past it 10 times. Who have you got playing?
we have
www.myspace.com/telegramme
www.myspace.com/mrbonesandthedreamers
www.myspace.com/wicf
Bournville
is nice, but it is a 'dry' area (the Cadbury's were quakers)!
oh and clubbing:
Snobs: 2 rooms, one mainstream indie ish one more 60s & motown maybe: stupidly cheap, utter underage meat fest
Panic!: fortnightly on Saturdays, used to be at the Sanctuary (see Johnny Foreigner line: "stare eachother out at the Sanctuary on Saturdays") then moved to the Q club and is now maybe back at the Sanctuary despite it being refurbed. Or something (correct me someone!!). Either way it USED to have like 8 rooms of varying music and is a lot better than Snobs at least.
Ramshackle: at the (pretty horrible) Academy every friday night, huge main dancefloor indie centric, academy 2 as side room with more electro, usually OK, cheapish drinks
Subculture: metal etc at Academy every Saturday, see above.
Tropical Hotdog at Island Bar run by Sunset Cinema Club is always good, every month http://www.myspace.com/showagojira
and the aforementioned This is Tommorow nights at the Yardbird.
phew. sorry for essay. there are more.
how many people
on here are from birmingham? just out of interest? never seems to get any attention. you know seeing as we are the second biggest city and all that
well, me, obviously.
I am a
Birmingham lad, good times!
Flux on Wednesday's is my recommendation, then the Beach (The Rainbow) after on Wednesday nights, Snobs is for knobs, weekend wise there's either Resurrection at Subway City or on each alternative weekend Panic at Sanctuary. For gigs best venues are Rainbow, Yardbird (Weds), Flapper and Sunflower Lounge, bands wise there are loads of bands, a few to keep an eye out for include:
Scarlet Harlots
Mayday
The Gravity Crisis
Untitled Musical Project
Beestung Lips
Sunset Cinema Club
Guile
I'm from Bromsgrove
So you know, close enough to get the accent and the 144 into town, far enough away to enjoy a lower crime rate.
I live dahn
Northfield/Kings Norton way. Hello.
Birmingham never gets much said about it considering it's size, both musically and on a wider cultural scale. It's seemingly just not as vibrant as other major English cities. Shame. Still, of course there are many wonderful places.
Hello
I agree about Birmingham, but I think it's changing a little bit with good people here such as Mr Bones and the Flux fellow puttting on some good looking club nights. And supersonic helps a bit.
It's nightlife is pretty gash considering it is the second city - I blame the lack of night buses/late trains.
Oh I should probably mention we're starting a new Brum 'zine so keep an eye out for it. It's called Out of Sync. Woop.
Coventry
isn't as bad as you may think. As somebody mentioned, The Tin Angel and Taylor Johns are really nice, as is Browns.
However, stay well clear of the city's one and only gay bar, the depressingly named Rainbows. It's compeltely inbred.
Having said all this, there is probably a good reason I moved away from Coventry as soon as I could.
the rainbow in digbeth?
12028390
The rainbow
Is fucking great isn't it! Never before have I seen so many people flagrantly defying the smoking ban.
hahahah
dont they get around it by claiming to have a retractable roof? also the man in the mens toilets who sells pills and has obviously taken half his stash already makes me laugh for a good hour every time i see him
Yeah
there is that loophole business, I really doubt its legality though. I love that you can buy a burger in there as well.
good burgers aswell
i think mine even had rocket and some kind of relish. im easliy impressed
At the reggae festival last november
they had some awesome jerk chicken on sale. Mmmm
That must have been
awesome!
10 shades of awesome
to be precise
has anyone mentioned the Sunflower Lounge?
if you get bored in brum, there's always buses/metro and trains to neighbouring towns/cities anyway.
Avoid Dudley. ;)
Nah
I actually meant Rainbows in Coventry, which is horrific.
my brother
moved to birmingham today (I think). You should be best friends.
There are some cracking bands
The Scarlet Harlots are amazing
Sunset Cinema Club
Mayday
Murdoch (although I think theyve just changed their name)
Johnny Foreigner
and of course a little known act that are destined for big things so Im told called 'The Enemy'
Nice
The Enemy
are from Cov.
Or possibly Leamington Spa.
They're from Cov
My band did a gig with them a couple of years ago, they kept saying they were from Cov but we didn't understand what they meant. They had to say the full Coventry in the end.
The Enemy
Are from Coventry ... don't you mean The Twang?
Birmingham
is horrible. Full of arse grabbing chavs that get upset when you reciprocate with a punch to their fat short-sleeve-shirt wearing baby faces. Bit like all non London places actually, especially up north.
:) Ah, it’s good to be back on DiS.
It's not up north.
So, Fail.
everywhere's
north to me.
Especially
Portsmouth
oi
you calling me French?
chances are you'll be stabbed within
a week
I'm moving to New York
Cos I've had problems with my sleep.
jagjagjag
My band 4 or 5 Magicians is playing a gig tonight - Wednesday 16th July - with Sunset Cinema Club, William, and Secondsmile. 4 band bills at small club venues don't get much better than this!
Come on down Birminghammers - The Yardbird tonight, from 8pm!
Balls
im recording drums tonight otherwise i could have!
Yarp!
Yeah and I'm DJing at it, it's gonna be mega so COME ON DOWN
chicks dig jerks nights
are awesome, as well as rainbow in digbeth. reading thread giving me brum nostalgia (moved away 4 years ago to live in london) big time. will have to get back soon for a big night out. good luck with the move, brum is awesome. up the villa
Deluka
Pint Shot Riot