Our pick of some of the best events taking place across the region this week…
By NARC. on Monday, September 2nd, 2024
Image: Lau by Sandy Butler Every week we pull together some of the best events taking place across the region, from music and theatre, to comedy, art and film. Read more on these, and other events, in the latest issue of NARC. magazine in print and online.
MUSIC
Robyn Hitchco*ck
Robyn Hitchco*ck is an artist who wears many hats; surrealist rock ’n’ roller, acoustic troubadour, poet, painter, writer; Hitchco*ck has crafted a striking oeuvre rife with recurring marine life, obsolete electric transport, ghosts, cheese and what one writer has described as ‘morbid eroticism’. Idiosyncratic, often surreal, and a total gem.
Tuesday 3rd September @ The Common Room, Newcastle
MUSIC
Mdou Moctar
Initially the solo project of Niger-born Tuareg songwriter and guitarist Mahamadou Souleymane, Mdou Moctar gained initial attention as part of the Music From Saharan Cellphones scene, and has been a four-piece band since 2019.
And what a band: the rhythm section lending a heavy, insistent backing to Souleymane’s phenomenal, psych-inflected guitar solos and often fierce lyrics. Recent album Funeral For Justice is his most political yet, looking at global indifference to the evils wrought upon Niger by colonialism and Western exploitation.
Souleymane and his band (save American bassist Mikey Coltun) have a background in Niger’s punk-as-f*ck wedding scene (Souleymane built his own guitar with bike cables as strings – take that, Brian May!) and still sound raw and loud and in-your-face, with a reputation as a truly blistering live band. So big love to F54 for bringing them to Newcastle’s Boiler Shop on Tuesday 3rd Septemberas part of a short UK tour.
Tuesday 3rd September @ Boiler Shop, Newcastle
Image: Mdou Moctar by Ebru Yildiz
ART & LIT
Faye Greenman
Known for her oil paintings which explore themes of love, self-discovery and the human experience, North East-based artist Faye Greenman’s solo exhibition, Rose Tinted Glasses, uncovers the complexities of romance and the journey toward self-love, also seeking to ignite a passion for art in her viewer. Runs until Saturday 7th.
Thursday 5th-Saturday 7th September @ Newcastle Contemporary Art
MUSIC
Plantoid
Since 2019, jazz rock fusion band Plantoid have been teasing us with singles, new ideas and sonic experiments, and finally in February this year they finally graced us with their debut album, Terrapath, via Bella Union.
It doesn’t take long for the listener to understand the vast array of influences that Plantoid are plucking from. There’s a fusion across the release that resembles Frank Zappa and Big Thief in equal measure; moments will incorporate the moving rhythms and mesmerising grooves of Hiatus Kaiyote, only to instantly switch into a manic hysteria, more akin to the krautrock of CAN or Yes.
Terrapath is ambitious. It’s a melting pot of ideas, there are so many coloursthat are reminiscent of other things, but all blending together to create an incredibly unique, vibrant new sound.From twinkling, oblique ambience to total spirally mania, the album contorts and morphs, bucking each expectation along the way.It is, throughout its duration, a genuinely exciting project from a very promising new band.
Plantoid are bringing their myriad of ideas to The Cumberland Arms on Thursday 5th September, and the night will showcase the new release and amazing talents of the band, from stunning harmonies and guitar atmospherics to intricate drums that glitter from prog to jazz fusion.
Thursday 5th September @ The Cumberland Arms, Newcastle
MUSIC
Jimmy Whispers
Jimmy Whispers might have made a splash with his 2015 debut, Summers In Pain, but then he disappeared. His sweet, kind melodies and tender, frail delivery displays an earnestness and sincerity found in the likes of Daniel Johnston’s releases. The simple, lo-fi bedroom stylings were more polished than anything in Johnston’s catalogue but carried a similar warmth and purity. The instrumentation was gentle and the lyrics sincere, and the record was a lovely blueprint for a promising musician.
Now in 2024, Jimmy Whispers returns. Garnering a cult following across America, the artist finally gifts us his sophom*ore project, The Search For God. Musically, it is evident that the time spent crafting this record was not wasted. Filled with far more texture, nuance and twinkling stardust, the release is as comforting as Whispers always has been.Centred around two synths and a drum machine, the project still feels homemade and accessible, yet is brightened with the sparks of a true, authentic songwriter.
With a career that seems teetering on the verge of great success, the opportunity to catch this upcoming star in a setting as intimate and quaint as Middlesbrough’s Cafe Etch on Thursday 5th September is a rare opportunity that should be snatched with both hands.
Thursday 5th September @ Cafe Etch, Middlesbrough
Image: Jimmy Whispers
EVENTS
Heritage Open Days
Heritage Open Days mark the best week of the year for history lovers, bargain seekers and history lovin’ bargain seekers. The country-wide festival, which runs from Friday 6th-Sunday 15th September, provides the opportunity to celebrate the culture and heritage of their community through a series of events, talks and workshops – entirely for free.
The roster for our neck of the woods is absolutely chocka, so doubtless there’ll be something on the HOD handy-dandy website for everyone. Various establishments will be opening their doors for free over the week, from local institutions like The Bowes Museum, Segedunum Roman Fort and the Lit & Phil to big name places in the National Trust and English Heritage, and from city centre hotspots to rural locations. Get a two-for-one if you check out Cragside with a visit to the nearby Cragend Farm, an ancient Northumberland farm dating back to the 1300s. World Heritage Site Ambassadors have scattered QR codes across Durham’s Palace Green which, when scanned, tell the story of the medieval city through audio. Woodhorn Museum hosts Memories of Wor Jackie, a talk on footballer Jackie Milburn on what would have been his 100th birthday. Meanwhile for anyone who wants history to really come alive, Gisborough Priory are going all-out on a re-enactment of an Anglo Saxon village for their weekend. So if you’ve been meaning to go to that place with a brown sign, schedule a visit in your diary for this week and make some memories.
Friday 6th -Sunday 15th September @ Various venues
MUSIC
Art Brut
Art Brut – the Sound of Young Parkstone – have been making an adorable, ramshackle, art-punk-pop racket for almost a quarter of a century now, which means they’re fully entitled to move into Boxed Set territory.
Thus, the recent Alcopop Records release of five CD-set And Yes, This Is My Singing Voice and limited double-LP A Record Collection, Reduced To A Mixtape to celebrate their five albums and string of absolute bangers – like Formed A Band, Direct Hit, Alcoholics Unanimous and Wham! Bang! Pow! Let’s Rock Out! With Eddie Argos – artist, fop, voice of the kids – front and centre, Art Brut are funny without ever being a comedy band, sincere as your life, absurd and in love with rock ’n’ roll just like Jonathan Richman was. Eddie’s based in Berlin now so UK gigs are vanishingly rare, which is why it’s so cool that they’re hitting The Grove on Friday 6th September. Top Of The Pops might have gone but Eddie and co prevail. Ready, Art Brut?
Friday 6th September @ The Grove, Newcastle
Image: Art Brut
MUSIC
The Rifles
Having set indie hearts racing back in the day with their 2005 singles Peace & Quiet, When I’m Alone and Local Boy, London-based indie rockers The Rifles return for their first show on Teesside in over 20 years. With a new album, Love Your Neighbour, in tow, the band offer up a cool mix of nostalgia and positivity, dished up in catchy tunes and a fun live show.
Saturday 7th September @ KU, Stockton
MUSIC
Tees Folk
Saturday 7th September will see the second edition of contemporary folk event Tees Folk take place at The Globe in Stockton. Following on from a hugely successful first year, which saw high profile artists like Kris Drever and Megson take to the stage, this year’s event focuses on the astonishing folk talents of musicians north of the border, with an entirely Scottish line-up.
Aiming to represent the current folk climate, artists present powerful storytelling, lush harmonies and curious tales. Heading up the bill are award-winning trio Lau, whose acoustic folk is superbly combined with post-rock electronics, and it’ll be a welcome return for band member Kris Drever after his headline slot last year. Also on the bill is singer-songwriter Siobhan Miller, who performs her traditional-style folk which is infused with modern influences alongside a full six-piece band; Glasgow quartet Gnoss offer up their characterful livewire instrumental set which will please fans of trad roots and outstanding musicianship; and Hannah Rarity is a BBC Young Traditional Musician of the Year winner whose stunning voice has earned her comparisons to the likes of Cara Dillon and Eva Cassidy.
Saturday 7th September @ The Globe, Stockton
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