April 2015 sees the Return of Belle et la Beat!
On the 12th April we will be hosting an afternoon of music and happiness; the line up so far:
FireFly
Simon Rayner
Greenvine
Ghost Music
Refreshments will be available for a small donation and we will find some crafty colouring things for the children to do. Music will be in the projection room and everything else in the central studio space.
We are really looking forward to this free event, thanks to Amy McKenny for use of the gallery.
Friday, 20 March 2015
Saturday, 16 July 2011
Hello,
it's that time again ~ the next b&b is this Sunday 24th July in the beer garden at The Railway Hotel. 2pm-6pm:
Stuart Jardine + The Isinglass Affair + Tuppenny Bunters + Splinters + ArtGruppe +Dooyah!
This gig is an extra one this year, it was pencilled in later than the original schedule due to a large demand from bands who wanted to play.... we just couldn't pass up the offer of having Tuppenny Bunters and Dooyah on the same bill!
The last b&b was upstairs at the pub, June 26th and featured Plantman (acoustic) + Wendy Solomon, Dave Woodcock and Jo Calver + ArtGruppe + Chip Shop Charlie + Carterhaugh. We used the pub's own sound engineer Billy and their were minimal tech probs. ArtGruppe were joined by Natasha Orchover on cello, she was a little nervous but did really well.
Looking forward to Sunday ~ doing sun salutations as we speak (-:
it's that time again ~ the next b&b is this Sunday 24th July in the beer garden at The Railway Hotel. 2pm-6pm:
Stuart Jardine + The Isinglass Affair + Tuppenny Bunters + Splinters + ArtGruppe +Dooyah!
This gig is an extra one this year, it was pencilled in later than the original schedule due to a large demand from bands who wanted to play.... we just couldn't pass up the offer of having Tuppenny Bunters and Dooyah on the same bill!
The last b&b was upstairs at the pub, June 26th and featured Plantman (acoustic) + Wendy Solomon, Dave Woodcock and Jo Calver + ArtGruppe + Chip Shop Charlie + Carterhaugh. We used the pub's own sound engineer Billy and their were minimal tech probs. ArtGruppe were joined by Natasha Orchover on cello, she was a little nervous but did really well.
Looking forward to Sunday ~ doing sun salutations as we speak (-:
Thursday, 17 February 2011
Bursting....
....with enthusiasm for a happy healthy and indie-poptastic 2011
Upcoming events:
17th April - BelleBeat as part of Southend Fringe Festival, at the Railway Hotel, featuring our first ever Swap Meet in the small room and live music and entertainment on the big stage
6th May - BelleBeat special event - T.A.P. (Temporary Arts Space, North Road, Southend-on-Sea), are letting us into their screening room for a one-off launch... ArtGruppe are hosting a pre-EP-release show. 6pm-9.30pm invitation only. As if this wasn't exciting enough... Roy Thirlwall (Melodiegroup), will be playing some 45s to celebrate his birthday too!!!
19th June ~ Outside Garden Party at The Railway Hotel, bands tbc
28th Aug ~ Summer's End Party Upstairs at The Railway Hotel, bands tbc
30th Oct ~ Hallowe'en Hoot Upstairs at The Railway Hotel, bands tbc
29th December ~ Christmassy Tingle Upstairs at The Railway Hotel, bands tbc
We've lots more planned for the year but these are the dates confirmed so far. I am especially looking forward to an afternoon of Electronica, a beach party and Southend's first ever BelleBeat Skype gig... watch this space,
Michelle xxx
Upcoming events:
17th April - BelleBeat as part of Southend Fringe Festival, at the Railway Hotel, featuring our first ever Swap Meet in the small room and live music and entertainment on the big stage
6th May - BelleBeat special event - T.A.P. (Temporary Arts Space, North Road, Southend-on-Sea), are letting us into their screening room for a one-off launch... ArtGruppe are hosting a pre-EP-release show. 6pm-9.30pm invitation only. As if this wasn't exciting enough... Roy Thirlwall (Melodiegroup), will be playing some 45s to celebrate his birthday too!!!
19th June ~ Outside Garden Party at The Railway Hotel, bands tbc
28th Aug ~ Summer's End Party Upstairs at The Railway Hotel, bands tbc
30th Oct ~ Hallowe'en Hoot Upstairs at The Railway Hotel, bands tbc
29th December ~ Christmassy Tingle Upstairs at The Railway Hotel, bands tbc
We've lots more planned for the year but these are the dates confirmed so far. I am especially looking forward to an afternoon of Electronica, a beach party and Southend's first ever BelleBeat Skype gig... watch this space,
Michelle xxx
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
The Tumbledryer Babies ~ Simulacra 1.3.10
I first saw The Tumbledryer Babies live at Shangri-la, an acoustic-based evening of music in my home town. I was struck by Andrew Moore's ingenuity and craft; he filled the room with melody and texture using only his vocal and a bass guitar.
I'm a sucker for a short song and this set consisted of perfectly formed tunes, none more than 2 minutes long and a couple which barely reached 60 seconds... but the songs were not 'little.'
Shortly after the gig I procured a copy of Simulacra ~ it has haunted me ever since.
The tracks may be short but they are not small; each one is dense with its own message. There are influences from Bowie to Barrett from the start with the deconstructionalist First Song on the Set List.
The clanging bass effect on Turbulence goes right through you like an enthusiastic gardener on a quiet Sunday afternoon, jarring and disturbing but still pop.
My favourite track on the album is Jump with its distorted slack bass and dark lyrics.
The Tumbledryer Babies are not derivative, they are more unique than that: subtle, ironic and bleak fuses with a witty and sparkly realism.
Belle et la Beat
I'm a sucker for a short song and this set consisted of perfectly formed tunes, none more than 2 minutes long and a couple which barely reached 60 seconds... but the songs were not 'little.'
Shortly after the gig I procured a copy of Simulacra ~ it has haunted me ever since.
The tracks may be short but they are not small; each one is dense with its own message. There are influences from Bowie to Barrett from the start with the deconstructionalist First Song on the Set List.
The clanging bass effect on Turbulence goes right through you like an enthusiastic gardener on a quiet Sunday afternoon, jarring and disturbing but still pop.
My favourite track on the album is Jump with its distorted slack bass and dark lyrics.
The Tumbledryer Babies are not derivative, they are more unique than that: subtle, ironic and bleak fuses with a witty and sparkly realism.
Belle et la Beat
Monday, 11 October 2010
Focus Youth Theatre Final Fling
Focus Youth Theatre Final Fling:
Back in August 2010, Michael Giller suggested to B&B that it would be fun to put on a gig together with ArtGruppe, Columbo, MG and Le Mat - seeing as we'd all been around the local music scene from the early 80s, either as groupies, musicians, or both! I talked it over with Roy and he suggested the Focus Theatre as a venue, he'd played his first gig there with The Windmills as had many other bands at that time. When I went to Focus to book it up, I discovered that the centre was being knocked down to make room for a new Tesco and its car park, so our reunion gig became the final Focus gig ever!!!
I had such trouble trying to get the posters done, I have no publishing package and James Parry was sending me drafts which my email was shrinking - anyway, the posters/flyers were simple, stark and reminiscent of the gig flyers from the mid-80s which was handy.
I went fly posting for the first time in 20 years too, it was exhilarating and fun - until I discovered that TOTS had covered my £1.25 each posters almost immediately - posters+petrol+glue+heartache = doesn't bare thinking about!
There is no longer the Pine Bar at Focus, or any bar for that matter so I bought some soft drinks and me and my middle daughter bagged up some sweets to sell on the day to try and raise a few extra £s for the funds.
About 60 people paid on the door and another few had tickets already, Hayley and Tim were fine doormen and Emilia, Rhiannon and Lola did a super job selling refreshments.
Michael Giller came on to his intro music in a heavy cloud of smoke, he played a mixture of his own songs and covers, including The Smiths.. Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want.
ArtGruppe did their summery indie pop thing with a couple of new songs thrown in, Now and Ugly Boy Ugly Girl - a more upbeat and heavier set than usual.
Columbo rocked in a souly sort of way - Rob growled and high kicked his way through and energetic set of northern soul and mod classics.
Le Mat were heroes of mine when I first started going to Focus Youth Theatre, I used to play their album over and over again and giggle if ever I saw them out and about. I spent my pocket money on tickets for their Focus and Queens shows. They say you should never meet your idols....
Le Mat's set started off brilliantly, they played songs of the aforementioned album and a nostagic rush filled my veins - the singer had changed quite drastically but the overall look remained the same. Sadly, supporting Duran Duran back in the day had caused personality shifts and after an unfortunate powercut, which Andrew Holley managed to single handedly rectify within 15 minutes, the band, the sound and the set deteriorated quite rapidly. The audience were polite and understanding on the whole but the show had taken a wrong turn - Le Mat ended up overrunning half an hour, sadly not leaving any time for Paul Tunkin to finish the afternoon with a dj set.
I am so glad to have been a part of the final Focus Theatre gig -big thanks are owed to all the bands and helpers for giving up their time, gear and talent to make the afternoon happen... it is much appreciated and I enjoyed being a tiny part of the building's long and rich musical history.
Back in August 2010, Michael Giller suggested to B&B that it would be fun to put on a gig together with ArtGruppe, Columbo, MG and Le Mat - seeing as we'd all been around the local music scene from the early 80s, either as groupies, musicians, or both! I talked it over with Roy and he suggested the Focus Theatre as a venue, he'd played his first gig there with The Windmills as had many other bands at that time. When I went to Focus to book it up, I discovered that the centre was being knocked down to make room for a new Tesco and its car park, so our reunion gig became the final Focus gig ever!!!
I had such trouble trying to get the posters done, I have no publishing package and James Parry was sending me drafts which my email was shrinking - anyway, the posters/flyers were simple, stark and reminiscent of the gig flyers from the mid-80s which was handy.
I went fly posting for the first time in 20 years too, it was exhilarating and fun - until I discovered that TOTS had covered my £1.25 each posters almost immediately - posters+petrol+glue+heartache = doesn't bare thinking about!
There is no longer the Pine Bar at Focus, or any bar for that matter so I bought some soft drinks and me and my middle daughter bagged up some sweets to sell on the day to try and raise a few extra £s for the funds.
About 60 people paid on the door and another few had tickets already, Hayley and Tim were fine doormen and Emilia, Rhiannon and Lola did a super job selling refreshments.
Michael Giller came on to his intro music in a heavy cloud of smoke, he played a mixture of his own songs and covers, including The Smiths.. Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want.
ArtGruppe did their summery indie pop thing with a couple of new songs thrown in, Now and Ugly Boy Ugly Girl - a more upbeat and heavier set than usual.
Columbo rocked in a souly sort of way - Rob growled and high kicked his way through and energetic set of northern soul and mod classics.
Le Mat were heroes of mine when I first started going to Focus Youth Theatre, I used to play their album over and over again and giggle if ever I saw them out and about. I spent my pocket money on tickets for their Focus and Queens shows. They say you should never meet your idols....
Le Mat's set started off brilliantly, they played songs of the aforementioned album and a nostagic rush filled my veins - the singer had changed quite drastically but the overall look remained the same. Sadly, supporting Duran Duran back in the day had caused personality shifts and after an unfortunate powercut, which Andrew Holley managed to single handedly rectify within 15 minutes, the band, the sound and the set deteriorated quite rapidly. The audience were polite and understanding on the whole but the show had taken a wrong turn - Le Mat ended up overrunning half an hour, sadly not leaving any time for Paul Tunkin to finish the afternoon with a dj set.
I am so glad to have been a part of the final Focus Theatre gig -big thanks are owed to all the bands and helpers for giving up their time, gear and talent to make the afternoon happen... it is much appreciated and I enjoyed being a tiny part of the building's long and rich musical history.
B&B Hallowe'en Hoot
On the 31st October, 2010 from 2pm-6pm B&B's will be holding their first hallowe'en hoot!!
We're all dressing up, bands, audience, relatives, friends, children, pets - it should be a memorable afternoon, featuring live music from:
Weird Gear -electronica, synth-pop
Clare Blackman - beautiful Joplin-tinged folk
ArtGruppe - indie indie indie pop
St Huck - Stones to the Stooges, grumbling garage
Steve Hooker - Rock 'n' Roll!!!
Reilly Peacock - Fabulous alternative sounds, making their B&B debut!!
Michelle and Wendy are hosting another free afternoon of live music in the B&B tradition, in the big room upstairs at The Railway Hotel. Southend-on-Sea - colouring fun for children and super music for the rest of the gang - dressing up prizes for adults and children alike - woo-hoo!!!
We're all dressing up, bands, audience, relatives, friends, children, pets - it should be a memorable afternoon, featuring live music from:
Weird Gear -electronica, synth-pop
Clare Blackman - beautiful Joplin-tinged folk
ArtGruppe - indie indie indie pop
St Huck - Stones to the Stooges, grumbling garage
Steve Hooker - Rock 'n' Roll!!!
Reilly Peacock - Fabulous alternative sounds, making their B&B debut!!
Michelle and Wendy are hosting another free afternoon of live music in the B&B tradition, in the big room upstairs at The Railway Hotel. Southend-on-Sea - colouring fun for children and super music for the rest of the gang - dressing up prizes for adults and children alike - woo-hoo!!!
Thursday, 30 September 2010
La Belle et la Beat presents....
A couple of months ago Michael Giller suggested to La Belle et la Beat that we all do a gig together for old timers' sake, Columbo, Le Mat, ArtGruppe and himself - seeing as we've all played or groupied in various guises at Focus Youth Theatre, it seemed like the perfect venue to host the party!!!
Michael Giller played briefly in Rare Pleasures with Jake Shillingford and Mal Campbell but Promised Land was his own creation, he later played in No Matter What.
Rob Moore from Columbo sang in many bands who played at Focus from '85 onwards, Hang 10, No Matter What, Stud 100.
ArtGruppe have their own local band history; Roy was in The Windmills (signed to Matinee Records and who played their first ever gig at Focus), Michelle was founder member of Wednesday's Child and later Marnie (signed to Jungle Records), Wendy was in Tortoise Shout and Jay appeared at Focus in Skin of Da Mother.
Our headline band are local legends Le Mat who were formed out of the ashes of Southend's The Leapers.
When I went in to book the theatre, I was told that it was no longer for hire as the Centre was being closed down to make way for the new Tesco and its car park, I was assured that a new Youth Centre was being built behind the Post Office in Short Street. The managers agreed to let us have it though, after a bit of persuading because it was for a special reunion type event.
So the day is getting nearer, the Farewell Focus Final Fling is next Saturday 9th October; because The Pine Bar no longer exists and there is no alcohol allowed on the premises we decided to make it a family friendly afternoon gig, in the Belle et la Beat traddition - 4pm-7pm then all off to the Railway Hotel to continue the party, hoorah!!!
Tickets are £5 because the theatre is so expensive to hire!!!
Farewell Focus Final Fling
A couple of months ago Michael Giller suggested to La Belle et la Beat that we all do a gig together for old timers' sake, Columbo, Le Mat, ArtGruppe and himself - seeing as we've all played or groupied in various guises at Focus Youth Theatre, it seemed like the perfect venue to host the party!!!
Michael Giller played briefly in Rare Pleasures with Jake Shillingford and Mal Campbell but Promised Land was his own creation, he later played in No Matter What.
Rob Moore from Columbo sang in many bands who played at Focus from '85 onwards, Hang 10, No Matter What, Stud 100.
ArtGruppe have their own local band history; Roy was in The Windmills (signed to Matinee Records and who played their first ever gig at Focus), Michelle was founder member of Wednesday's Child and later Marnie (signed to Jungle Records), Wendy was in Tortoise Shout and Jay appeared at Focus in Skin of Da Mother.
Our headline band are local legends Le Mat who were formed out of the ashes of Southend's The Leapers.
When I went in to book the theatre, I was told that it was no longer for hire as the Centre was being closed down to make way for the new Tesco and its car park, I was assured that a new Youth Centre was being built behind the Post Office in Short Street. The managers agreed to let us have it though, after a bit of persuading because it was for a special reunion type event.
So the day is getting nearer, the Farewell Focus Final Fling is next Saturday 9th October; because The Pine Bar no longer exists and there is no alcohol allowed on the premises we decided to make it a family friendly afternoon gig, in the Belle et la Beat traddition - 4pm-7pm then all off to the Railway Hotel to continue the party, hoorah!!!
Tickets are £5 because the theatre is so expensive to hire!!!
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