Into the dead of night
Arty partying is not something you get to do too often. Yes there's Biennial Long Night and Light Night but most of the people involved are tucked up with their cocoa by 11pm.
The Day of The Dead of Night, at the Bluecoat this Saturday, is a 17 hour marathon that ends with a bit of turn-tabled KLF by the sound of things, although the last train to Central will well have stopped by then.
Organised as part of the live programme for the Bluecoat’s current exhibition 3 am: wonder, paranoia and the restless night, expect talks about aspects of the night, family activities and live music, and in the evening literature readings, stargazing, two extraordinary films, late bar and DJ.
“The idea”, says the Bluecoat’s Director Bryan Biggs, “was to celebrate the richness of the nocturnal hours with a whole day and night of activities that combine artists who express wonder at the night sky with those who explore the dread experienced in the dead of night, and others who see the early hours as a time of transgression and wild abandon.”
The Day of the Dead of Night is timed to coincide with the Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico. In the evening writer Ailsa Cox will read her new short story, ‘Hope Fades for the Hostages.
Later into the night two films will be screened: Nostalgia for the Light (2010, dir. Patricio Guzmán, 90min). Filmed in the Atacama Desert, this award winning documentary combines astronomers’ examination of the universe’s most distant galaxies with relatives’ search for the remains of their loved ones, political prisoners ‘disappeared’ by the Chilean army after the military coup of 1973.
Dead of Night (1945, dir. Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden, Robert Hamer, 102 min). Classic Ealing horror including a memorable ventriloquist’s dummy episode with Michael Redgrave. Martin Scorsese included the film in his list of the 11 all-time scariest horror films.
And from 9pm to 3am, Bryan Biggs’ strictly vinyl set, The Night Time is the Right Time, will travel pop’s extensive universe – from ‘Blue Moon’ to ‘3 AM Eternal’, from Van Morrison to Daft Punk.
The whole day is FREE, apart from the films and the ‘Hope Fades for the Hostages’ literature event.
The Day of the Dead of Night, Bluecoat, School Lane, Sat 2 Nov-Sun 3 Nov 10am – 3am. Free and not so free. Tickets & Information on 0151 702 5324 .
Lighting up time
WITH four processional bands, 220 performers, fireworks and of course, lot and lots of lanterns, there are many reasons to love the 2013 Liverpool Lantern Parade at Sefton Park.
But the best reason of all is that this year, for the first time, the popular family event takes place on FRIDAY night - and not Sunday night which is inconvenient on every single level imaginable.
After months of preparation, Liverpool’s Lantern Company say they will dazzle us with spectacular new creations including a bluegrass fiddler cat on board the Moon Chariot and it's all free.
Now a permanent fixture of Liverpool’s cultural calendar, this year, the parade will start at the Obelisk Monument off Sefton Park Road at 6.30pm before winding its way through the eerie darkness, beautifully illuminated by the halo of hundreds of lanterns.
*Liverpool Halloween Lantern Carnival Parade, Obelisk, Sefton Park Road, L17. Friday November 1, 6.30pm.
Robyn HitchcockA bit of Hitchcock
Robyn Hitchcock has written and recorded over 500 songs with the Soft Boys, The Egyptians, and more recently The Venus 3.
Titles include: 'Where Are The Prawns?' 'The Cheese Alarm' 'My Wife & My Dead Wife' and 'I Wanna Be An Anglepoise Lamp'.
Any good? Well Grant Lee Phillips, John Paul Jones, Martin & Eliza Carthy, Krystle Warren, KT Tunstall, Abigail Washburn, and Nick Lowe think so, he's played with them all and more this year. His working mates have also included Bob Dylan, The Incredible String Band, Fairport Convention, Nick Drake and Pink Floyd.
Robyn describes his songs as 'paintings you can listen to'.
Robyn Hitchcock, Kazimier, Wolstenholme Sq, Sunday Nov 3.
To Market
The Sunday market trend continues apace, but what more natural place to stage one than Static - the gallery that upset the neighbours because of the noise from its excellent gigs and sparked a dreadful fuss.
Anyway, how can a little light Sunday trading possibly rile the disgruntled of Roscoe St?
Static tells Confidential that it has many surprises up its sleeve in the coming weeks in its evolving reinvention.
Get down there to support them this weekend with food (soft porchetta sandwiches), designer clothing (Alena Kudera), music and other stalls.
Sunday Market, Static Gallery, 23 Roscoe Lane (behind TriBeCa), Liverpool 1.
