Some things for the weekend (Feb 10-Feb 12)

Count yourselves in
Imagine, if you may, a sudden and mysterious storm whipping the coast of England and a young woman sleepwalking along the edge of a cliff. In the teeth of the gale, a ship crashes through the harbour entrance, abandoned except for an immense dog and 50 boxes of grave dust.

Fairly obviously, the Transylvanian Count Dracula has arrived in England. Immortal only as long as he is able to drink the blood of the living, he pursues his victims with brutally devastating effect. “

He the manFrom the remote wilderness of Yorkshire to a vast ruined castle near to London whose windows omit no light, the race to end Dracula's lustful power is underway, if only there is still time...

Tonight's performance has a special post-show talk with the cast and crew, who will be discussing how they envisioned this classic story and how it was brought to the stage… in case you’re a geek over Dracula-trivia.

*Dracula, The Capstone Theatre, Liverpool Hope University, 17 Shaw Stret, Everton, L5. Fri-Sat, February 10-11, tickets around £10.

They got the love
“We are Patterns. We make music. We love it. We love you.” Now, when a band opens their invitation to their gig with this, you imagine a bunch of hippies in kaftans. You can't stop yourself.

But this is an The American rock/punk band who are heading for stardom with their first global tour, which also brings them to Mello Mello tonight..

They might not be very well known yet, but they are enthusiastic.

Be nice now.

*Patterns, Mello Mello, Slater Street, Friday February 10, from 7.20pm, free entry

Online relationship
Najia Bagi and Tullis Rennie (main pic, top) are The Electronic Exchange; an inter-European duo who write, record and produce their music collaboratively - entirely via the web - from their respective homes in Manchester and Barcelona.

There's a lot of this about nowadays.

Now they have met up and have gone on tour, landing at Static this weekend. Their Stay Straight tour has seen them collaborate with a string section made up of young classical professionals plus a live drummer. 

What's more, the new ensemble rehearsed online only, until three days before the shows.

Patterns in the Ivy is a duo formed by vocalist Yashashwi Sharma and pianist John Pearson. 

Their sound fuses electroacoustic, world music and cinematic styles and relies on natural and organic textures and found sounds to build atmospheric intensity. Plus there's the Hive Collective DJs creating a buzz all night.

Hope that neighbour has got his earplugs in.

*Stay Straight Tour, Static, 23 Roscoe Lane, Liverpool 1. Sat Feb 11, 8pm-11pm. £5.

Bring and buy gets new name
Tired of your wardrobe and no cash to renew it? Fear not. Why not swap your old clothes for mere pennies at the Leasowe Community Centre, with all the proceeds going to Claire House.

The idea behind the Wirral Swish Clothes Swap Party is to bring a few of your own items and swap them for what others have brought.

Some clothes, yesterdayYou can bring clothes, shoes and accessories to swap, as long as they’re all in top nick; any clothes with bobbles, stains or from Primark will not be accepted. Neither will plain t-shirts. Up to five items per head.

You can also get style and fashion advice from Elizabeth Haydn. Elizabeth worked in the fashion and beauty industry for a forever, and with this background and the deeply held belief that everyone had the right to look and feel their best, she trained as a professional style advisor.

On the other hand, if you are the sort of person who needs advice on style, perhaps you should leave your five items where they belong: in the bin.

*Wirral Swish Clothes Swap Party, Leasowe Community Centre, Twickenham Drive, Leasowe, all weekend, from 6pm, tickets £11 at door.