Sanguinearts Network Journal

Dogbonfire
play Living
443 coldharbour lane, london, sw9
Thursday 27 Sep 2007, 20:00 (tonight!)
free

www.dogbonfire.co.uk | www.myspace.com/dogbonfire

The Barbican's next show Seduced looks interesting - advertised with Jeff Koon 's porn images and strictly for over18s... let's hope its more like their Araki show of a few years back, and not like their not-very-punk Punk show 'Panic Attack': very jumbled, not the best works by artists, only loosely connected with Punk. Had it been done better it might have been the art equivalent of Simon Reynolds' Rip It Up and Start Again.

I saw a show called Welcome to My World at the Alexandre Pollazzon gallery near Warren Street tube. It featured a drawing by one of my favourite modern painters Charles Avery. It was one of those annoyingly 'curatorial' shows, accompanied by stories and reams of text, far out weighing the visual element of some quite interesting, but otherwise seemingly unconnected works. There was also a free and amusing broadsheet cartoon of the painter Max Beckmann going into a kind of Norse hell.

I went to the Photographer's Gallery a short while ago and see the beautiful works of Keith Arnatt. Originally a conceptualist along with Arts and Language he followed a more private, personal practise since the 1970s. The show had a cross section of the past 30+ years with dog-walking portraits, rubbish photos, animals, notes left by his wife, other ephemera; but strikingly poetic. Also on show there were photos of the journey of a plastic bag by Marysa Dowling, and Chris Coekin 's The Hitcher series - both of interest.

I got my A Place to Bury Strangers CD at the beginning of this month, over from Killer Pimp records in New York. Its very good, a mixture of gothic echoey noise, steely guitars, electronic rhythms; a bit like current American indie rock like Killers and Arcade Fire, but more alternative (if that words means anything nowadays). There were definite hints of 80s music like early New Order, Jesus and Mary Chain, Sisters of Mercy and Echo and the Bunnymen.

Sad to hear of Tony Wilson's sudden passing. However, amused to learn that he was buried in a coffin with the number FAC501.

The Cartoon Museum in London has a show of Heath Robinson's Helpful Solutions cartoons until 7 October.

Daft Punk's Electroma film has been touring the country, and will be screened at the Electric Proms in London on 24 October. It will be out on DVD 15 October. The film features an alien duo in DP-style helmets arriving on earth and finding themselves alienated (not surprisingly, being aliens). Lots of spacious vistas, big cars and groovy French electro pop.

Speaking of electro, LCD Soundsystem play the Brixton Academy on 23 October.

Hello. Today is Monday. The new PJ Harvey album 'White Chalk' is released in the UK today. I've yet to hear any new material, but I loved the last album 'Uh Huh Her' and I'm in the process of re-discovering her previous records. Might just give this new one a go - will have to see how I feel next time I'm wandering past a record shop. Another new album that I'm looking forward to hearing is 'Situation' by Buck 65 which is due at the end of October. If I had some money I'd be tempted to head up to London to catch Bucks show at Bush Hall tonight in the hope of hearing some new songs. Looks like he's heading out on a major US tour soon, so I guess he wont be hitting the UK again for a while. Oh well. On the subject of live shows in London I must mention the 'Thrill Jockey is 15' Party which is at the Koko in November. It will be running over two days, but it's the second day that interests me, featuring as it does my favourite Detroit electro-poppers Adult., alongside Tortoise, Bobby Conn and KTL. I don't think I'll be able to make it unfortunately, but it does look good.
Next time I have a spare 20 minutes I'll post a review of INLAND EMPIRE - the latest David Lynch movie. If you like a bit of Lynch though I suggest you check out www.dugpa.com which is my favourite source of Lynch news on the web. Bye for now.

Had a lovely relaxing time in the South of France soaking up the sun and swimming in the pool. But now back in London and lots is happening as always. And here's one thing to get you started:

Film production company (a dog barks) headed by artist filmmaker Tony Johnson are hosting another curated selection of films at the Roxy - fast becoming the coolest place to see new artists' films. There will be a rich mix of award winning films including narrative fiction, experimental work, animation, documentary, music videos and more. Last time this was quite a night and this promises to be just as good with DJs and drinks a plenty.

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