The Backpackers Hostel Blog

Tue May 13

9pm at Sala Razzmatazz (Almogavers, 122) 18-21€ Buy tickets

Blood Red Shoes are a two-piece, punk/grunge band from Brighton, England.

Steven Ansell and Laura-Mary Carter formed the band in 2005. They have performed over 300 live shows and released eight singles.

They were signed to V2 in April 2007 with whom they released the singles “It’s Getting Boring By The Sea” and “I Wish I Was Someone Better”.

In an interview in Berlin, Laura-Mary expressed that the band’s name was taken from a Ginger Rogers/Fred Astaire musical, in which Ginger Rogers had turned a pair of white dancing shoes red with blood because she had been practicing dancing so much in them. (Taken from www.eflive.it and www.wikipedia.org).

Sat 24 May

10pm at Auditorio Hotel Melià Sitges (C/ Joan Salvat Papasseit , 38 -Sitges) Buy tickets

Carlos Núñez is internationally regarded as an extraordinary MUSICIAN who stands among the most earnest and brilliant in the world. But he is also a true ARTIST. His charisma, energy and pioneering spirit have made him very popular, while he has gone far beyond the usual limits of his instruments: the bagpipe and the recorders.

He has received countless awards and nominations: a Grammy which he shared with his teachers, the Chieftains, for their album “Santiago”; Premio Ondas (Spain); Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik (Germany); two nominations to the Latin Grammy Awards, etc.

He has also attained commercial success: his first three albums have reached platinum record status in Spain, and his sales near a million copies world-wide. (Taken from www.syntorama.com and www.elpozodestirling.blogspot.com).

Sun 29 Jun

10pm at Palau Sant Jordi  (Pg. Olímpic, 5-7)  40€ – 73,50€ Buy tickets

MARC ANTHONY is the most influential artist of his generation. And indeed the most eclectic, becoming not only the biggest selling salsa singer of all time, but a great theater and film actor and a producer as well.

He started writing songs in his teens. In 1991, he teamed up with producer and DJ Little Louie Vega to record When the Night Is Over, a Latin r&b and hip-hop album featuring guest appearances by Tito Puente and Eddie Palmieri. It created such a stir that maestro Puente invited him to be the opening act at a Madison Square Garden concert to celebrate Puente’s 100th album release. That was the start of:

• Over 10 million albums sold worldwide
• Awarded over 12 Latin and Standard gold and platinum certifications by the RIAA
• Has won a total of 16 “Premio Lo Nuestro” Awards in the span of his career.  Holding the record of winning the most “Premios Lo Nuestro” Awards of all artists
• 2005 Latin Grammy Winner – Best Latin Pop Album of the Year (Amar Sin Mentiras)
• 2005 Latin Grammy Winner – Best Tropical Album of the Year (Valio La Pena)
• 1999 Latin Grammy Winner – Song of the Year (“Dimelo”)
• 1998 Grammy Winner – Best Latin/Tropical Performance (Contra La Corriente)

Taken from: biboz.net and www.marcanthonyonline.com)

Fri 27 Jun

9:30pm at Palau Sant Jordi (Pg. Olímpic, 5-7)  36 – 45€ Buy tickets

TOKIO HOTEL are Bill Kaulitz (vocals) & Tom Kaulitz (guitar), Georg Listing (bass) and Gustav Schafer (drums), and their story reads like the script for a blockbuster movie…

‘… A band from a town in East Germany become the biggest stars of the past 20 years in their native country, charting records at No. 1, playing to ten or 20 thousand each night and being feted with every German industry award. Before long, the four musicians are traveling farther afield, and demand is growing fast – not just from an increasingly manic fan base, but from the mass media too. Tokio Fever rages out of control…’

Since signing with Universal in May 2005, TH have sold approaching three million records & DVDs in Germany alone, making them the country’s most successful band, with a host of domestic awards jostling for space in the collective cabinet (nine platinum/four gold, at last count, plus an additional four platinum awards for sales in Austria & Switzerland). And they played the most successful debut live tour EVER to grace German stages. (Taken from http://tokiohotel-uskith.nireblog.com and http://www.tokiohotel.com)

Wed 25 Jun

10pm at Palau Sant Jordi (Pg. Olímpic, 5-7)  37 – 47€ Buy tickets

Juanes is a Colombian rock musician. During the 1980s and 1990s, he was a member of heavy metal band Ekhymosis but disbanded the group in 1998 to pursue a solo career. His 2000 solo debut album, “Fíjate Bien”, had moderate commercial success and went on to win three Latin Grammy Awards.

His second album, “Un Día Normal” was certified platinum throughout much of the Spanish-speaking world, and its lead single “A Dios le Pido” topped singles charts in twelve countries. Mi Sangre, his third album, fared equally well with Juanes promoting it on a tour with over 200 performances.

The album’s third single, “La Camisa Negra”, generated controversy after being used as a symbol for Italian neo-fascism.

Juanes is one of the best-selling Colombian musicians, having sold more than ten million albums and won twelve Latin Grammys. He is also known for his humanitarian work, especially with aid for Colombian victims of anti-personnel mines.  (Taken from http://www.juanes.net/ and www.wikipedia.org).

Sun 1 Jun

9pm at Estadi Olímpic “Lluís Companys” (Passeig Olímpic 17-19, Barcelona)   49 – 74€ Buy tickets

BON JOVI is a hard rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Fronted by lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi, the group originally achieved large-scale success in the 1980s. Over the past 25 years, Bon Jovi has sold over 190 million albums worldwide, including 34 million in the United States alone.

In 2006, the band won a Grammy for best Country Collaboration for “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” with Jennifer Nettles from Sugarland and also became the first rock band to reach #1 on the Hot Country Songs chart with the same song. The band has also received multiple Grammy nominations for music from the albums Crush, Bounce, and Lost Highway.

Throughout their career, the band has released ten studio albums, of which nine have gone platinum. In addition, the band has charted 19 singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, four of which reached #1 -”You Give Love a Bad Name”, “Livin’ on a Prayer”, “Bad Medicine”, and “I’ll Be There for You”.  (Taken form www.wikipedia.org and http://cucharasonica.com).

Fri 25 Apr – Sun 4 May

At Cines Aribau, Cine Maldà, CCCB, Espacio Movistar, Sala Apolo, Casa Asia. Go to program Single ticket: 6€; 5-Movie Pass: 25€ (Free entrance in some places)

The Barcelona Asian Film Festival (BAFF) is the only festival of its kind anywhere in Spain and is one of the most respected and admired Asian film festivals in Europe. Since its creation in 1999, BAFF has offered the best in Asian independent cinema and boasts one of the city’s most enthusiastic and diverse audiences. Now in its 10th season, the BAFF is also the Barcelona’s fastest-growing film festival: in the course of the nine editions held so far, the number of sections and films screened have both increased, while audience figures have gone up from 2,000 to 22,000.

BAFF 2008 extends the venues of exhibition adding the cinema Maldà and Espacio Movistar, and launches a special section, BAFF 10, with a selection of ten fundamental movies that have been screened at the festival from its first edition in 1999. BAFF keeps the traditiciona sections: Oficial Section, AS (Asian Selection), D-cinema and Espai Anime. The guest cinematography invited in the BAFF 2008 will be Hong Kong. (Taken from http://www.baff-bcn.org).

Mon 28 Apr

9pm at L’Auditori, Sala 2 Oriol Martorell ( Lepant, 150)   20€  Buy tickets

Alva Noto plays with the rules of physicality. Sound is changed and evolved into time and space and transformed by looping oscillators and tone generators. Through these processes the essence of pure electricity is made audible.

He works without sequencers, but mathematically edits his work to give his compositions precise rhythmic structures. Clicks and glitches are not used as ornamental additions to the compositions but make up the essential elements of the work and these sound sources are applied to the rhythmic groove of Hip-Hop and R&B.

The sounds of electronic information transmission such as fax tones, modem sounds and telephone pops and clicks are sampled and organized into loops to which Alva Novo adds longer electronic tones in the background and foreground as the piece progresses. (Taken from www.wikipedia.org)

Wed 23 Apr

9pm at L’Auditori (Lepant 150) 12€ Buy tickets

The Choir will sing the concert of the 60th anniversary and will Interpret pieces that prominent composers have dedicated to the Coral over these 60 years of unbroken musical career.

(Taken from www.auditori.org and www.picasaweb.google.com)

Thu 15 – Sun 18 May

Drassanes Reials de Barcelona (Av. Drassanes, s/n) 15€ (Students 7€)

Thu 15 from 7pm – 9pm
Fri 16 and Sat 17 from 4pm – 9pm
Sun 18 from 12pm- 8pm

Swab: small piece of absorbent material attached to the end of a stick or wire. Swab will absorb 35 galleries around the World between the 15th and the 18th of May 2008 in Barcelona.

The place selected for Swab location is an old galley arsenal in the very heart of the city, revealing the Swab maxim: There is a sweeter way to experience an Art fair. Swab provides all the participating galleries with lodging in selected hotels near the fair site surrounded by restaurants, bars and museums. A swaber will not only enjoy art, but as well the city. (Taken from www.swab.es)