The Backpackers Hostel Blog

Mon14 & Tue 15 Jul

At Auditorium Forum – Ticket Hotline 902 10 12 12. International enquiries +34 933 262 946. Buy Tickets also available online from www.telentrada.com. Tickets on sale Monday 2nd June at 9.00AM.

Tom Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by one critic as sounding “like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car.”

With this trademark growl; his incorporation of pre-rock styles such as blues, jazz, and Vaudeville; and experimental tendencies verging on industrial music,Waits has built up a distinctive musical persona. He has worked as a composer for movies and musical plays and as a supporting actor in films, including The Fisher King, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and Short Cuts. He has been nominated for an Academy Award for his soundtrack work on One from the Heart.

Lyrically, Waits’ songs are known for atmospheric portrayals of bizarre, seedy characters and places, although he has also shown a penchant for more conventional ballads.

(Taken from http://www.antilabelblog.com and www.wikipedia.org)

Fri 11 Jul

9pm at Sala Razzmatazz (Almogavers, 122) 25 – 30€ Buy tickets

Duffy, is a British singer-songwriter. In 2003 and was invited to appear on Wawffactor, a Welsh television show similar to Pop Idol on local station S4C. She was expected to win, but came second to winner Lisa Pedrig.

She recorded a three-song-EP in Welsh in 2004 and also appeared on two tracks on the album See You in the Morning by Mint Royale. Owen Powell of Catatonia and Richard Parfitt of Newport band 60ft Dolls, introduced Duffy in August 2004 to former Public Image Ltd. member turned music manager and part-owner of Rough Trade Records, Jeanette Lee. Lee moved Duffy to Crouch End in London, and orchestrated a meeting between Duffy and Suede’s ex-guitar player Bernard Butler.

Contracted to A&M Records during 2007, together with another rising star, Adele, Duffy was the most prominent of the so-called “new Amys” (a reference to singer Amy Winehouse. On 21 April 2008 Duffy was at the top of the Pan-European Album chart for Rockferry and the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles chart for “Mercy”. (Taken from http://www.iamduffy.com/ and www.wikipedia.org).

Mon 23 Jun

Picture by Marcelo Aurelio

The Saint John’s Festival is the midsummer solstice celebration. It is celebrated on 23rd June every year and is also called “La Nit de Sant Joan” – Saint John’s Night.

The summer solstice is the day of the year when the night and day are of equal length and in ancient times this was considered the most important event of the solar year.

Fire use to be the symbol of abundance, purity and fertility; that is why fire is the central element of this Festival in the form of fireworks and bonfires on the beaches.

At midnight, everybody can participate in the ritual of fire purification. The tradition is, that you should write on a paper the things you want to change in your life, throw it into the flames and then jump three times.

Each “barrio” has its own firework display and all-night bonfires. The biggest celebration is at Montjuic with a fabulous fireworks display and a massive bonfire. (Taken from www.arte-redes.com and www.barcelonayellow.com)

July and August

Wed until 11pm / Tue until 10pm at Caixa Forum (Av. Marques de Comillas, 6-8)

Concerts, Scenic Arts and Poetic Recitals, Cinema, Multimedia Performances

Tríada (Bulgarian Voices: Valya Petrova, Boryanka Dimitrova, Elena Aleksieva; Pulshar, La muerte y la primavera (Teather), EEDL (electronic music), Branquicefalias mistéricas, Ni Romeo ni Julieta, Barco de arena (Scenic Art), Sitjazz Band, Digital China (Audiovisual Thematic Concert), Los libros arden mal (tango novel), Zaharregia, txikiegia agian / Una manera de mirar (poetry and music), Binomis (Down-tempo experimental electronic + Balago Dance & Erre que Erre, Asíkides (greek music), Divine Gospel Reunion, A paso de Rosalía de Castro (poetry), Carta de una mujer desconocida (Letter from an unknown women Xu Jinglei, China, 2004, 94 min, Movie in VOSE), One Woman Blues & Swing Show, Sforzinda (Flute concert), Flamenco (Mercedes Cortés/voice, Jordi Flores/guitarra; Jesús Flores & “el Nano”/palms), Institut FATIMA (Multimedia Spectacle), December Quintet, Sunflower Zhang Yang, China, 2005, 131 min, VOSE (Movie), The Baghdad Ensemble (Classic Music from the Middle East), Fernando Lagreca (electronic pop), Vida (Poetic Recital), Ping-pong mongol Hao Ning, China, 2005, 107 min, VOSE (movie), Barbad (Classic Music from form Persia, tradicional Armenia and popular Magreb), A paso de Charles Baudelaire (Scenic art), Micro Music BCN (multimedia concert), La boda de Tuya Wang Quanan, China, 2006, 95 min, VOSE (movie), One Woman Blues & Swing Show, The Orient Express Orkestra (sefardi and klezmer music), edukando.org (electronic music), Pere Arquillué dice a Gabriel Ferrater (Scenic art).

(Taken from http://obrasocial.lacaixa.es).

See Program (just in Spanish language)

Fri 27 Jun

8pm at Razzmatazz (C/Almogàvers, 122) 25-28€ Buy tickets

This duet composed with the actress and singer Najwa Nimri and the producer Carlos Jean, started in 1997 with “Like Those Roses”.

Now they are promoting their new album “Till it breaks”.

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Sun 22 Jun

9pm at Apolo, Sala 2 (c/ Nou de la Rambla 111) 10 – 12 € Buy ticket

The promoter “Arte por derecho”, is bringing its latest flamenco creation: “Los Domingos son de Lunares”. Inspired by a song by El Capullo de Jerez, the title of this new event reflects the spirit of this famous piece of music: joy, colour, vitality, authenticity and a passion for the sounds of rumba, flamenco and fusion.

David Romero born in Barcelona,  began his professional carrear in the “Carmen Amaya Tablao”. Since then, he has been performing in the most important stages of Spain, the London Chapel Theatre and at “El Flamenco” tablao in Japan. Also he has participated in the Memorial “Antonio Mairena”.

In 2000 he was awared the Honor Prize of Carmen Amaya in the Contest of Young Values celebrated in Barcelona as the best dancer, turning into the only dancer who wins the six awards of this Contest.

Romero has shared stage with the most important artists: Joaquín Cortés, Rafael Amargo, Antonio Canales, Juan de Juan, Juan Andrés Maya and Lola Greco.  (Taken from www.sala-apolo.com and  www.corraldelamoreria.com)

Thu 26 Jun

10pm at Sala BeCool (Pl. Joan Llongueras, 5) 6-8€ Buy tickets

Brazzaville was formed by David Arthur Brown in Los Angeles in late 1997. They have released 7 CDs since then. In 2003 David moved to Barcelona, where he formed his European version of the band. Brazzaville’s fourth studio album, Hastings Street (2004), was recorded in both Los Angeles and Barcelona and was mixed in Los Angeles.

Since moving to Europe, Brazzaville has played sold out shows in such diverse places as Moscow, New York, Barcelona, Istanbul, Amsterdam and many more. They have been favorably reviewed in The New Yorker, The L.A. Times, Afisha, Time Out New York, The Onion, La Vanguardia, Telerama and many other publications. They enjoy a cult following in many countries.

In 2008, Brazzaville has tours planned for Europe, Russia, China, Turkey and the USA.

Until 30 Jun

The guitar and voice of Marcio Mello will start off the festival, sponsored by Voll Damm, at the Harlem Jazz Club. This year there are 80 concerts with 300 musicians in ten halls of the Barcelona district.

Highlights in the program of concerts include Matt Harding from the USA, and the Bulgarian group Romaní Chavé. But 96% of the musicians are Catalans, including Joan Pau Cumelles with his Blues Band and the composer and guitarist Joan Vinyals, also from Barcelona, and his Delta Power Trio. (Taken from http://w3.bcn.es).

Program

Thu 19, Fri 20, Sat 21 Jun

Program at CCCB – MACBA - SANTA MÒNICA - FIRA GRAN VIA - L’AUDITORI - PALAU DE LA MUSICA CATALANA Ticket info Buy tickets

Sónar is a three-day annual music festival held in Barcelona. It is described as a festival of Advanced Music and Multimedia Art (Concerts, Dj´s, SonarCinema, SonarMática, Sonarama, Conferences and Panels, Profesional and Editorial Fair).

‘Three days and three nights in touch with the most up-to-date developments and featuring the most relevant national and international artists.’

‘Sónar is the essential meeting point for an alert public, cutting-edge artists and the most influential professionals from the sectors of music and modern arts.’ (Taken from www.sonar.es and www.wikipedia.org)

View all artists info

Until Sun 19 Oct 2008

At Museu Barbier-Mueller d’Art Precolombí (C/ Montcada, 14) 3€ Buy tickets at the Museum

Tue – Fri from 11am to 7pm / Sat from 10am to 7pm / Sun and public holidays from 10 am to 3 pm
Mondays closed, except public holidays

First Sunday of the month, admission free from 10 am to 7 pm
Annual days closed: 1 January, Good Friday, 1 May, 24 June, 25 and 26 December.

In this exhibition, there are more than 50 pieces that explore the “Taino Culture”, the indigenous people found by the Spanish conquerors when they arrived in the New World.

The “Tainos” were pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. It is believed that the seafaring “Tainos” were relatives of the Arawakan people of South America. Their language is a member of the Maipurean linguistic family, which ranges from South America across the Caribbean.

At the time of Columbus’s arrival in 1492, there were five “Taino” kingdoms and territories on Hispaniola (modern day Dominican Republic and Haiti).

Through a wood, stone carving selection, and written documents; the visitors can discover the “Taino” traditions and their rites in relation with the divinities. The more emphasized pieces are a wooden “duho” (low seat used by the Indians), a bird man or an anthropomorphic figure with tears on the cheek. (Taken from http://w3.bcn.es and www.barbier-mueller.ch & www.wikipedia.org).