Pick of the Line 27/01 – 02/02

Find out where to go, what to do and when to do it...

Thursday: B R A I N W A V Σ S @ The Alabi, Kingsland High St
Friday: HAUTE! @ Concrete, Shoreditch High St
Saturday: Meat @ East Bloc, City Road
Sunday: Brunch @ Hoxton Breakfast Club
Monday: Cmap Street Kids Art Exhibition @ Studio 54, 54 Rivington St
Tuesday: Uneventful but satisfactory day @ All over
Wednesday: ‘Nofound to New Documents’ photography exhibition @ Viktor Wynd Fine Art, 11 Mare St

Photo: Chris Flatline

Thursday

DJ Chris Flatline (of the dingy basement club night Endurance) brings the East “a new mid-week dance ritual”, playing the best in Electronic Disco. Brainwaves is set to become a monthly fixture and tonight’s launch is sure to bring an eclectically fashionable crowd of dance ritual participants: “Nothing is true – Everything is permitted”, reads the night’s existentialist tagline. So expect “everything”, but above other things, expect plenty of euphoric writhing about to synth waves. Ali Renault and Nathan G Wilkins – previously of the legendary Boombox – guest as DJs.
Free, The Alibi, 91 Kingsland High Street, E8

Friday
Hosted by secretly-a-bloke socialite Munroe Bergdorf (and friends) in association with the cult make-up brand Illamasqua, HAUTE! sees its second instalment this Friday, more than ever combining the glitz of gay Soho with the edgier easterly vibe ELL knows and loves. Legions of London’s most glamorous DJs will treat you to diverse sets so “you better WORK!” Expect to see a host of outrageous looks from fashion’s casualties of war. But if your thing is more effortless chic, that’s OK too; anything goes. Also, a live performance from emerging starlet songwriter Viktoria Modesta who has shared the stages of Groove Armada, Paloma Faith and pretty much all sorts.
£7, 9pm – 2am, Concrete, 56 Shoreditch High Street, Shoreditch

Saturday
Meat is a night devoted to all things cheap. Promising a “heady, sweaty, meaty mix of sleazy beats, cheap drinks and even cheaper guys”, tonight is the first London party from the international house DJ Tom Stephan. We suspect this party is not for the fainthearted but for those who are committed to letting loose to “the sexiest bass-heavy beats” with the “raving homosexuals of the East End”, it should be completely ideal. £5 if you arrive before midnight (8 quid after) and the party will stay banging until 6 am. Do it…
East Bloc, 217 City Road, EC1

Sunday If all things “retro” or even “quirky” are up your alley, then The Breakfast Club is the place is for you. It’s also for you if you like a good, albeit rather gentrified, fry-up. Just what you need to reward yourself after a hard night’s vogueing. Just off Hoxton Square, the Hoxton Breakfast Club offers a splendid, not-cheap-but-not-expensive array of breakfast options. Hearty breakfast, healthy breakfast, American breakfast, exotic breakfast, whatever you need. Always favourite of hipsters with hangovers, you may be facing something of a queue on peak-time Sunday morning, but the wait is worth it. And besides, if you’ve followed ELL’s advice for the past three nights you’re unlikely to be awake before 3 pm. Oh, and last time I went I saw Kimberly from Girls Aloud.
2-4 Rufus St, London N1

Monday It is always interesting to see the world through children’s eyes. But what if you’ve not got any Latin American children of your own to do paintings for you? Well this exhibition will be just the ticket! No, in all seriousness, the international arts charity Cmap are showing off photos, textiles, animations and paintings made by street children from Ecuador and Mexico and today is the last day of the exhibition in Hackney. The charity aims to give a rare opportunity of creative outlet to children many of whom have suffered domestic or social trauma. Visit www.cmap.org.uk to find out more.

Free, 10am – 5.30pm, 54 Rivington Street

Tuesday How often have you been to Victoria Park? Well, whatever the answer I am sure it is not often enough because Victoria Park is HUGE AND AWESOME! Go for a run there if you’re still feeling a bit festively fat. Alternatively, if you’re thin as a rake then get fish and chips from Gary’s Fish Bar (440 Roman Rd), perhaps avoiding the overly-sugary ketchup, take them to the park and watch the joggers.

Then maybe a pint in The Little Driver – a small, friendly and very no-nonsense pub between Bow Road and Bow Church stations.

Go to Dalston to get your nails done. Take your shoes to be mended. It’s all better than sitting at home waiting for things to happen on your Facebook.

Photo: Tod Seelie

Wednesday
The Nofound to New Documents exhibition opens tonight at 6pm. Gritty images of everyday life and intriguing intimate portraits from both established and emerging photographers will dominate this range of snapshot/personal oriented photography curated by Emeric Glayse who created the Nofound blog in 2007 – dedicated to contemporary photography. Click here for a preview.
Viktor Wynd Fine Art, 11 Mare St

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