Realtime, generative Audio Visual performance presented in the MAC’s best kept secret – a gem of 1960s architecture – the HEXAGON theatre, originally the Cannon Hill Puppet Theatre

SCREE are DJ Sir Real from the House of God and VJ Catweasel who does visuals for artists like Stevie Wonder. Modulate are an AV collective who grew out of electronic ambient pioneers Higher Intelligence Agency. FREECODE are an AV collective of tweakers featuring:

• Chromatouch
• Minuek
• Laternist
• Hellocatfood

Happening on Friday 19 August. Head to Facebook for info. Brown Paper Tickets for even more info and tickets.

Incidentally, more info on the Cannon Hill Puppet Theatre here.

Even more impressively, there’ll be a performance by Oli Sorenson, aka VJ Anyone. This guy’s one of the world’s best and doesn’t play such intimate venues very often – he’s usually working at the behest of top name dance acts and fancy brands.

As well as all that they’ll have all sorts of fun cleverness in the form of the Tagtool, Wiiwhorld, and 10-player Bomberman.

More info on Chromatouch’s website and the Facebook event.

STRAX has a show on Rhubarb Radio on Wednesdays, 5-7pm. You can listen back to the past few via the handy ‘listen again’ feature.

Here’s the full line-up:

The Heritage Orchestra

Lizzy Parks (album launch)

DJ Cro hosting 2 and a half hours of local MC talent including Ko-Syne (Soulthump, Livebox), SPX (Kung Funk), Redbeard (Eat Good) and more

Visuals by Chromatouch

It’s competition time!

I’ve been given a couple of tickets to give away for this.  All you have to do is shout up for them in the comments.  Just some quick rules:

• The first person to claim them takes both the tickets (well, guestlist places)
• No-one CiB-related can play
• No previous competition winners can claim the tickets
• You’ll need to use a proper email address for me to confirm things with you
• I get the final say on any decisions (if it’s really necessary)

So go for it…

Meanwhile, here’s the flyer:

You can also have a nosey at the interview with Mary Wakelam, of Birmingham Jazz, who co-promotes these events.

• Saturday 24th – Tinariwen
• Sunday 25th – Resonance Events presents The Herbaliser and Chris Read while Mad Flow, DJ Maxwell and Chromatouch provide the local talent.
• Monday 26th – Capsule & Fierce present a Julian Cope lecture plus a screening of Haxan with live soundtrack.

The Saturday night is particularly interesting. It’s a joint Town Hall/Birmingham Jazz production and is billed as a relaxed club night following in the steps of the Town Hall’s all-night jazz sessions of the 50s. The Herbaliser have a new album out on Ninja Tunes and this is the first night of their tour.

Chris Read promoted Substance at the Medicine Bar with Roc 1 and, especially back when it was on every Thursday, there was no better place in town to be. He’s returning to Birmingham after picking up rave reviews for his The Diary mixtape which condenses a 801-track history of hip hop into 70 minutes. It has to be heard to be believed and can be downloaded free from his website.

It’s really good to see the Town Hall being used in this way. Sure, there are plenty of safe, bland acts booked – I expected that – but this weekend they’re putting on one of the most varied leftfield programmes of any venue in the city, and that I didn’t expect. In fact I could quite happily spend my whole weekend down there.