Hi Everyone
Remember, remember the fifth of November. As I write this, the people of Britain are commemorating the particular episode of Citizen Smith in which the Tooting Popular Front 'liberate' a Scorpion tank and use it to invade the Houses of Parliament, only to find the place empty due to a parliamentary recess.
And it's with this particular brand of slightly misplaced but genuine revolutionary spirit that we return to tell you what's happening at the Rising Sun this very weekend
On Friday, we have TRIBUTE NIGHT
As regular visitors will know, every three months Tribute Night features a different artist and a bunch of local musicians play a bunch of songs by the featured artist.
This time around Tribute Night is devoted to CHIC
For the 2015 autumn edition of Tribute Night, we swagger into New York's Studio 53 and sample the funky delights of disco's greatest band (if they let us in)
Chic stood out from the heavily producer-dominated field of late 70s disco by being a proper band. Core members Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards stripped disco's sound down to its basic primal elements and kept the emphasis on goove, resulting in some of the finest dance singles of their time that have been sampled countless times. Come and hear a varied bunch of local musicians performing songs by Chic, Sister Sledge, Diana Ross, Carly Simon, Daft Punk etc...
We'll be open at 8pm for a prompt 8.30 start, and as usual, there will be no charge on the door, but we suggest you keep £5 or more aside in that tiny pocket-within-a-pocket in your jeans to donate when a friendly looking person thrusts a cash-hungry hat towards you during the interval.
On Saturday lunchtime, we bring you CLASSICAL FOR CHARITY - IMPRESSIONS
Classical For Charity is a series of classical and jazz concerts at The Rising Sun Arts Centre, performed by local musicians and hosted by local pianist and piano teacher Maija Tuomi-Nikula. Come and support us by enjoying top-quality, rarely heard music in a great, relaxed atmosphere without having to pay enormous ticket prices! The November concert features clarinettist Helen Cuthbertson with Maija on the piano. We will bring you some wonderfully melodic and colourful music from the times of impressionism, both as solo performers and as a duo. The programme includes some famous works of the French composer Claude Debussy, and the three-part "Garden of Death" piano piece from the Finnish composer Leevi Madetoja, plus two of Gerald Finzi's famous Bagatelles for clarinet and piano.
Helen and Maija have been working hard towards an exciting musical journey through the times when new things were happening and artists all over the world were pushing their talents to embrace new styles and methods of producing pure beauty. Join us for an afternoon of Impressions!
We're open at 12.30pm for a 1pm start Tickets cost £3 as usual, and of course, there are some lovely refreshments available at the bar.
On Saturday evening, it's time for THE READING KABARET KOLLECTIVE
Featuring MC and chanteuse Baroness Maria von Hackemann (from Alternative Queen Reading, and Here Comes the Sun)
Come to the cabaret and enjoy a night of live eclectic 'klein Kunst'!
We'll be flinging our doors open at 8pm and it'll cost you £10 (£8 concs) to get in
Finally on Sunday afternoon, we bring you our VINTAGE TEA DANCE
Charleston dance class, live music from the amazing Lawrie Wright and THe SIlver Heels. Lashings of homemade cake and tea, as much as you like, served on dainty vintage crockery
2pm to 3pm - Charleston dance class, with Reading Swing Jam
3pm to 5.30pm - Tea and cakes served along with live music to shake a leg to on the dance floor. It's the bees knees
We're open from 2pm to 6pm and it'll cost you £10 on the door to get in
That’s everything for another week, just to remind you that we are, as always, at 30 Silver Street, Reading, RG1 2ST (If you pop it into your satnav or Google, we shall magically appear!)
Have a nice weekend!