This Saturday 15th November, Funkbox are moving from their usual haunt of The Yardbird, to welcome DJ Format to the Hare and Hounds, Kings Heath. Tickets are available from Jibbering and The Ticket Sellers. Expect some funktastic beats and Hip Hop, with support from Funkbox’s DJ Cro, Roy Roastbeef, Richy Reissue & Revo.

This weekend saw some top acts traveling to Brum to strut their stuff, with special events such as Gigbeth and Drop Beats Not Bombs and showcasing such acts as The Sugar Hill Gang and Biggabush providing some of their greatest attractions. For those of you who didn’t manage to catch Heducation or Drop Beats, you may have come across The Destroyers playing in The Prince of Wales, Moseley, Mama MatrixJohn Mostyn’s new company, CID’s music showcase in headlining The Rainbow or the fantastic Friendly Fire Band lead by Pablo Rider and Tomlin Mystic at The Adam and Eve, Digbeth. It seems that Birmingham artists led the way this weekend and there was plenty of gigs to choose from.

Adam Regan and the Leftfoot crew deserve a mention for playing host to the legendary Basement Jaxx in The Hare and Hounds, Kings Heath, which sold out soon after tickets became available, continuing to offer a great alternative to larger, less intimate venues.

So, whether you were broke or had money to burn at the weekend, there was plenty to choose from. Did you attend any of these events? We would love to hear your comments, so drop us a message and express yourself.  Are you planning to go to any great gigs this week? There are plenty to choose from again, so here’s Jibbering’s top tips for the next 7 days:

For anyone who enjoyed the Black Seeds gig at The Hare and Hounds on November 1st, you may want to catch some more Kiwi music and there is some great stuff on offer! Kora will be playing in Stourbridge on Wednesday night and Barfly, Digbeth on Thursday. Expect dramatic Dub, Reggae, Drum ‘n’ Bass, beats and a live energy which has earned international acclaim worldwide. On Friday night, prepare for a feast of funk, with the phenomenal Fat Freddy’s Drop. If you haven’t yet familiarised yourself with their soulful reggae and generally brasstastic sound, lead by DJ Moo, then check out their website. We have plenty of Fat Freddy’s music available in Jibbering Records, so please check it out. Birmingham has been steadily building a bond with this group, culminating in Overproof Sound System being invited to tour New Zealand and Australia earlier this year by the band, after the FFD crew played in Digbeth a couple of years ago and took the time out to check out Birmingham based talent at Roots DeVille in 2006 after their set nearby. Great Band, great attitude, great music. Fat Freddy’s Drop are playing at Birmingham Academy on Friday 14th November. Tickets are available from http://fatfreddysdroptickets.trinitystreetdirect.com.

Last but not least, our top tip for the week for all you funk and Hip Hop fans is the Funkbox gig on Saturday 15th November at The Hare and Hounds, Kings Heath, which will be showcasing the boundary crossing, DJ Format. It’s a long awaited return for this DJ, who recently toured with Jurassic 5 and has been working on acclaimed mixes such as his discretely released 12″ tribute to James Brown, entitled, ‘Stealin James‘. Tickets are a bargain at £8 and available from theticketsellers.co.uk, as well as Jibbering Records, Moseley. Also playing at this much anticipated event are Funkbox head honchos DJ Cro and Roy Roastbeef.

Thursday night saw the launch of Ninety’s brand new collection, OneDrinPen, and gave JIbbering Art and Music fans a chance to meet the artist himself as well as soak up the sounds of G-Corp’s Jah Grizzly as he played out brand new mash ups and sounds straight from the Elephant House Studios.

Ninety’s work is unique and innovatve, using various techniques and illustrative styles that are instantly recognisable as his own. Ninety has built up a great fan base already as G-Corp’s resident artist as well as his work for various other ep and album covers, and taking a deeper look at some of his new pieces, it is obvious that album art is only the tip of the iceberg for this legendary talent. This collection was also a chance for him to showcase the Holga camera and an accompanying book which he was artistic director of, an intriguing look at ‘life through a plastic lens’. This is a great read for any photographers or fans of photography. On the market since 1982, the Holga camera’s simplicity has made it an underground legend of the camera world. Read more about this great instrument by going to www.lomography.com/holga/books. The camera became quite sought after at the launch party as it is a fantastic toy, so much so that the display camera at the exhibition was snapped up by Yesking’s Rhys Adams, who was in the area for a Leftfoot gig at The Bull’s Head, Moseley, the following night.

Ninety’s OneDrinPen exhibition is showcasing at Jibbering for the next month, so you have until the 26th of November to come and see some truly great art. There are various framed originals available to buy, as well as prints, records and CDs with his work on for those of you with a tighter budget. The feedback from the show was fantastic, so don’t miss this special chance to at least come and take a look.

Thursday 9th October saw Jibbering play host to some of the finest underground art and music in the UK, featuring two special venues.

Kicking off our double whammy of free entertainment was a special in store showcase featuring some of the best UK Hip-Hop talent on the circuit today. Artists performing include Jehst, Sir Smurf Lil, Micall Parkinson and DJ IQ, guaranteeing a very exclusive and one off experience for any Hip-Hop fans. This fantastic glimpse at the UK contemporary Hip-Hop scene was held in the intimate surroundings of Jibbering Records, 136, Alcester Road, Moseley from 5:30pm-7pm and was a great chance to catch some new and exclusive material from Smurf’s forthcoming album, as well as some established classics.

As well as bringing you hot off the press Hip-Hop, Jibbering was proud to invite you all to the Birmingham leg of The Shambala Art Exhibition Launch, at the incredible Wild Building, 104-108 Floodgate Street, Digbeth, from 7pm til Midnight. The exhibition featured the work of 30 heavyweight, cutting edge, internationally acclaimed artists who were unleashed onto the Shambala Festival Site in 2008, producing innovative pieces which were available through a closed bid process, in association with two very special grass roots charities, The Banunule Primary School for Orphans and The Malawi Education Project. Bids were plentiful thanks to the calibre of the pieces and winners; those who successfully made the highest bid to the Jibbering team, will be able to add these lovely investment pieces to their homes and galleries from the 17th October. Thank you to all those who took came along on Thursday. Feedback about the pieces and the space itself was great. The innovative Virtual Grafitti parlour gave artists and novices alike the chance to spray away and experience something completely new, whilst the Jibbering and Jam Jah DJs set the scene. The gallery space is open till Friday for the Shambala 08 Exhibition so don’y miss this opportunity to soak up some street art in a great new space.

We would love to hear your comments so please get in touch if you came along to the show and sign up to our mailing list to receive further information on all Jibbering Events.

Photo taken at the Shoreditch leg of The Shambala Art Exhibition Launch-September 08 (Image courtesy of Dan Burwood)

The Jibbering Sessions are proud to present a very special gig featuring New Zealand based soul, funk and reggae outfit The Black Seeds at The Hare and Hounds, Kings Heath on Saturday 1st November. Hailing from Wellington and currently kicking out a world tour to celebrate their fourth studio album, Solid Ground, (available from Jibbering Records); The Black Seeds are well worth a listen and come highly recommended by all of us here at Jibbering; for those of you yet to discover their unique style, we urge you to check out their myspace or website. Their limited edition newalbum has bonus downloads, and is jam packed with great songs for your listening pleasure.

The Black Seeds are huge in their hometown of New Zealand and have been   tipped as the biggest Kiwi exponent to hit the UK since Fat Freddy’s Drop. With a full eight piece band, however, some of you may find it even funkier than Fat Freddy’s, but we will leave that for you to decide!

This gig will be hosted by a selection of Jibbering and Jam Jah DJs, setting the scene for a unique and unforgettably funky evening of music. Tickets are available from The Ticket Sellers and Jibbering Records. Tickets are £10 in advance/£9 students. We would recommend that you sort your tickets sooner rather than later for this gig to avoid disappointment, as we are expecting a full house in the intimate upstairs room of The Hare and Hounds.

Jibbering Sessions played host to a veritable feast of music on Saturday, with Bristol based Bad Science headlining this very special musical showcase.

Bad Science’s inimitable mix of Dub, Funk and Hip-Hop, all served up with Slam Poetry by award winning vocal gymnast frontman, Dizraeli, went down a treat with the intimate Birmingham crowd, with their socially conscious lyrics and dubbed out basslines. Bad Science presented songs from their three four-track EPs: 2004’s “Area of Consciousness“, 2007’s “Small Gods EP” and their most recent work, “Street Corner Storytellers“.

Bad Science’s energetic performance was preceeded by the dulcit tones of gypsy jazz specialist, Simon Harris, continuing his launch of his new album, 81 Oakfield, as well as DJ Robin (Friendly Fire Music), Mr Muz (Munchbreak) and DJ Tangawizi (AfrikaJam, Jibbering) who all served up the best in reggae, soul, funk and hip-hop in their usual crowd pleasing style.