Thanks to everyone who came to my Birthday party last Friday. I had a fantastic time and from what i hear, I wasn’t the only one. Apologies if I didn’t get a chance to talk/dance/drink with you, but the good thing about birthdays is that they tend to come around every year. I'll see you next time. Also, this Sunday is Mothers Day (not in UK, don’t panic). So, if you couldn’t celebrate my special day, your mum seems a good replacement. 

Give my love to the city, Ron

In a city ruled more by an electro soundtrack, this weekend a new club, Gonzo, offers a different option – dirty rock ‘n’ roll. Over the whole weekend you can hear the vintage and rocking sounds of bands whose idea of electronic music is to plug in their guitars and turn them up to 10.  Thursday is the opening night but I have 2x2 tickets for Friday. E-mail me.
Thursday to Saturday 11 pm, Gonzo Club

Susan Mogul has been an L.A. based filmmaker since the 70’s, where she emerged as a strong voice of the feminist art movement. Back then she pioneered video as a film medium and her films are all autobiographically personal. I’ve always thought watching her movies are like watching the home videos of your most favourite crazy person. She comes to Xenix on Friday to talk about her work and to show four of her short films, as well as Driving Men, one of my favourites.
Friday 6 pm, Xenix

There is a cd release concert happening at Perla-Mode this Saturday. The cd is Kopf Kino Kantaten and contains 24 one to two minute original pieces ranging from classical to jazz played on the piano. Although short, each piece of music has an emotional undertow and just like reading a short story or poem they seem to easily come and go but leave something of their passing behind. I have 2x2 tickets to give away for the concert. E-mail me.
Saturday 8.30 pm, Perla-Mode

I like to think of the Future is Now festival as the clubbing equivalent of the Reservoir Dogs movie – a gang of different venues get together for a special 24 hour mission. Although, unless the parties get out of hand, no one should be losing an ear. The festival has grown this year and now includes 8 bars, clubs and cinemas for you to explore, all with live bands and djs. There are even some activities for children. I recommend getting a combi-ticket and jumping from one venue to the next.
Saturday 3 pm, Various venues

Goths, by all rights, should just be a dark, willowy memory this far into the 21st Century but somehow, perhaps by black magic, they have managed to evolve and survive. Bands like The XX and My Chemical Romance keep the music fresh and movies like Twilight give teenagers an excuse to wear black and be moody (do they need an excuse?). Now come Esben and the Witch who play at Mascotte. They sound dreamlike and dark and will make you wish you’d kept those black leggings.
Tuesday 8 pm, Mascotte

How do you know summer is here? When you go to Idaplatz and all the benches are taken. Idaplatz turned into a popular meeting point over the last years. The square is lined with bars, offers space for the odd boules play and makes you feel like you’re in Italy. Here you find it all – from the kiosk called Smoking (you have to love that name), to Calvados bar for a cold Amboss, Berta Bar for a hot Panini, Piazza for the best Birchermüesli in town (and currently for Schnitzel from Tuesday to Saturday) and the new restaurant at the corner Bertastrasse / Aemtlerstrasse for a pizza. It’s all there, except for the bio shop, which had to close over the winter months.

From the outside it seems like any bar, but inside you feel like at home, at least I do. Plüsch means plush, which describes how this venue’s interior looked years back when I’d just moved to Zurich. Nowadays its styling is clean and airy but still fairly colourful with bright shades of green and orange. It offers breakfast and strong coffee (also to take out), tasty lunches and snacks, and is a nice place for a drink in the eve as well.
Aemtlerstrasse 16

With the happy thoughts of my birthday behind me and a gloriously sunny weekend ahead, the new song from The Go! Team sounds exactly like i feel. Enjoy

In L.A., the Museum for Temporary Art hosts an exhibition about street art. It’s the first of its kind, telling about the history of street art and graffiti. 50 renowned artists like Swoon, JR and Banksy display their works. Photographers and film makers such as Martha Cooper and Terry Richardson supplement these works with own images showing the development of this art movement. If you’re in LA before the 8 August, you shouldn’t miss it. For the rest, there is a special edition of Juxtapoz-Magazine about arts in the streets.