Today is my birthday, and I feel like celebrating! So, how do you take your Campari, dear Reader – with soda, tonic or orange juice? Starting at 6 pm today, make your way to one of the bars listed below and order yourself a Campari on me! Well, almost... You will have to pay 1 franc in order to keep on the right side of the law, but let's just consider that your birthday present to me. Each bar will have a limited number of celebratory libations to (nearly) give away, so make sure you leave work a little early. Just tell the boss you have a birthday party to go to.
 See you at:

La Stanza / Rio Bar / Piazza / Safari Bar / Nordbrücke / Piccolo Giardino
Cheers,

Ron

Now, here’s a real present for you: GOrilla Bicycles is giving one bike away to a lucky Ron Orp reader! (Wait…it’s my birthday, so shouldn’t I be the one getting all the presents? No matter, ‘tis better to give than to receive, right?) There are two ways to enter to win this amazing prize: either send me an email ([email protected]), or become a fan of I*Ron Zurich and then change your Facebook status to give me a birthday shout-out.

Part Hot Chip, part Talking Heads, London’s We Have Band has been called a synth-pop odyssey. The trio plays Exil on Thursday night, as does We Loyal and DJ Ryan Riot. I’m curious to check these guys out – they may have band, but do they got game?
Thursday 8 pm, Exil

I’m sad to say it, but it’s true: St. Pauli, one of my favourite venues, is closing its doors, but it’s not going without one last big bash. This final RockaRolla party will feature djs Grau, Don Alfonso, Jiggy Pop and Big Boy Broadway, and I’m sure they’ll pull out all the stops for a memorable send-off.
Friday 10 pm, St. Pauli

Don’t forget that this Saturday is Labour Day, and shops in the city will be closed. I usually take in the dancing and parties, but this year I think I might camp out at Lily’s Stomach Supply to watch the action (or maybe mayhen?) on the Langstrasse, and if things get a bit too crazy I’ll take a breather by catching Guru at RiffRaff.
Saturday 2.45 pm and 7 pm, RiffRaff

Grundton gets together with France’s Poni Hoax and Denmark’s Kasper Bjorke this Saturday at Hive. Sounds like the United Nations of eclectro to me, don’t you think? Thank goodness that pesky volcano is under control in time for this summit.
Saturday 11 pm, Hive

Think you’ve never heard of Yann Tiersen before? Think again! He’s the instrumental music genius behind many famous movies, including Amélie, one of my all-time favourite films. He plays live at X-TRA, but be warned that tickets are 55 francs. Genius is expensive, I suppose.
Monday 7 pm, X-TRA

DePhazz brings their smooth sounds to Kaufleuten on Tuesday. The downtempo jazz ensemble integrates modern turntablism and elements of soul, Latin, trip hop and drum and bass into a lounge music sound. Again, tickets are at a premium.
Tuesday 7 pm, Kaufleuten

Close, direct, intimate, naked, natural and genuine. Welcome to FACITY, an online photo project by Hannes Caspar, Kerem Ergün and Martin Wunderwald that shows different portraits from cities all around the world. Check out the faces of Zurich here. Anybody look familiar?

The couch cushion fort is an underappreciated art form, certainly, but does it have what it takes to stand up to an architect’s critique? Find out at Build Blog (and indulge your adult design sensibilities, while you’re at it).