All hail the return of the fluffy stuff: a bright shade of white to brighten the dark winter! Like it or hate it, the snow’s back and looks set to stay.
It’s got the kids excited and it’s added a dimension of technicolor to what was turning into a dim, dank month. With Christmas and New Year long forgotten, the tough month of February lies ahead, and to be honest there’s not much going on.
Nevertheless, here’s what Going Underground has managed to salvage from the rubble, should you wish to beat the chill factor and have some fun.
Blågårdsgade
If you haven’t tried it already, it’s the perfect location for a warm-up beer. Nørrebro’s Blågårdsgade has got a very decent line of small bars to suit one’s fancy, from the usually packed Props to the cosy Blågårdsapotek on Blågårdsplads. This is the area to start your night during the cold winter months and its central location gives you many options for going out later on in the evening to venues such as Temple Bar, Drone and Rust all very close by.
Game Copenhagen
Game Copenhagen, formerly known as Street Mekka, will be kicking off February with a carnival-themed evening of street sports including a dance performance and a Brooklyn-style dance battle, all of which should send waves of warmth reverberating through the air on a chilly Friday evening. Fancy dress is not required, but you may well be thumping a barrel full of goodies, as ritual and tradition dictate.
The Range (DJ SET)
Ideal Bar; Wed Feb 12, 21:00; tickets: 90kr
At the crossroads between grime, hip-hop and electronic music, The Range sounds like a fine-tuned version of US electronic band Pretty Lights. Pitchfork went as far as billing them as the best new music band in 2013, so strap up for some decent entertainment. At just 90kr, this is probably the last time the band will perform for such a low entry fee, if the trajectory of their ascendency is anything to go by.
Faces of the everyday
An intriguing debut exhibition by Rebekka Francisca Hellstrøm centered on the abstract notion of authenticity in everyday life and on a pictorial discussion of what is meant by authenticity in a world of changing social identities in changing social spheres. This discourse is loosely fastened on philosophical and neuroscientific paradigms discussed by the likes of TED talks speakers such as Julian Baggini, as well as drawing from other sources of inspiration.
Tensnake
Tensnake, the Hamburg-based, disco-driven DJ and producer is famous for having churned out some of the most epic tunes the electronic music genre has seen over the last couple of decades. Tensnake’s music is the sort of thing that could fill up any of the meatpacking district’s grunge discos, but Nørrebro’s Rust got him before Vesterbro could and what a night this is going to be!
Mokoomba are a band that hail from the Victoria Falls area of Zimbabwe. I had the pleasure of seeing them open Roskilde’s Cosmopol stage last year in a flurry of colour and tropical beats that burned with rich textures of afrofusion, afrobeat, hip-hop and world music elements – an infectious inferno that showed exactly why the organisers of the festival had chosen them as the frontrunners for the legendary stage. Mokoomba are a niche even in Zimbabwe, where their local tribal language, Tonga, is spoken by very few people. Prepare yourself for something rare.
Teitur
Like many Faroese artists before him, Teitur is a special musician with a rare sensibility and unique sound that’s seemingly generic to the islands. Having collaborated with over 60 different artists aged between nine and 86 years of age on his album, story music, it is fair to say that Teitur’s arty, pop-infused, instrumentally-rich craft is a compelling concept that’ll leave you with plenty to talk about.
