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Pálfalvi's won more awards than you've had birthdays. His style and programme selection have been described as 'innovative', 'visionary' and even 'acrobatic' — so if this'll be your first foray into the world of classical, you can confidently leave all stuffy preconceptions at the bar. The informal Harborne gig is taking place the night before Pálfalvi's full concert at Symphony Hall the very next evening, so best not keep him up at the bar too late.
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THE BARBER'S
TOP QUARTET
Bite your thumb at the grey of Feb with an awesome new exhibition dedicated to the Scottish Colourists. The Rhythm of Light showcases the works of a quad of 20th Century painters who worked in France, getting all inspired by the likes of Manet, before heading back to Scotland to apply what they’d learnt. When you arrive, start on the right of the room and follow the pictures round. They'll take you on the Colourist's journey as they, almost chameleon-like, took on the brash and vivid hues of the Fauvists. Your journey will end with Samuel John Peploe's Green, Sea, Iona (pictured). The daddy of the Colourists, you can see how Peploe has gifted the rugged Hebridean coastline a Matissean vibe. Parts of the canvas can even be seen as the painting is left in an almost unfinished state, just as Henri Matisse often did. Find the collection at The Barber until May 13. And as a tribute, we're going to leave this article somewhat unfinish...
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FILM OF THE WEEK: LADY BIRD
There’ve been countless coming-of-age tales about boys, but precious few about girls. Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird won’t single-handedly correct the imbalance, but it’s better than most about either gender. Saoirse Ronan is phenomenal in the lead, a girl in her final year of high school desperate to escape from her boring suburban existence — a familiar idea, but here made fresh with a frankness about how a lack of funds can serve to clip the wings of teenage dreams, and that this urge to flee the nest isn’t without emotional cost. The 2002 setting may be vaguely sketched — especially if you remember it — but Gerwig is a generous writer, undercutting teen movie stereotypes at every turn, wisely making the parents if anything more sympathetic than their daughter, and — most of all — absolutely nailing that weird late-adolescence period that sucks at the time, but is really the most magical moment of your life. Times
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WIN: A LUXE STAYCATION WITH MICHELIN-STARRED MEAL
There's nothing more treatsy than a night away which basically requires no travel on your part. Well, there is actually: winning that stay, and adding a seven-course Michelin-starred feasting'll do it. Hampton Manor has fifteen beautiful bedrooms. Think huge bay windows, free-standing bathtubs, more throw cushions than a person could use in a lifetime and homemade cookies — we can't praise these enough. In terms of dinner, Peel's restaurant is where you'll be heading. Now in its second year of Michelin stardom, the good-looking restaurant's all about seasonal, local flavours and majors on texture. You'll also find plenty of spaces for coffee-drinking, paper-reading, max-relax-chillaxing: Hampton Manor's basically the best version we've found of the home you live in, in your dreams. To be in with a chance of winning an overnight stay and dinner for two, sign-up to Hampton's mailing list before 2pm on March 5.
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PROJECT MEDICINE
You know the teeny tiny looking Medicine Bakery on New Street? It's got an enormous stunner of a space above it, which is opening with a weekend of art, culture and food. Project Birmingham's curating the muzak on the Friday night, and for Saturday putting on five mixed media installations which all have big Brum at their centre. And get this sort of food throughout the weekend. March 2 to 4. The deets.
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Venue: Bodega, 12, Bennett's Hill, Birmingham, B2 5RS, Website
Choice: Xim Xim (£11.95) Chooser: Waitress, Maria ("You've gotta see her!")
When it first opened, Bodega was pretty much a fortnightly occurrence for this writerist. But with all the newness of the last couple of years, it fell off our 'recently called' list through no fault of its own. Fortunately, a menu spruce got us back in the door, and into a room full of buzz, and tasty, filling food at a tasty, filling price point. The main changes to the menu focus on introducing more veggie dishes, like a quinoa and aubergine main (£8.95) and a Chinese-Peruvian fusion stir fry (£8.50). But it was the Xim Xim that had us immediately agreeing to alternate our Friday lunching between OPM and Bodega. In the new menu world, the Brazilian stalwart of prawns, chicken and diced veggies in a thick, peanuty sauce now has a coconut milk base for the coveting, and is served with big, fight-for-the-last one sort of tortillas, as well as Bodega's dirty rice — a creation that includes cumin, peppers and sweetcorn. Start things right with a Mezcalarita (£6.50). Think a Margarita but with smoky Mezcal rather than tequila. One of these will half your afternoon's output. Menu
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