Compact archive July 22, 2008

Primal Scream’s career could in many ways be read as a microcosm of British indie rock in the ’80s and ’90s. Bobby Gillespie formed the band in the mid-‘80s

Primal Scream specialized in infectious, jangly pop on its early records. After a brief detour to punky hard rock, the group reinvented itself as a dance band in the early ’90s, following through on the pop and acid house fusions of the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays.

Primal Scream created the ultimate indie pop and dance fusion album, Screamadelica, in 1991. Screamadelica broke down boundaries and changed the face of British pop music in the ’90s, helping to make dance and techno acceptable to the rock mainstream.

Their was the title track to the hit 1996 film Trainspotting. Primal Scream’s contribution to the soundtrack was a return to the dance stylings of Screamadelica, only darker. The last album was in 2008 Beautiful Future with the hit Kill it Back.

You can hear them in Prague Club Roxy close to Namesti Republiky, on 3rd October 2008. Tickets at Ticketpro.

Club Mecca is the biggest Czech house music club, so the fact that during holidays there are no great names doesn’t mean, there is no great fun – quite the contrary, on free Wednesdays the place is pumping and vibrating. Not only the entrance is free during the holiday Wednesdays and some of holiday Fridays, Sundays and Saturdays, but also girls get 1 free cocktail before midnight.

Mecca focuses on parties. The club main room is large, black and illuminated by various lights. The place is dominated by a massive bar. Equipped with solid music installations it provides good sound for its visitors, who are Czechs mixed with foreigners, who all form a kind of ‘good society’. Though there’s no dress code, many people who do come, like to make an impression.

It is Called: Hudba na habsburském dvoře. Karel VI. v Praze, Neapoli a Barcelone – Music at Hapsburg courtyard. Charles VI in Prague, Naples and Barcelona. The prestigious Spanish set La Real Cámera created together with an excellent singer Raquel Andaluzea the programme, connecting music tradition of Baroque Bohemia and Spain.

The programme of the second concerto refer to relation of Houses of Habsburg during the region of Charles the VI. The pieces that are going to be played that evening are the same ones that were performed during Charles VI in Prague.

The concert is organized in cooperation with Spanish Embassy.
Tickets: 280,- czk, students: 150,- czk. The tickets are also valid for an exhibition at the Prague Castle, but not for the permanent exhibitions of the Castle.

Event: 9th September 2008, Rudolfova galerie of the Prague Castle

If you like Zoos in general, the Prague one is renowned enough to be liked, but the golden era is not going to last forever, and the manager Petr Fejk is very aware of the fact. His plans for future enhancement of the Zoo are quite extraordinary for such a small country the Czech Republic is. Judge for yourself – to make a seal pool in the American style, with platforms and performances few times a day. Expect no circus – the performances start from the idea animals should move naturally, and should enjoy it in the first place. The future trainers will be send directly to the USA, to learn from the masters.

Fejk also came with the idea of letting people into the new huge parrot aviary that should be finished next year; if it will work, that would become an integral part of the Zoo. Another news will be the planed lookout tower, and not an ordinary one – it is going to be a replica of the over a hundred years old wooden lookout tower of Jizerske hory. The list of goodies ends with a sweetshop, which is to be placed in a newly reconstructed historical cabin in the Zoo.

It has been two months, since the Czech Republic was announced the Olympic Games of 2016 won’t be in Prague, but it seems the Prague Mayor Bem has a plan for year 2020 already. He said for Aktualne.cz: “At the beginning of the next year, the Prague Olympic Society is going to undergo some personal changes. We are going to prepare for the year 2020 with greater ambition and with a stronger team at our back”

However, Pavel Bem will have to persuade other representatives as well, as the Green Party and European Democrats request Prague to give up on the Olympics. Not even the Prime miniser Mirek Topolanek, which is quite an essential for the financial guarantee. The other thing is, that the pools say if elections were now, ODS would lose to CSSD, and they would probably not support Bem, who is so much ODS.