This Weekend's Events (16th to 18th May)

Hi Everyone

As World Cup fever is starting to mount, I, your humble narrator, would like to announce my retirement from international football given that I wasn't selected for the England squad (again).

Despite the obvious disappointment, I can still look forward to all things Rising Sun-related this weekend!

On Friday, we bring you STAND UP CINEMA
 
Stand Up Cinema is our monthly film club with a little bit of help from those nice folks at Real Time VIdeo. It’s the only cinema night in Reading where you can findshort films from local film-makers and a selection of contemporary and classic films that you won’t often find elsewhere. It’s also the only cinema night in town where you can enjoy a beer with your popcorn!
 
By the way, if you’d like to show a short film of your own, why not drop a line to [email protected]? It doesn’t have to be the finished article, it just needs to be 10 minutes or less in length. It’s a great way to get some audience reaction.
 
This month’s main feature is SCARECROW. (Jerry Schatzberg, 1973).

Scarecrow is a little-seen road movie starring Gene Hackman and Al Pacino in early roles as two vagabonds travelling through the Midwest. The film won the Grand Prix at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival and has been described as a freewheeling masterpiece.  One critic has even gone as far as saying that Hackman and Pacino as give "the performances of their lives".

Short films all start at 7.30 and The Fountain starts at 8.00 pm. Entry is £4

Saturday sees the Springtime instalment of TRIBUTE NIGHT

Anyone who has been to a Rising Sun Tribute Night will already know the deal. Every three months we pay homage to a much-loved band or artist.  Everyone picks a song or two, practices them for a bit, then gets together again on Tribute Night to play them to a crowd - always with fascinating results. The next Tribute Night’s hero is announced at the end of the evening. It’s a simple but winning formula and is silly amounts of fun.

The 2014 spring edition of Tribute Night sees us indulging in a little tribute night fever as we pay homage to the songs of THE BEE GEES.

Otherwise known as Robin, Maurice and Wotsisface, The Bee Gees tick so many boxes that make them ideal for Tribute Night.  They have been around for an impressive length of time, with a recording career that straddles five decades.  They have been astonishingly prolific, stockpiling a staggering arsenal of quality pop songs for themselves while still having enough spare material to provide a shed load of hits for some of the world's most beloved singers: Barbra Streisand, Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross, Frankie Valli, Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers...  They’re one of those songwriting teams who will make you think, “They wrote this too?  I didn’t know that was them!”

They are also one of those recording artists who, despite having an instantly recognisable sound, have actually covered a lot of ground in their time, producing music in a variety of genres while maintaining a core identity.  Their tight-as-disco-trousers three-part vocal harmonies and piercing falsettos (falsetti?) might not be to everybody’s tastes, but, love them or loathe them, they have earned their place in the pop pantheon.

We'll be open at 8pm and as usual, there will be no charge on the door, but  we suggest you keep £5 or more aside for when the friendly people with hats circulate the room, the bar, the hallway, the porch, the little bit of pavement out the front, and the smoking pen out the back.

And finally, on Sunday, it's time for MILONGA SIMPATICA

A small, friendly milonga aimed at giving people a chance to dance tango in a relaxed and stress-free environment. Good company, tea and cakes are provided.

We’re open from 4.30pm and it’ll only cost you £6 on the door.

That’s everything for another week, just to remind you that we are, as always, at 30 Silver Street, Reading, RG1 2ST (If you pop it into your satnav or Google, we shall magically appear!)
 
Have a nice weekend!