September cover
For many September means back to work, back to school and the start of the post-holiday blues, but our September issue is packed with interesting articles and interviews that will surely lift those end-of-summer spirits.
Our cover story this month is on the ubiquitous and much loved Barcelona balcony. In his piece The vanishing balcony, Richard Schweid asks whether these common additions to many a edifice in town are becoming more scarce with the introduction of sleek, modern and glass fronted buildings.
If you have been following the news lately you might have a clue as to the problems currently facing the Catalan car industry—Dave Humphreys investigates the once thriving local auto industry in A rough ride.
Whether or not it's due to the angry banners hanging from windows around town or the multitude of 'Please leave quietly' signs outside almost every late-night establishment, you can't have failed to notice the trouble live music venues are having with angry neighbours and local councils over noise policies and licensing rules. Kati Krause asks whether the venues are holding up under the pressure or folding in Keeping it live.
After the relative quiet of August, our ON section is bursting with festivals galore. We feature the Festival l'Hora del Jazz, Hipnotik and VII Festival de Blues de Barcelona. Plus if you thought poetry wasn't for you, we suggest something that might make you change your mind: The Poetry Brothel mixes the spoken verse with, well, sex. French bossa nova band Nouvelle Vague come to town and the Giggling Guiri English-language comedy season is back in the form of Janey Godley.
Tara Stevens, our regular foodie gives a whopping five stars out of five to Gong, a place that offers yummy Asian food in a friendly, cool environment. Sticking with the eastern theme, she tries lunch at Bouzu, where the Japanese tapas get creative.
In our new 'Over to you' feature, we talk to Jessica Rainey, who's on a mission to bring a literary scene to the city, and our monthly interview is with jazz guitarist Dave Wilkinson.