Stream URL Change – you may need to update

If you’re listening to Rhubarb Radio on your iPhone, or via an “physical” internet radio (or have the url programmed into a posh player of your own choosing) then you may have had problems over the last couple of days. Fear not, we’re here to help. If you haven’t noticed, or listen via the website don’t worry – ignore us <whistles/>.

The stream URL has changed to:

http://streams.rhubarbradio.com:8000/listen.pls

(It’s not much of a change, but these things have to be exact to work). You may need to update it in the aps – especially if you typed it in in the first place.

Instructions for the FREE FStream app.

Details of RadioBox (paid for app that allows you to browse the web – and hence tweet us – at the same time).

If you didn’t type the address in but selected from a listing, then it’ll probably right itself – don’t worry.

In bonus news however the new iPhone 3.0 software will play live Rhubarb right out of the box. Press on “listen live” on the main page and you should see the “play in your media player link” – much like on the web:

play in your media player now works direct on the iPhone – yay!

We Will Rock You Review

Written by Jenny Tate

The performances at We Will Rock You at Birmingham Hippodrome last night (Thursday 2nd July 2009) were simply breathtaking.

From the singing and the acting to the instrumentals and the songs themselves, it was truly faultless and immensely enjoyable. Raw collective talent and passion was plain to see, as was astonishing synergy between all involved.  A musical feast on a massive scale.  A fabulous opportunity to revel in a remarkable homage to Queen and the concept of rock music, itself.  I have no doubt that if Freddie Mercury himself had been looking down on last night’s show, he would have been delighted with it.

The show was a credit to everyone involved and I could easily have watched it all over again.  Truly awe-inspiring.

To top it all off, the highlight of the night was when Brian May appeared, playing his guitar solo at the end, followed by Ben Elton, (the show’s author and director), replacing his usual comedy routine with a strongly worded speech about the need to reject the horrors of cyberspace in favour of the theatre.  Much mirth and merriment all around.

Temporary blip when Brian May fell backwards onto the drum kit, but I suspect we can all forgive The Ultimate Rock God for that small slight.

Highly recommended.  10 star rating.

For more info about further tour dates and venues, contact Birmingham Hippodrome at www.birminghamhippodrome.com

Comfy Chair, Long Grass and a Cat

Ooh. @beatsuite have gone and got themselves all interactive tv’d up for a good cause, namely promoting a gig to raise some funds for us, and giving their excellent radio show a plug at the same time.

The Whomanity crew and a small gang of presenters have pulled together a gig for us to raise some much-needed funds so we can buy some more equipment for the studio and our outside broadcasts, and this contribution is from Dolhasz and Skeleton.

Who knows, if there’s any money left over, we could possibly buy a lawn mower and some cat food perhaps?

Enjoy- well done guys.

The Rainbow Noise Abatement Order

As we’re sure you are all aware, one of our supporting venues we stream live from, The Rainbow, has been served with a Noise Abatement order.

This is just me (Paul Hadley) writing this, and because we do not have an official view from Rhubarb Radio on behalf of our members yet, it would not be appropriate to express a considered and agreed statement from our organisation here, not yet anyway.

However, many of our members are offering their individual support to the venue, and Rhubarb Radio is currently considering our official response.

In the meantime, Alan Dolhasz, half of Beat Suite, went along to The Rainbow armed with his mp3 recorder, and managed to grab a few interviews with various people that attended a meeting last night.

Alan also had this to say:

“Hello everyone,

I am sure that most of you are aware of the current situation of the Rainbow in Digbeth. For those of you who might not know – check this out – it explains everything. Alternatively – read on.

Today a lot of people came down to support the Rainbow’s struggle. Amongst them was Skeleton and myself, armed with a portable recording device, supplied by Mark (for which I thank you very much – came in really handy) and we got some coverage for all of you to use freely. I happened to catch  Brian Travers of UB40 (if you listen – I know – terrible mistake to make at the end of an interview -_-).
I strongly believe that this issue needs as much attention from the public as possible..

Apologies to anyone who might have been there and wanted to say a word or two, but didnt get a chance to. I had to run to work.

I think it would be important to also make at least the speech available to the public.

Peace
D. “

Also, our good friend Pete Ashton went along with his Flip Camera. Here’s Pete’s videos- one from Kent Davis, The Rainbow landlord, and one from John Tighe, landlord of the Spotted Dog, who are in exactly the same situation. Thanks Pete.

Then, after careful consideration, and allowing for many people’s opinions to be expressed, why not take a listen to Sunday Social’s feature from Sunday, produced by Mark Steadman & Michael Grimes.

FuryUK and Blaze Bayley

Writer: Jenny Tate

The Roadhouse gig tonight (Saturday) was frankly, too good for words.

Two absolutely supreme metal bands - FuryUK and Blaze Bayley.  Kings amongst men.

The extraordinary talent I saw there tonight left me speechless.  These guys really have put the metal back into music.

They truly know about audience participation and how to exude passion for their art.  Both bands gave enthralling performances which just had to be seen and heard to be believed.  Such brilliant musical cohesion is a rare sight indeed to behold.

From the vocal powerhouse that is Blaze Bayley to the simply amazing guitar riffage, bass line and fabulous drum solos in both FuryUK and the Blaze Bayley band, the vibe was just tremendous.

As for star ratings, if it was possible to give 11 out of 10 stars, 15 in fact, both these bands would win, hands down.

The gig was free, as were all the promo CDs I’ve collected and it looks like Blaze Bayley and FuryUK will be doing me the honour of appearing on my show in the near future.  Fun was had by all and the night couldn’t have gone better.  Who says there’s no such thing as a free lunch?

Check out the artists at their web sites:- www.furyuk.com and www.blazebayley.net and for more info about the roadhouse, check out their website:- www.theroadhousebirmingham.co.uk.

Suddenly Phantoms Gig Review

Writer: Jenny Tate

Just wanted to share my very first gig review with everyone.

Last night, I saw an incredibly talented band called Suddenly Phantoms, at a cool little place I’ve recently discovered called The Flapper.  The four piece punk rock band played a brilliant line up, which left me desperate for more.

The 22-year-old genius who is Andrew de Whalley – aka the vocalist, not only gave a stunning vocal performance, but also owned the stage, whilst showing himself to be an all-round natural entertainer.  Phil Gibbs, the bassist, provided some absolutely fabulous bass guitar, likewise brother Rob on lead guitar.  The drummer, (can’t remember your name, sorry), was sensational, especially given the fact that he’d stepped in as a replacement literally just the day before.

The material was lively, fun, authentic rock, through and through.  They gelled perfectly.  This is what I call a band.  If I had to rate them out of 10, they’d get 9 stars, every time.

Check out their stuff on www.myspace.com/suddenlyphantoms.  For more gig info about The Flapper, go to www.myspace/flapperbirmingham.

Digital Britain/ Digital Birmingham Mini-blog site

Because of the amount of traffic being generated around Digital Britain, and the Digital Birmingham event on Wednesday 17th June (@ Birmingham International Convention Centre), we’ve built a centralised point to collect, store and share all the photos, videos, podcasts and written content, with twitter hashtag feeds here:

http://digitalbritain.rhubarbradio.com/

This is where we’ll be putting all of our content up as the day progresses.

Twitter hashtags to follow are: #digitalbritain #dbICC09 and #dbuc09

Please feel free to upload your own content so everyone can find everything in one place.

If you can’t listen in live, please grab hold of the podcasts to listen to at your own leisure.

Free iPhone app to listen to Rhubarb

We found a blog post about listening to Radio Le Mans on the iPhone. It alerted us to a new FREE radio iPhone app — and it’s one that will play Rhubarb too. Here’s the instuctions, cribbed from there and altered so you listen to brum-based community radio, rather than car driving.

Step 1: Head over to iTunes and grab the free app Fstream (will open iTunes). Or search for Fstream in the App store.

Step 2: Open Fstream and tap the star (favorites) at the bottom.
Step 3: Tap Edit at the top/left.
Step 4: Tap Add new webradio
Step 5: Enter this url: (don’t worry about format and bitrate)

http://www.rhubarbradio.com:8000/listen.pls

Step 6: Tap Save. Tap Done.
Step 7: Tap Play at the bottom (next to the Star)
Step 8: Tap your saved url in the list. It will buffer in and play.

You can also pop in URLs to live streams when they’re on.

Digital Britain – Lord Carter LIVE

Listen Live to Lord Carter on Rhubarb Radio as he launches his ‘Digital Britain’ report at the ICC in Birmingham this Wednesday the 17^th of June…

Lord Carter’s ‘Digital Britain’ report is expected to set out the government’s policies on a range of media, technology and telecoms issues including universal broadband, internet piracy, the future of Channel 4 and UK public service broadcasting, and possible assistance for struggling local and regional newspaper publishers.

Exclusive interviews and highlights will be broadcast live throughout the day on www.rhubarbradio.com . Mp3 podcasts will also be available to download from the site.

Lord Carter is due to speak at 11 a.m. and his keynote talk will be followed at around 12.15, by Iain Gray, Chief Executive Officer of the Technology Strategy Board, who will outline how the detail of the report will be delivered.

Roundtable debate and workshops that explore the report’s key themes will continue throughout the afternoon and listeners will have the opportunity to participate in the  live-debate by posting their comments on the station’s blog.

Wanted: your Birmingham music suggestions for The Big Paws

In celebration of Birmingham Music Month, The Big Paws (Saturdays 8-10am on Rhubarb Radio) are doing a one-off special show on 6th June playing only Birmingham music.

Our guest will be Jez from the Birmingham Music Archive and we’re going to pick our favourite Birmingham music gems. But. We’re going to turn half the show over to you — to pick your favourite brum bands and songs.

You can suggest anything you like, but we’ll not be deviating too far from the Big Paws policy of playing brand new tunes and obscure classics — so try and think of something that we and our audience might not have heard before.

Please leave suggestions in the comments here or on The Big Paws blog.

Ta very much,

Jules and Jon from The Big Paws xxx