Our going out guide is here to help you plan the weekend ahead as we give you our pick of the galleries to visit, nights out to head to and the threads to wear. If you are a promoter or curator and want your event mentioned please feel free to get in touch.

Galleries
Tonight sees the re-design of the smoking area at XOYO so to celebrate they are having an exhibition from 6-9pm where you can meet the illustrators. Alasdair Ferguson, Susie Hogarth, Victoria Sin and Argir Ziovsky will be showing some of their exclusive artwork while Desperados will be providing drinks. There is also an opening out west as Pure Evil, one day after his appearance on The Apprentice will be having a night of artwork, music and drinks at the WeBe3 Gallery in West Kensington. As well as selling his new collection he’ll doing a live screen printing session. Let’s just hope none of The Apprentice contestants are working for him tonight. Friday isn’t normally a night for show openings but Tony’s Gallery are hosting the launch of their latest show featuring the talents of MisterTheFreak and FAIF with their latest body of works ‘Santa Teresa Hotel ‘Room 479′. The show runs from the following day until the 3rd June.

There are also shows by Bael at Signal Gallery and Static at Whisper Fine Art still running and well worth your time, while the success of the Roa ‘Hypnagogia’ show has seen an extended opening by Stolen Space, with the work at their gallery space now on display until the 20th May. Please note the Osborne Street space has now closed.

Nights Out
One of the biggest names in house and one half of the legendary Masters at Work, Kenny Dope is playing a Hip-Hop set at East Village. Perhaps not as well known for his association with Hip-Hop as he is with House music, but don’t be fooled this guy knows his stuff and will be playing a range of beats and breaks not to dissimilar to the mixes we’ve been rinsing on his Soundcloud of late. This is a big weekend for going out with your choice spoilt by what’s on offer and moving from one legend to the next, Wiley is having another Eskimo Dance at Proud with the likes of JME, Newham Generals and Marcus Nasty just some of the names featured on the bill. Moving into the rest of the weekend there’s the an interesting new night beginning with Bugged Out where the 2 Bears will be joined each night by a DJ which has been a big influence on them, in this case it’s Derrick Carter. Closing out the weekend is the legendary Grandmaster Flash who is playing at Up On The Roof at Brixton Clubhouse.

Sounds for the Weekend
After the noise made with their Fact mix, Disclosure show no signs of stopping and we recommend checking out these tunes as the soundtrack to accompany your weekend.

Disclosure – Boiling
Jessica Ware – Running (Disclosure remix)
Disclosure – Flow

What to Wear
Clearly the weather isn’t the one right now and with unpredictable nature of living in England you need to be prepared for the elements whether its May or not. Handily there’s something which should be a key piece in your wardrobe which is perfect for any weather and that’s the trench coat, with this Burberry casual trench coat our recommended pick. Perfect for the pub or club, this works whether going casual and paired with a polo and jeans or for a smarter approach with trousers and a shirt.

Where to Eat
Starting out as a vendor under Hungerford Bridge, the guys behind Pitt Cue Co have brought their take of American BBQ to Soho where their little hideout in Newburgh Street serves up a feast of BBQ, bourbon and beer. Mains are around a tenner and include all the classics like pulled pork, sticky St. Louis ribs and brisket, while there’s an impressive list of Bourbons and beers to work through. A welcome additional to the Soho streets.

All gallery and club listings follow after the jump.
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Recently I passed through the latest installment of the “Make With a Red Stripe” art project which was the conclusion of a creative road trip involving an array of artists, to a backdrop of floor fillers provided by Deadboy and Boddika.

British illustrator Rose Stallard, Parisian artist Sandrine, tech whizz Berliner Sweza, and New Yorker D. Billy were all given a creative brief to use a van as their canvas, and encourage others to engage with it as it embarked on a tour round Bristol, Leeds and London.

The live event saw the vintage car room in Old Street taken over as those in attendance added their creativity inside the vans, enjoyed the complimentary Red Stripe and did a little two-step to the sounds of Deadboy and Boddika.

Brands like Becks with their art series and Tiger with their Not Known series show what can be done when a beer brand goes the extra mile to promote their brand, and it’s good to see Red Stripe providing something different too with the “Make With a Red Stripe” series.

Also check out the video with installation artist Filthy Luker on the streets of Manchester who pulls together road signs and anything else he can get his hands on to make an interesting homage to alien invaders.

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