Ray's Gigs

Daily news and reviews of gigs bars clubs restaurants product launches films theatre fashion shows books art galleries hotels competitions interesting places to visit ...and much more!

Wednesday 08 February 2023.

Wednesday 08 February 2023....6.45pm to 9.15pm... DONATELLO : Sculpting the Renaissance - private view - Victoria & Albert Museum, London SW7. Arguably the first blockbuster of the year, this is the first major UK exhibition to look at the talents of the Renaissance master Donatello...."the greatest sculptor of all time". We spend around 30 mins looking at the exhibition, which includes around 130 pieces. The exhibition examines the Florentine artist's 'innovations, collaborations and inspirations' within 15th century Italy. On the same day , The Standard newspaper gave it a five star review. Around 400 to 500 guests here tonight, including politician GRANT SHAPPS. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has appointed Grant Shapps as the new energy and net zero secretary in a shake-up of government departments. At 7.15pm we get a welcome speech. A female DJ is playing chill-out tunes in the background. Complimentary drinks and food , including two different cocktails, sparking white wines, wines and several different canapes. The show is open to the public from Feb 11 to June 11 , and is a paid ticket. ------------------------------------ ------------------------------------ Tuesday 07 February 2023...2.15pm to 11.45pm... Tues 07 Feb to Thurs 09 Feb - ICE GAMING is held at Excel, East London. ICE is bringing together the entire gaming industry over three days of networking and education. A massive event with up to 10,000 visitors a day expected , with gaming companies worldwide exhibiting. All the big names here will include Clarion Gaming, Novomatic, Aristocrat, Synergy, Fantasy Sports Interactive, Playtech, BetConstruct, EGT, Comtrade Gaming, Stakelogic, Amatic, Realistic Games,Pronetgaming, BET365 , Paddy Power , and many more from around the world. During the Feb 2020 event here, i had a random meeting here with a rock legend. Pretty soon after arriving i come across a stand playing Twisted Sister , nice and loud. The stand is PlaynGo. A very nice random surprise to see rock legend DEE SNIDER from TWISTED SISTER was actually here. Dee is here as there will be a Twisted Sister game being developed with PlaynGo. At first i go up to the VIp/press area upstairs then Dee comes downstairs to greet the public. I have a lovely chat to him about seeing Twisted Sister at Hammersmith Odeon and we talked about the sadness of Motörhead members and Ronnie James Dio not being around anymore. Dee forthcoming projects include producing a film. Dee said he was in London just for a couple days then flying back to America. A massive plus here was the swag that they were giving away so i managed to get... Twisted Sister "Stay Hungry" album from 1984 and that has been licensed by Music On Vinyl...signed by Dee. Dee Snider photo from the 1980s and a more recent photo of Dee...both signed to me. A Dee Snider t-shirt and of course i got a photo with him...Dee was so nice and friendly. ------------------ At Excel from 2.15pm to 8pm. As we get nearer to the venue, there are people everywhere. Inside think two football sized pitches, full of gaming and casino and betting related companies. Lots of colourful neon everywhere, and loud music in some places...think a giant Las Vegas casino. It is a 90% male crowd , with half the females here being promotions girls on the various stands. You can test and play around with all the gaming machines etc. Lots of complimentary drinks and food on many of the stands, so a shout out to... SPORTINGTECH - a nicely designed full bar including spirits, beers, Guinness etc. EGT DIGITAL - also had a nice bar and we managed to get some seats. AMUSENET - had four different cocktails , along with the above...also some cold buffet food. Excel closed at 6.30pm then there was complimentary wines, beers and canapes at pub nearby. Then 8pm to 11.45pm. THE LONDON BABY party at The Natural History Museum, South Kensington, London SW7. Like last year at the same venue, this was a massive event for around 800 guests from ICE GAMING. Lots of side rooms open so you can see the museum exhibits. There was a female DJ, a fun photo booth and a fun roulette area. Main sponsors of the event were... FASTEX, AMUSNET INTERACTIVE and 1XBET. We get invited into the 1XBET lounge where they had their own seating and their own cocktails. They gave us a goodie bag of a branded ruck sack goodie bag with half a dozen items inside. Lots of complimentary spirits with mixers, wines, beers and bowl food throughout the venue. We left at 11.45pm, but hundreds still here , and very lively, as the event was on until 1am.