Music

744 Hours - 7 must-see shows

Snipe Staff | Thursday 22 July, 2010 19:49

UNDERAGE FESTIVAL » 1 August
Victoria Park | Tower Hamlets, E3

Teens between 14 and 18 must move fast to get tickets for this fourth annual mix of hormones, future music and Topman sponsorship; where kids brought up under Harry Potter and Labour get bonkers in the park. No parents, 19-year-olds or booze allowed (highly edgy security). £29.50 gets a line-up—overseen by geriatric tastemaker Sam Killcoyne (18)—headed by Ellie Goulding, MIA and Lightspeed Champion. The bill is probably better than Lovebox and also includes interesting acts like Stornoway and Everything Everything, and a ‘Community Music Stage’. The kids are coming up from behind—until the embarrassing Harry Enfield Dads come to pick them at 8pm, when the festival ends. Amy Liptrot

JENS LEKMAN » 3 August
Union Chapel | Compton Avenue, N1 2XD

The last time Jens Lekman blessed our shores with his own unique brand of self-deprecating chamber pop, he’d just released one of the albums of 2008 with Night Falls Over Kortedala and crooned his way across the UK including shows with Bon Iver, Josh Rouse and Wildbirds & Peacedrums. In his two year absence, he’s since quit Sweden for a life of leisure in Australia – only stepping out for a handful of dates in the warmer climes of Argentina, Chile and Brazil. Lekman returns for a one-off show in the glorious surroundings of the Union Chapel and, with no new album to promote, expect greatest hits galore. Anyone who has seen Lekman perform can only testify of his magnificence on the live stage; with the added backdrop of the Union Chapel to enhance the experience, even Jesus Christ might swing by. That is, if he can get a ticket. Rich Thane

RATFACE » 3 August 2010
The Windmill | 22 Blenheim Gardens, SW2 5BZ

Ratface is a vocalist who sings/screams/raps/gesticulates wildly over Casiotone lo-fi backing tracks and Wu-Tang beats from a grainy 8 track. Augmented by a back up vocalist and the occasional Casio stab, Ratface shows are raw, violent, funny and a whole lot of fun. Having fronted much-missed hardcore punk band Dead Letters, Russell moved to Bristol and started gigging solo under the Ratface moniker, moving between vocal loops, scattershot rap and hectoring post punk lyricism, Ratface straddles many potentially awful cliché pitfalls but darts amongst them with such nimble grace he deserves a knighthood (he’d send it straight back). A living genius. Go see for yourself. Sebastian Reynolds

A HAWK & A HACKSAW » 3 August
Café Oto | 18 – 22 Ashwin Street, E8 3DL

This Leaf Records-sign Balkan/Klezmer/Mariachi fusion folk ensemble are stalwarts of the ATP scene, and after tours with unlikely indie megaliths Portishead, their audience is growing. Jeremy Barnes’s previous work as drummer and organist in legendary acoustic rockers Neutral Milk Hotel can’t have hurt. Hailing from Albuquerque and often gathering a mixture of English, American and European musicians, every tour is different and consistently excellent. Based around the flowing accordion work and swooping vocals of Barnes and the virtuoso flair of violinist Heather Trost their ranks are often swelled by tuba, cimbalom and trumpet for fascinating variations on eastern European roots musics. Look out for mooted new album, provisionally titled ‘No Rest For The Wicked’, soon. Sebastian Reynolds

FUCKED UP » 9 August
Barfly | 49 Chalk Farm Road, NW1 8AN

There’s plenty to like about Damian Abraham. He’s got a great name for starters, like God and the devil wrapped into one. It makes sense then that he’s the size of two men, a sweating, snarling 20 stone punk monster known as Pink Eyes on stage (though Shouty Mouth or Clammy Forehead would suit just as well). He also spent the $20,000 2009 Polaris Prize money on funding a right-on cover of Do They Know It’s Christmas, featuring Wu-Tang and Yo La Tengo yelling into a Dictaphone while listening to the original on his iPod. And his band is just as awesome. Mike Williams

YES WAY » 13 – 15 August
Auto Italia | 1 Glengall Road, SE15 6NJ

DIY promoters Upset The Rhythm and innovative curators Auto Italia collaborate to showcase the most exciting sounds and visuals from the UK underground for the second year. No-wavers Islet preview their October tour, gamelan fanatics Chora demonstrate why the Wire love them, La La Vasquez and Plug return and there’s a special ‘opening night’ party with Lovvers, Cold Pumas, The Human Race and Sub Pop dudes Male Bonding on the 13th. Sian Rowe??

GOLD PANDA / MAX TUNDRA / DAM MANTLE » 17 August
Madame JoJos | 8-10 Brewer Street

Evergreen midweek indie-dance-whatever party White Heat has teamed up with Rockfeedback for this stellar night of live leftfield electronica. Gold Panda was one of the hype bands of 2010 after his inclusion on the crazily over-valued BBC Sounds list, but his catchy, supine synth squiggling is well worth your time (unlike much of that list’s all-hype-no-tunes inclusions). Max Tundra is a 100-carat genius, making mind-bending pop that combines the 8-bit aesthetic of Germlin and DJ Scotch Egg with tunes fit for the Jackson 5. Dam Mantle opens with an amniotic, low-key, ambient take on things. John Rogers

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