London agenda for Wednesday 2 February
1. Receive Love from Darkroom [Le Cool]
2. Hear four of the gosh-darned finest musicians at Folkabout [Run Riot]
3. Wire at Scala [London Gigs]
4. Stay in the Hendrix Suite at the Cumberland [Tired of London]
5. Avoid floods and cyclones with Lula and the Lampshades [Flavorpill]
6. Celebrate the ground breaking poem, Howl, by the luminary of the Beat generation at Ginsberg [Jon Davis]
7. Be nostalgic with Shannon Oksanen’s handmade objects in Bethnal Green [Lauren Down]
02 Feb 2011
Warpaint, Twin Shadow, The Neat » 21 Feb
Shepherd’s Bush Empire | W12 8TT
If you failed to hear of this LA four-piece until now you’ve clearly been hibernating since the summer. Following their Exquisite Corpse EP in 2008, The Fool was hailed as one of last year’s best releases. Their name’s been splattered across town since the hazy summer, on through dreary autumn and the pitch blackness of winter; proving their psychedelic art-rock hauntingly capable of transcending climate and mood. Both dreamy and sinister, dreary (but the good “depressing music is good for the soul” kind) and sweet, their gloomy, grungy guitars paired with a quartet of female vocals are enough to satisfy any Cat Power lover’s appetite. Multiplied by four obviously! They play their biggest UK show to date at Shepherd’s Bush Empire on the 21st February, joined by Twin Shadow.
01 Feb 2011
Seams » 19 February
Macbeth | 70 Hoxton St, N1 6LP
Seams, the nom de plume of one James Welch, has been causing a stir since he released his debut EP Tourism last October. Created in Berlin from ephemeral sounds recorded on old cassette tapes or mobiles phones, Seams’ rich, textured output fuses gently swelling beats with harsh industrial noise. Usually found hunched over his laptop in a live setting, the young artist creates crisp and clear, high-pitched chimes that ring out over a soft static fuzz. With brooding and dark soundscapes rumoured to be on the horizon, his set might well be more fitting during the British winter than the German summer.
01 Feb 2011
Sleigh Bells » 14 February
Heaven | Villiers Street, WC2N 6NG
What could be more romantic on February 14th than treating your loved one to a sonic-battering, courtesy of Brooklyn noise-pop duo Sleigh Bells? This Valentine’s Day show at Heaven promises to be an intense, loud and downright awesome affair, despite coming at the tail end of the band’s European tour. Expect deafening drums and bone crunching guitars as Derek E. Miller and Alexis Krauss reel off tracks from their 2010 debut, Treats. Not the best place for a first date though.
01 Feb 2011
Japanther, Bitches » 11 February
02 | Peninsula Square, SE10 0D
Veteran London promoters Upset The Rhythm’s shows span a broad church of experimental music. Tonight is on the noise side, with thrashy NYC punk-pop racketeers Japanther headlining. Support comes from husband-wife duo Bitches, who are not averse to burning down the audience’s ears with their Lightning Bolt-esque screamo-punk-fuckyou-whatever distorto-noise.
01 Feb 2011
Trophy Wife, Vision of Trees » 10 February
The Garage | 20-22 Highbury Corner, N5 1RD
Ahead of the release of their sophomore single, Blessing Force purveyors Trophy Wife are set to showcase their captivating soundscape alongside chillwave aficionados Visions of Trees. With the former’s sparse, pulsating rhythms occupying many ones-to-watch 2011 lists, and the latter’s haunting, gritty take on last year’s summery obsession this evening’s performance promises to be an interesting concoction of noise. The Oxonian trio and London duo both look set to prove what all the fuss is about, with their stunning instrumentals and abstract ambient electronica.
01 Feb 2011
Actress » 10 February
CAMP | 70-72 Old St, EC1V 9AN
A rare live show from Darren Cunningham, aka Actress, whose latest long player Splaszh was selected as Wire Magazine’s album of the year of 2010. Three Trapped Tigers support, performing new material ahead of their forthcoming new album, and Seams opens the billing.
01 Feb 2011
Lucky Dragons » 9 February
Café Oto | 18 – 22 Ashwin St, E8 3DL
In a statement that reads as much like an art strategy as a band biog, the Upset The Rhythm website states that Lucky Dragons “means any recorded or performed or installed or packaged or shared pieces made by Luke Fischbeck, Sarah Rara and any sometimes collaborators”. Named after a Japanese fishing vessel that was caught in the fallout of a US hydrogen bomb test in the Pacific Ocean, the project allegedly began in the year 2000 in an attempt to form a band that would never break up. The music (and visual accompaniment) is as artistic as you might expect from the back story: textural, atmospheric electronica, often non-linear, and always intriguing.
01 Feb 2011
Council news from all over
Kudos is in order, Snippets, for your mastery in surviving Skint January. However the same smug smile and congratulatory pint can’t be enjoyed by London’s thirty-three councils, following last year’s cuts in government funding. According to the Evening Standard, none have been game to substantially raise taxes; instead a flurry of higher service charges have hit the town. Throw a ball in Brent? Your rugby team will cost an extra £75. Green thumb in Greenwich? Garden allotments up to 250% of last years cost. With few remedies for the shortfall, London Councils say this is better than ‘cutting front-line services’.
01 Feb 2011
How do you know?
If you want a question which sums up life for generation Y, this is probably it.
How do you know if you’ve picked the right career? How do you know if you’ve got the right partner? How do you know if you’re on track for where you wanted to be? Are you one of your generation’s golden ones? Or destined for a middle course? Or could it be that all your dreams and desires will come to nothing on the road to a sad and lonely death?
01 Feb 2011
Snipe Highlights
Some popular articles from past years
- Silencing the Brick Lane curry touts could be fatal for the city's self-esteem
- Peter Bayley has worked for 50 years as a cinema projectionist in East Finchley
- Diary of the shy Londoner
- Nice Interactive timeline lets you follow Londoners' historic fight against racism
- Random Interview: Eileen Conn, co-ordinator of Peckham Vision
- The best church names in London, and where they come from
- Only 16 commuters touch in to Emirates Air Line, figures reveal
- Number of people using Thames cable car plunges
- Could red kites be London's next big nature success story?
- London has chosen its mayor, but why can’t it choose its own media?
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