Instores, gigs, festivals, clubs, forthcoming releases, iPods and men in pants. It must be time for our regular Mid-Week Music News slot, brought to you this week by the schizoid-country ADD stylings of the Meat Puppets. So with a packed programme it’s enough of us and on with the music.
First off the instores, via a special small gig. Londonist favourites The Magic Numbers will be continuing their mammoth effort to conquer the world through word-of-mouth reviews about their amazing live performances. They will be appearing on Sunday as the 'special guests' at Homefires II at Conway Hall, in Red Lion Square on Sunday (22nd), doors 2pm. Homefires II is an event put on by Eat Your Own Ears and the very limited number of tickets remaining can be obtained at some small record shops (including the Rough Trade ones). Check the Eat Your Own Ears website for fuller details. The Numbers then appear next Wednesday (23rd) at Selectadisc on Berwick Street. No times as yet though so keep your eyes on the site for more details when they arrive.
Nine Black Alps were to have played Fopp on the 27th but have cancelled due to illness.
If free gigs aren’t enough for you then maybe you’d like to pay for a couple. There’s a couple of new shows coming up at the Barfly worth mentioning. Post punk art rockers (who isn’t these days) The Editors play May 24th and naked bass-man Nick Oliveri’s Mondo Generator (supplemented by the guys from Winnebago Deal) on the 31st. Or you could always go and see the very noisy Todd supporting the also very noisy Oxbow at the Bull And Gate that self same night. By the way if you're looking for something a little quieter we suggst you skip the next paragraph.
We’re always pretty impressed with Drowned In Sounds’s recommendations so we expect nothing but pure unbridled madness from Milwaukee’s Since By Man when they play the Infinity Club, 10 Old Burlington Street on the 22nd. Even better was their description of Wolf Eyes as ear-shredding electro-horror-noise punk-a rock-a. See if you agree here and if you’re still standing then you just might be up for their ICA show on June 14.
If you’ve missed Londonist favourites The Polysics and you don’t have tickets to Episode 3 on opening day The Marquee’s the place for you tomorrow (Thursday). For full details as well as details of all shows at The Marquee, The Water Rats and The Betsy Trotwood then check out the Plum Promotion site.
The Marquee is also one of the venues for the free gigs side of the Bud Rising festival. Waaaaaay too many to mention but something for everyone. Please note that you have to be over 18 to enter the site and remember to use the internet responsibly.
In club news over at Kokos this weekend Boy Kill Boy headline the Club NME (hopefully minus accidents) on Friday and Mylo djs plus live music from Menlo Park at the Fuse. Full listings on the site.
Alternatively you could always check out Frog’s Rock N Roll Party featuring VHS or Beta at the Mean Fiddler on Saturday. Entrance on door only. VHS or BETA have had some airplay on the better DJs' shows at XFM (i.e. John Kennedy and Claire Sturgess) but if you haven't heard them yet, check out their site which has a sort of streaming thing going on.
Meanwhile out there in studio land The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Vines and Radiohead are all working announcing new releases soon, not so soon and one day but there will be one. If you’re more of a video kind of reader then you can catch the new White Stripes stomper Blue Orchid on Channel 4 this Saturday at 11.55pm.
(MM)
South London suburbanites might want to consider blasting away those Monday blues and popping down Brighton to catch The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster at Ocean Rooms' Live Lounge. The gig for Monday 23rd was only confirmed a couple of nights ago but as the venue only holds 150 people, don't let that lull you into false complacency. Tickets are £7.50 (plus booking, natch), doors are 7.30pm. Ticketweb may have tickets available but you can always call the venue on 01273 699069 to find out what the score is.
For a different kind of experience, you could always try throwing two fingers up at the Standard and its ridiculous stories by deliberately cranking up your iPod and making yourself deaf. No, we don't mean you should just walk around with your iPod on at full blast, we actually have a much more sociable thing in mind: The Playlist Club night. This club night invites you to bring along your iPods and submit your iDJing skills to the judgement of the other club goers. Presumably you plug the iPod into a PA system rather than going round swapping headphones. The best DJs on the night wins a prize from a lovely selection supplied by Podgear. If that isn't a good enough reason for you to be proving that iPod owners aren't anti-social granny-bashing menaces to society (it's only a matter of time before the Standard publishes some more spurious research) then we don't know what is.
The Playlist Club takes place on Saturday 21st May at The Progress Bar (162 Tufnell Park Road, N7). Doors are 9pm-2am and more details (including a much fuller and less facetious explanation of the concept) are available at iPod-DJ.com. The important bit: entry is free.
(K)
And finally Londonist Music would like to send our thoughts out to Kylie. We were looking forward to seeing her blow Glasto out of the mud and hope she’ll be back in business for 2007.
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