About John McGarvey

Get ready for intelligent, sparky lyrics, quick-witted chitchat and unexpected time signatures. Liverpudlian pop-punkers Hot Club de Paris are coming to The Lexington on 9 February – and with so many ideas crammed into each song, you’ll have fun trying to predict which direction the …

With a large video wall, frequent blasts from a confetti cannon and a rather overblown, glam encore featuring feathers, fluorescently lit guitars and lasers, indie-pop quartet OK Go had considerable visual impact at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire on Wednesday night. And it seems the geekish, …

Morden indie quartet Good Shoes seem to have a real love/hate relationship with the south London district they call home. Going by their 2007 gig at the local bandstand, they must have some affection for the place. Yet from listening to their track of the …

Bands that can’t sing? There are plenty of those around. But tonight, in the snug back room at the Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen, Field Music are proving they’re pretty much the polar opposite of those offensively out-of-tune musicians. You see, the music of this …

As lead singer and main creative force behind The Guillemots, you might have spotted Fyfe Dangerfield playing guitar, keyboard, dustbin lid (yes, really), or just singing in his distinctive, octave-spanning voice as part of the orchestral-indie four-piece. Perhaps in search of further creative outlets (isn’t …

You’ll probably remember OK Go for their original, inventive use of treadmills in the Here It Goes Again video. Well, these four cheeky chappies from Chicago are back and will be paying a visit to the Shepherd’s Bush Empire on 13 January in support of …

After being dropped by their record label in 2006, The Futureheads largely disappeared from the public consciousness, despite demonstrating more invention and talent than many of their contemporaries. That’s the way it goes sometimes. Still, judging by their performance tonight, upstairs at The Lexington, it’s …

“This’ll be our last gig for a long time,” reckons Friendly Fires front man Ed Macfarlane, before the band bursts into Lovesick in front of a lively, beered-up crowd at The Coronet. We hope he’s just being dramatic, because tonight’s gig proves that live, Friendly …

Image: browners82 Overpriced booze might no longer be the biggest thing to worry about at gigs. On Tuesday we noticed that “beware of pickpockets” signs have gone up inside Brixton Academy, then on Wednesday BBC 6Music suggested thieves are targeting London gigs. All the movement …

Yeah Yeah Yeahs never really burst onto the UK scene like some bands. Theirs was a steadier climb up the wobbly ladder of fame, and maybe that lack of a defining moment accounts for the explosiveness of their second night at Brixton Academy. Entering behind …