We've been getting out and about this week and enjoying some of the amazing events that have been going on this week. We caught Yellow Magic Orchestra and Pivot and also Stiff Little Fingers at Meltdown, on Tuesday we caught Radiohead in Victoria Park. On Friday we spent a day in Hyde Park for Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday, whilst this weekend Hyde Park will be taken over for Hard Rock Calling. Alternatively, if you didn't......

This week Londonist has gone a tiny bit music mad. As Massive Attack's Meltdown Festival at the Southbank Centre gets into full swing, we caught The Future Sounds of Hip-Hop, The Dubstep Chronicles, the Blade Runner Soundtrack and Gong at the festival this week. Just so we weren't too biased between North and South London, we also made it up to Camden to catch Atmosphere & Brother Ali at Koko. Have you heard of Mumford......

This week, we've mostly been looking forward to what's coming up, with Talia previewing bloggers delight Annie at Water Rats on Wednesday, Dave K having a look at Warp Records' Saturday night rave and also Matthew Dear's trip to the ICA. Amanda meanwhile caught The Sleeping Years at the 12 Bar and also The Kills at Rough Trade. Looking ahead to this week however, and Monday sees Coldplay play an exclusive gig at Brixton Academy......

As part of his ongoing first solo UK exhibition at the ICA, this Saturday sees French artist Loris Gréaud present an interpretation of his Cellar Door libretto with CocoRosie's Sierra Casady and pianist/violinist/cellist Gael Rakotondrabe. Whilst for the ICA this is another instalment in Stage of the Art, their cross-Channel cultural exchange series with Palais de Tokyo, for Gréaud this performance will be another step in his larger Cellar Door experiment. Having recently exhibited......

This week, Dave has been out and about catching Spiritualized at Rough Trade East and the Hox To Dot Festival, whilst Talia previewed the (apparently pretty darned good) Andy Burrows gig at Union Chapel and Amanda looked at War Child's Army of You. Looking ahead to this week however, and Monday seems quite quiet musically, with Canadian indie / folk rockers The Weakerthans playing the Scala. Tickets are £12 a pop. Alternatively, electro duo Robots......

It's been a quiet week musically here at Londonist as we've been out enjoying the sun instead of lurking in murky venues in our evenings. However, we did venture out and catch Raekwon & Ghostface Killah at Koko. Looking ahead to this week however, and Bank Holiday Monday sees Scouting For Girls play a rescheduled show at Shepherds Bush Empire from late April. Tickets are £14 from Ticketweb, but are going quickly. If you like......

This week we previewed the brilliant Atmospheres 2 festival happening over at the Museum of Garden history until Monday. We also introduced you all to rising star Tawiah, announced that Mandela is going to be going to his own concert, and gave you all the details about Coldplay's upcoming free gig at Brixton Academy. If you like the idea of sweating it out in some subterranean venue on Monday night, then Mogwai and Yeasayer both......

As everyone recovers from their extended break, this Bank Holiday Monday's music selection is a bit lacking really - a bit like our weather at the moment, really. If you want to shake away that hangover with some doom metal, then pop along to the Underworld in Camden, for Witch. Tickets are £12 each. Meanwhile, if you like things with a bit more of a bluesy tone, something a bit country from the US, then......

A slightly later Music Choice, due to an unorganised Londonista. Three big events have dominated Londonist's musical week: The Camden Crawl last weekend (review of day 1 here, and day two here), we reviewed Radio Soulwax at this week's Ether 2008 festival, and previewed Meltdown festival, both at the Southbank Centre. Looking ahead to this week however, if you still have nothing to do this Monday night, then M83 and Sébastien Tellier both play sold......

We've gone a bit music mad this week at Londonist towers. Last Sunday we reviewed Muse's amazing show at the Royal Albert Hall, before previewing this summer's Field Day and yesterday's Record Store Day and noise terrorists Merzbow at ULU. We also looked at this week's Ether '08 festival which goes through to 28th April. Finally, we mourned the loss of two thirds of the Pipettes and proof that music can come out of any......

The Camden Crawl isn't the only festival in town this weekend. If the thought of braving the Stables Market even on an average Sunday sets your agoraphobia aflame, you don't have to miss out on great live music, as today marks the start of Ether 08, Southbank Centre's annual celebration of art and technology. With Ether running through 28 April, you could even attend both festivals, though Southbank Centre's stunning line-up this weekend means some......

This week, Londonist have been catching up with a tonne of new bands we think you need to know about. On Monday we introduced Leon Jean Marie whose debut, Mark Ronson produced, album also came out on Monday. On Wednesday we reported on Pete Doherty's latest exploits that see him inside for the next two months. We also introduced the gorgeous Cherry Suico, and interviewed Malcolm Middleton Looking ahead to this week, Bjork plays the......

Dressing up and going out is quite the thing at the moment, but if it seems to be just a fad for the folks who fancy themselves, we must correct you and point out that bling has been big for Londoners for a long time. Take, for example, the icon of cockney London, the shiny Pearly King. Strutting around draped in sparkly stuff is not new. An evening to celebrate all that is fabulous......

This week, we offered you the chance to go and see rising star Jack Savoretti on April 1st, enjoyed a triple bill of metal, mayhem and melee, and previewed El Guincho's looped tropical rhythms which are coming to the capital this week. Looking ahead to this week, Easter Monday offers the tantalising line up of R.E.M., Foals, The Duke Spirit and Robyn Hitchcock all at the Royal Albert Hall to celebrate the ICA's 60th birthday.......

This Saturday London’s comic lovers can pop out to Mile End and discover what’s lurking in the UK’s small comics scene. The fifth year of the UK Web & Mini Comix Thing is happening at Queen Mary, and it should be a grab bag of indie delights. A look at the list of stuff on show reveals a pretty good menagerie: you can check out comics about friendly beavers, depressed dinosaurs, ninjas in various......

A changeable week around the capital, as we caught up with the marvellous Black Cab sessions, saw Laura Marling live at Union Chapel on Tuesday, got excited about Radiohead playing the Beeb, had a quick chat with quickly rising stars Clocks, finally conceded that not even Ken can save the Astoria, and realised that Damon Albarn may have his fingers in too many pies. Meanwhile, looking ahead to this week things are rather quiet as......

There are just too many good events around town this week for us to narrow our picks for certain nights. Thus we present you with multiple options and leave that difficult choice to you. In the meantime, we’ll be brushing up on our science fiction in an effort to figure out how to move quickly from event to event. The solution? Teleporting. Clearly. Monday: writLoud returns to RADA tonight. We like this event, as......

It's been a strange ol' week for Londonist music-wise. On Monday we got worried about a rise in nightclub violence, on Tuesday caught Goldfrapp at Union Chapel, on Wednesday caught Nick Cave at HMV and on Thursday got excited about a new-ish club night at Three Blind Mice. Looking ahead to this week however, Monday sees Panic At the Disco and Kate Nash play sold out shows at the Roundhouse and Hammersmith Apollo respectively, whilst......

If the idea of going to the country over the weekend is just a bit too involved, heading over to Old Spitalfields Market today might be able to give you some illusion of escaping the big city. Though billed as "the Countryside Comes to Spitalfields," it's really more of fancy foods and a few barnyard animals. There are a handful of penned-in furry friends for kids and adults alike to give a friendly scratch.......

As we mentioned briefly before, Thursday brings the East 2008 Festival. For six days, a cornucopia of performances, exhibitions, workshops, food and other events ensures entertainment with emphasis on promotion of the best of East London. Here’s our pick of the mix: 6th March: F-EAST - artists Wiebke and Nicholas Morgan cook a meal from 12 recipes from a Nigel Slater cookbook, and serve it for visitors as an exploration into ownership and the......

It's officially Spring and by Pisces it's lovely out there in the sunshine. Crocuses have been spotted in Highbury Fields so our biggest recommendation for expenditure light trips this week is get to the parks and into the gardens and witness the miracles of the changing seasons. If you're in need of more artificial stimulation, however, and are squirrelling all your spare cash into your ISA before the end of the tax year then......

This week saw Londonist get incredibly excited about a few live music events. First up, was French pop sensation Yelle, who played an intimate show at the Old Blue Last. Then, we had the Camden Crawl line up which, as ever, is pretty amazing for those of us who value music over sleep. Finally, Sally got (understandably) excited about The King Blues @ the 100 Club. Once we've come down from our excitement of last......

This week saw Londonist Get Scientific when we previewed We Are Scientists playing Soho Revue Bar this Tuesday, get excited about Eurovision and get cosy with Portico Quartet. A busy week all in all! Looking ahead to this week however, we have Eels playing Royal Festival Hall on Monday night. They've invited the Queen too, so it could be an amusing evening. Austin, Tx stars Spoon play a sold out show at Scala and rising......

That's one of the relaxing conversation pieces to be found at a ‘Skeptics in the pub’ meetup. Tonight’s guest speaker is Dr Matthew Smith from Liverpool Hope University, who will talk about fate, the meaning of life and mid-life crises. We caught up with co-organiser Sid Rodriques to find out what skepticism is, and whether we should be skeptical of it. How would you define a 'skeptic'? A skeptic is someone who asks for......

The book grocer’s coffers are chockfull of goodies this week, so let’s jump right in and get shopping... Monday: Crikey. Take a look at author and critic George Steiner’s publishing credits and you have to wonder whether the man has actually slept in the past fifty years. Yet the premise of the prolific writer’s most recent work, My Unwritten Books, is that there are actually some subjects that Steiner has purposely left unexplored. Join......

A fairly quiet time for Londonist music, but this week saw us introduce you to The Wave Pictures on Thursday, catch indie up-and-comers Parka at the Borderline on Tuesday, and suggest you catch "J-Dilla changed my life" at Cargo this evening. Throughout the week, NME favourites play their three week series of Awards shows, and this week sees Babyshambles play Brixton Academy on Monday night, Richard Hawley and Mercury nominated Maps play the Astoria on......

Happy February, FOBGs. Another healthy serving of book groceries awaits you this week. Stick to a well-rounded book diet, and you’re sure to stave off a winter cold. We have no actual data to support this contention – we’re book geeks, not science nerds – but it certainly sounds promising. So eat your greens, drink your grains, and check back later this week for a bonus edition of the Book Grocer especially dedicated to......

Philadelphia experimental indie stars Enon play the Luminaire on Monday night, with around 17 tickets left (at time of writing) on We Got Tickets. Support comes in the shape of Ill Ease, which features "Elizabeth Sharp playing guitar, bass, drums, tambourine, shaker, car horn and anything else that rattles, buzzes, shakes or hums in a riff-o-matic racket" apparently. Should be good. Meanwhile over at 93 Feet East, Seattle singer-songwriter David Bazan plays his folk-rock. Tickets......

As this Thursday’s the first Thursday, you’re likely thirsting for some First Thursday activity. Fortunately for you First Thursday thirsters, there’s a first-rate event worthy even of your chock-full diaries (you might even note it in ink, but we’ll leave that difficult decision to you): The Museum in Docklands keeps its doors open late this week – we’re going to be coy and let you guess the day – with a lineup that will......

Isn't it nice when a band not only manages to blow you away when you see them live, but also manage to blow themselves away? That was just the case last night at Koko, when Stars' frontman Torquil Campbell commented "y'know, I think this might be one of the reasons we love London so much" he grinned. You can tell he wasn't lying either, each of the members looked generally pleased, shocked, and amazed......