With no music choice last week due to this Londonista being at the amazing Hydro Connect festival in Scotland, but whilst we were gone lots has been happening. First off, we caught Fucked Up, Ra Ra Riot and The Week That Was. Meanwhile, we previewed Chas and Dave at the Chickenshed. Finally, we got a tiny weeny bit excited about the new Lucky Voices karaoke bar in Islington. Looking ahead to this week, and Monday......

The New York university system seems to be doing well at the moment - first they turned out the amazing Vampire Weekend, and now Syracuse, New York, has turned out the brilliant Ra Ra Riot who played a headlining set at Monto Water Rats last night. Things got hot and sweaty as they ploughed through their 45 minute set in the tiny backroom, playing with so much energy you'd barely believe they've played a gig......

This week we've been letting you know about a variety of upcoming events. On Monday we introduced PKO BP London Live, London's first Polish music festival at Wembley Arena, on Tuesday we gave you the chance to win Bestival CDs and on Thursday we told you about an (almost) free Pipettes gig at Koko. Oh, and we also caught LINDSTRØM at Rough Trade East and Ray Gun & The Adjitators @ Hoxton Bar & Grill.......

This week we've been a bit quiet as we gear up for bank holiday weekend, but have managed to bring you some pictures from the Underage Festival for those of us sadly too old to have gone, a review of the brilliant Dodos at the 100 Club and the marvellous Kings of Leon at Brixton Academy. Looking ahead to this week however and Miami based melodic hardcore punks As Friends Rust play the Underworld on......

We've been busy this week at the Londonist music team, previewing Big Wheel Sundays In The Park on Monday with the likes of Kathryn Williams, Seth Lakeman and Jose Gonzalez all playing Sunday shows at the end of August. On Tuesday we caught They're Playing Our Song at Menier Chocolate Factory, whilst Wednesday saw us catch Red Blooded Women at Water Rats, along with unmasking the mysterious Burial. To round out the week, we gave......

It's been a busy week musically here at Londonist as we've been previewing and reviewing the best of the music around London. On Tuesday we previewed Kitty, Daisy and Lewis' instore gig in Clerkenwell and reviewed Monday night's Rogue's Gallery at the Barbican. On Wednesday we caught the King Blues on a boat in Camden Lock ahead of their gig at Dingwalls that night. Thursday saw the possible sad demise of Sister Ray record......

As the temperature soars around the capital, we've been looking forward a fair bit this week. First up, we previewed both Heavenly Records' 18th birthday celebrations in September and Rogue's Gallery - Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs and Chanteys at the Barbican. We also introduced you to the marvellous Sad Captains, and couldn't resist catching Friendly Fires at the Soho Revue Bar on Thursday night. Looking ahead to this week, The Rogues Gallery comes to the......

This week the Londonist music team have been a busy bunch, catching Death Cab For Cutie at Koko, Lupe Fiasco at Somerset House, Death Jazz with the Soil and Pimp Sessions and Oren Ambarchi at the Luminaire. We also introduced you to the amazing XX Teens, definately ones to catch this year if you can. Rising hardcore punk stars Bane play the Underworld on Monday evening - tickets are £8.50 each. Alternatively, catch experimental hip-hop......

Although this season hasn't been much of a scorcher, we still need to visit the local lido at least once a year or it just doesn't feel like summer. With the number of gigs we attend, we're often faced with a choice between the dimly-lit venue and the lovely outdoor London we too often neglect. Thanks to the organisers of Wet Sounds, however, we can have a dip and entertain our ears all in......

The last time Londonist caught up with Lupe Fiasco, in 2006, the Chicago rapper was sporting the quotidian hip hop uniform of suede Tims and baggy jeans. Last night was a different look altogether. Clearly setting out to match his surroundings, Lupe bounded onstage kitted in a tuxedo and fresh white shirt, his band similarly well attired. As he remarked later in the evening, Esquire have just anointed him one of their best-dressed men......

Of any day of the week, ambient minimalism perhaps works best on a Monday. The noisy whirlwind of the start of the working week brought to a halt by its simple calm. Whilst Oren Ambarchi's Monday performance at The Luminaire began as relaxed as we expected, it soon grew more aggressive and dark. The hushed tones of his guitar snaked their way through a seemingly endless series of pedals and effects boxes. What started......

Last week we managed to get out and about to catch Gravetemple at Underworld, The Magnetic Fields at Cadogan Hall and Jaguar Love at the 100 Club. We also introduced you to a few upcoming events, namely Gilles Peterson Presents A Night Of Death Jazz @The Roundhouse, Oren Ambarchi at The Luminaire and Horatio Oratorio at Shunt Vaults. Looking ahead to this week however, this evening US indie rockers Pinback play the Scala (tickets are......

Having recently appeared live with Gravetemple and still on loan to us from Australia, experimental guitarist Oren Ambarchi will play a solo set on Monday 14 July at The Luminaire. Whilst Gravetemple specialises in doom metal, Oren's solo material explores the more subtle tones of the guitar. Although he knows his way around his pedals, Ambarchi doesn't let his effects rack drive his sound. His understated approach to an instrument so frequently taken to......

First formed in 2006 to play a few small gigs in Israel, Gravetemple was never a Stephen O'Malley project we expected to see live. When we learned that they were to play this year at Birmingham's Supersonic Festival, we immediately began looking into coach tickets, which is shocking because we are quite lazy when it comes to escaping the warm comforting embrace of the M25. Fortunately we didn't have to, as the band booked......

Despite last night's dreary weather, The Magnetic Fields exercised their usual level of restraint by not performing "All The Umbrellas In London" nor even "In The City In The Rain". This reserve extended beyond mere meteorological facts, as the band mostly held back the hits for the entirety of both sets at their first of three performances this week in Sloane Square's Cadogan Hall. The night began with delays and an overcrowded foyer, which......

It seemed ages away when we first mentioned it only last month, but this year's iTunes Festival is now well under way. Koko has been rocking overtime under the deluge of gigs that span the entire month of July and feature over 60 bands. Tickets are free, but you have to win them from someone who's giving them away... like us! Thanks to Warp Records we have a pair of tickets to give away......

Recorded sound hasn't existed as a physical object for very long, and no sooner does it arrive than it starts to slip away. One hundred and twenty odd years may seem like a long time when the records you bought last month felt outdated last week, but it's a brief moment in the history of sound. Although vinyl will likely remain, every other format is staring down a disembodied digital future. For most of......

Metalheads and experimental music fans unite this week as Stephen O'Malley once again rolls into town on a storm cloud of doom and drone. The mastermind behind avant-metalist outfit Sunn O))), O'Malley frequently treats London to appearances from his many side projects, though this is one we never expected to see live. Gravetemple formed in 2006 to play a few gigs in Israel, an event which was documented on a one track, one-hour long......

We've been getting out and about a lot this week, catching The Police on Sunday night in Hyde Park, School of Language, Idlewild and Paul Weller and Glasvegas. To top it off, we also previewed 108 Pieces Demolition at the Laban Centre, revealed that Amy Winehouse will be turned into a waxwork and got excited about the Olympic Party in August. Monday night sees US pop punkers Bowling for Soup play the Electric Ballroom -......

Remember when going to a gig left you feeling dirty afterwards? The sweat dripping off of you, your glasses knocked from your face, beer thrown around, and stinking like a cigarette factory? Well, tonight featured a return to those times (minus the cigarette smell) when Londonist went to see Idlewild at ULU in London. Choosing to save us the (occasional) torture of a support band, they decided to support themselves, playing two sets, first of......

The second night of iTunes Live is one for the serious muso fan. You know Glasvegas mean business when you see James Allen and his gang in black take to the stage. Latest single 'Geraldine' is fantastic live, with a wall of sound built from fuzzy guitars, howling feedback and pounding drums. On epic set-closer 'Daddy’s Gone', a young boy’s lament for his absent father, they sound beautifully heartbreaking. Paul Weller‘s fourth solo album,......

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......

Stiff Little Fingers' Inflammable Material provided a soundtrack for our teenage years, every single one of its three chords forever fused with our memories of youth. As we grew a bit older, it remained a favourite and was soon joined by Mark Stewart and the Maffia's As The Veneer Of Democracy Starts To Fade and the many productions of Adrian Sherwood. Trawlling through used record shops, anything with Sherwood's name on it went home......

"What is house? Technotronic, KLF or something you live in To me house is Phuture, Pierre, Fingers, Adonis The Pioneers of the Hypnotic Groove Brian Eno, Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode and The Yellow Magic Orchestra" - LFO, "What Is House?" (Warp Records, 1991) Given their famous name check in LFO's classic track "What Is House?" from Warp Records' early days, it seemed appropriate to have a Warp artist open for Yellow Magic Orchestra's......

A brief word of advice, should you ever wish to foray into the questionable profession of music journalism: it's probably not the best idea to begin your busiest week of gig attendance with a rave. That said, the best ideas are generally the most boring, so of course we stayed out last Saturday dancing until dawn at Warp Records' Brainfeeder party at the Hearn Street Car Park. A wise man once said, "Prudence never......

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......

L-R: Panama Black and Jneiro Jarel of Shape Of Broad Minds; Dälek It is perhaps appropriate that, for a music so feverishly obsessed with being fresh, when forced to actually contemplate its own future hip-hop ends up delving back into the past for answers. On Thursday night we were treated to a glimpse, perhaps, of things to come. Atlanta's Shape Of Broad Minds stung the audience at Queen Elizabeth Hall into life after the fairly......

Never underestimate the power of bass. This is a lesson that the Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall learned as pieces of aluminium cracked and began to break free from the ceiling on Tuesday night as The Dubstep Chronicles rumbled its way through Meltdown 2008. No one was ever in any danger of being injured, but the low end frequencies compromised the building's structural integrity enough to force organisers to err on the side of......

When you go out to see a band that has existed for just over forty years, there's a high chance of it sounding past its prime. It is a testament to the boundless creativity of Daevid Allen and friends, as well as to the power of heavy, undiluted psychedelia, that Gong's set at Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall on Saturday beat the odds. Presented as part of Massive Attack's Meltdown 2008, psychedelic legends Gong......

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......