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 In London’s History Monday – 12th May 1967: Pink Floyd stage their ‘Games for May’ concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the South Bank. The concert is notable for being the first ever live performance to use a quadraphonic sound system. Unfortunately, the use of bubbles and daffodils during the performance stain the carpets and seats, resulting in the band being banned from the venue. Tuesday – 13th May 1966: Alison......

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......

Doesn't sunshine make everything seem better? Alright, it's been brass monkeys but nothing lifts the winter blues like bright skies, crisp air and early daffodils. It's half term for most kids this week so your commute might even be more pleasant. In which case, perhaps you'll be more inclined to get out after work and try something different that's light on your wallet and heavy on aceness. After all, we really can't afford good......

A Korean company performing their own interpretation of a German Expressionist play to contemporary tango music using only chairs could, on paper, be utterly preposterous. Yet, in the flesh, Woyzeck by The Sadari Movement Laboratory (at the Queen Elizabeth Hall last night) was an incredibly strong, powerful and moving production presented as part of the London International Mime Festival. Woyzeck deals with sexual jealousy, the brutalising of soldiers by war, paranoia, oppression and class......

Naomi Klein, in conversation with Madeleine Bunting Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, 13th September 2007 "I am not a conspiracy theorist", insists Naomi Klein. Twice, in quick succession. Followed each time by a nervous laugh; a telling laugh. We are in the spacious surroundings of the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the South Bank, where Canadian journalist and activist Klein, whose 2000 book No Logo became a minor phenomenon in the halcyon days between the Seattle riots......

For most of you, it was pay day this weekend. Wahey! This also means if you're like us, you've spent all your cash in the pub and will now be eating beans on toast all week. Which after going to The Edinboro Castle and having spent so long at the bar you sobered up, doesn't really seem worth the effort any more, does it? But don't worry! All is going to be fine. Even......

Monday night sees Tom “Squarepusher” Jenkinson bring his experimental drum'n'bass with a heavy jazz fusion influence to Queen Elizabeth Hall in the Southbank Centre. Evan Parker supports, and this is sold out unfortunately, though be sure to check back for last minute availability or other sources. Lily Allen places her summer session at Somerset house, with support from Mark Ronson. Tickets are long gone, though Scarlet Mist may be useful for some. The Dykeenies bring......

Sitting outside the Queen Elizabeth Hall on a sunny weekend afternoon a month or so ago this Londonista was thrown into anxiety spasms sighting a man apparently about to leap off the roof of Shell Mex House and plunge to his death in the Thames. He stayed unnervingly still balanced up there on the edge with no clothes on. Clearly, I just don’t care enough because I had tickets to a show and put......

For just two nights next week, Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company is bringing a double bill of contemporary dance cultural mashup to the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the South Bank. Jeyasingh creates Asian influenced contemporary dance, producing dramatic and vibrant pieces with an urban edge. Huh? For those of us who know nowt about dance type things, here’s roughly what that means in practice: “Faultline” is a brand new dance work taking inspiration from images......

It's a kid-friendly crawl this weekend, by which we mean there's lots of stuff to see and do that would please children and the perpetually nostalgic. Get your scarf, woolly hat and mittens and go out to play. Until 3 December Toys@Oxo 2006 is the annual show from the British Toymakers Guild and everything on display is also for sale. The automata, dolls, teddy bears, puzzles and games, glove puppets, hobby horses, wooden toys......

A mixed bag for the weekend, as mixed as the weather (especially when you think of the snow involved in skiing...) Starting tonight, there's Light It! Festival of Light in Myatt's Fields Park in Camberwell This outdoor event has video installations, circus art, sculptural artworks, music and sound, candles and lanterns and is first in a series of planned annual events for this Victorian south London park. Go along to see leading artists' interpretations......

The Londonist Literary List appears every Tuesday. If you'd like to bring an event to our attention, please email londonistlit@gmail.com. It's a busy old week, so let's get on: Tonight May Contain Graphic Content poses the question "Are graphic novels a complex and creative new literary form – or just glorified comic strips?" and they have some interesting speakers to debate the topic including Dan Franklin of Jonathan Cape, publisher of Ghost World, Jimmy......

It's another packed weekend for those of you not already booked up for Architecture Week or otherwise engaged for the football. The schedule for this weekend's sunny Culture Crawl involves a lot of outdoor entertainment, some indoor events and as always, not a lot of money. Thursday 22 June Opening night of the Greenwich and Docklands Festival - all events are free and open air. For this event, you have to go to Woolwich......

We gave you the schedule for Friday and Saturday yesterday and you shouldn't be either bored or out of pocket by the end of it (just keep an eye on the time and keep going). If you're still thirsting for things to see and do, we've got a few more suggestions and a useful timetable to make sure you fit it all in... Saturday 27 May Though we mentioned lots of things to do......

Formed out of members of Art of Noise & The Auteurs, we first came across Infantjoy while wallowing in 'OMG SARAH NIXEY IS BACK!!!111!!' induced glee a few months ago. Guest starring on their working of 'Silent Night', we were intrigued by this duo who seemed to produce mesmerizing, elegant instrumental music. Almost cinematic sounding, their concept album Where The Night Goes is based on the idea that 'each track takes place at a......

The Queen Elizabeth Hall foyer is normally full of QEH attendees milling around awkwardly before taking their seats in the auditorium, sipping warm gin and tonics and avoiding eye contact with one another in that peculiar London theatre audience way... but this sunny Bank Holiday afternoon, everything was different. We said it was going to be swinging on South Bank this Bank Holiday weekend... and it was. The QEH foyer was full of people......

If you're in London for the Bank Holiday weekend but would have quite liked to have gone abroad, then head to South Bank where you can pretend you're in Morocco from Friday until Monday. To celebrate the UK debut of Taoub, a new circus and acrobatics act from Tangier street theatre group Collectif Acrobatique de Tangier, the South Bank will be taken over by fabric tents offering everything Morroccan with free live performances, food,......

The threat has been noted before by Londonist: there may come a day post-7th July when visitors stay away in such high numbers that the city’s redundant entertainers are driven underground to wait for the day the tourists come back to be amazed by their mime act of standing really still while covered in gold paint. That day is not yet upon us and London is due to be overwhelmed with real mime artists......

The Londonist Literary List appears every Tuesday. If you’d like to bring an event to our attention, please email londonistlit@gmail.com. Yes, there is a new novel out by Nadine Gordimer this week (along with a serious slew of others). But early reports are leading us to believe that the real star of the new releases is The Possibillity of an Island, by the controversial French writer Michel Houellebecq (pictured). Once you get past the......

In 7 days time on the anniversary of his last radio broadcast, the BBC will be commemorating and celebrating the life of the man known on his birth certificate as John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, but to music lovers the world over as John Peel. On the 13th October gigs the world over will be dedicated to the great man on the first John Peel Day. Radio 1 will be broadcasting a 6 hour special......

Those of you going to or considering going to Patti Smith's Meltdown, taking place from 11th to 26th June at the South Bank Centre, will be as interested as Londonist Music to hear that Eels have (has?) been added to the line-up. They/he will be playing the Queen Elizabeth Hall on 12th June. One day before that, to kick off the festival, will be The Brian Jonestown Massacre (nothing to do with the late,......