It’s probably fair to say that the couple of hundred people who wandered up to the Union Chapel in Islington last Friday were expecting a fairly low-key affair. Arguably the biggest name at the Little Noise Sessions gig in aid of Mencap was to be the compere, Radio 1’s Jo Whiley, although we accept that a few of the audience may have been a bit excited about US indie rockers We Are Scientists. Not......

Peaceful protest: there's a lot of it about. This weekend brought news of demonstrators occupying Wembley Park Sports Ground, campaigning against plans for a City Academy to be built on the land. Faced with recent threat of eviction, the tent city teachers and other protesters are taking to tree houses to extend their occupation. The protest has already established 30 tents and a colourful garden (attracting lots of bumble bees) on the site which......

As bands jump across the Atlantic to play this weekend's V Festival and next weekend's Reading and Leeds festivals London is treated to a wealth of bands that rarely play these shores. Here's a selection of the best. Monday night sees the amazing Rilo Kiley play the Carling Academy Islington – tickets sold out pretty quickly, but there are a few floating around on eBay etc for what is sure to be one of their......

This week ended with the launch of the seventh and final Harry Potter installation. But while the world was consumed with Pottermania, it's important to remember that there were more serious things going on in the world, too – two of them in -Ist cities. Sampaist was shocked when a passenger jet crashed into the center of Sao Paulo, killing at least 200 people. The airplane, an Airbus A320, skidded off the runway at the......

This year’s Wireless festival kicks off in style on Thursday for their third year in the centre of the capital at Hyde Park. Four days of quality music from big bands you know and love, and plenty of bands you won’t know but can grow to love. This year they’ve got one of their best line-ups ever, with such names as Faithless, White Stripes and Daft Punk all gracing their stage, and plenty of bands......

As the festival season kicks off into full swing, the range of “normal” bands playing the capital starts to dwindle as they recover from their Download and Isle of Wight sized hangovers and prepare for a Wireless one this weekend. First up, on Monday night, The Fratellis play Scala, which is well and truly sold out, however you may be able to get a last minute offer on scarlet mist or equivalent. If you like......

We briefly introduced Dragonette last year when we went to see them at Ghetto, and since then they've gone from strength to strength. Dragonette are Dan, Martina, Joel and Will. From Toronto, the band have been based in London for the last year or so while writing and recording their debut album of sleazy sounding electro-pop. Competition is their piece de resistance. A slinky song about "fucking your girlfriend", Martina blissfully sings "Goodness I......

Every once in a while a rock band comes along that thinks they're something special and tries to stir things up. Lord knows the Towers of London have tried their best, but unlike The Horrors they don't have the have the songs to boot. The Horrors are easy to recognise. For starters, their frontman has taken the name of Faris Rotter and they all have big, black hair, like a motley bunch of Russell......

The usual programming at weekly alternative gay night Popstarz @ Scala was interrupted for a raucous 30 minutes last Friday as Brooklyn natives We Are Scientists took the stage in the indie room and proved that New York still holds it own on the scene. Plus, as the band released their 2nd album Crap Attack, it showed off just how much impressive songs from In Love And Squalor are when played in concert. Watching......

The Metro found itself hosting a crowd full of twenty-somethings from the U.S. for the last date of State Radio’s European tour on Friday night. If there’s one thing to like about a gig packed with Americans, it’s that they are so up for it. Whereas your English audience might stand expressionless, arms folded across their chests, as if to say ‘Come on: impress me,’ American crowds are cheerful, energetic, and forgiving. And this......

The Fourth Korean Festival is due to kick off again this Saturday and as usual it's a fantastic line up and yet again puts other events of a similar nature to shame by remaining FREE. Saturday at the Mean Fiddler you get the opportunity to see Crying Nut billed as the best punk rock band in Korea along with Wanderlust and a surprise special guest - we think we know who that will be,......

Once a month Londonist sits down with a pile of the months releases that have dropped through our letterbox. Since we're almost at the end of April, we'd better get on with it. The Victorian English Gentlemen's Club - Amateur Man (Single released 3rd April on Fantastic Plastic) A double jab of schizotic art punk on the VEGC's second single. It has all the energy of a rendition of Knees Up Mother Brown in an......

We were at the ICA last night to watch Mirrormask and listen to Dave McKean and had to pinch ourselves again at what an important part of London life the Institute is. We spent all of £4.50 for a great night out and we haven't got a clue how the ICA continually manages to offer so much when so many other places offer so little. Reading about the Triennial exhibition at the Tate Britain......

One of the briefs for Londonist's music writers has always been to cover London's new, unsigned or unheard bands. And maybe a few from out of town who we think are particularly special. We run reviews and interviews but the proof of the pudding is in the listening so we're also collecting songs for you to listen to. Rather than browse our collection of interviews or music posts to track down these terrific tunes,......

Foremost there was Spinal Tap - the good natured and fucking hilarious jab at rock's pomp and general ridiculousness that probably inspired as many bands as it took the piss out of. Better yet it ensured that anything of value was thereafter always turned up to 11. Actually predating the Tap by a year was The Comic Strip mob with their own version of something very metal in the form of Bad News. Vim......

America are going crazy about them, but on this side of the pond we aren't too sure yet. Find out what all the hype is about as Clap Your Hands Say Yeah announce a UK Tour. An art rock band not a million miles away from Talking Heads, you can catch the Clap at their November 22 London date at ULU here (TK) The Fugees play the Hammersmith Apollo on 14th December playing live......

The eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed recurring mention of The Broken Family Band in our mid week gig listings. So after taking a listen to Song Against Robots and deciding that they were really quite brilliant; DiS described them as country-flavoured rock 'n roll and sound not unlike Pavement being buttfucked by the Anthology Of American Folk Music which we couldn't really argue with. Then we heard a copy of this year's......

Help: A Day In The Life Anyone else spend the weekend battling with War Child's servers, trying to download Help: A Day In The Life? Frustrating as it was at times getting on that golden free server, the end result was a mostly satisfying always interesting collection of 22 tracks, recorded and released in just over 24 hours, that will make it's physical appearance in the record racks on the 26th September. Stripped of......

Many of you fine Londonistas out there will be experiencing the joys of pay day today and what better to do with your new found readies than to purchase of yourselves some fine gig tickets. And we here at Londonist music feel compelled to asist you by pointing you in the direction of a few bands we really like, and a couple we don't. With a date at the Barbican (September 15) still to......