Booking Ahead

By london_ken Last edited 225 months ago
Booking Ahead
grahamcoxon.jpg

It rained very heavily at Glastonbury last night, apparently, so our hearts go out to the Londonist staff camping out there. There is in no way a smirk on our face or any semblance of schadenfreude. Mwahahaha. Ahem.

For the rest of us, there's still a chance to risk getting rain in our plastic pints of watered-down lager by going to the Wireless Festival at Hyde Park. Tickets are now ten pounds cheaper at £25. And that really is £25 because there's no booking fee. Not if you go via Lastminute.com, anyway. You've probably left it a bit late for today, although the genius that is Graham Coxon (above) is playing so it's worth trying. Tomorrow is a bit more dance-oriented, with Basement Jaxx and Mylo headlining. Somewhere in the cosmos something went horribly wrong, because those bed-wetters Keane are headlining above Supergrass and Rufus Wainwright. Truly does quantity of sales outweigh quality of music. For the full line-ups check out the festival website.

Don't bother getting tickets for next Thursday (30th June), though, because there's a better gig taking place at 93 Feet East. Two of the bands we've supported on Londonist come together to form two-thirds of the bill in the Main Hall: Kaibosh and The Hoosier Complex. The Hoosier Complex take to the stage at 10pm but get along there earlier to see Kaibosh, who we think are first on the bill. Doors are 7.30pm and tickets are £6. The website reckons you can buy tickets online but we're buggered if we can find anything on the two sites they recommend.

Should you ignore our advice and decide to visit the Wireless Festival next Thursday, you might see 'Pete Doherty & Friends'. Not Babyshambles, then. If one of Pete Doherty's friends doesn't turn out to be his old mucker Carl Barat, then he should definitely be turning up at XFM's First Friday. He'll be one of the guest DJs at the Islington Academy on 1st July. For the uninitiated, First Friday is essentially a bloody good indie disco playing old and new tracks. Basically, if you like XFM, you'll like this. If you like the sound of your own voice, turn up a bit earlier (9pm-11pm) at the Bar Academy for the Punk Rock Karaoke - it's karaoke but with a live band. Time to exorcise those frustrated pop star demons, then.

Timings for First Friday:

Bar Academy 8pm-3am

Main Room 10.30pm-3am

Tickets: £5 before 11pm or all night with an NUS card / £6 with a flyer or in advance from the Xfm Xchange (0870 222 1049) £7 after 11pm.

Still hankering after an open air gig? You could try the B-Live Festival taking place on Clapham Common, 1st-3rd July. Jamiroquai, Paul Oakenfold, Hed Kandi, Amy Winehouse, Brand New Heavies, Audio Bullies, Sneaky Soundsystem & Har Mar Superstar are amongst the artists on offer. Apart from three full days of live music, KOKO are hosting the official B-Live after party on Saturday 2nd July. So, when legendary DJ Paul Oakenfold spins his last track on the Saturday, the sun may be setting on Clapham Common, but the party goes on several miles away in North London, with Norman Jay taking to the decks and The Loose Cannons playing live.

B-Live ticket prices and timings are:

Friday 1st July: £12 17:00 – 22:00

Saturday 2nd July: £30 12:00 – 21:00

Sunday 3rd July: £30 12:00 – 21:00

Weekend ticket: £55

Taking a different musical tack, Norwegian singer/songwriter Hanne Hukkelberg brings her six-piece band to the Queen Elizabeth Hall, supporting Nouvelle Vague (we've linked to the English version of the Nouvelle Vague site, for the benefit of those Little Englanders who freak out at the merest sight of a foreign influence... and for those who can't speak French). The gig takes place on 11th July, 7.45pm. We give you the timing because we've learnt from experience that the RFH, contrary to the relaxed attitude of 'normal' gig venues, really like to stick to them. Tickets are £18.50, check the RFH website for details.

Richmond Fontaine will be playing Lock 17 on Monday 18th July. Tickets are £12 in advance or £14 at the doors. We have no idea how much the compulsory booking fee is so it may well be cheaper for you to buy on the doors, if you're confident this won't sell out. Richmond Fontaine have been compared to the likes of the Replacements and Whiskeytown and their latest album a stark collection of songs about the people who live in the shadows of a casino town. We reviewed the album in a previous Monday Music Review.

The problem with this Booking Ahead lark, of course, is that we sometimes repeat ourselves. The problem with this Booking Ahead lark, of course, is that we sometimes repeat ourselves, especially when it's not your usual Londonista writing this up, so please excuse us any slip-ups.

If you're a band looking to get coverage in Londonist, get in touch with the music team, after reading these handy tips on How To Get Into Londonist's Music Posts.

This week's MMN was brought to you with the assistance of Saint Etienne's new album - Tales From Turnpike House.

Last Updated 24 June 2005