The MOJO Honours List is almost upon us again (what do you mean, you hadn't noticed?) and in the run up to the awards ceremony there's a series of gigs happening at the recently-renamed HMV Forum in Kentish Town. Yes, it's yet another set of awards shows run by a magazine, so we're not surprised if they didn't register. But as they feature some impressive names, they're actually worth a look.
On Monday, you can catch Manic Street Preachers, who return to London less than two weeks after their Roundhouse residency. Expect to hear lots of material from the new Tesco-bothering album, plus some of the old classics.The Welsh legends have been touring despite bassist Nicky Wire suffering a prolapsed disc - and as it doesn't seem to have held them back so far, we're confident they'll put on a good show.Tuesday sees noisy (in a good way) alt-rockers Dinosaur Jr take the stage. They're sure to play some of their new record, Farm, out on 22 June, but this three-piece - credited by some as instigating the grunge movement that spawned Nirvana - have quite a back catalogue to draw on too.Finally, on Wednesday it's the turn of John Peel favourites The Fall plus Buzzcocks and John Cooper Clarke, the 'Bard of Salford'. His quickfire poetry is worth the price on its own.Oh - and if you fancy something a bit more folky and intimate, there's one other show in the series that might be up your street: Bert Jansch plays the Jazz Cafe on Monday night.At the time of writing tickets are available for all these gigs. Though having said that, it's probably best to move fast if you want to see the Manics as there don't seem to be any standing spots left.
