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10th March 2010
A free weekly ezine featuring the best events in London

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Illustration by Julie Khan

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Cultural Quality Control: a free, weekly ezine featuring the best gigs, theatre,art, clubbing and comedy in London.

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Santa vs Stalin

6th December 2008
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John Shuttleworth

10th December 2008
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The Pogues Xmas Show

18th December 2008
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New Year's Eve Party Guide

31st December 2008
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Monday 24th

Jay Reatard

Thundering out of Memphis like an 18 wheeler, Jay Reatard makes garage punk as it should be: loud, bloody and really confrontational. Imagine Rocket From The Crypt with J.J Allen up front. Tonight he's bringing his awesome live show to The Old Blue Last, alongside Thee Vicars, free doors and free cocktails. Just don't get on stage - he will wallo... read on

where:
Old Blue Last
39 Great Eastern Street
EC2A 3ES 
who:
Thee Vicars, Jay Reatard
when:
8 - 10pm
what:
Punk
cost:
Free
 

David O'Doherty

Prepare to have your world rocked (in quite a gentle way) as if.comedy winner 2008, David O'Doherty, the Irish viscount of rumpled whimsy, the marble fawn of tiny keyboard based musical comedy, embarks on his first ever UK tour with the show that won him the award. read on

where:
Soho Theatre
21 Dean Street
W1D 3NE
who:
David O'Doherty
when:
9.30 - 11pm
what:
Stand Up, Music
cost:
£10 - £18

Tuesday 25th

Maurice Broomfield

Wow, has Maurice Broomfield never had a retrospective exhibition before? Apparently not. Well, not until this month's show at HOST Gallery that is. The images on show document over thirty years of post-war industrial and architectural regeneration across Britain. There is a semi-futuristic sense of wonder to Broomfield's work and an appreciati... read on

where:
HOST Gallery
1 Honduras Street
EC1Y 0TH 
who:
Maurice Broomfield
when:
10am - 6pm
what:
Art, Photography
cost:
Free
 

Hit Me!

Highly praised at the Edinburgh fringe, this two-handed tribute to Ian Dury arrives at the Courtyard over Christmas, providing a festive slice of fun for lovers of new wave punk rock. Hit Me! takes the form of three conversations between the affable, hedonistic Dury and his roadie/minder/confidant Spider, beautifully played by Jud Charlton and ... read on

where:
The Courtyard
40 Pitfield Street
N1 6EU
when:
7.30 - 9pm
what:
Musical
cost:
£15, £12 concs

Wednesday 26th

Dylan Moran

Irish star of Black Books, Shaun of the Dead and Run Fat Boy Run, Dylan Moran, is back with a brand new  stand-up show, What It Is.Moran's legendary rants have sold out across the world cementing his reputation as one of the foremost comics of his generation.  Likened to Dave Allen and labelled 'The Oscar Wilde of Comedy', Dylan is unpredictab... read on

where:
The Forum
9 - 17 Highgate Road
NW5 1JY 
who:
Dylan Moran
when:
8 - 10pm
what:
Stand Up, As Seen On TV
cost:
£22, £20 concs
 

Chairlift

Hailing from the ever popular New York borough of Brooklyn, Chairlift are part of a developing scene of young hipsters who are taking electronic pop and are taking it in dappy and often brilliant new directions.

Possibly one of the big bands of 2009...
read on

where:
229 The Venue
229 Great Portland Street
W1W 5PN
who:
Chairlift, Rose Elinor Dougall
when:
8 - 11pm
what:
Indie, Electronica
cost:
£5

Thursday 27th

Audio Forensics

Three days of work in sound by nine contemporary artists at IMT this November.

The aim is to explore the changing role of sound within an artistic context, and on the Sunday there's a symposium with the artists and Ben Borthwick, Assistant Curator at Tate Modern, and Steven Connor, Professor of Modern Literature and Theory at Birkbeck. read on

where:
IMT
210 Cambridge Heath Road
E2 9NQ
when:
Midday - 6pm
what:
Art, Media
cost:
Free
 

The Time Of Your Life

Celebrating the centenary of American playwright William Saroyan, the chronicler par excellence of American society in the Depression and post-war years, the Finborough have assembled their largest ever cast for this lavish production of his Pulitzer Prize-winning bar-room saga The Time Of Your Life. Set in San Francisco, in 1939 on the eve of the Se... read on

where:
Finborough Theatre
Finborough Arms
SW10 9ED
when:
7.30 - 9.30pm
what:
Classic, Melodrama
cost:
£13, £9 concs
 

UFOmammut

Rome-based three-piece UFOmammut sail a spatial voyage where monolithic mind action meets psychedelic Italo-doom in a brutalist sludge of riffs 'n' synths.

Inspired as much by the space-tinged acid rock of Kyruss and Monster Magnet as by the prog  of Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath,  these guys are certainly an experience. read on

where:
The Fly
36 - 38 New Oxford Street
WC1A 1EP
who:
Hey Colossus, Ufomammut, Lento + more
when:
7.30 - 11pm
what:
Metal
cost:
£6

Friday 28th

The Insect Circus

Amazing costumes, great acrobats, contortionists and magic tricks, and a healthy dose of tongue in cheek humour have helped make The Insect Circus a fringe and festival favourite. The costumes really are spectacular and the show has wit and pace, maintained by magician and ringmaster Sir Ronald McPeak. There's even an old fashioned knife-throwin... read on

where:
Jackson's Lane
269a Archway Road
N6 5AA 
when:
8 - 9.30pm
what:
Circus, Cabaret, Performance Art
cost:
£13, £11 concs
 

Why Not?

Yikes and cripes combined. Over 30 of dubstep's finest gathered to display their bass-laden wares. If dubstep is your bag, surely this is a must? Twelve quid for a line-up of this stature is insanely cheap - any of these artists could command that alone. The Roots Of Dubstep room features sets which reference the sounds which helped shape the ge... read on

where:
Scala
275-277 Pentonville Road
N1 9NL
who:
Appleblim, Caspa, Plastician
+ more
when:
10pm - 6am
what:
Dubstep
cost:
£12
 

Filth

Leeds-based promoters Filth launch their London take-over tonight by bringing the absolutely remarkable house and techno aficionado Zoo Brazil in to spin.

He's joined by Ibiza house outfit SIS who are doing a live show. Expect dirty beats, growling basslines and high class house and techno.

Stamina required people. This rolls on till 9am.
read on

where:
Bar 54
54 Commercial Street
E1 6LT
who:
Zoo Brazil, The Hustle, Phil Devine
+ more
when:
10.30pm - 9am
what:
Techno, House
cost:
£12

Saturday 29th

Billy Childish

It's the last exhibition at the Aquarium L-13 this month before the gallery closes its doors for ever. To mark the occasion, they've laid on something a bit special: a load of new work by Kent-based alt-art hero Billy Childish. There's painting, drawing, film, photography, books, records, poetry, letters, prints and all manner of other parapher... read on

where:
The Aquarium L-13
63 Farringdon Road
EC1M 3JB 
who:
Billy Childish
when:
11am - 6pm
what:
Art, Painting, Photography
cost:
Free
 

Max Romeo

Reggae superstar and one time Lee Scratch Perry collaborator Max Romeo is at the Hootenanny tonight to perform a few of his classic hits.Probably best known for his song 'Chase the Devil' (which was sampled on the Prodigy's 'Out of Space'), Romeo has been a long time collaborator with Lee Scratch Perry, and is highly regarded as one of dub's pione... read on

where:
Hootenanny
95 Effra Road
SW2 1DF
who:
Max Romeo
when:
7.30 - 11pm
what:
Reggae
cost:
£12
 

Ketoloco vs Back to Basics

Ketoloco is the name of an after-party that was started by a gang of student DJs in the basement of their house in Leeds.They painted it a DC10 red, installed some decks and a rig, and opened their doors every weekend to the floods of curious ravers fresh out of Back To Basics.The idea, spawned after a summer in Ibiza and a day on the nosebag a... read on

where:
Corsica Studios
Farrell Court
SE17 1LB
who:
Antony Difrancesco, Chrissy Maranello
+ more
when:
11pm - 6am
what:
Techno/Minimal, House
cost:
£12, £10 concs

Sunday 30th

Jimmy Carr: Joke Technician

After a sell out show in 2007, Jimmy Carr returns with Joke Technician.  If you're a fan, you'll be familiar with the format: fast-paced and incredibly rude one-liners.  You'd think listening to dozens of one-liners for an hour would get wearing but you'd be wrong; Carr is a true master of the genre. read on

where:
Carling Academy Brixton
211 Stockwell Road
SW9 9SL 
who:
Jimmy Carr
when:
7 - 8.15pm
what:
Stand Up, As Seen On TV
cost:
£20
 

Tropicana Sunday

From the masterminds of Danny Clarke (Late Night Audio) and Neil Thornton (Lasermagnetic) comes a shiny gem of a Sunday bash.Tropicana will explode weekly at the Horse and Groom, providing a fruity and tropical array of guests. Sunday parties have always been a staple of London clubbing, and this one looks to be right up there with the best of t... read on

where:
Horse & Groom
26 Curtain Road
EC2A 3NZ
who:
Neil Thornton, James Priestly
+ more
when:
Midday - Midnight
what:
Disco, House
cost:
Free
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