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11th 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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Gouranja

12th December 2008
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Nine Lessons... for Godless People

21st December 2008
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New Year's Eve Party Guide

31st December 2008
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Animal Collective

12th January 2009
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Monday 1st

Beating Bowel Cancer

Annual fund-raising comedy night at the Comedy Store which contributes towards the Beating Bowel Cancer charity.The evening boasts some of Britain's best comic talent, including Paul Thorne, Time Out Award Winner Paul Tonkinson, if.comedy nominee Mike Wozniak, Laughing Horse New Act of the Year 2007 Daniel Rigby, and Will Smith, winner of Time Out's ... read on

where:
Comedy Store
1a Oxendon Street
SW1Y 4EE 
who:
Will Smith, Paul Thorne, Mike Wozniak + more
when:
8 - 10.30pm
what:
Stand Up
cost:
£18
 

Wolf Parade

A typically weird yet effortlessly charming indie/folk outfit from Montreal, Wolf Parade make indie rock that is sort of like The Mountain Goats jamming with the seven dwarfs from Snow White. Enjoying a wave of critically acclaimed sophomore release At Mt Zoomer, it seems that these guys are fast on the way towards being the bands that finally comes... read on

where:
KCLSU
Surrey Street
Strand
WC2R 2NS
who:
Wolf Parade
+ more
when:
7.30 - 11pm
what:
Indie
cost:
£8.50

Tuesday 2nd

Alexei Sayle

Comedian, actor, writer, presenter and general all-rounder Alexei Sayle will be reading from his new book Mister Roberts.

Inventive, darkly funny, thoughtful and full of glorious one-liners, Mister Roberts is both an original coming-of-age story and an unusual take on the corrupting influence of power.
read on

where:
The Roundhouse
110a Chalk Farm Road
NW1 8EH
who:
Alexei Sayle
when:
7.30 - 9pm
what:
Stand Up, As Seen On TV
cost:
£6
 

Poejazzi

Poejazzi - the spoken word and live music feast - is back with another lyrical, jazz-laced marathon.Tonight's show includes Luke 'Skywalker' Wright - a poet who's assault on contemporary culture references such disasters as the Ikea riot. He's the man behind Aisle 16: a collective of writers who have created some of the most ground-breaking poetry ... read on

where:
Volupte
9 Norwich Street
EC4A 1EJ
who:
Luke Wright, Excentral Tempest
+ more
when:
6pm - late
what:
Poetry, Jazz
cost:
£10

Wednesday 3rd

Edward Scissorhands

He's done it again. Matthew Bourne's reinvention of Tim Burton's tragic hero Edward Scissorhands was a huge critical and commercial hit on Broadway, and arrives this winter as a festive treat for London. Dark, delightful and a great alternative to a saccharine panto, this is another triumph from the world's most commercially savvy ballet producer. Bourne... read on

where:
Sadler's Wells
Roseberry Avenue
EC1R 4TN
who:

when:
7.30 - 9.30pm
what:
Dance, Ballet
cost:
£10 - £50
 

Get Happy at The Castle

Get Happy aims to provide a relaxed, fun and intimate atmosphere for their comedy nights. Line-ups are assorted from new comedians to more established acts and range from classic stand-up to alternative comedy. They also put on games, competitions and prizes not to mention the ever popular Helium Theatre.This particular one is located upstairs in The ... read on

where:
The Castle
Clerkenwell
EC1M 6DB
who:
Nat Luurtsema, Stewart Lee
+ more
when:
8 - 10.30pm
what:
Stand Up
cost:
£5

Thursday 4th

The Little Prince

Antoine de Saint-Exupery's brilliant children's fable about a pilot crash landing in the desert, who is befriended by a boy from another planet, is many discerning readers' favourite children's book. It finally receives the musical treatment in a charming adaptation by Anthony Clark, with music from Mark Vibrans. A thinking parent's choice for a family... read on

where:
Hampstead Theatre
Swiss Cottage Centre
NW3 3EX 
who:

when:
3 - 5pm
what:
Family, Musicals
cost:
£15, £10 children
 

Phil Kay

Multi award-winning Scotsman Phil Kay brings his special brand of no hands, no stabilisers comedy to the Soho Theatre. You never know what you're going to get with a Kay set due to his love of improvisation but one thing's for sure, it won't be dull. Nominated for a Perrier Award in 1993,  he is a firm favourite at the Edinburgh Festival, where yearly... read on

where:
Soho Theatre
21 Dean Street
Soho
who:
Phil Kay
when:
8 - 9pm
what:
Stand Up, Improv, As Seen on TV
cost:
£12, £10 concs
 

Meat Puppets

One of the bands that made SST Records a towering force in the US underground, The Meat Puppets are at ULU tonight to perform the entire of their much loved 1984 album 'Meat Puppets II'. Considered (rightly) as an all time classic, this album was one of the first records that took hardcore in more experimental directions, a strict no-no at the time... read on

where:
ULU
University Of London Union
WC1E 7HY
who:
Meat Puppets
+ more
when:
7.30 - 11pm
what:
Punk
cost:
£15

Friday 5th

Felix's Machines

To compliment Gasworks' current exhibition of home-made art/music contraptions by Felix Thorn, the gallery is tonight hosting some experimental DJ shenanigans. There's sets from Paul B Davis and the ever-bizarre Leila, so be prepared for a challenging mix of light projections, pre-programmed art-noise and all manner of other haphazard electronic jiggery... read on

where:
Gasworks Gallery
155 Vauxhall Street
SE11 5RH 
who:
Leila, Felix Thorn, Paul B Davis
when:
8pm - midnight
what:
Art, Installation, Multimedia
cost:
Free
 

Free Fridays

The great Cargo giveaway involves free entry, free stuff and some drinks specials. (You didn't think they'd give those away did you?) Fair play to Cargo, they keep things reasonably priced and the line ups for these free nights manages to be both off-centre and entertaining. Heading up tonight is the remarkable Death Set - Australian experimental electronic... read on

where:
Cargo
83 Rivington Street
EC2A 3AY 
who:
The Death Set, Modular DJs
+ more
when:
8pm - 3am
what:
Electronica, Rock, Funk
cost:
Free
 

Mixmag Xmas Party

Tonight looks simply spectacular. Mixmag really pulled it out of the bag for their last Egg party and tonight they've gone one step beyond by booking the world's most exciting dance act: Justice. Not only that, Chase and Status will be demonstrating why they are considered one of the finest dnb acts in the land, Caspa and Rusko will be vibrating the... read on

where:
Egg
Vale Royal
N7 9AP
who:
FrankMusic, Chase & Status
+ more
when:
10pm - 10am
what:
House, Electro, Dubstep, Drum & Bass
cost:
£15

Saturday 6th

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

With a set designed by Insekt Circus and a live dance performance from flapper girls par excellence The Bees Knees, this production of the Edinburgh fringe sensation has added oomph. Mind you, the show itself is pretty superb, blending animation and live action to tell a series of grotesque and unhappily ending stories. 1927 have a unique and horrifying... read on

where:
Battersea Arts Centre (BAC)
Old Town Hall
SW11 5TN 
who:
The Bees Knees
when:
7.30 - 8.40pm
what:
Performance Art, Cabaret, Comedy
cost:
£10 - £16
 

Hockey

At first glance Portland might just be a place that's full of gas stations and trees, but scratch away the surface and you'll find a rich vein of awesome music that starts somewhere around the Wipers and winds its way through the years as far as self-referencing Roxy Music aficionados Hockey, who are in London on the back of their feel good indie rocker... read on

where:
St Moritz
159 Wardour Street
Oxford Street
who:
Hockey, I Blame Coco
when:
8 - 2pm
what:
Indie
cost:
£5
 

The End's 13th Birthday

Well shiver me timbers, The End is turning 13. And because it's closing in January, this is The Club's final birthday. You know what that means? A balls-to-the-wall super hard-hitting night of unparalleled filth and senseless debauchery! My favourite. Sven Vath is headlining - which is reason enough to join the queue with the rest of clubbing London... read on

where:
The End
18 West Central Street
WC1A 1JJ
who:
Sven Vath, Mr C, Layo
+ more
when:
10pm - 7am
what:
Techno, House
cost:
£25 on the door

Sunday 7th

Santa vs Stalin

'In the red corner, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee, and full-time moustache wearer, ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Josef Staaaaaaaliiiiiiiiin!' 'And in the white corner, it's the mythical, present-bearing, elf-befriending, reindeer-riding, heavyweight champion of Christmas, Santa 'Father Chistmas'... read on

where:
National Army Museum
Royal Hospital Road
SW3 4HT 
who:

when:
10am - 5pm
what:
Family, Museum, History
cost:
Free
 

Bon Iver

A showcase gig for the former Dayarmond Edison frontman who spent a few years away from the limelight, making weird post-folk in a log cabin in the woods.

Brilliant music, and a surprisingly engaging stage presence for someone who gave up all human contact quite happily for over a year. read on

where:
Apollo Victoria Theatre
17 Wilton Road
SW1V 1LG
who:
Bon Iver
+ more
when:
7 - 10pm
what:
Indie, Folk
cost:
£19 advance
 

The Residents

The Residents are perhaps one of bizarrest shapes to litter the punk landscape.

Cloaking their identity in eyeball heads, tuxedos and top hats, the band are a riddle of Sphinx like proportions, whilst their fiery mix of garage, pop and art pre-dated the No Wave movement by something like 10 years. read on

where:
The Forum
9 - 17 Highgate Road
NW5 1JY
who:
The Residents
+ more
when:
7.30 - 11pm
what:
Punk
cost:
£20 advance
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