Flower Power

With the Olympics coming to change London forever, interest in the affected areas of Hackney has never been higher. The concept of psychogeography is something that Iain Sinclair has been exploring for years, but - in part thanks to the Olympics - the subject has seen a resurgence of late, as highlighted by Laura Oldfield Ford's exhibitions at Marlbo

The sinister and the trashy combine at Spring Projects this month with works by kitsch snapper Alice Hawkins alongside ceramic sculpture and film, courtesy of Barnaby Barford. Whilst Barford's work is ostensibly the darker - his works draw upon a kind of Tim Burton-esque gothic - there is also something slightly troubling about Hawkins' posey

This show got Russell Kane nominated for the 'Best Newcomer' award at last year's fringe and garnered him stacks of 5 star reviews across the board. Observational is what Kane does best and this show demonstrates his skill in finding the comedy hidden in the most mundane of topics. The premise is about human flaws and why ultimately, we reject

This sounds like one of those things that could either be a tangled-up and over-ambitious mess, or a ground-breaking 'I was there'  kind of event. Here's rooting for the latter. The Rain Emperor is a project by visual arts company Beggars Velvet that takes its inspiration from a series of rare scores by composer and musician Robert Jacob.

The brainchild of Welsh sorcerer Dilwyd Llwyd, Yucatan has managed to come up with an expansive, psychdelic shoegaze sound that almost beats Sigur Rós at their own game (in fact it was recorded at Sigur Rós' studio in Iceland). Playing on the eve of St David's Day, if you own at least one Explosions in the Sky record and half a distant Welsh

Resident Enzo Siragusa keeps the house warm and deep at this weekly party, which has now moved to Sosho. The Circuit crowd is a committed, bang-up-for-it one, and when you take a look at their guests, you'll see why. Taking the bull by the horns and launching his monthly Circuit residency is Circo Loco hotshot Clive Henry. He will be joined by

House, house and more house is on the menu at yet another mouthwatering line up at Matter. If you haven't been to Fabric's new sister venue yet then now is the time, with huge names such as Green Velvet and Francois Kevorkian making exclusive appearances. Also playing are residents Nic Fanciulli and Andy Chatterley, who are joined by The

The legendary reggae and dancehall radio DJ David Rodigan curates Rootikal - every first Sunday of the month. Tonight he is joined by reggae soundsystem Channel One. Anyone who has attended Notting Hill Carnival in the last 25 years will be familiar with the Channel One sound and selector Mikey Dread. Mikey's father, a soundman from the '50s

A stellar production based around a fascinating story at Sadler's Wells this springtime sees dancer Sylvie Guillem, choreographer Russell Maliphant and theatre director Robert LePage team up to tell the story of Charles de Beaumont, the Chevalier d'Eon. This extraordinary figure was a diplomat, author, warrior and spy in the court of Louis XV

Frank Skinner's Credit Crunch Cabaret is a variety show on a budget, offering a selection of top class comedians, West End stars and musical acts for a pocket pleasing £10.  Perfect for these cash-stricken times.

Hosted by the infamous TV comic (star of Fantasy Football, Baddiel & Skinner Unplanned and The Frank Skinner Show) every Monday evening, there will also be loads of extra special guests dropping in like Richard Herring, Dave Gorman, Al Murray, Russell Howard and errr Tara Palmer-Tomkinson?? If she's as wasted as she was the last time we saw her with Skinner it should be a right laugh.

Created by and Starring Steve Steinman, this vampire musical about Baron von Rockula trying to persuade a virgin to hook up with him for eternal life, is an underground sensation that shows every sign of being a cult musical for years to come.

Based around a succession of rock anthems from the likes of Meat Loaf, AC/DC, Alice Cooper, the Stones, White Snake and, ahem, Cher, this is a comic, camp romp set in futuristic New York where the undead are springing up all over the city.

New paintings and works on paper by contemporary artist Abel Auer at Corvi-Mora this month.

Auer does mysterious landscape images that somehow combine the colour-palette of the Fauvists with the occultist symbolism of Joan Miró. Little cottages stand isolated in darkened woods, fairytale towers stretch into the sky, and what is that behind those trees?

A mercenary goes missing in Ammam, the traditional decompression pit-stop in the middle east for private contractors profiting from war in Iraq. His only friend goes after him.

An innovative promenade performance that plunges the audience right into some very uncomfortable action. Dress warm and wear proper shoes.

Howard Barker is one of Britain's most acclaimed living playwrights and this new show at the Arcola promises to be a linguistic feast, a richly coloured thriller set in the court of Charles II against a backdrop of fornication, intrigue and the threat of war.

Brutality and poetry rub shoulders in this energetic show which blends farce, satirical parallels with modern politics, and gut-wrenching tension.

Shred Yr Face returns for a second go, and let's face it Fucked Up and Rolo Tomassi have way more chance of shredding some faces than Los Campasinos!

Headlining is The Bronx, who basically sound like the entire DC hardcore scene falling on you all at once. They also have the best artist photo on the website.

Brilliant sketch trio The Penny Dreadfuls put their award-winning play Aeneas Faversham Forever to bed in February and are now holding a few 'scratch' gigs to try out ideas for their latest show.

Expect sketches full of imaginative wit and whimsy based in the world of Victoriana.

Have you been feeling let down by your gangsta rappers lately? Do you feel that most now are spoiled brats rather than proper street thugs? Yeah, us too.

Fortunately we've found this guy - According to his Myspace Eslam Jawaad is the last of the famous international playboys. A rapper who found music after being a member of the Lebanese militia and an accomplice to the failed 8 million dollar sale of a Siberian mammoth tooth.

The Stuckists take over the Islington Arts Factory this March with an exhibition of work by five female members of their group.

Stuckist art is characterised by figurative paintings produced in a kind of faux-naive style, so expect more of the same to be on display here.

Ella Guru focuses on the sordid elements of popular culture - fetish clubs, transvestites and the like - whilst Elsa Dax takes inspiration from Greek mythology.

Ha ha, this is probably the most apt name for a band ever.

Like their namesake, cute-as-a-button Spanish kids Suzy & los Quattro make good-time garage rock about riding about on motorbikes and kissing boys and stuff.

Two ex-programmers from late and sorely missed nightclub The End save the day by taking over Friday nights at top notch newly cool venue The Arches.

Electrifying line-ups will make your mouth water - including James Holden's Border Community, Ben Watt's Buzzin' Fly, Warp Records, Chew The Fat! and Eat Your Own Ears.

An evening of '60s counter-cultural shenanigans at the South London Gallery this Saturday.

In association with Flat Time House, they're hosting a restaging of John Latham's 1965 performance piece Juliet and Romeo, that involves a male and a female character in costumes made out of hardback and paperback books.

In addition, writer and artist Stewart Home presents a series of events including readings, music and film from a host of '60s radical types.

It seems slightly unbelievable but it's been almost two years since we put This Is Music's first London show up on these pages, and here they are with their biggest show ever.

Although we can't tell you who the headliner is yet ( but believe us they are massive), we can tell you that this show has two of the best bands in the UK playing for your enjoyment. Male Bonding are like a cross between Gang of Four and MC5 while Mob Rules are easily the best band in Leeds right now.

Scenario is the new hip hop party at Cargo.

The policy is to combine new talent with prolific, established artists.

If you still need convincing then recognize that it's by the crew that bought you Soundcrash, Loose Change and Red Alert.

Tonight it's the remarkable Peanut Butter Wolf (founder of Stones Throw Records) performing one of his massive audio-visual sets. Tempest in a teacup ain't the word...

James Zabiela - one of the most highly regarded DJs in the world - lands at Matter for another Positronic party, this time with Christian Smith and Joey Beltram, with Spektre and Mooj heading up room two.

If you like your house techy and clever, then this is the night for you.

Infused with elements of Nordic and Yiddish folklore, this piece of puppet theatre 'for grown ups' is a historical tale about a shrewd Jewish factory owner making a fortune and dedicating his life to fighting anti-Semitism. By the time the Nazis invaded Norway, they had already marked him down as the 'leader of Jewish resistance' in that country.

A co-production with the Jewish Community Centre.

Poland does a lot of things well - sausages, beer, revolutions - the list goes on and on. One thing they have been keeping secret, however, is that our Polish neighbours are building the new home of European reggae. It would seem that whilst the rest of the Warsaw Pact was busy listening to Russian Opera, the Poles were manning their tanks and submarines whilst listening to Pato Banton - who knew?

Battering around the experimental indie zone (also happily roping in elements of folk, drone, rock and so on) Animal Collective are known for their live shows, which recall wonderful, free-flowing jams.

Brand new spanker organised by some cats with a predilection for seriously good tunes.

Tech, electro, minimal, progressive are the buzz words of Key To Life - while Promised land play classic house from the summer of '88-'89.

Scandal schmandal, Russell Brand is back and is as popular as ever if ticket sales for his 2009 tour are anything to go by.  This is a real treat for Brand lovers as the award-winning comic abandons film-making and Hollywood to return to the UK's stand-up circuit. 30,000 Daily Mail readers won't be desperately trying get tickets, the rest of us will.

Barry Fantoni is probably best known as the guy who does those E.J. Thribb (17_1/2) poems in Private Eye. You know, those short obituaries of famous people that always begin 'So, farewell then...' Brilliant!

Acclaimed Bollywood theatre producers Tamasha transpose Thomas Hardy's romantic tragedy from the Yorkshire moors to the scorched deserts of Rajastan: an equally unforgiving landscape, and similarly ridden with class inequality and petty local hatred.