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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

Rain Stopped Play

Yesterday’s bright sunshine saw the county cricket season kick off in earnest, with Ian Bell scoring a timely hundred to press his claims for an England recall. Today, rain has rather curtailed progress, but hey, at least it gives all those cricketers a chance to tuck into some scotch eggs (or whatever else it is they do when it’s raining).

For those of you not interested in cricket (heathens!) there’s the Camden Crawl coming up next weekend. Loads of bands are flocking to North London to strut their stuff across 25 venues. With tickets as little as £5, this is one of the music highlights of the year.

Plus, as a memento of this year’s Ether Festival at the Southbank Centre, we’re giving away 4 compilation CDs featuring songs by the likes of Royksopp, Tim Exile and Mouse on Mars. Click here to win a limited edition Ether compilation.

Upcoming

Eastern Electrics

2nd May 2009
More info >>

Hatcham Social

11th May 2009
More info >>

Peter Pan

26th May 2009
More info >>

Free Range 2009

29th May 2009
More info >>

Friday 17th

Painting is Thinking

Painting, drawing and site-specific installation combine to brilliant effect in the works of Anne Gathmann and Kysa Johnson. Gathmann coats sheets of paper in wet paint so that their form begins to wilt and distort - these are then presented in such a way as to interact with the surrounding space. Johnson uses microscopic structures as the basic... read on

where:
Standpoint
45 Coronet Street
N1 6HD
who:
Kysa Johnson, Anne Gathmann
when:
12pm - 6pm
what:
Art, Painting, Installation
cost:
Free
 

Isabel Rock - Ultimate Love Story

Contemporary artist Isabel Rock combines a variety of media and techniques - spray paint, printing, drawing, collage, gold leaf... - to produce images that are layered with folk-tale whimsy. Her works are visually complex and fascinating, but also light-hearted and fun: a rare combination indeed. This is her first solo show, and provides a
read on

where:
bearspace
152 Deptford High Street
SE8 3PQ
who:
Isabel Rock
when:
12.30pm - 5pm
what:
Art, Painting, Drawing
cost:
Free
 

We Fear Silence

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. Tonight is the launch of A Bunch Of Cuts - a brand new night brought to you by Marcus Intalex's dnb collective - which includes Doc Scott, D Bridge, Calibre and Klute. Room two is tonight headed up by read on

where:
Arches
53 Southwark Street
SE1 1TE
who:
Appleblim, Marcus Intalex
when:
10pm - 6am
what:
Drum & Bass, Dubstep
cost:
£15, £12 Concessions

Saturday 18th

Tobias Rehberger

Tobias Rehberger produces incredible sculptural installations that are a riot of colour, incredible gravity-defying form, and conceptual weirdness.

All manner of shapes, materials and ideas converge in these almost overwhelming pieces. He's got a solo show at Pilar Corrias this April and May and it looks like being a cracker. read on

where:
Pilar Corias
54 Eastcastle Street
W1W 8EF
who:
Tobias Rehberger
when:
11am - 6pm
what:
Art, Sculpture, Installation
cost:
Free
 

Colony

Keeping it dark and bumping as we cruise into spring, Colony touches down again at the Russian Bar.

Topping the bill is the mighty Untold, a man responsible for some of 2008's most interesting dubs via his Hemlock imprint.

He cuts a line between skippety garage, smoked-out half step and tribal IDM. read on

where:
A10 Russian Bar
267 Kingsland Road
E2 8AS
who:
Tom Lennox, Untold
+ more
when:
9pm - 5am
what:
Dubstep, Electronica, Techno/Minimal
cost:
£5, Free before 11pm
 

Outlook Festival Launch Party

Outlook Festival is one of the biggest on the dubstep calendar. Kicking things off with this simply enormous launch, they unite a host of underground nights including SubDub, Exodus, New Bohemia, Vagabondz, The Tuesday Club, Hit and Run and more. DJ wise it's absolutely stunning. The Digital Mystikz make a special guest appearance, added to pretty read on

where:
Coronet
28 New Kent Road
SE1 6TJ
who:
Digital Mystikz, Luke Envoy
when:
10pm - 7am
what:
Dubstep
cost:
£12

Sunday 19th

ANOPSEUDONONYMOUS

Temporary experimental art space Five Hundred Dollars opens this April with an exhibition that explores the idea of anonymity.

ANOPSEUDONONYMOUS consists of work across a variety of media, including painting, sculpture and video, by a group of contemporary artists. The twist is that all the works are being shown without artist attribution. read on

where:
Five Hundred Dollars
12 Vyner Street
E2 9DG
who:

when:
12pm - 6pm
what:
Art, Painting, Video
cost:
Free
 

The Killing of Mister Toad

Marking the 150th anniversary of Kenneth Grahame's birth, the Finborough presents an odd but compelling piece of social and literary history by David Gooderson. Starting with the delivery of flowers to his widow Elspeth Grahame, this play is essentially a flood of memories, with the characters of Toad, Badger, Rat and Mole from the classic read on

where:
Finborough Theatre
Finborough Arms
SW10 9ED
who:

when:
7.30pm
what:
Tragedy, Melodrama
cost:
£13, £9 Concessions

Monday 20th

Old Rope - Adam Bloom

Heroic comedy veterans Adam Bloom and Paul Foot headline a rather special edition of this comedy stalwart, a long-standing fans' favourite. If.comedy winner Phil Nichol and Tiffany Stevenson are the hosts of Old Rope, a weekly Monday night show where leading comedians, circuit regulars and newcomers debut material in front of an enthusiastic and suppor... read on

where:
The Phoenix
37 Cavendish Square
W1G 0PP
who:
Paul Foot, Adam Bloom
+ more
when:
8pm
what:
Stand Up
cost:
£5, £3 Concessions
 

Bonnie Prince Billie

Serial miserabilist Bonnie Prince Billie returns to the Royal Festival Hall for a one-off special gig showcasing songs off his new album 'Beware'. The shock is that whilst the dark heart remains, this is now his most ambitious and - whisper it - upbeat album yet. Simply sensational in concert, this promises to be an incredible evening from one of mu... read on

where:
Royal Festival Hall
Belvedere Road
SE1 8XX
who:
Bonnie Prince Billy
when:
7.45pm
what:
Folk, Country, Indie
cost:
From £20 to £23

Tuesday 21st

Interiors

Scotland's Vanishing Point Theatre specialise in effective theatre that uses a totally contemporary blend of dialogue and physical movement. Interiors is their latest show, a spooky little number following the unfolding story of a dinner party, the stories within the characters which emerge, and the fact that they're being watched. If their last ... read on

where:
Lyric Theatre
King Street
W6 0QL
when:
8pm
what:
Thriller, Performance Art
cost:
£12, £10 Concessions
 

We Fell To Earth

A suitably unearthly duo, Richard File and Wendy Rae met when they were both working with Josh 'The Ginger Elvis' Homme in Joshua Tree national park, and have somehow landed up in London making sinister and kind of arousing rock/trip hop music.
read on

where:
ICA
The Mall
SW1Y 5AH
who:
We Fell To Earth
when:
8pm
what:
Rock
cost:
£10

Wednesday 22nd

On the Edge

What separates the figurative from the abstract? Where does reality end and fantasy begin? These are always going to be unanswerable questions, but the fact that we keep asking them is interesting in itself. This month, ROLLO Gallery presents a show that examines the two-way glass that stands between representation and abstraction. There's work on di... read on

where:
ROLLO Gallery
51 Cleveland Street
W1T 4JH
who:
Nadine Feinson, Jane Ward
+ more
when:
10am - 6pm
what:
Art, Painting, Drawing, Sculpture
cost:
Free
 

The 29th Task of Corless

Wow - this is a comedy charity night with a difference! To raise money for Unicef James Corless is in the process of undertaking 29 tasks in 29 weeks around his 29th birthday. His friends have set his challenges and he has already stripped, water-skied, climbed Ben Nevis, flown to Philadelphia to get beaten up by a professional boxer and ran the P... read on

where:
The Good Ship
Kilburn High Road
NW6 7JR
who:
James Corless, Mike Wozniak
when:
8.30pm
what:
Stand Up
cost:
£8
 

Years of Rice and Salt

Peddling a concept album detailing the tale of a shipwreck, Years of Rice and Salt are a band that definitely aren't afraid of a concept.

Haunting, layered and often challenging, these guys could just be the UK's answer to Explosions in the Sky.
read on

where:
Bull and Gate
389 Kentish Town Road
NW5 2TJ
who:
Years of Rice and Salt
when:
8pm
what:
Indie
cost:
£5

Thursday 23rd

Lucy Barlow

Gallery-in-a-home First Floor Projects opens this April with an exhibition of work by emerging contemporary artist Lucy Barlow. Barlow is probably best known for her humorous and ever-so-slightly kooky illustrations: about herself she says, "For a long time I've been the girl who does the drawings of birds and cakes". But this - her d... read on

where:
First Floor Projects
5 Redcliffe Gardens
SW10 9BG
who:
Lucy Barlow
when:
12pm - 6pm
what:
Art, Painting, Drawing
cost:
Free
 

Andromaque

Cheek By Jowl present a radical new vision of the Racine play about the horrible dilemma faced by Hector's widow in the wake of the Trojan War, when her son is confronted by the Greeks.

A visceral tragedy brought up to date by one of the most inventive and reliably exciting companies in Europe. read on

where:
Barbican Main Theatre
Silk Street
EC2Y 8BQ
when:
7.15pm
what:
Tragedy
cost:
£25
 

Camera Obscura

Melancholic Scottish indie-pop group Camera Obscura were favourites of the late great John Peel. Drawing influences from a number of sixties artists such as The Mamas and the Papas, the band are currently touring their fourth album, 'My Maudlin Career'. At the Empire tonight, let yourself to be lulled with warm heartbroken harmonies.
read on

where:
Shepherds Bush Empire
Shepherds Bush Green
W12 8TT
who:
Camera Obscura
when:
7pm
what:
Indie
cost:
£14

Friday 24th

The Photographic Object

The Photographers' Gallery presents an exhibition that seeks to explore the notion of a photograph as object, rather than merely an image of an object. A photograph may be a two-dimensional image, but like a painting (or indeed a sculpture) a photograph is also a three-dimensional object. With works by a host of experimental artists including Andy W... read on

where:
Photographers' Gallery
16-18 Ramillies Street
W1F 7LW
who:
Wolfgang Tillmans, Gerhard Richter, Andy Warhol
+ more
when:
11am - 6pm
what:
Photography
cost:
Free
 

Camden Crawl

The Camden Crawl returns to take over NW1 for two days of live music, film screenings, quizzes, comedy and debauchery. No wonder it is fast becoming a highlight of the urban festival season. Now sensibly held on a Friday and Saturday over 25 official venues, the emphasis is firmly on groundbreaking live music, with many of rock, indie and elec... read on

where:
Across Camden
who:
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Fall
+ more
when:
8pm
what:
Indie, Rock, Electro
cost:
£6, £5 Concessions
 

Soundspecies

Soundspecies (an electronic melting pot of ideas formed by brothers Henry and Olly Keen) play live tonight to celebrate the launch of their self-titled album on Burnt Progress records.

Deck support in the shape of Nwachukwu, Gavin Alexander (Burnt Progress) Mr Beatnick and Alex Nut. read on

where:
Plastic People
147-149 Curtain Road
EC2A 3QE
who:
Mr Beatnick, Alexander Nut, Soundspecies
+ more
when:
10pm - 3am
what:
Hip Hop, Electronica, Dubstep
cost:
£8, £4 before 11pm
 

Southern Hospitality

Southern Hospitality throw an extra special, extended party at The Social tonight. All the way from Brooklyn NYC, The Rub's DJ Eleven is in the house flying the East Coast flag. The Rub are a hip hop collective. They throw mind-blowing parties, have their own radio show and are widely regarded for their encyclopedic knowledge and ability to make t... read on

where:
The Social West End
5 Little Portland Street
W1W 7JD
who:
Superix, Rob Breezy, DJ Eleven
when:
6pm - 3am
what:
Hip Hop, Breaks, Electro
cost:
Free

Saturday 25th

Andrew O'Neill's History of British Industry

Cult circuit favourite Andrew O'Neill brings his 2008 show, a fake historical comedy about British industry, to the Cockpit Theatre for three days as part of a national tour.

Expect fast-paced jokes, impressive word play, silliness and vitriol all rolled into one from this wonderfully offbeat comedian. read on

where:
Cockpit Theatre
Gateforth Street
NW8 8EH
who:
Andrew O'Neill
when:
8.30pm
what:
Stand Up
cost:
£10, £8 Concessions
 

Retro Remix

Shake Shake have relaunched as Retro Remix. The mash up style party starters who remix and re-edit the very best in guilty pleasures, retro classics and party anthems return tonight to the best venue in London for another edition of swanning round like a '50s pin up in bowling shoes. Tonight they've got the Congo Faith Healers plus their rocking resi... read on

where:
Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes
46-55 Tavistock Square
WC1H 9EU
who:
Congo Faith Healers, Shake Shake DJs
when:
8pm
what:
Ska, Funk/Soul, Pop, Breaks, Indie
cost:
£7, £5 Concessions
 

Scand

Scand was a London based electro night which shut up shop three years ago.

Well they're back - this time in newly cool venue Lightbox with NYC techno pioneer Damon Wild topping the bill.

Sync 24 and Truss head up proceedings at Scand, with electro legend Carl A Finlow performing live under his Silicon Scally moniker. read on

where:
Lightbox
6a South Lambeth Place
SW8 1SP
who:
Damon Wild, Sync 24, Truss
+ more
when:
11pm - 7am
what:
Electro, Techno/Minimal
cost:
£13

Sunday 26th

Romeo and Juliet

Dominic Dromgoole directs an all-new, but entirely faithful rendering of the classic love story, with Ellie Kendrick and Adetomiwa Edun as the lovers from different warring factions. Performed in period costume, with Shakespeare's florid, moving poetry preserved, but still as vital and relevant as when it was first performed, this will be one o... read on

where:
Globe Theatre
New Globe Walk
SE1 9DR
who:

when:
7.30pm
what:
Classic, Tragedy, Romance
cost:
From £5 to £33
 

Rat Attack

A hardcore band from Exeter, Rat Attack have managed to make music that sounds like Born Against, Strike Anywhere and Youth of Today all at the same time. Headlining a fairly ramshackle night at the Monto Water Rats (it must be said), this is the perfect show to take anyone who's ambivalent to hardcore as it will probably be full of people getting s... read on

where:
Monto Water Rats
328 Gray's Inn Road
WC1X 8BZ
who:
Rat Attack, Smokey Bastard
+ more
when:
6pm
what:
Punk
cost:
£6
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