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7th September 2010
A free weekly ezine featuring the best events in London

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Illustration by Julie Khan

Back to the Old Skool

Hello! We threw a party last night and it was great. Really good. But, in consequence, this introduction may be a little unfocused.

OK, let's just talk about next week. The kids are going back to school. Hence Julie's boombastic pencil illustration. Good luck kids!

Also, London Fashion Week is starting, and the most accessible part of it for mere mortals is the SHOWstudio event at Somerset House which, for a fiver, gives a really good flavour of why London is basically the most fashionable place on earth. Other reasons: great techno, like what you'll get at Gouranga on Friday. That really is a blinding party. Incredible live music: hip hop maestros Speech Debelle and Roots Manuva play Ronnie Scott's. Ground breaking theatre: Enron at the Royal Court is the first dramatic insight into the global recession and the selfish bastards that caused it. Oh, and a good sense of humour. There are three, no four examples in this newsletter that will literally make you wet yourself.

Upcoming

Stephen Merchant

12th October 2009
More info >>

Frieze Art Fair

15th October 2009
More info >>

1984

2nd December 2009
More info >>

The Horrors

20th December 2009
More info >>

Friday 11th

Ryan McGinley

Anyone remember the awesome (if ridiculous) 1959 film of Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth? There was something about those vast fantastical underground caverns that was truly amazing, despite the shocking special effects, acting, plot etc... Well, for his first UK solo show, American artist Ryan McGinley is showing 24 new colour photogr... read on

where:
Alison Jacques
16 Berners Street
W1T 3LN
who:
Ryan McGinley
when:
10am - 6pm
what:
Photography
cost:
Free
 

American Chateau

Despite having worked together since they met in Italy in 2003, American Chateau is the first public collaborative exhibition for artists Jaime Hayon and Nienke Klunder. The exhibition fuses the functional with the non-functional to blur the line between art and design across a series of sculptural and two-dimensional pieces. Both highly contempor... read on

where:
Spring Projects
10 Spring Lane
NW5 3BH
who:
Jaime Hayon, Nieke Klunder
when:
12pm - 7pm
what:
Sculpture, Design
cost:
Free
 

Britain's Rubbish

P.A.R.T.Y. Yes, that's right, it's party time, courtesy of controversial East End art folks Decima. This Friday sees the George Tavern taken over by all manner of art types and local bands - there's live music from The Coolness, Tymon Dogg, Tricity Vogue and The Fucks and arty occurrences with Simon Ould, David C West, Stephen Gill and drunken p... read on

where:
George Tavern
373 Commercial Road
E1 0LA
who:
Decima, The Coolness, The Fucks + more
when:
8pm - late
what:
Fundraiser
cost:
£5
 

Don't Techno Sh!t

Another underground techno sesh from the Noisy Neighbours crew at Bar 54. There's a UK exclusive from a soon to be announced DJ.

Read our review of Don't Techno Sh!t here.


 read on

where:
Bar 54
54 Commercial Street
E1 6LT
who:
Chris Stanford, Tred Benedict + more
when:
10pm - 8am
what:
Electro, House, Techno/Minimalturns in a slightly cynical review. He liked it.
cost:
£12

Saturday 12th

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Eh - calm down! Anna Friel (Brookside, first lesbian kiss on British TV, etc) stars opposite American Joseph Cross (Running With Scissors,  Milk) as Holly Golightly in a new stage adaptation of the classic romantic comedy. Based on a novel by Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany's was famously made into a 1961 film with Audrey Hepburn and George Peppa... read on

where:
Theatre Royal
Haymarket
SW1Y 4HT
when:
Times vary
what:
Comedy, Romance
cost:
From £15 to £55
 

Longplayer Live

Time for something out of the ordinary. Longplayer is a piece of music commissioned by Artangel that will play for 1000 years and has been going since the start of the millennium. It is of course the longest piece of non-repeating music ever composed, and tonight at the Roundhouse is your opportunity to listen to a 1000 minute section of it, p... read on

where:
The Roundhouse
110a Chalk Farm Road
NW1 8EH
when:
8.20pm
what:
Music
cost:
£15
 

Grind 'A' Go Go

Meander back to a time of neon colours, free-loving and 60s garage, Grind 'A' Go Go is a fancy dress night at the Working Men's Club filled with oddball delights.

Please Note: If you don't dress up you'll feel stupid. Think beehives, minidresses, suits and boots. read on

where:
Bethnal Green Working Men's Club
42 Pollard Road
E2 6NB
when:
7pm
what:
Fancy Dress
cost:
£8

Sunday 13th

Insomnia

Insomnia is a genuinely cracking after party at the Aquarium and Raduno. The music policy steers a pretty Hoxditch line with lashings of minimal techno, a dash of electro and the odd tech house number thrown in. The crowd, of course, are friendly, exhausted, and for the most part completely spanked - but the music is a treat. If stamina is the n... read on

where:
Raduno
85 Charterhouse Street
EC1M 6HJ
who:
Francesco Poggi
when:
3.30am - late
what:
Electro, Techno/Minimal
cost:
£10, £7 Concessions
 

Blakfish

Shrugging off disasters that would stop lesser bands in their tracks (like having all their gear nicked by some dodgy git!) Blakfish bring joy and Propagandhi style riffage to the world by just being the gnarliest bunch of Brummies since Sabbath.

Playing the Fighting Cock's tonight, it may be a mish to get to, but hell it'll be worth it! read on

where:
Fighting Cocks
56 Old London Road
KT2 6QA
who:
Blakfish, Bats
when:
8pm
what:
Indie
cost:
Free

Monday 14th

Ross Noble

Voted one of the top ten greatest stand ups of all time by Channel 4 viewers, former Perrier nominee Ross Noble returns to the West End after a mammoth UK tour, with his new show about 'things'. Big things and small things. Things that have happened to him, things that have happened to you. Like losing your house and worldly goods in an Australian bush... read on

where:
Apollo Theatre
Shaftesbury Avenue
W1D 6AB
who:
Ross Noble
when:
Times vary
what:
Stand Up
cost:
From £20 to £60
 

Andrew W.K.

Motivational speaking by day and hard rocking at night, there's not a person alive that is as relentlessly positive as all-white wearing rocker Andrew W.K. Apparently he even carries a note in his wallet with the words 'don't be a pussy' written on it to motivate him in times of doubt. When it comes to partying, this guy parties hard! So hard in... read on

where:
KCLSU
Surrey Street
WC2R 2NS
who:
Andrew W.K.
when:
8pm
what:
Rock
cost:
£11

Tuesday 15th

Comedy Gold

Fantastic comedy line-up tonight in one of our favourite north London venues, The Old Queen's Head.

Richard Herring (sans Hitler moustache) headlines with some new material about sporting the notorious dictator's crumb catcher.Tim Key (recent winner of The Edinburgh Comedy Award for 'Best Show') and Tom Basden team up for their hilarious double act read on

where:
The Old Queen's Head
44 Essex Road
N1 8LN
who:
Patrick Monahan, Pete Firman, Tim Key + more
when:
8pm
what:
Stand Up
cost:
£8
 

Riot On The Rocks

An extra special edition of Riot on the Rocks sees one of Canada's finest exports The Pack A.D. take centre stage in the intimate surrounds of the Social tonight. A fire-breathing two piece, these guys combine life on the road, Civil War memorabilia and gallons of Jack Daniels into a hard-boiled treat for anyone who bought the White Stripes first ... read on

where:
The Social West End
5 Little Portland Street
W1W 7JD
who:
The Pack A.D, Hot Fiction + more
when:
7pm
what:
Rock
cost:
£6

Wednesday 16th

Cloud Choreography and Other Emergent Systems

In 2002 contemporary artist Keith Tyson was nominated for the Turner Prize and achieved notoriety when the then Culture Minister Kim Howells left a note deriding his work as 'cold mechanical, conceptual bullshit'. Tyson's work may indeed be cold, mechanical and conceptual, but, judging from this exhibition at Parasol Unit, it's hard to see why... read on

where:
Parasol Unit
14 Wharf Road
N1 7RW
who:
Keith Tyson
when:
10am - 6pm
what:
Art, Painting, Sculpture
cost:
Free
 

Orestes Re-examined

The Full Tilt Theatre Company revises the final part of Aeschylus' classic Oresteian trilogy, a Greek Tragedy about  young prince Orestes who kills his mother in revenge for her having murdered his father. A group of rebels opposing his actions kidnap the prince and decide to take justice into their own hands. However, what exactly they do with... read on

where:
Southwark Playhouse
Shipwright Yard
SE1 2TF
when:
Times vary
what:
Tragedy, Interactive
cost:
From £8 to £18

Thursday 17th

Enron

Juicy stuff... the financial saga that shocked the world and foreshadowed the current recession comes to the stage in an epic dramatisation written by Lucy Prebble, directed by theatrical renaissance man Rupert Goold and starring Samuel West Jeffrey Skilling, the Enron CEO currently doing 24 years for fraud. It will have to be pretty good to sur... read on

where:
Royal Court Theatre
Sloane Square
SW1W 8AS
when:
Times vary
what:
Thriller, Tragedy
cost:
From £10 to £25
 

Around the Horn

Following last year's sell-out gig, Jack Whitehall and friends are putting on another charity bash to raise money for Save The Rhino. Having recently been nominated for the 'Best Newcomer' Edinburgh Fringe Award for his debut, Whitehall is doing exceedingly well at the moment, having hosted Celebrity Big Brother's Big Mouth for its three week run ... read on

where:
Bloomsbury Theatre
15 Gordon Street
WC1H 0AH
who:
Josie Long, Shappi Korsandi
+ more
when:
8pm
what:
Stand Up, As Seen On TV
cost:
£16, £14 Concessions
 

An Evening with Don Letts

Local legend Don Letts comes to the laid-back Paradise By Way Of Kensal Green for night of talking about his work, his new film Carnival and the Music of London, and general experience of hanging out with some of the icons of the 20th century. The man who taught Bob Marley about punk, and punks about Bob Marley, Letts bridged the gap between the t... read on

where:
Paradise, By Way Of Kensal Green
19 Kilburn Lane
W10 4AE
who:
Don Letts
when:
8pm
what:
Reggae, Punk, Talk
cost:
£3

Friday 18th

The Fastest Clock In The Universe

Philip Ridley's first ever, award-winning play returns to the Hampstead theatre where it made its debut in 1992. The Fastest Clock In The Universe is a hugely unsettling horror story about a man named Cougar. He's having a birthday party, he's invited a guest of honour, and he's sharpened his knife. A sick, shocking play about insanity and the lon... read on

where:
Hampstead Theatre
Swiss Cottage Centre
NW3 3EX
when:
Times vary
what:
Thriller, Satire
cost:
£15
 

Roots Manuva feat. Speech Debelle

Reinventor of British hip hop Roots Manuva plays a pared-down acoustic set at this classy jazz venue. He's supported by a lady who signed up months ago, but has since won the Mercury Prize: Speech Debelle. Which makes this just about the hottest UK hip hop line-up of the month, no doubt!

Expect social consciousness and sharp edged wit from both read on

where:
Ronnie Scott's
47 Frith Street
W1D 4HT
who:
Roots Manuva, Speech Debelle + more
when:
8pm
what:
Hip Hop
cost:
From £20 to £36
 

Gag Awards: Gouranga

Gouranga presents the GAG awards - recognising the talents and progression of the best young stars in house and techno. Best Live Techno goes to Leeds duo Spektre and best international newcomer goes to Helge Kuhl. AND, rather excitingly, Output Recordings' Impressario Trevor Jackson will be there to pick up his OG award for his outstanding contributi... read on

where:
Lightbox
6a South Lambeth Place
SW8 1SP
who:
Trevor Jackson, Spektre + more
when:
10pm - 6am
what:
Techno, Electro, Minimal, House
cost:
£10

Saturday 19th

Pete and Repeat

The Zabludowicz Collection is one of the most impressive contemporary art collections in the world, so when 176 says they're puting together an exhibition of works from it you should probably be pretty excited. Especially when this show includes painting, sculpture, video and sound works by a variety of artists, from established heavyweights like G... read on

where:
176
176 Prince of Wales Road
NW5 3PT
who:
Mark Leckey, Wolfgang Tillmans, Doug Fishbone
+ more
when:
11am - 6pm
what:
Art, Installation, Sculpture, Video
cost:
Free
 

Speaking in Tongues

John Simm (Life on Mars, Human Traffic) stars in a high-gloss production of Andrew Bovell's marvelous drama of infidelity, love, mistakes and their consequences, Speaking In Tongues. Ostensibly a story of two couples deliberately setting out to cheat and ending up entangling their lives, the story has a much wider scope, considering the nature of soci... read on

where:
Duke of York's Theatre
St Martin's Lane
WC2N 4BG
who:
John Simm
when:
Times vary
what:
Thriller, Romance
cost:
From £10 to £50
 

Joakim Album Launch

One of the most influential figures in the French electronic music scene, Joakim is the very epitome of Gallic cool and virtuosity.

Tonight he celebrates the launch of his new album with a show at Cargo.

This event is 'pay what you want' aka FREE, which is a stone bargain.
read on

where:
Cargo
83 Rivington Street
EC2A 3AY
who:
Joakim and the Disco, Nadia Kasabia
+ more
when:
8pm - 2am
what:
Electronica, Indie
cost:
Free

Sunday 20th

SHOWstudio - Fashion Revolution

Founded in 2000 by legendary fashion photographer Nick Knight, SHOWstudio is an award-winning fashion website, known for its support of up-and-coming artists and designers and its espousal of innovative creative collaborations. As well as giving opportunities to the youngsters (like Marios Schwab, Gareth Pugh and artist Sarah Maple) SHOWstudio has collabo... read on

where:
Somerset House
Strand
WC2R 1LA
who:
Alexander McQueen, John Galliano
+ more
when:
10am - 6pm
what:
Design, Fashion
cost:
£5, £4 Concessions, Children free
 

Inherit The Wind

To celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the publication of Darwin's 'The Origin of the Species', The Old Vic presents Inherit The Wind, starring Artistic Director Kevin Spacey. Inherit the Wind is the story of Bertram Cates, a school teacher on trial for teaching the theory of evolution against state law. But will belief defeat science in a court of l... read on

where:
The Old Vic
103 The Cut
SE1 8NB


who:
Kevin Spacey, David Troughton
when:
Times vary
what:
Melodrama
cost:
From £15 to £46
 

Kubicle

Kubicle - the notoriously great little after-party which to converts is more of an extended techno family - has been spreading its wings of late. The Toilet - traditionally their Sunday morning home - will host their parties on a more sporadic basis thanks to this - their new residency at the T Bar. Tonight Clive Henry, Toni D and Lee Curtiss jo... read on

where:
T Bar
32-38 Dukes Place
EC3A 7LP


who:
Clive Henry, Toni D, Lee Curtiss
+ more
when:
6pm - 2am
what:
Techno, Minimal
cost:
Free
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