6th February 2012

gigs clubbing art comedy theatre blog competitions

Illustration by Julie Khan

To Oldly Go...

They say youth is wasted on the young. By 'they', of course, we mean George Bernard Shaw, the pompous old thing. But he may have had a point, so this week we're saying a right old “Jolly D” to the more mature among us. Jolly D.

Tuesday sees the return of the wonderful Chelsea Flower Show, that botanical bastion that appeals to us all – however old we are – whether we care to admit or not. It also coincides with the news that Hyde Park has recently opened a Pensioners' Playground so that London's bezimmered can let off some steam.

Elsewhere, Lembit Opik, the 45 year-old ex-Liberal Democrat MP and ex-Cheeky Girl fiancé, is all set to embark on a career in stand-up comedy, whilst Lily Allen (not so much old, but many times 'retired') has announced she'll be performing at Big Chill this year.

Museum of London has also just opened the Galleries of Modern London, a rich exploration of the capital's history, and we've come up with a wee list of our favourite indie venues in London. We wonder whether you'll agree with us....

Oh, and check out all this amazing Bank Holiday clubbing.

Thursday 20th

Dive into the archive. Rummage there, amongst the papers and the past. Systems, structures, numbers, words: bureaucracy, documents, categories, knowledge. "Archive Fever, Archive Fever. We know how to do it," as Derrida's Bee Gee's covers group may perhaps have sung. What? Oh yes, art. The splendidly entitled Making Ships in Bottles

An Anglo-Dutch design alliance? Well, things sure have moved on since the trading wars of the eighteenth century. Good that we can put all that behind us huh? Anyway, yes, Studio Glithero is an Anglo-Dutch enterprise and they've got an exhibition of work at The Garage in Kensington this May. On display are a series of sumptuous ceramic works that

The legendary Factory label's legacy will never cease to fascinate, as proved by the release of another book about its "rise and fall" that's being launched tonight at Rough Trade East. For the occasion, Factory-related jazz-post-punk band Blurt (they only released a few tracks on the label because they were unsatisfied with its constant

Friday 21st

At the Comedy Store's 30 year anniversary last May, Terry Alderton took the headline spot ahead of Jack Dee, Jimmy Carr, Alan Carr, Phill Jupitus and Paul Merton. It may have come as a surprise to some but the ex-Southend footballer has developed from a run-of-the-mill observational comedian to something really quite special.

Hosted by over 20 venues in the East End of London, this year’s Stag and Dagger one-night-only mini-festival looks set to be a night of fun, frolics and of course the inevitable dance every now and then. The event is sure to attract many a cool dude in a Barbour coat and turned up jeans, but don’t worry if that’s not your thing, as the art

Sonic Lab launch with a massive line-up from the fields of IDM and breakcore. Planet Mu take over the main room, with Luke Vibert, Shitmat and the Ceephax Acid Crew doing the business.

The Centrifuge and Organix are on board as well. This is going to kick you squarely in the muzzle.

Saturday 22nd

This romantic comedy musical is based on the novel The Tale of the 1002nd Night by Joseph Roth. The Shah of Persia wants to cheer himself up so he runs off to Vienna hoping for an adventure. It's not long before he falls for the Empress, which rather angers her husband. There's a brothel and a spot of the old switcheroo but whoever it is he's

The brilliant live funk-electro-disco outfit Crazy P land at Camp tonight. To see them live is a beautiful thing... Jim Baron and Chris Todd originally formed Crazy P back in 1996, but back then they called themselves Crazy Penis (ooo-er). Since then they have enlisted Matt Klose on drums, dropped the 'enis' from the name, changed record labels

Sunday 23rd

Extreme Prevention is a series of comedy sketches set against the backdrop of the governments' 'Preventing Extremism' strategy that includes radio campaigns warning us, 'If you suspect it, report it'. Expect a reformed extremist desperate to educate the Muslim community on how not to be a fundamentalist, as well as a doctor using ultrasound

Monday 24th

Kandinsky theatre company invite you to journey back to 1918, to the dingy, run-down backwater that was Limehouse: London's original Chinatown.

Based on a true story, this site-specific production is an unflinching examination of cultures colliding in the East End.

For Lee Chee Kong and his Irish wife Mita, Limehouse is simply home. Amused to find themselves the object of Orientalist fascination, they are happy to welcome curious British friends. But when one of these friends, a glamorous young actress, accidentally dies of an overdose, someone must be blamed and their lives are turned upside down.

The two best sketch groups in the country join forces tonight to present a preview of their upcoming Edinburgh Festival runs.

Pappy's will be presenting their new show All Business while The Penny Dreadfuls will be performing some non-Victorian sketches. Spoonfed has heard it on the grapevine these have been a huge hit on test audiences so we can't wait to catch one of these gigs.

Tuesday 25th

Clerkenwell Design Week, a three-day festival celebrating creative design in the capital sets up base camp in Clerkenwell. From 25-27 May, Clerkenwell, the self-styled heart of design in London, will play host to a programme of seminars, workshops, debates and innovative performance. A pop-up exhibition featuring installations from international interior design and architecture suppliers will also take place at the Farmiloe Building on St John Street.

It's probably no surprise to most people who read about music on t'internet to find out that Small Black is one of the bands that Pitchfork has been raving about at the moment. But then again if one of our bestest buddies was in a band we'd probably be raving about them too.

Fitting into the burgeoning Glo-fi scene alongside bands like Memory Tapes, Neon Indian and Washed Out, these guys are one of those bands that America has excelled at producing in recent years. Playing cold, beat-heavy minimal electronica married to romantic, loved-up vocals, all their music sounds like love songs projected from the future.

Wednesday 26th

Jónsi is Jón Pór Birgisson, singer and guitarist in Icelandic post-punk band Sigur Rós. Creating that melancholic beauty in his music that seems only possible coming from his stunning homeland, Jónsi's solo work sits somewhere between the epic scores of Sigur Rós and the uplifting undertones of fellow Icelandic band múm.

Live shows promise a theatrical act like no other with a combination of tailor made costume alongside dazzling performance art. Expect the same grandiose compositions and swirling melodies form the man who brought us 'Hoppipopollopolopola'.

Thursday 27th

Popcorn Comedy is a fantastic monthly club which presents some of the funniest videos found online alongside live performances from some of the best comics on the circuit.

This week accompanying the on-screen fun is 2009 Eddie 'Best Newcomer' nominee Carl Donnelly and hilarious character comedian Adam Riches. Speaking to Donnelly about what he had in store for this month's Popcorn he told us: "I'll be showing some bad film trailers I made with some friends when I was younger. One of them is called Dirty Work 2. It's a half-bad-cop, half-alien film starring a cop called Dom Howitzer who gets into all sorts of dirty work! I play a Spanish drug lord who gets killed but comes back from the future as a part-robot." Sounds like our kind of movie trailer...

Friday 28th

CCTV cameras get a bad name. On the one hand they're a Big Brother-esque imposition upon our privacy; but on the other, most of them don't actually work anyway. Do they make us safe, or paranoid?

Tate Modern presents an exhibition exploring this and many other issues related to surveillance and the act of looking. There's photography on show from the late nineteenth century right up until the present day, by some of the medium's most respected names. This should be fascinating.

The Just The Tonic crew have now branched out from Nottingham to London and currently hold comedy nights at the Leicester Square Theatre every Friday and Saturday.

Since its move down south in 2008, Just The Tonic line-ups have been consistently excellent; keeping an eye for quality control by booking big names and hotly tipped newcomers.

Housed in the Leicester Square Theatre, with comfortable cinema style seating and two bars in the performance room, it's a reliably good central gig.

Whatever your dance tact, be it freaky folk, debauched disco or the perversive polka, you can get your rave on at the Deranged Dance Off. Hosted by Secret Garden's The Dance Off Crew, expect a specially constructed arena where the games begin. Tremendous prizes await winners and if you lose...well...shame. Participation is not mandatory, but it's likely you'll get stuck in.

Ginglik's residents bring beats ranging from disco, house classics and electro to funk, hip hop and basslines. Dress Code: Derranged Dancers - so go crazy. Free champagne reception and birthday cake for the early birds!

Saturday 29th

Brand new night launches tonight. the vibe is good time, sleazy disco, Italo, house jams, yacht rock and the vibes of the best mix-tape your first crush ever made you.

Nothing But Us will be bi-monthly. They aim to throw a house party like the one you threw at your parents house that got a bit too out of hand...

Kicking things off is Dalston's finest party exports: Damon Martin and Ben Pistor from Dalston's disco mafia: Disco Bloodbath. Warming things up and joining the musical dots are residents Ian Pither and Chris Dyke.

A first London solo show for widely acclaimed Japanese contemporary artist Tabaimo at Parasol Unit this summer.

Fusing drawing, animation, video and installation, Tabaimo's work is energetic, enthralling and dense with exotic symbolism.

Sunday 30th

Lostbahnof present their second annual courtyard BBQ at Lati Ri's friendly outdoor space. As well as a full BBQ menu, there's the custom soundsystem, Heavenly Jukebox are in the house, the excellent residents will of course be spinning tunes plus a very special guest from foreign climes...

You'll hear classic house, good techno, garage, disco old and new.

Tasty.

Sound artist Ben Frost has imposed himself as one of the most talented and riveting experimental musicians around these days with his mind-blowing and cinematic last album "By The Throat". His performance tonight at the Luminaire is not something to be missed.

Chronicles unites disparate genres, styles, people and importantly, the different clubbing moments we hold dear. From the acid house days to Glasto raving to Public Life to main room mayhem - these are our Chronicles.

Tonight allow another landmark moment to embed itself in your consciousness. The main room line-up speaks for itself: A Guy Called Gerald - acid house and techno veteran, Guti - swing, jazz, house and Desolat legend playing a live set, Nic and Kaleb (Zoo Project) plus Mestivan (Blasphmie).

A unique and ambitious line-up - this deserves to be awesome.