Pop-tastic

This Sunday, yes, it's Father's Day. Dads may not always be the coolest or best dressed, but hey, they teach you important life lessons and give you pocket money and stuff. And that’s why we have Father’s Day, so we can all give thanks to Pops.

Talking of fathers, did you know that Alan Bennett (What? He's not a father? Well he feels like ours) got ice-cream-mugged in Soho? True story.

In other news, OK Go have a wacky new video out, the brilliant Francis Alÿs show has opened at Tate Modern, and you can soon try your hand at being an art thief, if you fancy it.

We also interviewed that funny fellow out of the Mighty Boosh and rode out in style at the World Naked Bike Ride – thankfully our fathers declined to participate in that one. It might have rather put us off our sherry.

Thursday 17th

The worlds best (and perhaps only) cricket concept super group come to play the Queen Elizabeth Hall as part of Richard Thompson's Meltdown Festival. The sum of Neil Hannon (The Divine Comedy) and Thomas Walsh (Pugwash), The Duckworth Lewis Method are named after the system by which cricket matches are decided in the event of rain delays.

Friday 18th

In this poignant adventure story for children, Naz's world is changing; he has to escape his country and begin his own journey, one very different to the Sinbad stories his father reads to him.

Faced with mountains, seas, soldiers and wolves, 10 year old Naz must survive on his own and discover the power of storytelling.

Star of The Mighty Boosh and Snuff Box, Rich Fulcher brings his new comic creation Eleanor The Tour Whore to Udderbelly for 'comedy, music, f***ing and filth mongering'. A classic roadie 'whore' Eleanor (who claims to make Neil 'Young' again and put the 'Wood' in Woodstock) tells all through poetry, song, interviews, dance and confessional

The launch party for what will undoubtedly be the UK hip hop album of 2010. Skitz should need no introduction. His style of reggae and dub influenced hip hop with Rodney P spitting over the top is the sound of London.

An all star line-up includes Shortee Blitz, Dynamite MC, and Spin Doctor. Big!

Saturday 19th

Saturday 19th June sees the launch of FORM. Although a new kid on the musical block, this fresh young upstart brings you the kind of savvy format you'd expect from a night much older in years. A truly bespoke night, it will concentrate on quality programming, production, ambience and and the kind of line ups you rarely see outside of festivals

Colony come correct at the Rhythm for more heads down sub-bass shenanigans courtesy of three bright stars representing London, Berlin and Bristol respectively. Topping the bill is the mighty Paul Rose aka Scuba, aka SCB. The man has been bossing the techno-dubstep hinterland via his peerless Sub:stance night at Berghain. Support comes from

Sunday 20th

A bizarre battle of clowns and undertakers! A gypsy family in a big circus top to celebrate a wedding only the undertakers want to hold a funeral there too.

Expect an array of live music, plenty of clowning, tractors, horses and corpses to boot.

Monday 21st

Merging theatre, art, cabaret and burlesque, Michael Twaits brings his solo show to the West End. Reworked for Pride 2010, this reflection of life and all its clichés and contradictions is set to be a huge hit during its short run.

Twaits is in his element when he's stomping around in drag asking unanswerable questions and using show tunes to examine the contemporary life of gay men. Expect a spectaular, interactive, multi-media rant delivered with heart.

Tuesday 22nd

Best known as head of sixth form Mr Gilbert on The Inbetweeners, Greg Davies performs his new stand-up show at the Southbank Udderbelly Festival for one night only.

This will be Davies' first solo show, although he's been performing on the stand-up circuit for a good few years now. One third of surreal sketch trio We Are Klang, his stand-up couldn't be more different. Expect brilliantly-constructed anecdotes about ridiculous situations he's gotten himself into from getting beaten up by a thai masseuse to a very emabrassing family dinner conversation. Proper fall about laughing, tears rolling down your cheeks stuff.

Do not miss this! On Tuesday 22nd June, there's a massive roll over with £1000 up for grabs at The Old Queen's Head Pub Quiz - start assembling your crack team now! With the stakes raised, you can bet on the most fiercely competitive pub quiz you'll see in London.

Quiz master 'Lethal Quizzle' Martin Hancock puts you through the wringer and tests your knowledge of utterly useless trivia. Registration starts from 7pm and entry is £2 per person.

The quiz has been revamped recently and now features numerous games rounds, various outrageous competitions and prizes including free rounds of drinks for your team, a champagne dinner and a cash prize each week.

Wednesday 23rd

Taking a political turn, this summer, Royal Court will provide a platform for 10 young playwrights to respond to the 2010 election.

In a season of shorts, works-in-progress, experimental pieces, and readings, Hung Over presents a collection of specially commissioned ten minute plays by April de Angelis, Dipo Agboluaje, Alia Bano, Michael Bhim, Leo Butler, Frank Cottrell Boyce, Martin Crimp, Tim Crouch, E V Crowe and Michael Wynne.

Thursday 24th

SALON (LONDON) returns this year with a really rather smashing idea. Director Crystal Bennes bought a work from last year's RCA Secret (you know, that exhibition where you can buy artists' postcards but you don't know who they're by) and then challenged the artist she 'chose' to come up with a solo show.

The artist selected turned out not to be Damien Hirst or Gerhard Richter (fortunately) but Noemie Goudal, who's recently graduated from the RCA with an MA in photography. We saw her work in the exhibition curated by Jotta at last year's Affordable Art Fair, and it's wicked: complex, layered and laden with latent with drama.

In addition to new work by Goudal, there's also the original postcard on display alongside a video documenting the whole process.

Do you ever find that East London conceptual shenanigans can get a tad wearing? Ever find yourself hankering after some serious Renaissance portraiture?

Well if so, then might we suggest you pay a wee visit to Weiss Gallery on Jermyn Street? This June and July the gallery is celebrating its 25th birthday with an exhibition of some of the finest portraiture you could wish to see.

Loans from various major collections - including Tate Britain and the National Portrait Gallery - contribute to this celebration not just of the gallery itself but also of the concept of the collector more generally.

When we interviewed Austin’s Strange Boys last year we couldn’t shake the feeling that, while they’re undoubtedly awesome, they were kind of just another bunch of guys doing that southern-style garage rock thing.

Luckily, in the intervening period they’ve picked up former Mika Miko singer/saxophionist Jenna E Thornhill deWitt, who has propelled them into weird, countryfied stoner excellence.

Friday 25th

Ever fancied yourself as a bit of an art thief? Would you be daring and brave like Sean Connery in Entrapment? Or suave and slick like Steve McQueen/Piers Brosnan in Thomas Crown Affair?

Well now, at last, the peeps at the Future Gallery are giving you the chance to find out. One Friday this June they're letting people try to sneak into the gallery to steal some of the art on display.

Set off the lasers and risk imprisonment, make it through alive and become a millionaire art thief! Kind of...

Or you can just turn up and party.

The Builder's Association, the critically acclaimed theatre company from New York are bringing their multimedia theatre show to London for a short run as part of London International Festival of Theatre.

The stage is extended around the globe in this exploration of technology and the ways it brings us closer together and sets us further apart. Through a travelling business man's relationship with his daughter, her nanny and his boss, The Builder's Association looks at the changing place of technology.

Brooklyn glitch-cum-reggae-cum-rock titans Dirty Projectors play a special one-off show at the Barbican this evening.

The critically acclaimed four-piece, who will be backed by contemporary ensemble Alarm Will Sound, will perform their 2005 album 'The Getty Address' in full, making this a must for fans of the chirpy scene-setters.

Saturday 26th

Brosmind Studios create their own wonderful take on China's Terracotta Army with a troop of ceramic soldiers lined up present and correct at Kemistry Gallery this summer.

Each soldier belonging to one of several Brosmind Army platoons has a unique identification tag, tattoo and face. First up, the fifty strong Los Canotiers (the boater hat platoon) march into action. Ingeniously the moods and facial expressions of each soldier alter with every twist of their ceramic hat. Marvellous!

Buzzin' Fly step up to Cable for a two-room midsummer affair with a line-up breathing life into their trademark emotive house sound plus some deep Swiss techno, Norwegian balearic disco and Parisian electro-pop.

Special guest Ripperton is a cornerstone of deep techno and joins head honcho Ben Watt and longtime sideman Chris Woodward in the main room.

In room two, Parisian duo Mademoiselle Caro and Franck Garcia deliver a special back-to-back debut set sparkling with electro-pop, vibrant disco and hot house. They are joined by Norwegian cosmic disco duo Ytre Rymden Dansskola (Outer Space Dancing School) - Full Pupp's latest signing - this should be absolutely stunning.

Sunday 27th

Richard Herring returns to the Lyric to host another season of quality comedy, with the usual combination of stellar line-ups including TV comics, Edinburgh Award winners and rising stars.

Tonight's incredible line-up will feature a rare appearance by Peter Serofinowicz (Spaced, The Peter Serafinowicz Show, Shaun of the Dead), celebrated raconteur Stewart Lee, twisted pop cabaret act Frisky & Mannish and Freeze! - the acclaimed double-act featuring Tom Basden and Tim Key.