If variety is the spice of life then this week’s musical options are going to seem like an explosion in a Schwartz warehouse. Whilst the mainstream may be on a doomed quest chasing dollar signs, delve a little deeper and you will find that the fight back is in full swing and if you don’t believe me, just check out some of the gigs listed below. As the old punk adage goes…time to pick a side.
Who: Basement Jaxx
Where: Ministry of Sound, 103 Gaunt Street, Elephant & Castle, SE1 6DP
When: Tuesday 9th June
Why: London’s hottest club welcomes London’s hottest DJ as Felix Buxton from Basement Jaxx spearheads Morning Gloryville at The Ministry of Sound. The duo formed via running club nights and in doing so changed the dance landscape through blending House, Electronica and Garage with Big Beat and even alternative rock, this all-nighter is the perfect way to get back to the roots of that scene.
Who: Waxahatchee/Girlpool
Where: The Electric Ballroom, 184 Camden High Street, NW1 8QP
When: Wednesday 10th June
Why: Katie Crutchfield’s musical vehicle is a cult phenomena that may be getting out of hand. Although the music is a wonderful outlet for DIY punk ethos whether making sky scraping, fuzzed out P J Harvey style anthems, quirky, radio friendly college-rock or tackling Elliot Smith introspection, her underground status is proving hard to maintain as word gets around. Add to the mix the stripped back and quirky deliveries of Girlpool and you have the perfect way to break the working week up.
Who: Ash
Where: Scala, 275 Pentonville Road, Kings Cross, N1 9NL
When: Thursday 11th June
Why: If they have seemed a bit off of the radar in the last few years, you can rest assured that Ash’s return, clutching a long awaited album Kablammo, will more than make up for lost time. Any band that can blend pop melodies with heavy rock, pop-punk with power balladry and make it sound not only consistent but new and fresh has got to be worth checking out, don’t you think?
Who: Leftfield
Where: The Forum, 9 – 17 Highgate Rd, Kentish Town, NW5 1JY,
When: Friday 12th June
Why: Leftfield were not only a nineties phenomena, but any act described in the national music press as “the single most influential production team working in British dance music” has to be a gig worth jotting down in the diary. Since their return to the live arena in 2005 they have continued to further the cause of progressive dance music by throwing trance, dub and tribal flavours into the EDM mix.
Who: British Sea Power + Bo Ningen
Where: The Roundhouse
When: Saturday 13th June
Why: With their album, Decline of British Sea Power, rightly hailed as one of the best debut album of the new millennium, the chance to hear it played in full will certainly, and literally, be music to the ears of fans of the ongoing post punk revival. Twelve years on and the band are still famed for amazing live shows and boundary pushing music but catch this show to be reminded of where it all began.
Who: Found Festival
Where: Brockwell Park, SE24 0NG
When: Saturday 13th June
Why: London’s premier electronic festival returns to Brockwell Park this weekend. Five stages of cutting edge house and techno gathered from around the world including, from Tel Aviv, the progressive house of Guy Gerber, the Neapolitan grooves of Davide Squillace, the home grown sounds of Dark Sky and so much more.
Who: Healthy Junkies, Jelly, Paradise Alley and more.
Where: The Unicorn, 227 Camden Road, NW1 9A
When: Saturday 13th June
Why: This monthly Punk’n’Roll is a mecca for all the London misfits and creatures of the night and this time brings you one of the best sleaze rock bands on the gigging circuit today, Healthy Junkies. Also kicking up a storm will be prog-punk-popsters Jelly, (if you can even imagine such a genre!) glam-punks Paradise Alley and the swaggering, attitude driven rock’n’roll of The Flying Kangaroo Alliance.
(first published at dingo app.com)
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