Tag Archives: Madame Jojos

LONDON Gig Guide w/e Mon 20th Jan 2014
13
Jan

Here’s seven great gigs in seven great venues on seven different nights for your live music pleasure!

 

Tuesday – Slaves – Madame Jojo’s

White Heat is one of the most regularly reliable club nights in the indie calendar. Yeah, you have to walk past a lot of dodgy sex shops to get there, and I’m getting fed up of the assumptions that the reason a middle-aged Asian bloke is in Soho is to get his cock sucked.

This evening’s entertainment is way better than that are Slaves. A duo from Kent, Slaves are making a lot of noise as an unmistakably British punk act. They have gained a lot of attention for bringing raw and exciting performances that have a distinct lack of pretentiousness in a British music scene flooded with bands that are leaning more and more towards American-centric influences.

You can put that on the posters if you like, guys. “Better than having your cock sucked”. Just get the URL right.

Wednesday – The Curst Sons – Tommy Flynn’s (previously The Crown), Leytonstone

The What’s Cookin’ brand together with it’s predecessor Come On Down And Meet The Folks has been providing quality live music of a (semi-) acoustic nature for ten years or so. Upstairs at The Crown (as I suspect it will be known by locals for a good while yet) is a great room in which to drink and listen to music.

The Curst Sons drew the following praise from the occasionally-cynical-but-not-when-it-comes-to-music Mark Lamarr :

“Purveyors of good-time Americana, inspired by early American folk music – don’t matter if it’s Blues, Bluegrass, Old Time or Gospel – with a shot of urban grit and a dose of wry humour. Absolutely fantastic”

Thursday – Laura J Martin – Sebright Arms, Hackney.

Down an alley off the Hackney Road that will certainly confound your sat-nav if arriving by car, the Sebright hosts a variety of styles of music, Laura J Martin’s gig there on Thursday being one of the quieter ones of the year, but no less intense for that.

Multi-instrumentalist LJM spins oddly affecting lyrics around some bonkers combinations of instruments – ukulele, flute, harmonium and trumpet among many, many others – which always work perfectly for the needs of the song. Unmissable. I”ll be the big bloke down the front glaring at people talking during the quiet bits.

Friday – Slim Chance play Ronnie Lane – Borderline, Soho

The warm, wooden panellings of the Borderline give a country vibe to the venue, making it the perfect setting for ex-Small Face Ronnie Lane’s band. Lane formed Slim Chance on splitting from the Faces in 1974 and they produced some beautiful, reflective and occasionally rocking music. This should be a cracker.

Saturday – Dub Inc – Cargo

I love Cargo. Always have done. Some belting evenings here – Simian (before the Mobile Disco days with Fat Truckers supporting springs to mind.

Dub Inc are a troupe of highly energetic musicians hailing from St-Etienne and fusing dub and roots reggae with dancehall, ska and hip hop.

Sunday – Chris T-T & The Hoodrats, Oxygen Thief, Smallgang – Lexington

Emerging from roots in late 90s lo-fi and psych-folk, Chris T-T first gained acclaim for sarcastic, city-obsessed urban folk.

More recently he has developed into an influential figure of UK song; crossing barriers between punk, psych-pop and English folk.

He writes scathing, witty lyrics and is excellent live whether with full band The Hoodrats or solo.

Monday – Volkova Sisters – Shacklewell Arms.

Synth-based Hungarian band with some excellent tunes. I’m told by mates who take a drink that the beer at the Shack is excellent too, but I wouldn’t know anything about that now, sorr.

 

Something in there for everyone I reckon!

 

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Gig Guide – w/e Sun 25th August
19
Aug

This week is far more promising than last week for LDN gigs. Must be coming up to summer’s end or something, which is sad as we’ve had the best summer for years. OTOH, it does mean the autumn giggage season will soon be upon us, woo hoo!

Spector – Madame Jojos, Soho, Tuesday

One of the most exciting mainstream indie prospects in years. Watch this half-hour set from Reading last year. Then imagine how great they’d be in a sleazy club environment.

Then get a ticket for their White Heat gig at Madame Jojo’s in Soho.

Arbouretum – Borderline, Tuesday

Nobody sounds quite like these guys, who have something of The Band about their ragged, doomy classic folk-rock sound. Touring their fifth album “Coming Out Of The Fog”

Lloyd Bradley talk – Rough Trade West, Thursday (6pm)

I first encountered Lloyd Bradley as the black music guy at the NME, and while I am eternally grateful to him for showing me there was more to music than Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, his body of work is far more impressive than simply contributing to the inky music papers.

This is the launch of his new book on the hidden history of Britain’s black music, tracing the journey from Lord Kitchener’s calypso to Dizzee Rascal’s Glastonbury triumphs with a panel of special guests the steel pan maestro and music historian Dr Lionel McCalman and Norman Jay MBE.

The Evening will be soundtracked by an exclusive mix inspired by the book by DJ Zed Bias.

Black music has been part of London’s landscape since the First World War, when the Southern Syncopated Orchestra brought jazz to the capital. Following the wave of Commonwealth immigration, its sounds and styles took up residence to become the foundation of the city’s youth culture.

Sounds like London tells the story of the music and the larger-than-life characters making it, journeying from Soho jazz clubs to Brixton blues parties to King’s Cross warehouse raves to the streets of Notting Hill – and onto soundsystems everywhere.

As well as a journey through the musical history of London, Sounds Like London is about the shaping of a city, and in turn the whole country, through different waves of immigration, which shows how the soul of the capital and the soul of its music cannot be separated.

Essential for anyone with an interest in the history of black music.

Deaf School – Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, Friday

Liverpool’s Deaf School were one of the great unsung bands of the late seventies, perhaps the only thing stopping them being huge was simply that they weren’t punk. They still kick arse live to this day in their all-too infrequent live shows.

Sun Ra Arkestra – Cafe Oto (5 days from Friday)

Sun Ra was one of the most controversial and innovative figures in jazz music. In 2011 the legendary jazz big band played a sellout three night residency at Cafe Oto. Fronted by sax man Marshall Allen since Sun Ra’s untimely demise in 1993, they’re returning to play five nights straight at the same venue. This is a full hour’s worth of concert footage from 2009 to give you some idea of what to expect.

Arrows Of Love – Buffalo Bar, Friday

I first saw Arrows Of Love about five years ago supporting somebody at the 100 Club, and loved them. They went quiet for a while but reappeared about a year ago with some excellent new material. Definitely worth catching live.

Hawkwind – Shepherds Bush Empire, Saturday

The lords of Space Rock perform their classic 1975 album “Warrior On The Edge Of Time” in its entirety, and pretty damned good it is too if this clip from a gig at the Komedia in Bath earlier this year is anything to go by.

The Rutles / John Otway – “Lazy Sunday Afternoon” – Borderline, Sunday (afternoon)

Just like the real Beatles, there are only two members of the Rutles left, but since one of them is Neil Innes, this promises to be an excellent run through the Prefab Four’s finest hits.

Support from the legendary John Otway

which makes this the gig of the week, no question. See you down the front!