She was absolutely fabulous!









One of my fave Offline gigs this year!

More pics here.

Labels: bands, brixton, music, offline

I've seen some great gigs at the Astoria in central London, but the end came on 14th Jan, 2009 when the venue was closed to make way for the construction of a new station for the Crossrail project.



The building, which was  opened as a cinema on 1927, is now being flattened.

Here's a few photos documenting its sad demise.


Looking up, January 2009 view.


Similar view, September 2009.

Around the back of the venue, Jan 2009.


Similar view from September 2009, showing just the ground floor of the building left.

Full article: Goodbye to the London Astoria

Labels: london, music, venue

Allow me to introduce a youthful photo of me near Rockaway Beach, Long Island, New York City, circa 1986 - a trip taken in homage of the mighty Ramones. It had to be said there wasn't a lot to see at Far Rockaway, but that didn't matter. I was treading where The Ramones had been!

It took vast amounts of Extra Super Hold AquaNet to maintain that plumage, although in the humid September heat of NY, there were several quiff-collapsing disasters, with the spiky black barnet being replaced by (oh the shame!) curls!


Have you ever gone miles to photograph yourself at a musical landmark?

Labels: music, new york

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Some photos from last night. It was a wild one, alright!




















There's another Offline on Friday with four acts, rappers, ukuleles and more. And, as ever, it;'s free all night!
Offline Club

Labels: brixton, music, offline

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We love the 12 Bar Club. It's one of the few old-school live venues left in central London that hasn't either been closed or turned into a ghastly style bar.



There's always an interesting mix of folks there, and loads of bands to check out.


We saw the excellent David Cronenberg's Wife, the bonkers and brilliant Filthy Pedro and Major Matt Mason there last night.



The stage is almost comically small and the tiny upstairs gallery gives a great view of the heads of the bands and precious little else!


There's a well stocked bar in the club, beer prices are reasonable and any place with photos of Aladdin Sane and Suzi Quatro on the wall is alright by me.

Labels: club, music, pubs london

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Last night, we went east to the The Boiler House, in the Old Truman Brewery, right in the heart of trendy Brick Lane to see the mighty Human League in full effect playing a small venue and promising an "all killer and no filler" set.





I'd been harbouring grave doubts about this because they were there as part of a corporate shindig for Palm phones, but the company had at least sweetened the pill by letting in some of the great unwashed through an open competition.



Despite the mass of swivel-action besuited types whose idea of rocking at a gig was to remain sat down for the majority of the set, the League really were exceptionally good. Oakey's voice was still really, really strong and he was looking lean and mean too.

The sound was fantastic and I'd forgotten how they were pioneers in early electronica, and just how strong their back catalogue is.

It was a great gig and I feel quite privileged to have seen them in such a small venue ...oh, and the beer was free too! :)



Suitably refreshed, I wobbled home via the fantastic bagel shop on Brick Lane, scoring a half dozen bagels for £1.20.

I like buying things in "half dozens."

Labels: brick lane, music

We managed to blag our way into an invite-only Cherry Red party tonight at Dingwalls in Camden. And there was free beer!

On the bill was JimBob (from Carter USM) and Atilla the Stockbroker, with my old muckers The Monochrome Set (I played on their Dante's Casino album) returning to play their first gig for a very, very long time.







They band were fucking great. I mean, really really good. They sounded fresher, punkier and more aggressive than on record. Bid was pissed and really funny, Lester Square's guitar playing was as sharp as ever and the band seemed to have a whole load of fun on stage.

It's a real shame that they're unlikely to play again live - they've just turned down a big festival gig in LA.

But how's this for a bizarre twist?: Iggy Pop has done a cover of "He's Frank" and it appears on the Heroes TV show:

Labels: monochrome set, music

From working at gigs and clubs in a wide variety of capacities, I've begun to work out the 'hierarchy of cool' in the eyes of punters.

Starting from the coolest, here's my listing:

1. The band (so long as they're good of course). If you're strutting around with a guitar, drums or anything else vaguely musical, you're still the coolest folks in the venue. You'll have no problem striking up conversations with attractive and interesting people, with some folks keen to learn more about you, your motivations, and your aspirations. And quite possibly what lurks inside your y-fronts/panties/g-string/shaped cardboard pants.
2. The Compere. You're oiling the wheels of entertainment, so they owe you. Expect people to come up and chat with you - and perhaps even flirt wildly if they liked the jokes.
3. DJs. If you've got the dancefloor jumping, they'll be loving you. Get the right song on the decks and you can expect random kisses, free drugs and drinks.
4. Promoter. You're giving people a great time, so you can usually expect to feel a bit of love, and perhaps foxy advances from artists desperate for a place on the bill.
5. Doorstaff. You have the power to let people in on the guestlist, and if the club's crap people will invariably start talking to you.
6. Barstaff. You're serving up the pints so you deserve the respect of the masses. People have to talk to you, so there's lots of chances to strike up conversations.
7. Bouncer. Wielding enormous power over drunken folks trying to get in, doormen can expect all sorts of amorous advances, but they lose points by being stuck outside in the cold all night while the fun's going on inside.
8. Table clearer/glass washer. You're an important cog in the wheel of good times, and after a few beers, people might just appreciate that.
9. Flyer monkeys. You might be out in the street but there's always a suggestion that you might actually be directly involved in the club and thus be a bit cool. And  it's a great way to meet people if you're chatty.
10. Cloakroom attendant. It's a grim life in the cloakroom. You get to see people come in and you get to see people leave. And very little else.
11. Soundman/roadie. Yep, you really are at the bottom of the pile, registering with the masses as a lowly artisan tasked with fiddling about with sliders in the background - or being shouted at when some drunken buffoon decides that the bass guitar needs to be lifted higher than the entire band and oceans of Phil Spector-like reverb added to the entire mix.

Labels: music

We had a fantastic night at the Albert on Friday. Here's some photos from the night - click here for more!













Don't forget - we've got an ENORMOUS  club night this Thursday - 40 drummers, TransSiberian March band, Shazia Mirza, DJs, comedy and the astonishing Dr Joel!

Info here.

Labels: brixton, music, offline

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We had a hoot at the Kilburn Luminaire on Saturday with 'Go-Go A-Peel' a show out on by our favourite 60s all-girl dance troupe, The Actionettes.

The Action Men, Theoretical Girl and The DeBretts were also on stage - check out some of the photos from the night below:











The Actionettes present Go-Go A-Peel - photos

Labels: actionettes, music

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There's a great free exhibition of rock photos by Keith Morris at Proud Galleries, 32 John Adam St, WC2  (back of The Strand).

There's excellent archive photos of the Damned, John Cale, a disarmingly youthful-looking Elvis Costello, the Stones, The Who, Tom Petty, Led Zep and others, but it's the Nick Drake collection that really stands out.

There's a host of unused photos from album cover shoots and you can really see that Drake was every bit as shy, uncomfortable and as troubled as his music suggests.

It's well worth a visit.

Labels: music, photos

Friday was one of the best Offline nights I've ever put on with two fantastic bands and a very lively crowd.


Welsh psychedelic rockers Radio Luxembourg were really incredible - imagine a mix of ELO, Super Furries, Gorkis, Syd Barrett and punk and you might get the idea (although that does sound a bit rubbish on paper!).

Check out some of their tunes on their MySpace site, or - even better - go check them out live.



Also on the bill was the rabble-rousing, horn driven madcap ska band, Danny Fontaine and the Horns of Fury, who got the dance floor moshing wildly.



Knees up!

Labels: albert, brixton, music, offline

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According to the BBC, Morrissey is considering representing the UK at the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest.

After posting the news on a thread on urban75, several wags offered suggestions for potential songs for Mozzer:

Eastern European Ruffians
This CAP Reform Proposal Has Opened My Eyes
Girlfriend In A Skoda
Frankly Mr.Shanksi
That Immigration Policy Isn't Funny Anymore
Brussels On The Guillotine
This Charming EU Mandate.
Subsidisers of the Common Agricultural Policy of the EU Unite
Hand in Handschuh.
Brussels is bigger than Aachen.

Labels: music

The urban75 selecta have listed their 30 top CDs from 2006 - check out who's been rocking their world here:
urban75's albums of the year 2006

Happy bloody Christmas, Brixton 2006


I've been out taking pictures around Brixton, and it has to be said there's not a lot of festive fare on offer.



See the dismal evidence here and see how things looked a whole lot better in Ye Olde Days (oh Gawd, I'm sounding like an old 'un here)
Christmas in Brixton, 2006

Cooltan updates

I've been sent some more old flyers from Brixton's much missed and hugely influential Cooltan Arts squat and the old 121 Centre

Relive some old memories and get all misty-eyed here

*Coming soon: blog and photos from my New York/Brooklyn adventure!

Labels: brixton, music, photos