We had a great live show at the Brixton Albert on Saturday with the 12-strong Trans-Siberian March Band headlining. The band bravely started their set outside on Coldharbour Lane before packing out the dancefloor inside.



I was sound engineering for the night, and I had to keep my wits about me to mix clarinets, trumpets, a tuba, a sax, vocals, acoustic guitar, hand drum and trombone!



The band were a whole heap of fun, and I hope to have them back soon...

Labels: brixton, offline

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This was one of the best Offline nights for ages - up to forty samba drummers, dancing go-go girls, comedy, dancing and more!













More pics here.

Labels: brixton, offline

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The hangover's just about cleared after last night's Offline. Here's some pics:


Good chum Helen McCookeryBook plays her Offline Albert debut.


A welcome return for Mark Hibbett, blasting out his fab new single, 'Do The Indie Kid.'


The Boycott Coca Cola Experience - check out the bathtub drumkit!





Oh, I forgot to mention that the club got reviewed last week in The Londonist.

They described it as being "Like someone's friendly house party, opened up for the general public....Entertaining, friendly, and free."

Nice :)

Labels: brixton, offline

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It seemed a crazy idea: host a new cabaret night on a pub's quietest night of the week, and choose the last Tuesday of the month (when wage packets have run out) and do it the day after a Bank Holiday.



So I was all prepared for a very intimate audience at Prince Albert, Brixton, but the Cabaret Special turned out to be a heap of fun, with an ace hurdy gurdy band, top comedy/poetry acts and a headliner that got the place rocking. And lots of people turned up!



Next one is this Friday at the Albert.
We've got some great acts so come along - it's going to be a big one!

Labels: brixton, offline

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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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Phew. That was a long day yesterday.

After getting suitably beered up for the trip to Wembley to witness the mighty Cardiff heroically lose 1-0 in the FA Cup Final, I had to hot foot it back to Brixton to set up the PA and sort out an Offline live music night.

Luckily, I sobered up enough to keep control of the mixing deck and the night was a hoot. Here's some pics:


The excellent 0898s onstage.


I normally hate tribute bands, but the Brixton-flavoured I Wanna Be Sedated Ramones cover band are real moshpit-filling fun.







Next Offline club on Friday 23rd May is a *really* big special with two fantastic bands: Radio Luxembourg and Danny Fontaine and the Horns of Fury. Don't miss it!

Details: Offline Club

Labels: brixton, club, offline

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Phew! That was a whle heap of fun last night with a fantastic bill including Shazia Mirza, Gin Riots, Mark Hibbett, The Boycott Coca Cola Experience, Vic Lambrusco, Richard Allen and DJs Nipsla, Bluestreak, Torchsong and Editor.





Comedian Shazia Mirza was absolutely hilarious, managing to insult just about everyone in the venue - and quite probably the surrounding area - while keeping us in stitches of laughter.

Look out for the next Offline on May 17th at the Albert!

Offline website

Labels: brixton, offline

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On Friday we headed south and up hills for an Offline gig back at the Alma, a friendly old school boozer on Church Road.



We had the No Frills Band playing a set and they were excellent as usual. You gotta love a band that packs mandolins, a tuba and a spoon player!

More pics here: Offline at the Alma



On Saturday, we grabbed a couple of beers at Mango Landing in Brixton. It's a nice, friendly bar but the service is mighty s-l-o-w.



We wrapped up the evening's drinking at the daftly named Hootananny, a large Brixton boozer which - despite some opposition from locals - has managed to get a bit of a good thing going, with free nights offering live acts.

Labels: brixton, offline, pubs

What a terrific night it was at the Albert in Brixton last night!


Jason from the Bridport Dagger gave us a great solo set.





Amycanbe are one of my very favourite Offline bands and I enjoyed every minute of their set. Check out their MySpace site for some of their tunes.

I love 'Yellow Suit!'

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Last night's Offline at JAMM was a real treat with some great acts and a top atmosphere. Here's some pics:






Captain Hotknives was absolutely hilarious. We definitely want to get him back to Brixton soon!


Ukulele Gangsters sport their Slade-meets-ska image!

I later remembered that this was the 50th 'big' Offline night (so that's not including all the Albert, Alma, Charterhouse, Birkbeck College and NYC gigs). Blimey!

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Some more photos from Friday's almighty mash-up!











Don't forget - the next Offline is this Thursday with top comedian Luke Toulson and three great live acts, plus cabaret.

More info here: Offline Club, 10th April

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Blimey. What a fantastic night this was. We had free freshly baked Welsh cakes, daffodils, Welsh music, Welsh video, two great bands and vast amounts of DJing till 4am.





I indulged my Welsh roots with a wildly erratic set of Welsh tunes, taking in the likes of Super Furries, Amen Corner, Manics, Gorkis, Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey, Los Campesinos, Gene, Budgie, Julian Cope, Visage and the Automatic.



More photos here: St David's Day Party

Labels: brixton, offline, wales

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Despite falling foul of what seemed like a bona fide case of the lurgy on Thursday, I felt well enough on Friday to check out the Marquis Of Lorne pub with some friends.



It's definitely not a pub for thrill seekers, party heads or ravers, but it has a certain retro charm. See: Marquis of Lorne feature



Saturday night was our first Offline of the new year at the Albert and it was a fun night as usual.



The delightful Ms Feelgood DJ'd again and made the usual mess all over the decks!

Offline pics

Labels: brixton, offline, photos

Blimey. The Offline party at the Albert last night was such a big one I've spent all day recovering. Here's some pics - more to follow when my head gets vaguely back to normal (I fear that may take some time).









Oh, and a Happy New Year to all my readers - if there are any out there!
(I suspect I'm talking to myself most of the time, but what the hell!).

Labels: brixton, offline, photos

This was a ton of fun - we managed to pack in two bands - including a 7-piece ukulele outfit - and a load of DJs in the Prince Albert for our party.





Offline Christmas Party, 21st December 2007

Labels: brixton, offline

There's been no less than four Offline Club nights since I last updated this blog. Here's a couple of snaps from the nights:





Nov 29th: JAMM, Brixton. Thirty samba drummers, Freddie Stevenson and more!
More club photos





Dec 8th: Boulevard Tavern, New York
More photos





Dec 14th: Alma, Crystal Palace, south London
More photos





Dec 15th: Punk Rock Special, Albert, Brixton, London
More photos

Next Offline is this Friday, 21st December at the Albert. It's our Christmas party and we've got a great punk/ska band and a nine piece ukulele orchestra!

Offline club website

Labels: brixton, club, new york, offline, photos

It took a whole load of work to put this one on, but the Offline Rock'n'Roll special at the Albert was a whole heap of fun!



It was the first time I'd put on a live band at the Albert and also the debut of my new PA which sounded fantastic (big thanks to Rich for the help setting it up).



The place was packed all night with no less than *8* different DJs playing big band, western swing, rock and roll and jive.



We hooked up a big projector screen, covered a wall with leopard skin material and posted up 50s posters everywhere for a full on retro experience!

It was a great night!

Check out more photos and details of forthcoming free Offline gigs here: Offline club.

Next one is at JAMM with 20 Samba drummers and some great bands!

Labels: offline

Been a bit slow updating my blog recently, so here's a bumper pack:

Sex Pistols at Brixton


It was fun but a bit odd. Johnny was brilliant - part pantomime dame, part Olivier's Richard III, part Norman Wisdom, part sneering punk and a total showman throughout.

Steve Jones looked like an over inflated inner tube, Paul Cook was lean and committed and Glen Matlock looked like he'd just stumbled in from a pub gig somewhere.



The band were tight and it was LOUD. Johnny looked fit, tanned and healthy, sang the songs with gusto, running through a wide variety of hilarious facial expressions and movements.

Viewed as a gig it was a bit strange, but as a piece of theatre it was well worth the money. And if nothing else, you can always bore people in the future by saying: "I saw the Pistols."

Fireworks, Brockwell Park



With t'local yoot relentlessly bombarding the 'hood with bazooka-style fireworks over the preceding three months, I have to admit that my appetite for going up the park to watch the display had diminished somewhat.



Thankfully, we have a great view from our balcony, so I grabbed a few shots.

Halloween



For Halloween, I went to a great party at a local squat/arts venue and saw a friend's Ramones tribute band.



Normally, I hate any kind of tribute band but this lot are my mates and they have a girl singer so it was fun to watch.

Talking of gigs, on Saturday I'm putting on a Rock'n'Roll/Big Band special at the Albert with 4 hot rocking ladies on the decks and the fantastic Hightown Crows playing live. Come on down - its free!

Saturday 17th Nov ROCK'N'ROLL SPECIAL, BRIXTON

Labels: brixton, offline, photos

Last night's Offline was one of the best with a great mix of acts and the welcome return of ace comedian, Richard Herring.



Also on the bill was the hilarious MATTHEW DEVEREAUX, the roof-removing thunder of ATOMIC SUPLEX, the melodramatic brilliance of THE BRIDPORT DAGGER and my personal favourites, AMYCANBE, who played a set of seductive indie-folk goodness.

More photos

Labels: bands, offline, photos brixton

Recovering from another long night at the Albert in Brixton where we hosted one of our regular Offline nights.



I'd hired in a PA system for the first time and was feeding the CD/turntables via my shiny new Mackie mixer. It sounded great!

More photos

Labels: brixton, offline

Now that was a fun night. We were DJing the Bowl Festival after-party at the Alma, Crystal Palace and it was a lively one alright.

At one point, it was like a scene from a madhouse with some woman belting out weird squawking noises over the songs onstage, people shinning up and down the columns and a drunk bloke thumping the drums with his hands. I couldn't stop grinning.



I loved it! Oh, and the band Ashok were fantastic. I can't get enough of their "happyslap" song!

Unfortunately, I was too busy drinking, DJing and laughing at what was going on around me to capture some of the mad antics going on - but there's a few pics here.

Labels: offline, photos

Fantastic night at Offline last night with some great bands and the fabulous Josie Long.

Check out the photos here: Offline

Labels: offline, photos

Despite being bedevilled by a string of post-Glastonbury casualties and one of the acts cancelling after being rushed to hospital, there was still entertainment a-plenty with the Blazing Zoos, Kings Cross Hot Club and our special guest star, Robin Ince.



Robin had embarked on a Phil Collins at Live Aid-esque mission to fit in two gigs in one night, except that he wasn't jetting across the Atlantic in Concorde; he was getting the train from Andover to Brixton.



Offline photos

Labels: brixton, offline, photos

Offline at the Alma



Last night the Offline crew ventured south into deepest Crystal Palace, London to put on a show at the Alma, in Church Road.

The Actionettes were as fabulous as ever!



Local band Mendicant put in a great set, Vic's Cabaret was top notch and there was much drinking and dancing to be had. :)

Offline at the Alma

Also up: Offline at the Albert, 9th June



More pics

Labels: brixton, club, offline, photos, urban75

Last night had to be the busiest Offline at JAMM ever - the place was totally rammed!



Stewart Lee was fantastic: it was an honour and a privilege to get him down to Offline.



Offline club photos

Labels: brixton, offline, photos

Blimey. That was a big night. And my hangover still hasn't cleared!





More photos here: Offline St Patrick's Night Party, Brixton

Labels: brixton, offline

Last night's Offline was another heap of fun. Being January, I was expecting a quiet crowd, but they were most certainly up for it!

I got to play a load of old vinyl, including one of my fave tunes which went down a storm (see above!).

More Offline photos

*Coming up next Thurs (25th) we've got an incredible bill, including the fantastic Kings Cross Hot Club - a sort of Parisian 1940s jazz outfit, a jumping Ska band, Big Hand and a full cabaret bill - and all for free!

Check out the Offline club website

Labels: brixton, offline

Just managed to post up photos from the last two Offline club nights - just in time too as we're playing the Prince Albert New Year's Eve's party tomorrow - come along!

Offline at the Prince Albert, 15th December





» Offline Christmas Party, Thursday 21st Dec 2006

Offline Christmas Party, JAMM, 21st December





» Offline Christmas Party, Thursday 21st Dec 2006

Labels: brixton, club, offline