London Gigs Diary: 8-14 November 2010

Experimental rockers Yo La Tengo have always liked a challenge, but even by their standards last week's announcement that each night’s content of their 2011 US tour would be decided with a spin of a big wheel of fortune was an unusual one.

But then after 25 years together, anyone would want to find new ways of exciting themselves and their fans. The wheel (which you can practice-spin on their website’s homepage) could find them playing as band side projects Condo Fucks or Dump, or it could make them only play songs beginning with “S” or only songs with names in the title.

Of course while this may be the most inspired and exciting thing to have ever happened in the world of gigs, it might also be a bit annoying when you just want to hear You Can Have It All, and instead they’re acting out a classic sitcom (another of the wheel’s options). No, actually, that sounds amazing. Bring it to the UK please Yo La Tengo. 

Gigs Of The Week: 8-14 Nov 2010

LCD Soundsystem/Hot Chip/Shit Robot – Alexandra Palace, London, 10 Nov; The Coronet, London, 11 Nov

Gigs of the week? Potentially the gigs of the year. With James Murphy (pictured) and his dirty punk funk band LCD Soundsystem due to disappear at the end of the promotion accompanying this year’s This Is Happening album, this might be one of your last chances to catch their live show. Meanwhile Alexis Taylor’s street urchin vocals give Hot Chip the power to annoy, but they have enough brilliant tunes to back LCD Soundsystem up. Add to that the new kids on the DFA record label block, Shit Robot, and these gigs, in vastly different London venues before they head off to Cardiff, Sheffield and Manchester, could be some of the biggest parties of the year.

Details here.

MIA – Brixton Academy, London – 10 Nov

Maya Arulpragasam’s third album, Maya, demonstrated her will to do whatever she wants, never mind what the record industry, her fans or the general public might prefer. And so stepping away from the radio-friendly charm of Paper Planes, Maya found her seemingly intent on damaging her position in the pop elite. Which is fine - she’s self-aware enough to know that she’s more naturally positioned as a rebel outsider. A disastrous set at the Big Chill festival followed, so expect chaos, stage invasions, but above all unpredictability at what should at the very least be a gig to remember. She'll also be playing in Oxford and Manchester.

Details here.

London Jazz Festival – Various venues – 12-21 Nov

This year’s London Jazz Festival gets under way later this week. A vast sprawl of gigs and events in all sorts of great venues from those at the South Bank Centre to Ronnie Scott’s and Camden’s The Forge, there’s a ridiculous array of wonderful talent at your disposal. Early festival highlights should include Jazz Voice: Celebrating  A Century Of Song at the Barbican, Herbie Hancock at the Royal Festival Hall and Polar Bear at the Westminster Reference Library.

Read our preview here.

Also Recommended:

Alex Winston – The Social, London – 8 Nov

Broken Records – Borderline, London – 9 Nov

Clare Maguire – XOYO, London – 9 Nov

Trophy Wife – Electrowerkz, London – 9 Nov

Wavves – Garage, London – 10 Nov

Islet – Cafe Oto, London – 11 Nov

Goldfrapp / Retro/Grade  – Hammersmith Apollo, London – 11 Nov

Chromeo – Roundhouse, London – 12 Nov

Die Antwoord – Scala, London – 14 Nov

Gorillaz – The O2, London – 14 Nov

Just Announced:

Jamie Woon

There’s undoubtedly gonna be a tussle in the coming months between Jamie Woon and James Blake for the title of king of soulful dubstep. While Blake’s getting a lot of the early attention, our money’s on the Woon coming through. His take on the genre is more obvious and will cater to the masses, but taking the glorious Night Air or the pitch perfect Wayfaring Stranger as leads, he’s going to take things up a glitch-notch. He’s just got the one live date lined up this year. Go see him at XOYO on 25 November.

Details here.

Glasser

The project of young American, Cameron Mesirow, Glasser feels like an entirely appropriate discovery to bring us to 2010’s conclusion. Apply, one of the year’s finest songs and the lead single off her Ring album, demonstrated that her calming vocals, tribal percussion and subtle experimentalism were entirely of the moment. Recently she’s packed out a few free gigs to those in the know, so it’s about time she made a few bob from this business. Pay to catch her on tour early next year ending up at XOYO on 22 February.

Details here.

Neko Case with The New Pornographers

The New Pornographers are amazing. This is fact. This year’s Together album was a typically consumable collection of pop songs, made all the better for the dynamics offered by the rotating cast of lead singers. Largely the work of A C Newman, Together also finds Neko Case providing prominent harmonies throughout and taking the lead on two of the better tracks, Crash Years and My Shepherd. And so it could only be disappointing that she didn’t appear at their gigs earlier this year. But in December she will be here showing up everyone else’s vocal talents at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire on 9 December and then again at their appearance at the ATP Bowlie 2 Weekender. She will add extra quantities of amazing. This is fact.

Details here.

MP3: The Decemberists - Down By The Water

The Decemberists lynchpin Colin Meloy announced on Twitter that the band's new album, out on 17th January, will be called The King Is Dead.

As a taster of things to come, Down By The Water is available free, now, and features Peter Buck of R.E.M. and singer-songwriter Gillian Welch. Wrap your ears around it, courtesy of Rough Trade, here:

MP3: The Decemberists - Down By The Water

London Gigs Diary: 1-7 November 2010

The clocks might have gone back last week, but summer suddenly seemed a little closer with a succession of big concert announcements, although not necessarily the type that fits comfortably under the “gig” banner.

More like globe-conquering behemoth events. Take That of course broke every record available selling out 25 dates equating to 1.34 million tickets in 24 hours, culminating in 7 nights at Wembley Stadium in July. Meanwhile, the old and new of American rock will be rolling into Hyde Park with Bon Jovi and the Kings Of Leon already lined up for some of their own wealth-creating dates in June.

Back to the present and we’ve bought a new cardie, so will be enjoying indoor gigs and keeping warm at the following this week. 

Gigs Of The Week: 1-7 Nov 2010

Midlake / John Grant – Roundhouse – 2 Nov

The Bella Union label has had a bloody good year, hasn’t it. Enjoy two of its finest acts on a classy double bill of Midlake (pictured) and John Grant, whose respective albums The Courage Of Others and The Queen Of Denmark have shone through as two of the finest examples of songsmithery this year. Their joint tour (which makes sense, given Midlake double as Grant's backing band) will also take them to Exeter, Norwich, Oxford, Leicester and Cambridge.

Details here.

Lloyd Cole – Union Chapel – 3 Nov

Having left The Commotions behind over 20 years ago, Lloyd Cole is still building his collection of solo albums having released Broken Record earlier this year. He’s been trundling around Portugal and the UK for the last couple of weeks, and now lands in London. His website clarifies: “two sets, no support”. Expect his small ensemble of just him, Marc Schwaber and Matt Cullen sharing acoustic guitar, banjo and mandolin duties and revisiting that extensive back catalogue.

Details here.

Lykke Li – Heaven – 4 Nov

Lykke Li’s in town ahead of releasing her follow-up to 2008’s Youth Novels album. With her contemporary Robyn hogging the press’s attention when it comes to Swedish pop stars, Lykke Li’s set herself apart by being that little bit edgier and indier. Comeback single Get Some demonstrated that she’s still able to pull off an addictive melody backed with some unusual ideas. She’s in the country for this one date only for now.

Details here.

Also recommended:

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Garage, London - 1 Nov; Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, London – 2 Nov

Temper Trap / Cloud Control – IndigO2, London – 2 Nov

The Black Keys – Brixton Academy, London – 2/3 Nov

Yann Tiersen – KOKO, London – 3 Nov

Let’s Wrestle – Lexington, London – 3 Nov

!!! – KOKO, London – 4 Nov

El Guincho – Cargo, London – 4 Nov

Giant Sand – Queen Elizabeth Hall, London – 4 Nov

MEN – Electrowerkz, London – 5 Nov

Micah P Hinson & The Pioneers – Queen Elizabeth Hall, London – 7 Nov

Just Announced:

ATP: Animal Collective

The All Tomorrow’s People people have been busy feeding us announcements this week for their Butlins Minehead events. Ensuring that the brand will stay popular into 2011, they’ve scored a big coup in bringing Animal Collective in to curate its May event. Plus they bolstered their December lineups with more DJ announcements for the Godspeed You! Black Emperor weekend and some starry acts including Saint Etienne, Wild Beasts and The Go! Team for Belle & Sebastian’s Bowlie 2.

Details here.

Bloc 2011

Also sharing the Butlins Minehead love is the Bloc Weekender, returning for a fifth instalment of edgy dance-based mayhem. The first ten acts have been announced, Warp-act LFO among them, as well as others including Moderat, and Claude Von Stroke. Expect lots of minimal house and glitchy grooves. Don’t expect too much happy hardcore, but then last year’s festival featured Salt-n-Pepa’s first UK date in over a decade, so who knows how the lineup will evolve. Bloc 2011 will be held on 11-13 March.

Details here

MNDR 

Plonking yourself onto a Mark Ronson record seems a bankable piece of advice for any budding pop stars. Featuring on Bang Bang Bang (Amanda Warner’s the one in the funky specs that isn’t Q-Tip), MNDR are a male/female duo specialising in funky arthouse disco-pop. Their profile’s been given a boost to the point of readying some of their own releases and a headline gig at Hoxton’s XOYO on 24 November.

Tickets here.