London Gigs Diary: 13 February - 19 February 2012

This week sees the series of gigs taking place across the capital as part of the NME Awards step up a gear. The pick is arguably tUnE-yArDs appearing at Shepherd’s Bush Empire on Wednesday. Merrill Garbus has long been a favourite here at musicOMH – we saw her play a great show last year at the Scala - and this bigger show on Wednesday should be another exciting night. Other notable NME Awards shows taking place this week include Pure Love at Bush Hall on Tuesday, Band Of Skulls at XOYO on Wednesday and Niki & The Dove at Hoxton Square Bar & Grill on Thursday.

Thursday evening also sees Shepherd’s Bush Empire host a show by M83. We recently saw Anthony Gonzales et al play shows in London and Brighton in support of last year’s Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming album. Porcelain Raft support, showcasing songs from debut album Strange Weekend.

This week sees several other gigs by bands promoting debut releases. Tennis play Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen on Monday in support of Young & Old, while The Twilight Sad appear at Cargo on Tuesday promoting No One Can Ever Know. We Have Band will be at the same venue on Wednesday playing from Ternion and Thursday sees Blondes appear at the Shacklewell Arms in support of their eponymous debut album.

Thursday also has an impressive double bill at XOYO of Rock Action-signed pair Errors and Remember Remember while Anaïs Mitchell plays a show at the Westminster Reference Library on the same evening.

More experimental, leftfield musical fare can be found (as usual) at Café OTO. Matthew Bourne plays from his excellent Montauk Variations album on Wednesday, with support from Icarus (who have just released their own conceptually unique Fake Fish Distribution album). The Peter Brötzmann/Paal Nilssen-Love/Fred Lonberg-Holm trio close the week with a show on Sunday night.

Just announced

Café OTO have just announced details of their Counterflows Festival, the highlight being a rare solo performance by Michael Gira of Swans (with support from Grouper). Read full details here.

Other new announcements are below:

The Dandy Warhols – Forum – 21^st April

Gary Numan – Forum – 1^st June

Best Coast – Shepherd’s Bush Empire – 20^th June

Madonna – Hyde Park – 17^th July

Whitney Houston dies, aged 48

Andrew Burgess writes: The Associated Press reported Saturday evening that legendary singer Whitney Houston has died in her fourth-floor room at the Beverly Hilton on the eve of the Grammys. The cause of death is as yet unknown, but there are no signs of criminal intent. She was 48 years old.

She was to have attended, and possibly performed at, a pre-Grammy concert hosted by her longtime mentor, Clive Davis. On Thursday, she coached singers Brandy and Monica at a Grammy rehearsal. It's hard to shake that tarnishing quote from an unnamed person associated with the event who said, "Houston looked disheveled, was sweating profusely and liquor and cigarettes could be smelled on her breath".

The last few years have not been kind to Houston, with a tumultuous marriage to (and divorce from) Bobby Brown, drug use and bizarre public appearances. By the end, her voice was diminished and the hits had stopped coming.

But that's not the Whitney we remember today. She was a legend and an inspiration to a new generation of singers from Mariah Carey to Christina Aguilera. She earned her first Grammy with the hit song, Saving All My Love For You, from her 1985 self-titled debut. 1987's Whitney would continue her chart dominance with hits like Where Do Broken Hearts Go, and I Wanna Dance With Somebody. She would continue to sell 55 million albums in the U.S. alone over the course of her career.

One would be hard pressed to find anyone of a certain age who hasn't at some point been driven to tears at her stirring rendition of Dolly Parton's I Will Always Love You. Her acting debut in 1992's The Bodyguard (alongside Kevin Costner) led to roles in Waiting To Exhale and The Preacher's Wife.

She had the perfect mix of poise and talent, emotion and restraint; she had the kind of voice that comes along once in a generation.

Watch the video of Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You:

Whitney Houston. R.I.P.

London Gigs Diary: 6 February - 12 February 2012

Monday sees Montreal sound artist Tim Hecker play two special shows at St Giles-in-the-Fields, where he will use the church pipe organ, channelling the sound into his laptop and running it through guitar distortion pedals to generate the kind of towering, decaying soundscapes most recently showcased on 2011’s much praised Ravedeath 1972 album.

On Wednesday the Barbican promises “an intimate evening of free-wheeling musical collaboration” for The Floating Palace, featuring appearances from curator Robyn Hitchcock, Howe Gelb, Krystle Warren, Martin & Eliza Carthy and KT Tunstall amongst others.

Elsewhere on Wednesday Still Corners play from their excellent second album Creatures Of An Hour at a show at Cargo and Anglo-American alt-country husband and wife duo The Arlenes return to the live circuit after several years away with an intimate show at the 12 Bar Club. Wednesday also sees Nada Surf play a show at KOKO in support of seventh album The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy while Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Meursault appear at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire on the same night.

Hotly-tipped Brooklyn outfit Friends play two shows in London this week, at the Lexington on Tuesday and XOYO on Wednesday, whilst The Black Keys plays two slightly larger shows at Alexandra Palace on Thursday and Friday (supported on both nights by Band Of Skulls). Finally, two acclaimed Malian singers appear in London this week. Vieux Farka Touré plays from latest album The Secret at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on Sunday, whilst Fatoumata Diawara appears at the Jazz Cafe on Monday, promoting debut release Fatou.

Also taking place this week:

Gentle Friendly, Way Through & Peepholes - Cafe OTO - 7th February

Aidan Moffat - Old Queen's Head - 8th February

Slow Club - Heaven - 9th February

Niki & The Dove - Seabright Arms - 9th February

Danny & The Champions Of The World - Brixton Windmill - 11th February

The History Of Apple Pie - Barfly - 11th February

Alasdair Roberts - Lexington - 12th February

Michael Chapman - Vortex - 12th February

Just announced

The most exciting news last week was the announcement of the line up for the inaugural BLOC Festival due to take place in the London Pleasure Gardens in Royal Victoria Docks over 6/7^th July. Orbital, Flying Lotus, Gary Numan, Battles and Squarepusher are all due to appear. You can read full details here.

I Break Horses – Scala – 1^st April

Retribution Gospel Choir – Old Blue Last – 5^th April

Francois & The Atlas Mountains– Cargo – 18^th April 

Sunn O))) & Nurse With Wound – KOKO – 12^th June

New Order – Brixton Academy – 2^nd & 3^rd May

Garbage – Troxy - 9^th May

Happy Mondays & Inspiral Carpets – Brixton Academy – 10^th & 11^th May

Islet – Cargo – 30^th May

SBRTKT – Shepherd’s Bush Empire - 4^th October