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p20
music listings
Barracuda 125 SN Church St, 020 7923 7488
THE MINX CLUB (beneath Barracuda)
17 April - Acoustic - Wreckless Eric
18 April - Comedy Stephen Grant (MC), Glenn Wool.
24 April - Acoustic tbc
25 April - Comedy Trevor Crook.
1 May - Acoustic tbc
2 May - Comedy John Bishop (MC), Mark Maier, Marty Wilson.
8 May - David Rovics & Attila The Stockbroker
9 May - Julia Morris (MC), Andy Parsons
15 May - Acoustic tbc
16 May - Comedy Ninia Benjamin, Phil Nichol
22 May - Acoustic tbc
23 May - Comedy Simon Bligh
29 May - Acoustic tbc
30 May - Comedy Martin Davis (MC), Andrew Maxwell, Simon Munnery.
Ryan's Bar 181 SN Church St, 020 7275 7807
17 April - Flim Flam, alternative jazz, £5/£3
19 April - 6 Mile Walk, trad Irish and cajun, free
24 April - Flim Flam
26 April - Chanter, Celtic Rock Band. Free
1 May - Joe Comedy Madhouse, £4/£3 concs
8 May - Acoustic Juke Box , free
10 May - Chanter
11 May - P. Love, funky soul. Downstairs, £3
15 May - Flim Flam
17 May - 6 Mile Walk
22 May - Flim Flam
24 May - Brick Lane Boogie Boys, rockabilly 1950s style, free
Vortex 139-141 SN Church St, 020 7254 6516
13 April - Stan Sulzmann Quartet with Kenny Wheeler, £10
14 April - Sunday Joint presents Bikini Beach, £4
15 April - TBA
16 April - Evan Parker Trio, £7.50
17 April - Zoe Lewis, £6.£5 concs
18 April - Steve Buckley's Strange News, £6
19 April - John Etheridge Quartet, £8
20 April - Carol Grimes Band, £8
21 April - Mick Foster Group, £5
22 April - TBA
23 April - London Jazz Orchestra, £5
24 April - Discovering Hackney Night/Loz Speyer Quartet, 6.00-8.00pm free, 9.00-11.00pm
£6/£3 concs
25 April - Antonio Forcione Trio, £10
26 April - Dave O'Higgins Quartet, £8
27 April - Ed Jones Quintet, £8
28 April - Mike Garrick Jazz Orchestra, £5
29 April - John Bennett Band, £5
30 April - Vocals@Vortex , £5
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Time once again, my friends, to tap into the aorta and let the lifeblood
from the heart of our musical community wash over us. And it's certainly pumping in this
issue.
Three offerings to look at: all good, one phenomenal, all local, one love, one heart,
let's get together and it'll be all right. One of my favourite albums of the last 10 years
has got to be 'Born for the 7th Time' by Cornershop. I remember I bought
it in Cornwall on tape before a mammoth journey up to Liverpool to see my sick uncle. I
must have played it seven times in a row. I was hooked. You will be happy to know that my
uncle survived and thankfully so did Cornershop.
Now they are back with a new album 'Handcream for a Generation' and, though I thought it
would be impossible to beat, it is actually better than their last album. They manage to
take the best bits of music from the last 40 years soul, rock, reggae, house, hip-hop,
psychedelia etc (believe me, the list goes on) and make it sound fresh and completely
their own in 2002. Eclecticism is certainly a growing style within music of the last few
years (Badly Drawn Boy, Primal Scream) but nobody makes it sound quite as positive as
Cornershop do. Track 1, 'Heavy Soup', features the wonderful voice of old soul singer Otis
Clay to great effect introducing the band, and on the funky reggae 'Motion the 11', local
heroes Jack Wilson and Kojak from The Nazralites (from the Eastbank here
in Stokey!) vibe it up big time, making it one of the stand-out tracks.
When asked whether he is happy with the album, head honcho Tjinder told me 'Yeah, I'm very
happy. It's definitely a step on, production-wise' and then he rather curiously added,
'It's a good one to end on if it was the last one'. I know what he means, but I bloody
hope that it's not. It's out on April 1 and they play the Shepherds Bush Empire on April
23.
'Local band play Isle of Wight Festival Shocker!' Oh yeah, you better believe it.
Congratulations to Johnny 4 for getting onto the bill at this year's
returning prodigal festival. If you haven't heard of Johnny 4 then you will do soon.
Inches away from a deal and packing them in all over London, they are a kind of missing
link between the Stone Roses and Radiohead, but they would probably disagree. They can
certainly cut the mustard live, if their recent sell-out gig at the Monarch in Camden,
which I witnessed, is anything to go by. Judge for yourself when they play at the Water
Rats in Kings Cross on April 12.
Oh, and you must try to go and see a great new local band called Spaghetti West
One who basically take up where Ennio Morricone left off, if their bizarre and
fantastic demo is anything to go by. They should be playing at the revamped White Hart on
April 20, but you had better check with the venue first. The band can be contacted on 020
792 39146.
Anyway, time to go and remember to keep sending me your CDs as I get lonely and they are
threatening to take away my visitation rights unless I grass on my other inmates.
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Following on the success of the recent 'The Sons of Lee Marvin' evening, The
Auld Shillelagh is repeating the event on 23 May. Sink into that 3am LA groove
with Johnny Cash, Tom Waites et al. As well as the regular 'Peel Me a Grape' and 'The
Green Room' evenings, the pub, under the creative guidance of inimitable local promoter
David Knight, is planning a Cajun night, entitled 'Rise to the O'Cajun'. Boogie till late
to the finest dance music this side of New Orleans in the revamped garden, now with its
own bar. And Frank's back for the Fringe! Turn up weekdays between 11am and noon for the
cocktail 'Happy Hour'. Why not start early? Ask landlord Tomas for details.
Ryan's is attracting an enthusiastic and growing clientele for its music
nights. The full gig list can be found above in 'Music Listings' but don't miss 6 Mile
Walk on 19 April. This four-piece band are classically trained musicians who play
traditional Irish music at its best. They can also whip up a Cajun storm. More swamp music
in Stokie. Long-time favourites Chanter also appear on 26 April with their lively brand of
Celtic Rock. Landlord Donagh is looking for local artists who would like to feature in his
monthly photography/art exhibitions. The May exhibition features rural Spain in the 1970s,
a collection of photographs by Gordon Blamey.
And so to Booth's, where owner Hassan has DJ evenings Thursday through
Sunday. Make sure you catch the vintage soul and R&B sessions on Thursdays and
Sundays. What's Going On? Joe Turner, Muddy Waters, Marvin Gaye, Stylistics, Temptations
the best of Atlantic, Stax and Motown while you knock back the excellent draught Budvar.
You'll find Booth's under the boardwalk on Church Street.
Vortex has its usual, top quality jazz programme (too numerous and
luminous to detail here - see Listings above) while Barracuda's new accoustic evenings are
a welcome addition to the local music scene. Barracuda's owner Teng is also host to some
mellow jazz at the weekends.
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