Live music listings: November 2006

Doors 7.30
£10 here
£12 door

Max Sedgley & The Shoots's career to date has been a tale of unabashed talent, irregular bouts of what Hollywood folk like to call serendipity and bloody hard work. That the man behind 'Happy', one of this century's most enduring clarion calls, is blessed with an uncanny knack for fashioning infectious, dancefloor-slaying nuggets goes without saying. However, talent, as any number of whoring, stage school self-publicists will attest, is not the sole pre-requisite for success in the music biz.

"An enviable grasp of bass-heavy electro-funk, sun-glazed soul and supafly disco. Fans of Michael Jackson, Funkadelic and Quincy Jones roll back those rugs right now." (**** Time Out)

'Happy', originally finished in 2000, "on the night Bush was elected for the first time", was adpoted early by the disparate likes of Mr Scruff, Gilles Peterson, Erol Alkan and Pete Tong, the DJs at Radio 1 were all over it like a bad rash and it even beat lad's mag favourite Rachel Stevens in one tune of the week poll. Meanwhile, over on Radio 2, the venerable 'Whispering' Bob Harris caught the buzz.

"A frankly astonishing debut. Mind-bending production values combine with real power to make a delightful, uplifting, seriously inspirational dance record." (Myvillage.com)

However, Mr Sedgley is no one-trick pony: 'From The Roots To The Shoots' ("It's something which represents my old school influences in the roots and then the shoots is the modern, the colourful and contemporary) is clear evidence of that. It's a joyous listen; an album enthralled by the possibilities of sound and an album that's brought the party hats and the jelly and ice cream.

From the unpretentious and updated synth-pop of 'I've Been Waiting' to the fractured funk and broken electro of 'Déjà Vu' by way of the deep, Joe Claussell-like, rhythms of 'Ego Spiritual', this is the music George Clinton would have made if he had been a white South Londoner with a disco fixation. Live, it sounds like the best disco workout ever. Max and his band popped their cherry at last year's Bestival and have gone on to tour the World building a reputation for stunning live shows.

In support are the hotly tipped Bussetti, a 7 piece funk-ska-hip-hop-whatever-they-want band whose live shows have seen them hailed as one of the bands to watch this year, earned them praise such as "Superb", "Wonderful" and "Magical" by the likes of Time Out, Metro and The Guardian and got them the chance to open this year's Big Chill festival on the main stage.

More info from Furthur