The Luminaire Events for February 2006

01 February - TED BARNES + M Craft + Barbarosa

2006-02-01

Wednesday 1 February
Knom Music presents
TED BARNES
+ M Craft
+ Barbarosa
- Doors 8.00, advance tickets �6 from WeGotTickets and TicketWeb
Ted Barnes is a national treasure. He doesn\'t make loud in-your-face music, but beautifully intricate, mostly instrumental songs. Unlike the majority of contemporary instrumental music, Ted?s is rich in emotion - deeply personal and honest, in the same way as a record like ?Five Leaves Left? by Nick Drake, and in a way that you perhaps would not expect from an instrumental record.
\"Expertly crafted melancholia.
A triumph.\" [4/5 Mojo]
\"Classical chamber pop to provide a heart-warming soundtrack to icy winter days.\"
[4/5 Metro]
\"Achingly sad enough to make you wish Nick Drake was still around to sing on it.\"
[4/5 Independent]
On Sketchbook Records.
Main support courtesy of M Craft, preparing to support on the King Creosote UK tour, and signed to the excellent 679 Recordings.
Barbarossa is slowly creeping up on the new folk scene with beautiful songwriting and lush melodies. Recently signed to Fence Records, and currently recording debut album.
More info at Knom Music.

02 February - JOHN HOWARD + Eileen Rose + Richard Ings

2006-02-02

Thursday 2 February
musicOMH.com presents
JOHN HOWARD
+ Eileen Rose
+ Richard Ings
- Doors 7.30, �8.50 advance via WeGotTickets & Rough Trade [Covent Garden: 020 7240 0105 and Talbot Road: 020 7229 8541]
Lancashire-born John Howard trained as a classical pianist from the age of seven. In 1975 he released an album called 'Kid in a Big World'. The release was featured in the book 'In Search of the Lost Record' some 30 years later, and amid internet buzz, the great lost album was found by RPM Records and re-released at the end of 2003. It received huge acclaim and five-star reviews. In short order the shelved 1970's follow-ups, 'Technicolour Biography' and 'Can You Hear Me OK'? were released. John's music career has been reignited 30 years on and completely new album - 'As I Was Saying' ? appears in January 2006.
Acclaimed singer-songwriter Eileen Rose released her third album, 'Come The Storm', in 2005 on Banana Records. Eileen was born in Saugus, a tough suburb of Boston MA, and brought up in her close-knit Italian-Irish American family, the youngest of five sisters and three brothers. She studied criminal law but disappointed her parents by running away to England to become a rock star.
Following a couple of false starts with bands, she got a solo career under way and hasn't looked back since. Her first album, 2000's Shine Like It Does (Rough Trade) was called "sensational" by the Sunday Times and "a gem" by The Guardian. The 2002 follow-up, Long Shot Novena (Rough Trade) was "a mighty, powerful work" according to Time Out.
Opening the evening will be Richard Ings.

03 February - THE BOOKS + Clogs

2006-02-03

Eat Your Own Ears and CMN presents
*SOLD OUT*
THE BOOKS
+ Clogs
- Doors 7.30 Cult American bands The Books and Clogs make a rare appearance, where they'll play separate sets and together as they develop new material.
After reaching instant-classic status with their second album 'The Lemon Of Pink', Massachusetts's The Books have been lauded by in-the-know music heads across the globe for the astronomical quality of their carefully crafted songs, complimented by their mysterious, withdrawn personas. Their skewed pop sits nicely next to the likes of Prefuse 73 (they collaborated on his last album), Manitoba, Radiohead, Talking Heads, and Four Tet. Tonight they play a live set using cello, guitar, mandolin and banjo, a set of tuned plastic drain pipes, a cheap metal filing cabinet with subwoofers installed in it, and a vintage hohner clavinet of twisted avant-folk, richly infused with skewed electronic beats and devilishly tweaked samples.
Clogs, four improvising musicians from Australia and the US deliver a set of beautifully minimal avant-classical but contemporary sounds that draw references from Erik Satie, Arvo Part through to Sigur Ros and also post rock from the likes of God Sped You Black Emperor! and Tortoise. Their live sets are built around subtle crescendos and repetitions as they mix swirling violin melodies, plucked strings and and various percussion from steel drums to wood blocks to bowed cymbals...
"This is music of such intense beauty that each successive piece is like another exquisite blow on a bruise." [The Guardian]
When trying to describe Clogs' music to other folks, it might be better to forgo any genre distinctions and head straight for the thesaurus so you can find fresh and exciting ways to say "sublime." Pitchforkmedia
More info from Eat Your Own Ears.

05 February - DOUBLE G & THE TRAITOROUS + Wet Dog + Polly Scattergood

2006-02-05

The Luminaire presents
DOUBLE G & THE TRAITOROUS 3
+ Wet Dog
+ Polly Scattergood
- Doors 7.30, �5 via WeGotTickets
Recommend you keep an eye on this listing. We'll soon post a link to tickets and if you don't get one and your friends do, you'll be green with envy.
Main support is provided by The Rough Trade-endorsed Polly Scattergood. about whose debut single 'Glory Hallelujah' they said; "a ballad of raw passion and delicate beauty. It's filled with haunting lyrics that are sure to stay with you long after hearing them. It's a mix of Tori Amos, Kate Bush and Martha Wainwright.
Not so easy to find anything on Wet Dog online, but have a look here.

06 February - DANͅL GړT + Infantjoy

2006-02-06

The Luminaire presents
DAN�EL �G�ST
+ Infantjoy
- Doors 8.00, �8 via WeGotTickets
Dan�el �g�st is the former lead singer of Icelandic trip hop outfit GusGus with five gold records and an Icelandic number 1 to his name. He has something special in store. Take a look at this, from a recent Fly.
Infantjoy's debut album 'Where The Night Goes' is a journey through a single night, a journey through time haunted by the music of Erik Satie, and it features a Satie-seized version of the classic Japan song Ghosts beautifully sung by Black Box Recorder's Sarah Nixey. Infantjoy are an eclectronic chamber group. Infantjoy mix James Banbury [once of Auteurs], Paul Morley [once of ArtOfNoise], memory, melody, rhythm, ghosts, noise, beauty and silence.
"Taut and quite beautifully executed, this is one album to immerse yourself in." [**** Mojo].
"Velveteen trip-hop beats, a free-jazz fringe, some Aphexy analogue abrasion and a striking cover of David Sylvians 'Ghosts'. Discreetly beguiling." [Uncut]

07 February - GEMMA HAYES + Guests

2006-02-07

Metropolis Music presents
SOLD OUT
GEMMA HAYES
+ Guests
- Doors 7.30
Gemma Hayes. Tipperary's most talented daughter, visits us with a performance of acoustic delicacy and heartstopping beauty.

08 February - CAPTAIN BLACK + The Changes + Visitor Q + The Cleo Whip + DJ Charlie No. 4

2006-02-08

Wednesday 8 February
The Luminaire and Zed-One Studios presents
CAPTAIN BLACK
+ The Changes
+ Visitor Q
+ The Cleo Whip
+ DJ Charlie No. 4
- Doors 8.00, �5 via WeGotTickets or �3.50 with this flyer.
The Cleo Whip hail from North London, which we like, and their sound nods to Stereolab, The Strokes, Pixies and Le Tigre, the sound of which we also like. They're suported by a trio of indie rockers from London's Zed-One studios, namely the careless-haired Skiffle-driven, Camden-based five piece Captain Black, The Changes and Visitor Q.
Captain Black are influenced by The Smiths, The Pogues, Johnny Cash and Nick Cave, so you may be surprised to hear their skiffle rhythms and happy guitars [one of their favourite albums, however, IS a Lonnie Donegan at the moment]. But if you listen closely, they're not singing about love and rose petals; in fact they're probably singing the darkest words you'll hear all day.
Visitor Q are "a bunch of beautiful freaks who cross genre boundaries like cracks in the pavement. Expect cult status at least." [Rocksound].
The Changes combine vocal and guitar melodies remeniscent of classic British rock, with a rhythm section taking influences from modern day Americana.
The good Charlie No. 4 leads a DJ-fuelled-sing-along between bands.

09 February - JACK ROSE + Chris Corsano + Yellow Swans

2006-02-09

Thursday 9 February
Upset The Rhythm presents
JACK ROSE
+ Chris Corsano
+ Yellow Swans
- Doors 8.00, advance tickets �7 via WeGotTickets or Upset The Rhythm
Drink a couple of shots of neat Kentucky whiskey and see if you don't slur 'raag' and 'rock' into the same guttural syllable. While we can't comment knowledgably upon Jack Rose's substance intake during the sessions that comprise 'Raag Manifestos' (Eclipse) - his third LP of acoustic steel-stringed guitar music - he certainly managed to mash those sounds together so solidly that they bond into an entity heavy enough to exert it's own gravitational pull. That he does this with neither an amplified instrument nor any formal training in Indian classical music only heightens his accomplishment.
With each successive record, Rose has stepped further from the Mount Rushmore-sized shadows cast by John Fahey, Robbie Basho and Sandy Bull. Without a doubt the most important drummer in the world right now. There's plenty room for utter hyperbole when discussing Chris Corsano conjuring claustrophobic thunder one minute and dynamiting rock moves the next. The kind of linear-ferocity generated on his kit is nothing short of staggering. Check out his incredible work with Vampire Belt, Cold Bleak Heat and Sunburned Hand of the Man, and of course his countless collaborations with Paul Flaherty.
Yellow Swans are a San Francisco-based duo that mix ass-shaking, fucked-up disco with Wolf Eyes-styled metal, cheap Casio beats, digital hardcore and the kind of wired hypnotic circuitry deployed by Coil circa Love's Secret Domain. From pummelling air-raid codes through basement-nasty electro noise.

10 February - GLEN MATLOCK AND THE PHILISTINES + The Dirty Feel + Steranko + Headonistic DJs

2006-02-10

Headonistic presents
GLEN MATLOCK AND THE PHILISTINES
+ The Dirty Feel
+ Steranko
+ Headonistic DJs
- Doors 8.00, advance tickets �8 at WeGotTickets or �6 on the door before 9pm.
This Year Headonistic is celebrating 30 years of punk, and to kick it off the present the legend that is Glen Matlock of The Sex Pistols, and his band the Philistines. The Sex Pistols were recently inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, and, what with the current appreciation for punk these days, we recommend catching Mr. Matlock before you end up standing at the back of the Academy to do the same thing.
He'll look bigger here.
Main support from The Dirty Feel's sleazy punk funk, fresh from appearing on MTV's 'A Cut'. It's raw, unprocessed, unstyled and utterly captivating.
First on are Steranko,"one of the best rock albums of the year so far from the best live band. [Virgin.net]. Frontman "Lee Mangan is a mixture of Iggy Pop and Jim Morrison with the energy of a Fireball".

11 February - THE MORNING PEOPLE + Norton Money

2006-02-11

The Luminaire presents
THE MORNING PEOPLE
+ Norton Money
- Doors 8.00, �5 via WeGotTickets
The Morning People are one of the most unusual and entertaining bands to have come out of Cambridge in recent years. Frontman Sam Inglis is well known there for hosting music nights at local venues, and has taken the opportunity to bring together some of the most talented musicians in the city to play his own songs. With a unique combination of instruments that includes pedal steel guitar, mandolin and Casio home keyboards, the band's sound is a distinctive blend of alt-country and leftfield pop, with catchy tunes and a skewed worldview that encompasses everything from Paul Daniels to God in his wilderness years.
"The Smiths meet the Stones? Lloyd Cole? Cambridge's own Broken Family Band? There are plenty of post-gig opinions as to who The Morning People sound like, but the only thing everyone can agree on is that they sound like The Morning People." [www.netrhythms.com]
Norton Money play west-coast-western-cowboy-ballad-hoe-down-ambient-rootsy rock. Dan and Jeremy both come from the San Francisco Bay Area but never met until they both ended up in London. Sweet harmonies and guitar licks like theirs aren't often heard on these shores.

12 February - MUSIC OF SEVILLE + Tender Forever + The Wolf Tracks + Squeeze Me I Squeak

2006-02-12

The Luminaire presents
MUSIC OF SEVILLE
+ Tender Forever
+ The Wolf Tracks
+ Squeeze Me I Squeak
- Doors 7.30, �5 via WeGotTickets
With a sound that embraces a range of influences, from contemporary avant rock, to film soundtracks and traditional european folk music, from Music Of Seville you'll hear chiming feedback set against haunting, fragile vocals. Black Ark style dubbed space echo against a cheap one string guitar. It's gorgeous and lyrical, beautifully melancholic and string Indeed, Rough Trade were moved to muse about "melancholic Morricone-esque alt.folk influenced balladeering and soundscapes."
We're not over-egging this, believe us.
It really is beguiling.
Tender Forever is a girl performing alone with DIY sounds, a cardboard laptop, a very personal body language, tears, cut-outs and spasms. Tender Forever means countless people, feelings and emotions living through her music. Tender Forever plays guitar and calls you into play. Tender Forever sings, dances, gets stirred, excited, worn-out, falls on the floor and affects us all.
Spin Magazine were moved to write; "Now that Ani DiFranco is pushing 40, angst-ridden, bi-curious teenage girls are hankering for a new, more relatable muse -- someone who understands their lovelorn diary entries and projects the same combination of surface vulnerability and core-strength to get them through their misfit adolescences. Welcome Tender Forever, children, as Ani-for-the-naughts. Tender, nee Melanie Valera, has a breathy, ethereal voice, which is well suited for the personal-essay-masquerading-as-low-fi-pop on her debut solo album, 'The Soft and the Hardcore'."
The Wolf Tracks sound like being alone on a mountain with a tape recorder, feeling wind in your hair, jumping into a river naked and just managing to get out alive before you realise the fish are bigger and sharkier than you thought. With quiet yet complex rhythms, calming guitars and subtle electronics.
"Anti-folk genuis" said Young and Lost Club. Squeeze Me I Squeak is what happens to young, French, country girls when they simultaneously run into a tape recorder and go do some research on women studies in Olympia, WA: they rush on every guitar they can see even though they cant play, and dramatically multiply in order to become a squeaky quartet.
"All the smartness that she winds together in that foreign noodle of her's comes squeezing out in the most delicious combinations. I'm telling you, it's really hot." [The Blow]

13 February - YOUNG PEOPLE + I'm Being Good + Finlay Brown

2006-02-13

Eat Your Own Ears presents
YOUNG PEOPLE
+ I'm Being Good
+ Finlay Brown
- Doors 7.30, advance tickets �6 from:
TicketWeb / 08700 600 100
SeeTickets / 08701 201 149
Young People play a fascinating mix of rock, countr and avant-garde. The trio formed in early 2001 when vocalist Katie Eastburn, guitarist Jeff Rosenburg and drummer Jarrett Silberman began playing together in hopes of forming a country band and ended up forging together traditional American music with the freeform sensibilities of underground rock. Releasing acclaimed albums for both the Kill Rock Stars imprint 5RC and Dim Mak, founding members Katie and Jarrett signed to Too Pure in 2005, shortly thereafter completing work on their soon to be released third album 'All At Once' [Jeff having left the band after completing the 'Five Sunsets In Four Days' EP.
"Young People's contagious slow-core vibrancy and unwillingness to settle for an obvious post-punk narrative explodes their humble DIY into a wonderfully zealous act." [Pitchfork]
More info from Eat Your Own Ears.

14 February - SHIMURA CURVES + YSN + The Kissing Time + Sandra & The Memory Machine

2006-02-14

SHIMURA CURVES
+ YSN
+ The Kissing Time
+ Sandra and The Memory Machine
The Luminaire presents
Doors 7.30, �5 via WeGotTickets
More on Shimura Curves in a minute, but meantime...
Scandalous events within the walls of Club DeccaDance led the paths of Thomas J. Booth, James Knox, Yonatan Collier and Pete Wurlitzer to meet. Prior to this chance encounter Thomas, James and Yonatan had been little more than a gang of immaculately dress layabouts who spent their days chasing ladies, gambling on fillies and imbibing only the finest spirits. Under the guidance of Mr Wurlitzer they became masters of all three, and formed a band. That band was - and is - YSN.
Before them we have the harmonic pop of the aptly named [it's Valentine's day, remember?] The Kissing Time. A mix of Mo Tucker and the Mamas and the Papas, the Kissing Time combine the primitive and the professional to create a bittersweet sound of indiefolkpop.
"An immediate and charming sound, founded in their remarkable vocal arrangements, could see them well on their way alongside The Magic Numbers" [DiS]
First on are Sandra and The Memory Machine, a ukulele-driven three piece playing music-box songs about love, death and memory, like Annie Lennox & Karen Carpenter auditioning for Talking Heads.

15 February - SHADY BARD + Morton Vallance + Sweet Billy Pilgrim

2006-02-15

Wednesday 15 February
The Luminaire presents
SHADY BARD
+ Sweet Billy Pilgrim
+ Morton Vallance
- Doors 8.00, �5 via WeGotTickets
Promoting their debut EP on Static Caravan Records are "One of the best unsigned bands in Britain" [BBC Radio 4, Loose Ends] and a band of "unsurpassable beauty, radiating mellow warmth" [The Fly]... Shady Bard.
'Autumnal weariness has never sounded quite so compelling...If 'Bobby' doesn't melt your heart, then your heart's probably made of gravel' [Voices From Downtroddendom]
Main support from Sweet Billy Pilgrim.
"This calm pretty folktronica is strange but not difficult: there are choruses here that, if Chris Martin had stumbled across them, would have shifted another million Coldplay albums. A rather special debut." [Sunday Times]
"Staggeringly beautiful and deeply affecting" [Back On The Tracks]

16 February - BATTLES + Semifinalists

2006-02-16

Eat Your Own Ears presents
*SOLD OUT*
BATTLES
+ Semifinalists
- Doors 7.30
Battles features an almost too-good-to-be-true lineup of avant-experimentalists and math rock musicians including John Stanier (the drummer from Helmet and currently playing drums in Tomahawk), Ian Williams, guitarist/keyboardist (played guitar in Don Caballero and Storm and Stress), David Konopka (guitarist with art algebra rock band Lynx) and Tyondai Braxton (keyboard player, beat boxer and avant-garde solo musician). It's mind-blowing; layered and rhythmic with strict definitions and timing. Imagine the laboratory of a mad scientist. In your mind, everywhere you look are knick-knack inventions spinning and jittering. Quirky noises - pings of metal on metal and fizzing liquids - can be heard in the background in a symphony of labour and ingenuity.
East London's Semifinalists play a live set of raw, melodic, punky pop post rock, mixing delicate tunes with driving drums and layers of guitar. Imagine all the '80s pop hit records melted into one huge blob, then re-cut and re-constructed by King Crimson and Sonic Youth. Of course references can be made to The Flaming Lips, The Unicorns, Cindy Lauper etc. but fuck that. Semifinalists may sound like psychedelic pop/folk weirdness schizophrenia, but they are punk.
More info from Eat Your Own Ears.

17 February - ALICE TEXAS + Screamer On The Hill + The Slow

2006-02-17

The Luminaire presents
ALICE TEXAS
+ Screamer On The Hill
+ The Slow
- Doors 8.00, �6 via WeGotTickets
Now, this is special.
Alice Texas comes to you through hell and high water by way of New York City. Singer/songwriter/guitarist Alice Schneider brings you to a dark and beautiful place with her haunting lyrics and aching voice. A native New Yorker, she rides through the oppressively small towns and dry prairies of her imagination searching for love and redemption. Partners in crime, guitarist Peter Mavrogeorgis (The Vanity Set) and drummer Douglas Hodges (ex-The Mooney Suzuki) aid and abet in painting the rich, burnt songscapes.
Now, just read the press:
"Glorious and melancholic, the romantically driven viewpoints of these fine desert soundscapes suggests that Schneider is a woman who knows the hurt of a broken heart. Beautiful and hypnotic, like Mazzy Star undegoing relationship counseling." [NME]
Or this from Mojo: "A voice somewhere between P.J. Harvey and Sinead O'Connor and a band that sound like serious Calexico and David Lynch Fans - there are lots of desert moments and dramatic Wild At Heart guitars; lots of dramatic everything in fact. Dark, atmospheric insurgent country with the odd gentle ballad.
Don't miss this.
No really; don't.
We're not kidding.
You'll regret it.
Main support comes fom Screamer On The Hill, a bluesy, funky cowboy rock 'n' roll band on one hand and a fine blues-folk acoustic act on the other. This six piece group utilise a wide range of interesting instrumentation including violin, sax and the occasional accordion and ukulele.
First on are The Slow and their lo-fi alt blues and folk.

18 February - ACTRESS HANDS + The Pop Gang + The Small + Clayton Blizzard

2006-02-18

The Luminaire presents
ACTRESS HANDS
+ The Pop Gang
+ The Small
+ Clayton Blizzard
- Doors 8.00, �5 via WeGotTickets
Ladies and gentlemen, it's Actress Hands: "Majestic, harmony-led indie that sounds like the sun actually shines on the west coast [NME].
It's their only London show on their UK tour so come see.
Main support comes from The Pop Gang, and before them,The Small and before them, opening proceedings, Clayton Blizzard a "Bristol-based rapper delivering post millennium thoughts over hooky folk guitars. Captivating." [Music Week]

19 February - PICTUREBOX + The Chandeliers + Matt Dolphin + Rebel Jane + DJs

2006-02-19

The Luminaire presents
PICTUREBOX
+ The Chandeliers
+ Matt Dolphin
+ Rebel Jane
+ DJs
- Doors 7.30, �5 advance via WeGotTickets
An evening of acoustic romanticism and dark, deliciously gothic splendour [and possibly necrophilia. See below...], headlined by Picturebox, who use songwriting as storytelling and weave tales of twisted love wrapped up in pitch black melancholy, continuing a lineage that has so far included the Dirty Three, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds and the Tindersticks. Picturebox describe their sound as 'Cabaret Noir' and play many instruments, such as Squeezebox, Ukelele and a Percussive Shopping Trolley!) augmenting the darkly seductive arrangements and melodies laid down by Piano, Double Bass, Acoustic 12 String Guitar and Violin.
Support from The Chandeliers.
Sometimes they sound like a building falling down or a big piano being catapulted into a giant packet of metal spaghetti, but usually they sound more like a corrupt Burt Bacharach having sex with Johnny Cash [when alive, presumably. We don't condone necrophilia here] whilst Morrisey tries to run down Joey Ramone outside with Syd Barett strapped to the bumper. Or rather, they sound like how a big chocolate trifle with almonds and cherries would sound if it was something you listened to instead of something you, er, would eat...
Look, just come to the gig.
Before that, we've the velvet-voiced folk noir from debonair crooner Matt Dolphin and fiddle maestro Stephen Carter. And before that we've Rebel Jane. Described as being "as melodious, romantic and striking as Jeff Buckley yet as melancholic, gritty and dark as Radiohead", Rebel Jane's acoustic sets usher in the ambience of artists like Tom Waits and Bright Eyes without losing the feel of their original material.

20 February - MY LATEST NOVEL + Jeffrey Lewis

2006-02-20

*SOLD OUT*
Eat Your Own Ears presents
MY LATEST NOVEL
+ Jeffrey Lewis

Doors 7.30

Glasgow's My Latest Novel celebrate the release of their new single 'The Reputation Of Ross Francis' [on Bella Union]. MLN brilliantly merge soaring violins with breezy folk melodies and post-rock sea shanties with a remarkable inventiveness and artistry. The band?s stunning debut album ? 'Wolves'? is released on 13th March.
?The Glaswegian Arcade Fire?s debut is fragile, epic and melancholic? [NME].
Jeffrey Lewis was raised on New York City's Lower East Side by loving beatnik parents. Tonight he plays a live set inspired by the gentle psychedelic folk of Donovan, the DIY magic of Daniel Johnston, and the fearless early recordings of local folk-punk legends the Fugs.
"NYC has never exactly lacked eccentric singer-songwriters, but all, from Lou Reed up to Adam Green, would struggle to out-boho Jeffrey Lewis? The likes of 'Time Machine' exhibit Velvets-style fuzz, while the speedfreak ramblings of Williamsburg Will Oldham Horror' show just what makes this comic-book obsessive so unique? Stick with it young fellow ? we?re with you all the way.? [NME, 8/10]
"Bizarre but brilliant? slugging it out to be New Rock capital of the universe, Jeffrey Lewis could well be New York's ace in the hole." [Uncut]
?For stressed-out, maudlin and anxious twenty-somethings there are few better spokespeople than Jeffrey Lewis. Chunky punk and skittery electronics border lush backdrops of slide guitar and banjo. It?s what his intelligent and witty songs have long deserved.? Time Out
More info from Eat Your Own Ears

21 February - Closed for private party

2006-02-21

Closed for private party.

22 February - THE SCRUB + The Adult Section + Plan A + Eastfield

2006-02-22

Complete Control presents
THE SCRUB
+ The Adult Section
+ Plan A
+ Eastfield

Doors 8.00
�6 or �5 with flyer

Bristol based seven-piece outfit The Scrub have been building a strong following for a couple of years now, notching up support slots with the likes of RX Bandits, Shootin Goon, Fishbone, Howards Alias, Adequate Seven, Babyhead, Long Beach Dub Allstars & King Prawn in the process. They play a highly addictive and uniquely dark take on the old skool 2-tone ska formula, with moderate lashings of hip hop & skacore thrown in for good measure.
Main support from The Adult Section who embrace the ethos of punk rock with a glamorous DIY attitude, fronted by ex-Jazzbutcher Dooj, Johnny, Dee and Mert who invite you all to come on down to the rock 'n' roll party.
Before that we've Plan A, formed in late 1998 by ex-Wildheart Jef Streatfield, when being part of a scene wasn't included in the job description, but passion and sincerity was. They have released an EP called 'Just Leaving Acton' [produced by Waynne Smart], written too many songs for an enormadome tour and honed the live set to a frantic mayhem of punked-up Rock 'n' Roll. Having gained a number of favourable reviews in various magazines throughout Europe playing with bands such as The Yo Yo's, Grand Theft Audio, Reel Big Fish and Mika Bomb and as many other excellent bands as possible they are more fired up than ever, so don't miss them.
Eastfield make their fourth visit to the Luminaire and are rapidly becoming the nerest thing Complete Control has to a house band. We make no apologies for this. Their uncompromising brand of full-on Urban Punk will always be welcome. Only thing is they'll soon no doubt be far too big time for us and you'll have to pay eighteen quid to see them at the Astoria or somewhere. Be at this one so you can say "I was there."

23 February - JOANA & THE WOLF + Tits of Death + Man From Uranus + Maelific Jester

2006-02-23

Kabarett Spielraum presents
JOANA & THE WOLF
+ Tits of Death
+ Man From Uranus
+ Maelific Jester

Doors 7.30
�5 / �4 concessions / �3 paying guest list if you email email.

Kabarett Spielraum proudly present a bill of cabaret rock and lounge electronica.
Imagine a parallel universe where the Stooges fired Iggy and replaced him with a young Kate Bush and you have Joana And The Wolf. Lead singer Joana was performing as a solo artist, playing electronic-based music at various venues around London. Encouraged by positive advice from record labels, the band was formed 9 months ago, whose members brought a more raw, wild guitar sound to Joana's songs, introducing influences such as the White Stripes, Jeff Buckley, The Pixies, PJ Harvey, Patti Smith, Nirvana and Radiohead. The power created by driving guitar, bass and drums explodes in an unconventional sound that trully rocks. At other times this great energy unexpectedly turns itself into dark shiver-inducing melodies.
Main support comes from Tits Of Death. Think Peaches meets Spinal Tap, pissing in a dark alley behind a strip club. It's not every day you see a band that sends you home with ringing ears at 1am to thrash at Marc Bolan numbers on your unplugged Strat, feeling every bit the Iggy Pop rock monster you just know you are on the inside. Hell, it's not every band that have the capacity to bring out that part of you that wants to throw on an evening gown and join them onstage to spit fire through a rendition of 'Teenage Kicks'. Five women. Two bass guitars. Two synths. One Guitar. And the Dirty Box. Let's rock!
Before that is Man From Uranus, making his second visit to Kabarett Spielraum. Here's his tour diary entry about his previous visit: "Played two sets - at the start of the night I played a quirky, beautiful 15 minutes. 2nd set, the audience talked through the first song so I yelled "That was called Fuck You". That caught their attention, my adrenaline surged and I played one of my funkiest, weirdest, noisiest sets ever. Help."
So we had to book him again.
Since his last visit, he's been signed to a new label formed by Barry Smith of Add N to (X). We await to see what wonderful fate befalls this purveyor of what Time Out described as "Moogy punk".
Opening proceedings are Maeilific Jester is the pseudonym of Paul Blackwood, DJ, VJ, musician and visual artist of this manor. Whilst preparing his new band Anarchistwood [featuring errant members of the notorious Gobsausage], he has found time to create some marvellous solo material. Accompanied by visuals from the lovely Funkcutter, fans of quirky electronica artists like Si Begg will find much to amuse and delight them.
In memoriam Steve Absolum.

24 February - SON OF DAVE + Martina Topley-Bird + Seffi + Manuela & The Music Makers + Gaz Mayall

2006-02-24

Son of Dave & Kartel presents
SON OF DAVE 'O2' album launch party with exotic guests...
+ Miss Martina Topley-Bird
+ The stunning Seffi dancing a blues flamenco
+ Manuela & The Music Makers
+ spinning platters... Gaz Mayall

Doors 7.30
�8.50 via WeGotTickets

Celebrating the release of the critically acclaimed Son Of Dave 'O2' album released 13 February on Kartel.
"Son of Dave is a force of nature. Touring the globe with just a harmonica, a microphone and a stack of 45s for company, this one man band has become one of the most entertaining live performers in the world. Mixing up blues, hip hop and dance into a dizzying brew, it's nigh on impossible to resist the temptation to shake a leg when he's on the mic."
[Tim Noakes, Dazed & Confused]
Guests include Martina TopleyBird.

25 February - THE MULES + Fireworks Night + Johnny Flynn

2006-02-25

Organ Grinder Records presents...
...an alternative to what?!
THE MULES
+ Fireworks Night
+ Johnny Flynn

Doors 8.00
�3 on the door

Organ Grinder are a young label and this is our first club night. We aim to make it as much fun as humanly possible.
The Mules mix country, punk, electro and even some klezmer into a sound that is coherent and distinctly their own. They call it electrobilly and it?s made up of surf guitar and barrelhouse piano, soaring fiddle and fuzz bass, with vocals whispered and hollered over frantic drums.
Hear now, citizens, what the press say:
"Neither quite post-punk, rockabilly nor skiffle, but wholly excellent.? [Time Out]
?This is perfect dance music? electro, polka, rockabilly, country, waltz, synth pop and math rock are expertly woven around a backbone of death-tinged songs.? [Artrocker]
?The Oxford five-piece twist and turn recognisable sounds and melodies into something that screams, ?This is the Future!? [Gigwise.com]
?Incendiary live shows?? [Dazed & Confused]
Fireworks Night are equally enamoured of good old folk music, more contemporary noise bands and many of the spaces in between. Essentially they play simple, lyrical songs that are expanded by sometimes beautiful, sometimes brutal layers of guitars and keyboards and highly imaginative drumming. Violins, saws and ukuleles also join the fray to make a sound that can be as tender at times as it can be visceral at others. They can be funny and they can be deadly serious and while some songs may drone like early Low, others stomp in a fashion reminiscent of Weill. Hear again, citizens, what the press say, only this time about Fireworks Night:
"Something truly special.? [The Fly)
"Country tinged, devastated torch-singing territory? heartbreakingly soulful.? [Brain Love]
"Simple, powerful songs and brooding presence, with a deathly resonance that Will Oldham would be proud of. There is real beauty here." [Resonance FM]
Johnny Flynn plays folk songs that are as simple and beautiful as they should be. His stories are clever and funny and his voice is his own. We watched with rapt attention the last time he played at The Luminaire and are delighted to have him play the first Organ Grinder night.
DJing betwixt and between all these bands will be Dan from the 13th Floor Club.

26 February - MR. FOGG + Sol Seppy + Lupen Crook

2006-02-26

The Luminaire presents
MR. FOGG
+ Sol Seppy
+ Lupen Crook

Doors 8.00, �5 via WeGotTickets

About Mr. Fogg, Blah Blah magazine say it best: "The songs are granitic electro pop anthems, where retro sounds duet with Phil's velvety voice. Cool and sparse but packed with melody, Mr Fogg presents well constructed songs, that are able to use electronics in a way that recalls but does not copy the early '80s. Confidently belting out his tunes, Mr Fogg has won the crowd in no time... a full-on pop star."
Sol Seppy Sol Seppy is Sophie Michalitsianos, a classically trained pianist and cellist who, on her album 'The Bells of 1 2', wrote and arranged everything and not only played almost all instruments but also recorded and mixed almost the entire album by herself.
Talented then.
She hints at Mazzy Star, Cocteau Twins and Stina Nordenstam. She produces tortured but beautiful, fuzzed up celestial rock with moments of intimate folk-pop, grungy choruses and psychedelic synths.
Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse heard her music and asked her to join up with them for their tour with Radiohead. Sophie obliged, and afterwards found herself contributing on Sparklehorse's albums, 'Good Morning Spider' and 'It?s A Wonderful Life'.]
"A slow-burning wonder that you should still be listening to in 2007, said The Sunday Times.
Agreed.

27 February - HOWLING BELLS + Hot Club De Paris + Mazarin + Devics

2006-02-27

Eat Your Own Ears presents
HOWLING BELLS
+ Hot Club De Paris
+ Mazarin
+ Devics

Doors 7.30
Advance tickets �8.50 from:
TicketWeb / 08700 600 100
SeeTickets / 08701 201 149
Rough Trade [Covent Garden]
in person only. 020 7240 0105

Howling Bells promote their new single 'Wishing Stone' on Bella Union with a live show at your favourite London venue.
They?ve got the looks, they?ve got the style, they?ve got the swagger? and most of all, they?ve got the tunes! Tonight they play a set of new tracks from their forthcoming debut album recorded with renowned Coldplay producer Ken Nelson, due for release in the Spring. Their live set sees them deliver an intoxicating collection of killer tracks lurching from blues-fuelled rock to country-folk lamentations, mixing tuneful melodies, glorious soundscapes with dagger-like, incisive drumming and rhythmic bass.
?The sound of PJ Harvey hitching a ride with the Velvet Underground through Twin Peaks.? [NME]
Liverpool's Hot Club De Paris play in support of their forthcoming Moshi Moshi release of skewif pop and taut eclecticism that's sparse like the Minutemen, fast like Black Flag and tuneful like Pavement.
What more could you want?
"Mazarin is as spangled, as soaring an indie pop record as anything else we're likely to wistfully smile over this year." [Pitchfork 8/10]
Los Angeles-based trio Devics promote their new Bella Union release 'Push The Heart', out in March, by delivering a set of dark atmospherics as they imaginatively weave together singer Sara Lov's intimate whispered voice with piano, guitar and cello, alongside subtle electronic details. Think Serge Gainsbourg, Mojave 3 or Blonde Redhead.
More info from Eat Your Own Ears.

28 February - FINEST LITTLE SPACE + The Distance + Hordes

2006-02-28

The Luminaire presents
FINEST LITTLE SPACE
+ The Distance
+ Hordes

- Doors 8.00
�5 via WeGotTickets

Headliners are Finest Little Space with beautiful, twisted ballads and dirty indie-rock.
The Distance are a new five-piece from North London straddling the rock & roll fault-lines between Supergrass & The Magic Numbers. Record of the Day suggested they could be a songwriting band to compare with either of those, saying "we knew this was going to be good from the opening ten seconds.? while Atomic Duster called it ?Afghan Whigs with shiny shoes.?
Hordes are a five-piece based in East London but clearly do not fit in with the shambolic East's Liberscene. A sort of British neo-psychedelic revival, think 'A Forest'-era Cure partying with Syd Barrett and The Psychedelic Furs celebrating a North London transplant of Battersea Power station type thing. Hordes won the Diesel Music Awards and singer/songwriter Paull Withey is of the Diff'rent Strokes/Stripes EP's fame.