The Luminaire Events for June 2008

02 June - STANLEY BRINKS + The Wave Pictures

2008-06-02

Ciao Ketchup presents
STANLEY BRINKS
+ The Wave Pictures

Doors 7.30
£6 via WeGotTickets
Click here for a flyer.

After his debut single Stanley Brinks - Fox Trot, Ciao Ketchup Recordings now proudly brings you Stanley Brinks debut LP : Dank U.

Stanley Brinks first album, is a compelling 10-track opus of calypso influenced acoustic guitar and cunning brass arrangements that are delivered with honesty and simplicity. Stans humorous and poignant lyrics cover a wide range of topics including train trips damaging your brain, MCs playing EPs in temples and Danish movies with Swedish subtitles.

Dank U opens with the Single Stanley Brinks (released in January 08), a laidback autobiographical tale, followed by other album jewels such as My Experience With Truth, Pease Pottage and Ill Be With You which, although reminiscent of his work with Herman Dune, are heavily doused with a unique charm that only Stan knows the secret of...

Dank U was recorded and produced in Berlin, the current hideout of Stanley Brinks, and will be released on limited edition 12 vinyl and digital download on June 2nd 2008.

More info on The Wave Pictures soon.

03 June - HIGH PLACES + Guests - CANCELLED

2008-06-03

Upset The Rhythm presents
HIGH PLACES
+ Guests

WE REGRET THIS SHOW IS NOW CANCELLED, DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND THE BAND\'S CONTROL. REFUNDS WILL BE GIVEN FROM THE POINT OF PURCHASE.

High Places are two in number. Mary Pearson and Rob Barber, both Brooklyn dwellers, create a unique and joyous union of world beat, dance music and underground pop with High Places. Standing atop the summit of a towering mountain certainly provides a great perspective but it\'s the overpowering feeling of awesome majesty that is key to understanding the band. That sense of grandeur and wonder is almost impossible to tether in words yet their music seems dizzy under its influence.

High Places are all about exultation, positivity and light-headed charm. Sounding like the dreamy and sincere vocalisations of K Records groups plunged into the tropical electronics of the fertile US underground. Swirling twitchy psychedelic beat patterns into inventive and verdant exotica, High Places do not sound like your usual New York band, but scratch the surface and their heavy syncopation and free-wheeling approach to melody sounds like a city alive in daydream.

Rob and Mary draw inspiration from returning to the basics of sound, like its pitch, position, speed and presence. This template for experimentation allows the band to build otherworldly polyrhythmic miniatures from small drums, bells and shakers, clouded by blankets of echo and reverb. Their most thunderous heart-thumping impulses are juxtaposed with a spacious (almost peaceful) atmosphere. Rob\'s percussion sounds chime and flutter around Mary\'s sweetly honest vocal, layered to the point that her lyrics often become as veiled and hypnotic as the other instruments.

04 June - TWISTED WHEEL + Beggars + Isosceles

2008-06-04

SJM Concerts present
TWISTED WHEEL
+ Beggars
+ Isosceles

Doors 7.30
£7.50 via Ticketmaster and SeeTickets

Having recently completed a mammoth debut headline tour of the country along with appearances at the Radio 1 Big Weekend and two shows at the Great Escape festival in Brighton, Manchesters finest, Twisted Wheel, return to the capital for a headline show at the Luminaire on June 4th.

The bands debut 7 single, Shes A Weapon, was dubbed the hottest record in the world right now by Radio 1s Zane Lowe and was given vinyl of the week status by the NME. Fresh from supporting the Pigeon Detectives on their sold out UK tour, the Luminaire date marks the start of a summer which will not only see the release of a new EP but also slots at Oxegen and T in the Park.

Main support comes from Beggars, and Glaswegian four-piece Isosceles will open the show.

05 June - WILDBIRDS & PEACEDRUMS + Joe Gideon and the Shark + Banjo or Freakout

2008-06-05

Tours, Bombs, Etc presents
WILDBIRDS & PEACEDRUMS
+ Joe Gideon and the Shark
+ Banjo or Freakout

Doors 7.30
£6 via WeGotTickets
£7 door

Drums and vocals combine to make Wildbirds & Peacedrums one of the most talked about bands of the year so far. Devastatingly good live, with Miriam Wallentins voice soulful and her husband, Andreas complementing her with percussion, creating a blend of free jazz ,blues and folk. Dynamic yet fragile at the same time, the songs they produce are full of love without being sweet, conjuring up a whirlwind of beats and yelps so life affirming it should really be prescribed.

Dynamic, sharp and none-more-visceral..Its difficult to communicate how much they impress without descending into twittering hyperbole Drowned in Sound

Imagine Björk\'s Debut seriously fiending for a rhythm fix Pitchfork

Her goosebump-invoking sound operates on a sliding scale between the blues roar of Janis Joplin on the one hand and the spookily evocative folk singing of Mary Margaret O\'Hara on the otherWhat emerged was a heady brew of pagan blues, spiritual pop and ecstatic soul music\" - The Guardian

Support comes from Joe Gideon and the Shark, formerly of Bikini Atoll, this brother-sister duo bring the rock and roll, jaw dropping live, they mix heavy guitars and percussion with intense soul, building up to a frenzy of narrative driven heavy blues.

Opening up the show is Banjo or Freakout, a one man band, creating a Hypnotic mix of loops and cascading beats, punk guitars and longing, heartfelt vocals.

06 June - MORTON VALENCE + Stained Glass Heroes + Anchorsong

2008-06-06

Late In The Evening presents
MORTON VALENCE - \'Chandelier\' Single Launch Party
+ Stained Glass Heroes
+ Anchorsong

Doors 7.30
£5 via WeGotTickets
£6 on the door

Late in the Evening present a welcome return for headliners Morton Valence upon the launch of their new single \'Chandelier\'. The quartet are taking as off-kilter an approach to record releases as they are to making music, with a collective approach to ownership and \'shares\' in the album selling fast. Their angular electropop sound is as difficult to categorise as the component band members themselves, leading Metro to dub them \"the most interesting and intriguing band on these shores\" and the Times to deem them \"irresistably infectious\".

Alongside them will be the ever-entertaining Stained Glass Heroes, who have been through a few interesting record ideas themselves having seen their last single released with 500 different covers designed by 500 different artists. Ambitiousy You bet. Easing their way back into the live arena with John & Jehn over the coming months following a recording break, expect Gang of Four style edginess with a more krautrock twist.

Also joining us will be the excellent Anchorsong. A hugely innovative solo project of Masaaki Yoshida from Tokyo, he builds up tracks live from scratch using an Akai sampler and KORG Triton. His unique style has made him something of a phenomenon, with YouTube videos of his live work garnering over 80,000 hits. Not to be missed..

Following the bands, DJs will take the night through to conclusion in the early hours.

10 June - OX.EAGLE.LION.MAN. + F. Lunaire + Micachu

2008-06-10

Eat Your Own Ears presents
OX. EAGLE. LION. MAN.
+ F. Lunaire
+ Micachu

Doors 7.30
£6.50 via See and Ticketweb

This show is open to 16+ customers - ID will be required.

Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man. is a four piece British band incorporating three former members of Les Incompétents; vocalist Fred MacPherson, Shaun Patterson on guitar, Tommy Howson as keyboardist and bassist, and Edward Quarmby as drummer.

Formed only in the summer of 2006, the band is relatively young, but has already accumulated a cult following assisted by their myspace page, despite a very limited number of live performances.

The name Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man. was derived from the book of Revelations in the New Testament, where the four creatures are recurring characters. With a foreboding sound to match, the band are clearly an odd bunch of early twenty something year olds.

In supreme contrast to many of their contemporaries, Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man delve the psychological depths, the complexities of fatherhood and motherhood. With a dark, expansive sound, the band experiments by mixing noise together with disparate musical elements, with intelligent and melodic results.

F. Lunaire is a singer songwriter who tries to \"play piano like Sonic Youth play guitar\" who sounds like Jimmy Cliff Richard D James.

Micachu is the moniker of major new talent, 21 year old songwriter and producer Mica Levi. She studies composition at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London . As well as writing more traditional pieces, she writes electronic pop songs, sometimes delivered acoustically. She has worked with a band of equally talented musicians (\"The Cluster\") made up of Miss Bienek, Taza, Yvette, Baker Trouble, Mayhem, Kit Downes, Ghostpoet and Kwes, but has recently unveiled her amazing new band (\"the Shapes\"), made up of Raisa Khan and Marc Pell.

11 June - NATTY + Elviin

2008-06-11

Live Nation presents
NATTY
+ Elviin

Doors 7.30
£6.50 via WeGotTickets
£8 door

Were the PlayStation generation/Xboxed up on your CCTV/You can file us under hoodie or Asbo as you take away our identity, sings Natty on his song Coloured Souls. The 24-year-old from North London has long since swapped his hoodie for dreadlocks and a thoughtful take on what it is to be young in the inner city today. Using sounds from around the world he sums up modern Britain with pinpoint accuracy.

With a mother from Lesotho, the tiny kingdom that sits completely within the borders of South Africa, and an English father of Italian descent, Nattys intelligent words on racial issues have already led to involvement with Love Music Hate Racism. The campaigning organisation featured his song If I alongside Bloc Party, Babyshambles and The Enemy on a compilation given away with the NME in October 2007. The folky ballad cheekily addresses the preconceptions of the typical indie fan: So Ill sing you this song out my pigeonhole/But youll still probably call me reggae soul/And Ill be wondering is it my dreadlocks and skin tone/So I sing, how do I break the mouldy

Break the mould he does, moving away from reggae to take in the clean West African guitar sound of Coloured Souls, gentle soulful pop on charming love song Stoned On You and, on sparse lament Say Bye Bye, a devastating account of a child going through his parents divorce. Playing guitar backed by a four-piece band of friends, not session musicians, he sings in a rough-edged voice that has genuine soul.

Obvious Bob Marley comparisons seem less relevant when you learn that Natty featured samples of Simon And Garfunkel, Neil Young and Nas on the mixtape that became his early calling card, covered Afrorock hotshots Vampire Weekend during this Februarys iTunes Live concerts, and has booked indie acts such as Mr Hudson & The Library and Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. at his successful Kentish Town club night Vibes And Pressure. Tours supporting Hard-Fi, Kate Nash and Adele have endeared him further to fans with broader tastes to match his own. I grew up listening to a lot of reggae, but also African music, Pink Floyd, Dylan, Neil Young and a whole heap of Motown.

Natty is no newcomer, having worked in the music industry since finishing school and blagging his way into a job at premier league recording studio Sphere in Battersea. Ditching the guitar he learned to play at 10 for teenage years spent creating hip hop beats for rapping mates, his bedroom mastery of music production software Cubase gave him the confidence to earn a tryout, by convincing his potential employers he was a fully fledged studio engineer. Everyone passed through that place over four years, from Duran Duran to Mos Def, he says. I ended up spending two months recording Razorlights first album in Cornwall. That guys got a reputation but hes one of the smartest dudes I know.

Natty only picked up his guitar again as he turned 18, beginning to write his own songs as a hobby. Craig Dodds, a producer Natty worked with at Sphere heard his early demos and encouraged him to take things further. The two ended up working together and co-producing Nattys debut album with Jonny Dollar (Massive Attack).

By day he was engineering for some of the biggest names in the indie music scene and by night this gave him the inspiration to nurture his own developing talent. The devout following from his open mic sessions captivated the well deserved attention from many labels, including Atlantic Records who had the same vision as Natty and supported his creativity. I wanted to start a vibe, a movement, and bring on a few musicians who should be better known. I wasnt interested in all these record companies saying, Were gonna turn you into a star. Thats for the people to decide.

A smart, thoughtful singer with integrity and a diverse sound ready for summer and beyond with or without assistance, it shouldnt take too long for the people to decide that Natty is a true star indeed.

12 June - MALCOLM MIDDLETON + Panama Kings

2008-06-12

The JD Set presents
MALCOLM MIDDLETON
+ Panama Kings

Doors 7.30
£8 via Ticketweb and WeGotTickets

Former one-half-or-Arab Strap returns for more wonderfully depressing yet (occasionally) mildly optimistic songs of love, death, dying love, dead love or at the very least mortally wounded love. Wonderful stuff.

13 June - DARREN HAYMAN + Saturday Looks Good To Me + The Voluntary Butler Scheme

2008-06-13

How Does It Feel To Be Loved presents
DARREN HAYMAN
+ The Voluntary Butler Scheme

Doors 7.30

* SOLD OUT *

PLEASE NOTE: the live music tonight will finish at 11.30pm [and a clubnight will run til 2am]. The last Overground trains are at 11.20 pm [eastbound] and 11.45 pm [westbound]. Tubes run til 12.50 am. For detailed info on local transport options, click here.

To coincide with the 2CD reissue of Hefner\'s classic album, \"The Fidelity Wars\", Darren Hayman and Jack Hayter will be playing an evening of Hefner music. This will be the first time since Hefner\'s final show in December 2001 that Darren has played a full set of Hefner songs.

Saturday Looks Good To Me are an indie pop collective from Ann Arbor, Michigan, SLGTM create their own sublime dreamworld where Jonathan Richman fronts The Supremes and The Smiths are signed to Motown.

Part Herman Dune, part Jens Lekman, Rob Jones AKA The Voluntary Butler Scheme is a one man indie pop orchestra.

After the bands there will be a HDIF club night until 2am.

19 June - THE RGBS + The New Devices + The Rebs

2008-06-19

Mish Mash and The Institute of Contemporary Music & Performance present
MISH MASH
with
THE RGBS
+ The New Devices
+ The Rebs
+ Dan Smith

Doors 7.30
£6 via Ticketweb

This month\'s Mish Mash brings together four exciting emerging acts from the world of electronica, indie, pop & rock.

The RGBs are three girls and a French drumming man who\'ve been playing synthesisers and singing together for about a year. With a hatful of festivals lined up so far this year - Wireless, Lovebox, Bestival, The Great Escape, Rock Ness, Hyde Park Calling and Dot To Dot - they\'re on the up and up.

When they\'re not knee deep in mud they should be recording with Andy Cato of Groove Armada who is helping them with production for their debut single due out September and album for early 2009.

Signed to RCA Records, The New Devices are a band who write songs about debauched nights, mischief and sometimes the regrettable mornings after. Listening to them, you can clearly hear the dance influences and the energetic beats driving the songs, but there\'s additionally a wide rock\'n\'roll soundscape offering the big catchy choruses that could fill football terraces and stadiums.

The live performance cements the New Devices sound, using live instruments and with Justin as the killer frontman. In this digital age where increasingly you are your own DJ and the shuffle option on your iPod is your main form of musical adventure, New Devices offer that thrill of \'where am I going to be taken next\'.

The Rebs are an unsigned 4-piece from Southampton. In mixing modern synth-pop with classic songwriting, they have created a unique and large sound with a stage presence to match. When playing live the band shine, endearing any audience as they quickly get across what they are all about.

2007 saw them support major acts such as The Enemy, Tiny Dancers, John Power (Cast) and Five O\'Clock Heroes, as well as lining-up with Supergrass and The Ordinary Boys at GuilFest - it seems that they are a very well kept secret.

With the band taking their influences from good songs, not just hip artists, the results are unique and catchy tunes, inspired by real life stories and ahead of popular culture. Stay tuned to see what happens...

\"The Zutons channeling the spirit of The Clash\" - Gigwise.com

Dan Smith looks timid and small behind his oversized keyboard but with a flourish he banishes any doubts as to his abilities. He doesn\'t just write songs, he composes vocal symphonies.

Witty, pretty and devastatingly clever, he throws a centuries worth of British vocal wit into the pot and tops it off with the most incredible backing tracks self assembled from vocals, keyboard and maracas.

\"The audience erupt with appreciation. Go see. be in awe.\" (The Sandman)

21 June - SOUTHERN TENANT FOLK UNION + The Epstein + The Zetland Players

2008-06-21

Club Ugly presents
SOUTHERN TENANT FOLK UNION
+ The Epstein
+ The Zetland Players

Doors 7.30
£6 via WeGotTickets
£8 door

This one is going to be epic. The mother of all all folk unions, and Britain\'s premier folk outfit, the Southern Tenant Folk Union play their first Club Ugly night in over a year and anyone who was there in January 2007 will know that these guys can really bring the house down. They are of course touring to promote the launch of their ungodly album \'Revivals, Rituals and Union Songs\' which, though you ain\'t going to find it on Drowned in Sound, is one of those releases that makes a year memorable. These guys are true masters of their craft taking audiences from euphoric hights to trembling lows in a few short heartbeats.

The Union are joined by a raucous bandwagon of melancholic minstrels by the name of The Epstein. Fresh from conquering the Germanic hordes these guys are better than they have ever been before and well worth catching at their prime.

Finally no night would be complete without the ubiquitous Zetland Players and lead singer Tobias has promised that he\'s going to mix things up for this one so look forward to some of the Player\'s famous cover versions. A widely appreciated fixture on the left wing of the London folk scene, and Club Ugly nights, The Zetland Players pen classic rock and roll songs struck with a fervour that is nothing if not engaging.

No Saturday night would be complete without Ugly Nephew Record\'s finest DJs, so expect the In Your Bass crew and Jack from Tuckshop Radio to keep asses grinding until the wee small hours.

Praise for the Southern Tenant Folk Union\'s new album \'Revivals, Rituals and Union Songs\'...
\"I am so proud that it emanates from Britain (four stars)\" - Country Music People
\"This new album is such a leap forward... what an excellent record\" - Mark Lamarr (BBC Radio 2)

The Epstein\'s new album \'Last of the Charanguistas\' was recently Huw Stephen\'s album of the week on BBC Radio 1.
\"There has not been a better band to come out of England this year, The Epstein play in another league - in a vast, desert like land of the soul.\" - Rolling Stone Germany

\"The Zetland Players do something with music that other bands are finding harder and harder to do. They make you dream and move to the music.\" - Music-News.com
\"The Zetland Players it seems can do no wrong. It\'s as if they\'ve invented a hit song writing machine and cranked the bugger up to \'full steam ahead\'.\" - Lobster Quadrille

28 June - MORDACHI + Honour Among None + Media

2008-06-28

Euthanasia presents
MORDACHI
+ Honour Among None
+ Media
+ Kitty\'s Dolls Burlesque Troupe

Doors 8.00
£5 via WeGotTickets
£6 door
Click here for a flyer.

Euthanasia presents an evening of live bands and live girls. A night of relentless entertainment from heavy metal bands and nu-skool burlesque dancers.

Headliners Mordachi produce a sound that blends the fury of crunching metal guitars with the rhythms and breaks of electronica. The harmony filled vocals switch from melodic anthems to a screaming frenzy. The band take the infectious rhythm of hip hop, the rawness of punk and the circle pit inducing riffs of heavy metal; the result is a slick assault of the senses. Their influences include: Alice in Chains, Pitchshifter, American Head Charge and Gallows. Mordachi live is a show not to miss, its hectic, energetic and driven from start to finish.

Main support are Honour Among None - heavy-as-hell dual guitar assault, grinding deep vox with banshee like growls and screams, topped off with sledge-hammer-hard drum beats. Think Machinehead, Slayer, Down, Killswitch, System Of A Down, Faith No More... Full-on metal with a hip hop groove influence designed to make your face melt. Metal at its grisliest says Kerrang.

First on are Media. Haunting, brutal and melodic with head banging riffs in the vein of Metallica, Pantera, Megadeth and Deftones, Media cause intermittent stages of rocking out while transfixing you with their messed up head lyrics. A truly unique band, listen to their music up very loud, in the dark, with absinthe.

Kitty\'s Dolls Burlesque Troupe will provide the entertainment between the bands: Kitty Kane introduces Lily Bow Peep and Talula BonBon for their London debut.