After a week in which Alexander Trenchard, the man behind the Standon Calling festival, was sentenced to 30 months in jail after his obsession with running the event led to him defrauding Tesco out of hundreds of thousands of pounds, it seems like a good time to run through a few of this week’s big festival announcements.
Barcelona's Primavera Sound seems particularly keen on taunting those of us who also cave in to temporary flashes of insanity caused by festival madness, revealing 67 new acts, including PJ Harvey, Sufjan Stevens and Big Boi.
Then Glastonbury unveiled Coldplay as this year’s Saturday night headliners and Hyde Park’s Wireless confirmed Black Eyed Peas and The Chemical Brothers to join Pulp at the top of its bill. Meanwhile, the show will go on and Standon Calling 2011 plans to carry on despite Trenchard's absence.
Gigs Of The Week: 7 – 13 Feb 2011
Commonplace Festival – Kings Place, London – 9-12 Feb
Curated by The Times’ literary editor, Erica Wagner, an intriguing series of events has been assembled themed around folk music and storytelling. There will be contributions from Martin Carthy and Bellowhead‘s lead singer Joe Boden. There will be conversations about the role of “Anon” (claimed to be the greatest writer and composer of all) and there will be an evening of communal mass-harmony singing led by Karine Polwart.
More details here.
The Go! Team (pictured) + Banjo Or Freakout – Heaven, London – 8 Feb
Brighton’s most manic collective, The Go! Team are in town on the back of the release of third album Rolling Blackouts. We caught them play at December’s Bowlie 2 Weekender and can confirm they’re still awesome live, so this gig, supported by the decidedly not-so-manic Banjo Or Freakout should be a huge amount of fun.
More details here.
Mogwai – Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, London – 9 Feb
Yeah, umm, good luck getting into this one, but if you are in possession of a ticket, then enjoy welcoming Glaswegian post-rock band Mogwai back ahead of the release of their seventh album, Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will. If you fail to get in, don’t worry, they’ll be back for a gig at the larger Brixton Academy later in the month.
More details here.
Also Recommended:
The Pierces + Jonathan Jeremiah + Liam Bailey – Jazz Cafe, London – 8 Feb
MEN – Lexington, London – 8 Feb
Sad Day For Puppets + Harry’s Gym + Holton’s Opulent Dog – The Social, London – 8 Feb
Lucky Dragons + Halo Halo - Cafe Oto, London – 9 Feb
Katzenjammer – Barfly, London – 9 Feb
Mystery Jets – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London – 9 Feb
Penguin Café + Portico Quartet – Barbican Centre, London – 9 Feb
Clare Maguire + SaintSaviour – Borderline, London – 11 Feb
White Lies + Crocodiles - O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London – 10/11 Feb
Wu Lyf – Corsica Studios, London – 11 Feb
Just Announced:
Tim Wheeler and others paying tribute to Pixies – XOYO, London – 24 March
The JD Set’s current concept is to set up a supergroup for a night to pay tribute to one particular artist. Next month's act to be honoured will be Boston legends, Pixies. And the collective of musicians will be headed by Ash’s Tim Wheeler, who’ll join up forces with Emmy The Great (who will presumably become a Deal twin for the night), And So I Watch You From Afar, Ma Mentor and The Crookes. Frankly, if you’re going to see a tribute act, then it may as well be a Pixies tribute act.
More details here.
Thousands
Seattle duo Thousands have announced a series of dates in March and April. Signed to Bella Union, they have a typically gentle sound and will be releasing their debut album The Sound Of Everything in March. They’ll be at The Slaughtered Lamb on 31 March before touring a few of the country's more intimate venues.
More details here.
Ether Festival
The South Bank Centre’s contemporary music festival that isn’t Meltdown has announced its 2011 line-up. It’s now been around for ten years and touching on the margins of modern music, this year’s roll call includes Will Gregory‘s debut opera, and Royal Festival Hall performances from Killing Joke, a screening of 2001: A Space Odyssey with live accompaniment from the Philarmonia Orchestra and Philarmonia Voices, and a 21st century realisation of Stravinsky’s The Rite Of Spring. Other artists appearing include Pantha Du Prince, Tim Exile and Micachu And The Shapes. Ether Festival will be held between 24 March-28 April.
More details here.
