The Wake

I was going to about 5 shows a week on average here in London between my internship at Helter Skelter Agency LTD and my job writing for Music-news.com.

Here are some of the best gigs I hit:
The first show I saw in London was The Lionheart Brothers at The Social in Soho, I saw then later on in the spring at the Hoxton Square Bar in the Shoreditch area. Everyone needs to give this tune a listen. Norwegian Psych pop at its finest, “50 Souls and a Disco Bowl”

The second show I saw in London was Texan quartet, Explosions in the Sky. The show was at the Astoria, which has just been controversially shut down to make way for public transportation, read news story here.

The other band I saw at the Astoria while in London was Brooklyn´s Les Savy Fav. They´re known by many for opening part of the North American LCD Soundsystem/ Arcade Fire tour in the Fall of ´07, and also for the wild antics of their chubby frontman.

Sam Sparro is a sort of dance, lounge music singer. His song, “Black and Gold” got the crowd going pretty wild at the Electric Ballroom in Camden:

Alex Turner and Miles Kane, frontmen of the british bands Arctic Monkey and The Rascals respectively, played a surprise gig on the second night of the Camden Crawl, at the tiny Dublin Castle. This is the lead single of that album, The Age of the Understatement.

I saw an artist named Kenna, who was opening for an Australian band, called the Panics. It was at the Kings Cross area venue, Water Rats. Kenna is from Virginia and his new album has tracks produced by the Neptunes.

London band Metronomy, originally from Brighton, has been closely associated with last summer´s scene stealers, Klaxons. They play a similar style of freaked out, bass heavy synth rock, often categorized as “New Rave.” During live shows, each of the three members stands before a keyboard. They each also play either bass, guitar, or sax. They wear white, circular push lights on their chests that can be purchased for a mere pound at any Sainsburys, but add a unique element to their live shows.

I saw Bjork at the Hammersmith Apollo on April 14th. She had just recently made headlines for making pro-Tibetan rights comments at a concert in China.
Here she is performing “Earth Intruders” off her most recent release, 2007´s Volta

I saw Swedish popstar Robyn at the ultra popular Club, Koko. You might recognizer her for this tune, “Show Me Love”

I saw Chicago based rapper Lupe Fiasco at the same venue.

Brixton based reggae artist Natty put on one of the better shows I attended while in London. This is his song “Cold Town.”
I saw him at a venue in Shepards Bush called the Ginglik, which is a converted public convenience under ground that was turned into a bar.

Two shows I caught in Brixton were a Futureheads and Black Kids gig, and also a Hives concert.

I attended a rave in Norwich, where I caught DJ sets from members of Kraftwerk. Over my time here in London hitting club nights at hot spots like Turnmills and Fabric, I caught DJ sets from members of Hot Chip, DJ Yoda, and Cut Chemist.

I saw a couple of classic shows at the Jazz Café in Camden. One was Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. Another was Tony Allen, the original drummer in Fela Kuti´s band, who most recently was featured on the Good, the Bad, and the Queen album.

Another absolutely classic artist I was able to see, Dionne Warwick in the swank London Palladium.

I saw Portland´s Menoma play in a university

theater

Method Man and Redman played the Sheperds Bush Theater just before I left. Great crowd. Brits love any member of the WU.