- Thursday 25th – The Heatwave presents ‘Hot Wuk – Sticky’s Birthday Bashment!’
- Friday 26th – Visit Vyner Street
- Saturday 27th – No Pain in Pop presents ‘Nail the Cross’ festival
- Sunday 28th – Lotte Anker, Ikue Mori and Steve Noble @ Café Oto
- Monday 29th – Pint @ The Dog and Bell, Deptford
- Tuesday 30th – Curry @ Tayyabs restaurant off Whitechapel High Street
- Wednesday 1st – Maria & The Mirrors/Chapter Sweetheart/Cover Girl @ The Alibi
Thursday
The Heatwave presents ‘Hot Wuk – Sticky’s Birthday Bashment!’
Start your weekend in the company of London’s premier purveyors of Caribbean vibration. The Heatwave have become renowned for firing up a blitz of dancehall, bashment, soca and UK funky sounds that never fail to get a dance-floor going. Tonight they celebrate the birthday of legendary DJ and producer Sticky, with sets from the man himself and the The Heatwave crew, alongside a full-blown line up of guest MCs. Lady Chann, Stush, Riko Dan and Rubi Dan, among others, will guest on the mic and are sure to whip up a storm. This is a guaranteed good time. Expect to sweat!
East Village, 89 Great Eastern street, 9.30pm – 2.30am, £5 advance/£7 door.
Friday
Visit Vyner Street
Friday is art day; well, it is for me, so hit Vyner street in Tower Hamlets, a little street lined with converted warehouses that boast varied but always exciting art exhibitions. If you’ve not been there before, it feels like a well-kept glorious secret. If you’ve been before, you’ll know that it’s always a good bet for a few hours checking out a whole host of artworks. Plus Broadway Market is just up the road or Brick Lane in the other direction. Jackpot.
Vyner Street, London
Saturday
No Pain in Pop presents ‘Nail the Cross’ festival
Nail the Cross is back again, this time relocated from its spiritual multi-venue home in New Cross to the brilliant Bussey building in Peckham. This year’s line up features the heavy duty, wholly rhythmic, four-to-the-floor stylings of Actress, Walls and Mosca, a live set from brilliant avant-indie three piece Darkstar, hefty sub-bass jams by Bullion and Becoming Real, plus a whole bunch of others, all accompanied by DJ sets from choice London promoters and tastemakers such as Fact Magazine, Sexbeat, Off Modern and Bricks.
An absolute bargain at £8 (for advance tickets), Nail the Cross starts at 8pm and is sure to continue way into the early hours. Add art installations and performances from the Take Courage collective and the fact that drinks’ prices at the Bussey building are fantastically affordable, then you’ve got your Saturday evening set. Perfect for fans of cutting edge electronic music or those curious about what goes thumping on and on into the night!
The Bussey Building, 133 Rye Lane, 8pm – Late, £8 advance/More on the door.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=156252494414294
Sunday
Lotte Anker, Ikue Mori and Steve Noble at Café Oto
An improvisational session on a Sunday, featuring saxophone, electronics and percussion. Three heavyweight musicians hook up for a rotating session of duos and trios that will explore the dimensions of free music.
If you’re seeking something to fry your mind and expand your aural universe; check this out. Steve Noble is a constant on the London experimental scene and plays drums like a man possessed, Lotte Anker and Ikue Mori also both have impressive reputations, so the outcome of this equation should be impressive at the least.
Café Oto is perfect for the end of the week; plenty of tables to sit and relax, great sound, a candle lit atmosphere and fine real ales cooled to perfection.
18 – 22 Ashwin Street, 8pm, £8 Advance/£10 Door
Monday
The Dog and Bell in Deptford are hosting a Campaign for Real Ale pickle festival on Saturday night – but if you’re planning to hit Nail the Cross, or have other plans, check out the CAMRA’s best pub in South East London on a night when not much else is going on.
Guest ales, intimate atmosphere, a small but homely food menu and the friendliest landlord and lady this side of the river. Guaranteed best boozer you’ll have been to for ages. And if you don’t agree, I’ll buy you a pint.
116 Prince street, open all day
http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/37/3746/Dog_and_Bell/Deptford
Tuesday
Have a curry at Tayyabs, a great restaurant off Whitechapel high street. It’s no secret but for those not in the know – you need to know! Avoid the garish neon and endless best chef banners of Brick Lane and hit Tayyabs, where the atmosphere is always buzzing (booking recommended to beat the queue at peak times) and the food consistently good.
Go for the succulent lamb Karahi Gosht (this coming from a vegetarian) or, for a meat free option, any vegetarian Dhal dish; though you are unlikely to be disappointed by anything on the menu. Don’t leave without trying the Peshwari naan, which is total melt in the mouth fayre.
Booze policy? Bring your own. Though don’t think that relaxed attitude is the result of a shoddy establishment. It’s simply a stroke of genius. Plus the prices are fantastically mid-range for fantastic food. Just check the menu online.
83-89 Fieldgate Street, service all day
Wednesday
Maria & The Mirrors/Chapter Sweetheart/Cover Girl at The Alibi
An excellent mid-week fixture for anyone looking for a decent dose of noise. Maria & The Mirrors headline, a ferocious three-piece that splice the power electronics of Prurient with roaring Boredoms-esque rhythms. They conjure a feral dance-party with dual drums, tribal shouts and an impressive set of effects pedals.
Also billed to play are Chapter Sweetheart, who specialise in abstract post-punk that sounds distorted and melodic all at the same time, and CoverGirl, creators of minimalist pop anthems that roll with punk swagger and disco-not-disco mechanics.
If the wordy descriptions didn’t do it for you but you’re in town on Wednesday anyway, just turn up and see. Entrance is free and the show will probably be one of those where you end up having a beer or three and everything turns out just right. Dig?
91 Kingsland High Street, 8pm – late, FREE