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Programme
Manager's Highlights October 09
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One of the best live events at the artsclub
is all over by 8pm. Which isn’t really what you’d expect
of a nightclub. But then the Rough Trade Shops RoTa session
is hardly your average gig (and nor is our venue an average nightclub,
as was shown when Time Out kindly included us in
their ‘The Best of London’ feature on September 23).
In
fact, in a back-to-front sort of way RoTa exemplifies
the maxim that not doing more than the average is what keeps the
average down, because they always do go that extra mile. Not only
do RoTa’s punters already get free band showcases
on a Saturday afternoon, but from September 26 until October 24th
their Five By Five season throws open the
RoTa doors and invites a bunch acclaimed and impassioned
indie labels to host the party.
‘Flying proudly in the face of big-suit, big-money corporate
goat-herding and carving out a unique and personal path for themselves,’
is how RoTa’s Matt Jacobsen describes
these labels, which shows that being independent in 2009 is just
as important as it ever was. And we’d definitely second that
emotion (as the song says) here at the artsclub. So it’s especially
appropriate that Too Pure Records, who’ve
been inspirational since way back in the early ’90s, brought
3 bands from their Singles Club roster to play on Saturday October
3.
Jacobsen reckons the Alcopop! imprint, which takes
charge on Saturday 10, are ‘relentlessly enthusiastic’
and it must be catching because he’s excited by the album
release party for the ‘truly wonderful’ Stagecoach
and
anticipating ‘an afternoon of pure pop joy and heartfelt harmonies’
from them and fellow Alcopop! bands My
Amiga,
My
First Tooth
and Candle
Thieves.
On Saturday 17 Evil Pop Records turn things a darker
shade of off-kilter, ‘avant pop and post-rock scribbly, joyful
noise’, while the following weekend, on October 24, OddBox
Records showcase their longstanding love affair with glorious,
shimmering indiepop. when label stablemates The Kick Inside,
The Medusa Snare, Whales In Cubicles and Kid Canaveral
fill the stage with ‘more twinkling, chiming and fuzzing guitars
than your heart can handle’. And to think that some folk still
think Saturday afternoons are for shopping!
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Rota// every Saturday// 4-8pm // free
October 10: Alcopop Records // Live: Stagecoach, My Amiga, My First
Tooth, Candle Thieves // Deck : Alcopop DJs
October 17: Evil Pop Records // Live: Reflections of Elephants,
Dallas, Hair Traffic Control // Decks: Silver Rocket DJs
October 24: OddBox Records // Live: The Kick Inside, The Medusa
Snare, Whales In Cubicles, Kid Canaveral // Decks: OddBox DJs |
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Stagecoach
My
Amiga
Hair
Traffic Control
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Words Of Purvis
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At the artsclub Halloween is always
a scream, but not in the usual fright night sense of Gothzilla
costumes and cod-American trick ’n’ treats. We’ve
got Halloween Scream V on Saturday 31st and what’s
great about this particular blockbuster sequel is that they just
keep getting better.
Okay, so maybe I would say that, but we believe in our screamfests
because a lot of planning goes into it and a lot of good comes
out of it, as there’s always a beneficiary. This year it’s
in aid of Cancer Research UK and it’s sponsored by the world-famous
Gibson (which means there’ll be an amazing
guitar to be won in the raffle!)
But what you’ll really want to know is that there are also
three live bands, ace DJs and the fancy dress theme is…
Ancient Rome. Yes, whether it’s vestal
virgins or Gods, gladiators or Huns, Asterix or Obelix, Cleopatra-style
Egyptian glamour or Animal House-style toga partying you’ve
got in mind, you won’t have to look like The Horrors here.
Mind you, there are Monsters In The Attic on
stage, alongside the mighty fine Words of Purvis and
Dorian Grey. Words of Purvis have performed
at every Halloween Scream and both Monsters
In The Attic and Dorian Grey have each
played at Halloween Screams too, which makes it a best-of band
line-up for the fifth birthday party. And former Libertines
drummer Gary Powell (so much of an artsclub
regular that his new band includes our bar staff!) joins
DJs Steve Biggs and The Magnificent Leon choosing
the tunes.
Craig
Sciba, guitar player and singer with Words of
Purvis, co-hosts the party. ‘We always love playing
Halloween because there are such great people that come,’
he says. ‘We’ve run it for five years and I’m
pleased to announce that Merlin Studios, part
of the Merlin Entertainments Group, will be donating prizes related
to Madame Tussauds, the London Eye and Legoland
for the raffle and fancy dress prizes.’
Halloween Scream has previously been given the
top spot in The Times round-up of Halloween parties nationally,
and it sells out every time. So it’s best to get advance
tickets via the club or www.bigwheeltickets.com and avoid those
queues around the block. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
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Halloween Scream V, Sat 31.10 // 6pm-2am , £10 (in aid of
Cancer Research UK)
live: Stone Halo, Monsters in The Attic, Words of Purvis
decks: Gary Powell, Steve Biggs, The Magnificent Leon
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What’s the finest Brazilian club night in London? Well, that
would be the one that set the template for the many events and venues
that have been inspired to try and match it, namely Batmacumba.
At Batmacumba DJ Cliffy pioneered the presentation
of a broad spectrum of Brazilian culture that features films and
photography and capoeira and caipirinhas alongside the bands and
DJs playing the latest and best Brazilian beats. Since it launched
12 years ago it’s mostly been at the ICA but we’re proud
that Cliffy brought the night to the artsclub (where he already
has a long association through co-hosting Future World Funk
with Russ Jones) and feels that it has benefited
from the transfer to a dedicated club space which attracts a much
broader audience. And being in Notting Hill Batmacumba
is now also closer to, and more convenient for, the big Brazilian
communities in Kensal Rise and Kilburn too, which is always a good
thing.
‘I
know so much more about Brazilian music than I did ten years ago,
and I thought then that I was pretty hot – or at least that
I had quite a good knowledge,’ he grins. ‘But now it’s
a different level completely, in terms of understanding the music
and how to put sets together. I definitely feel that I’ve
improved so much and coming to the artsclub has helped me a lot
and improved me as a DJ.’
Batmacumba is set to improve as a club night too,
by going back to its roots. The first events showcased Brazilian
short films and from October 23 Brazilian film producer
Livia De Melo will programme The Short Cuts Sessions
from 8pm-9pm each fortnight at Batmacumba. It kicks
off with three short films (each with English subtitles), ‘Morro’,
‘Muro’ and ‘A tal gurreira,’ which broadly
consider the role of religion in Brazilian society. De Melo
herself produced ‘I travel because I have to, I come back
because I love you’, which was launched at the last month’s
Venice Film Festival (and described in Variety as a 'beautifully
structured and ultimately transcendent road movie') so
we’re looking forward to top-quality selections – Tião’s
film, ‘Muro’, won the Best Short Film award at Cannes
Film Festival last year.
Meanwhile,
back on the dancefloor, Cliffy welcomes the London-based
Brazilian drum ’n’ bass producer, Human Factor,
for a guest DJ set on October 9 and on October 23 Tribo make their
Batmacumba debut, bringing traditional carnival
rhythms from Bahia in Brazil all the way from… Ladbroke Grove.
Their Bahian beats are as authentic as you like, as Tribo demonstrated
at the Notting Hill Carnival, so it’s high time that they
played here too.
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Batmacumba every 2nd and 4th Fri each month // 6pm-2am, free before
8pm, £6 before 11pm, £8 after
Fri 9: Guerrilla London 2009 – 11 Short Films from 6-8 pm
// Decks: DJ Cliffy and Human Factor
Fri 23: The Short Cuts Sessions 8-9pm // Live: Tribo // Decks: DJ
Cliffy
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Future
World Funk, Sat 07.11 // 8pm-2am, £6 before 11pm, £8
after // with: DJs Cliffy, Russ Jones and guest |
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Tribo
DJ Cliffy
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read our exclusive interview with DJ
Cliffy
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Chegworth Valley Farm
The Rosie Taylor Project
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Chris Cooper at Chegworth Valley
(the people who make wonderful, freshly-pressed pure apple and
fruit juices and supply the artsclub with fruit
and vegetables) is a man with a fresh festival plan. ‘I
used to work at an event called the Why Not Festival in Manchester,’
says Cooper, ‘and I’ve been to a
many other festivals, and I’m sure we can do a special event
that’ll be unique and different.’ He aims to launch
the Three Nights At The Farm festival next August
in the Kent countryside and it won’t be a wee boutique affair
either – he’s already planning for 20-25,000 people
coming along.
Nor will it be at Chegworth Valley’s Water Lane Farm either,
as that’s all orchards, but he’s got three other sites
in mind. In the meantime, though, he’ll be warming up for
the big one with events at the artsclub dubbed (yep, you guessed
it) A Night
At The Farm.
Just
as the festival will embrace ‘quality music across a range
of styles’, A Night At The Farm will be
folk-led, ‘as that’s the music closest to my heart’,
but not exclusively folky. The
Rosie Taylor Project, a six-piece electro-acoustic
band from Leeds headline the opening night, with support from
Karma Suite and Francesca & Friends,
with DJ Kazim adding ’60s soul, original
rhythm and blues, folk-rock and ‘a bit of Dylan and Motown
and the artists that have inspired us.’
There’s no need to worry about the wrong kind of farmyard
odours either; the artsclub will get a rural make-over with bales
of sweet-smelling hay around the dancefloor, cheerful barndance-style
lighting and a guest organic Cider (and beer) alongside those
sublime juices at the bar.
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A Night At The Farm, Mon 26.10 // 7pm-2am //free before 8pm then
£6, £4 NUS //
Live: The Rosie Taylor Project, Karma Suite, Francesca & Friends
Decks: DJ Kazim
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Other nights to look out for in October? Well, there’s always
more, so lefts be brief. After a summer vacation Videopia,
quite possibly the most filmic fun you can have in a nightclub,
is back in the loop (sorry) on October 20. Of course there will
be three live bands and the Rockfeedback and Videopia DJs but what
makes this night unique is the interactive and loosely-creative
element, so you’ll be delighted to know that this month the
lucky punters at Videopia will get stuck in to a swede-style remake
of Dirty Dancing. As you’ll have guessed, it’s a homage
to the late and all-round-wonderful Patrick Swayze. Just remember:
‘Nobody puts Baby in the corner!’
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Videopia, Tuesday 20.10 // 7pm-2am // £5
Live: Fair Ohs, Acres Acres, Young Athletes League
Decks: Rockfeedback DJs & Videopia DJs
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Just two days earlier, on Sunday 18, we present the debut of
Artful Badger. With a name like that, perhaps you should
be a teensy bit worried already, but they were such a hit at The
Secret Garden Party that we had to bring their magical
and mystical feral hedonism to the artsclub. What
to expect? The best in ‘feral groove’ and animal magic
with intense and utterly compelling live shows – look out
for The Congo Faith Healers, Badger Badger, the
wonderful Feral herself, aka MC Kinky
from Cantankerous, and MC Gaffe– plus the
Woodland Masked Babe Dancers (anyone who went to Summer Sunset and
the Secret Garden Party probably hasn’t got them out of their
dreams yet!) and brilliant visuals by Pixel Addicts’ John
Munro and Jerwood Prize winner Sophie Clements. And if that isn’t
enough to make you want to go down to the woods (expecting some
surprises) on Sunday 18, I don’t know what is.
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Artful Badger, Sunday 18.10 // 6pm-1am // £6
Live: The Congo Faith Healers, Badger Badger, Feral aka MC Kinky,
MC Gaffe
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MC Gaffe
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archive
Secousse
Sound System 
Gringo
Da Parada
Christian
Stevenson
GETME!
c = Rory DCS
DJ
Vivo
DJ Ride
filming ET at Videopia
