Programme Manager's Highlights February 2010

>> COMMUNION DOUBLE-PACK TRIPLE WHAMMY! is not a headline you’re ever likely to see, but that is exactly what the monthly folk-driven night Communion will deliver in February and early March. They host a trio of dates here at the Arts Club – their regular jam-packed events showcasing up-and-coming artists on February 7 and March 7 plus a special launch party for Communion Records’ double-pack debut compilation on Sunday 28.
Kevin Jones, who runs Communion with Ben Lovett of Mumford & Sons, says he’s ‘more excited about the next three line-ups than I have been about any other line-up we’ve had here – there are so many good bands out there.’ That’s quite a statement, given that Noah and the Whale, Laura Marling, Mumford and Sons, JJ Pistolet and Peggy Sue have all graced the stage over the years. Even so, Communion present the best bands and performers on the folk and alternative rock scenes in an unhyped, unhurried way, concentrating on providing a platform for new musicians whether they’re real folkers or more influenced by indie, hip hop or jazz.
The first compilation on Communion Records though, focuses firmly on nu-folk artists, with exclusive tracks from the likes of Johnny Flynn, Mumford & Sons, Alessi’s Ark, Jeremy Warmsley and many more.
Communion are uniquely placed to compile the collection. They’ve built up their residency here at the Arts Club since the summer of 2006, but Communion now also hosts similar events in Brighton and Leeds and, since January 27, in Sydney too – Ben Lovett was at the opening down under, midway through Mumford & Sons’ sell-out Australian tour.
With so much attention on artists who have achieved mainstream success, does Jones think that Communion itself has been overlooked?
‘Perhaps, but I don’t mind that really,’ he says. ‘We want to keep the feel of it as it is. We’ve had so many offers to take it to bigger places and do more but we’ve never really felt comfortable doing that.’ Shouty, boastful headlines are not their style either, but don’t think that Communion is an earnest affair. In a recent article on Creating The Perfect Club Night one of the principle points the Communion team made was: ‘get as many people as drunk as possible.’

 


Mumford and Sons

>> Communion // Sunday 7 February and Sunday March 7 // Communion: The Compilation Launch Party on Sunday 28 Feb // The compilation is released on Monday March 1 on Communion Records

>> See our exclusive interview with Kevin Jones here


   

Christian Stevenson

>> Your Favourite Rockstar's Wedding // Friday 12 February // 7pm-2am // free before 8pm, £6 before 11pm and £8 after

>> Dress code: Rock star wedding guest, rock chick Bride, rockin' Groom, Best Man or Maid of Honour (lol), sky-blue Tuxedo, My Bling Fat Cheap Wedding... or rock star!

 

>> What happens when you go to a party where the DJ happily takes requests, people dress up in their OTT rockstar-wedding finery and the atmosphere is guilt-free, carefree and lactose-free (unless someone asks for a White Russian at the bar)?
The answer is party mayhem, in a good way, as clubbers happily rock out to tunes they love, adore and are passionate about – which is good on any Friday night, but especially fine on a Valentine's Day weekend.
That's just what we saw when Your Favourite Rockstar's Wedding teamed up with Videopia at the Arts Club on January 22, and we're sure that the soft rock tracks and singalong mayhem will be equally, er, matrimonial, on Friday 12 when Christian Stevenson launches Your Favourite Rockstar's Wedding as a regular party.
BAFTA Award-winning television presenter and veteran Kerrang! DJ, Christian Stevenson has thousands of tracks to play so he's almost certain to have what you want to hear. And it just so happens the Mr Stevenson, God bless him, is an online-ordained minister so he’s perfectly capable of presiding over an entirely faux wedding (mock-rock rings will be available). However, if you do decide to spontaneously hitch up we would stress that Mr Stevenson and The Notting Hill Arts Club cannot be held responsible for any pre-nup agreement disputes; how you divide the trust-fund millions and the country estate in the Cotswolds really is your problem.
So what do rock stars want to hear at their wedding(s)? We asked Mick and Elton, Jon Bon Jovi, Phil Collins, Ringo and Christian himself and they suggested the following classic wack tracks that they loved to shake down to when they were wearing the frilly shirts, the turquoise tuxedos and zillion-dollar diamonds* at the fabulous sunset ceremony on Waikiki Beach...

Journey - 'Don't Stop Believin''
Phil Collins and Philip Bailey - 'Easy Lover'
Tone Loc - 'Funky Cold Medina'
Jermaine Stewart - 'You Don't Have To Take Your Clothes Off'
Young MC - 'Know How'


* It's not obligatory to dress to impress your fave rock star when they're romancing, but hell, it's more fun that way. Alternatively, wear the wedding dress, the My Bling Fat Cheap Wedding outfit or '80s tux... or simply come as your fave rock star instead.

 
 

>> Roses are red
Violets are blue
Omigod I love you!
I wish you loved me too…

Yeah, it can be hard to avoid clichés around Valentine’s Day. The restaurants are all booked (you really don’t want to be in a restaurant on February 14, surrounded by couples cooing at each other), theatres are full and what you really need is something fresh and different…
We Are Words + Pictures, a London-based team of illustrators and writers running comic and 'zine themed events, have come up with a brilliant double-header to ZAP! and POW! your Valentine’s Day. First up is Drop In + Draw, an afternoon affair of comic book art and fun featuring group-draw sessions, comic-themed activities and one-on-one tutorials, which is open to all ages and artists of all abilities.
If you’re a comics fan or have any aspirations to become an illustrator / designer it’s a real special treat as three of the country’s finest comic illustrators will host the event. Adam Cadwell (whose The Everyday is an acclaimed autobiography web-comic), Jamie McKelvie (his Phonogram series led to him working on Marvel and DC titles like S.W.O.R.D, in addition to his own Suburban Glamour series) and Tom Humberstone (he won an Eagle Award for his How To Date A Girl in 10 Days and followed the US Presidential Primaries for My Fellow Americans) will all be on hand, so that We Are Words + Pictures can confidently assert ‘even if you can't tell Batman from Manbat, or don't know which end of a brush pen to hold, come on down and we'll get you making comics’.

Modern Romance delivers a different kind of four-colour mayhem after 7.30pm. The Arts Club will be filled with comic art and live illustration while the bands play on, compered by special guest comedian (and writer, atheist and Radio 4 regular) Robin Ince. The acts include electro-pop heroes House of Strange, Dogtanion – whose 'Heavy Talk' track was one of Drowned in Sound's 'Singles of 2009' – and intergalactic folk hero Judas Zero. Then the WAW+P DJs take over, promising to bring M.I.A., Lady Gaga, The Flaming Lips and Los Campesinos! to the dance floor. And, in deference to the date, they might even play a slow dance if you ask nicely!

 


Dogtonian

>> We Are Words + Pictures present Drop In + Draw at the Notting Hill Arts Club on Sunday 14: 3pm-7pm; £1 to cover materials (under-12s free)
>> We Are Words + Pictures present Modern Romance at the Notting Hill Arts Club on Sunday 14. 7.30pm-late; £5, £4 concessions.


   


Mayor McCa

>> Drinkalottawater // Monday 15 // 7pm-2am; free before 8pm, £5 after

 

>> Mayor McCa, like all the best mayors, can do a lot of things. He plays guitars, keyboards, clarinet, drums, ukelele, percussion, harmonica, kazoo and slide whistle, and what’s more, he can do all of that while singing and tap dancing. Add it all up and you may have realised that he’s a one-man band, but he’s not merely a multi-instrumentalist songwriter, as he also draws comics, designs posters and makes stop-motion animation videos. ‘Drinkalottawater’ is the title of the most recent song he has animated and the video he’s made for it, with the help of renowned photographer and film-maker Dean Chalkley and Yemisi Brookes, gets its debut showing at Drinkalotta at the Arts Club on Monday 15.
There’s a lovely stop-motion video on his website www.mayormcca.com of the beautiful track ‘One Million Songs For You’, but ‘Drinkalottawater’, a sequel to his tune ‘Sippacuppacoffee’, was a bigger project.
‘It took about seven months to make,’ reveals McCa. ‘I storyboarded it and hand-made all of the little figures and backgrounds out of cardboard. I’m a little bit obsessive sometimes,’ he grins. He’s very happy with the result, not least because everything in the film seems three-dimensional. That’s not 3-D in the Avatar sense, of course, but because Chalkley’s lighting skills make 2-D objects look like they have much more depth.
McCa (whose mayoral authority extends over the Municipality of McCaland, which is not in his native Canada but wherever he is at the time) will also be displaying some of his comic and poster art and the props and toys he used for the video, as well as playing live and introducing sets from Moshi Moshi artists Slow Club and The Hoodlums, (‘I’m lucky to have them come and play because the bands are fans of mine’). Mr Chalkley also takes to the decks alongside DJs Gee the P (Get Involved), Ollie Boat and Miss Red.
The Mayor welcomes you to the Municipality and hopes you enjoy your stay, adding modestly that ‘I think the song’s pretty good too.’

 for previous Highlights, please click here