GIG LISTINGS
compiled by Andy Lowe
Due to a freak computing accident, all e-mails sent to 12barclub@btconnect.com between 28/03/09 and 9/06/09 have become inaccessible. If you have any unresolved e-mail correspondence, please re-send relevant mails.
Advance prices shown, door prices may vary slightly - All doors 7:30pm except Sundays, when doors open 7pm.
TO BOOK TICKETS call our booking line on 020 7240 2622. Out of office hours the phone is on answer-phone in which case please leave your name, the artist you want to see, the date of the show and your daytime contact number and we will return your call.
OFFICE NUMBER 020 7240 2120
ADVANCED BOOKING NUMBER 020 7240 2622
E-MAIL: 12barclub@btconnect.com
To locate a band on this page use Ctrl + F (Apple + F)
Thursday 2nd July artists tba £7 Zarathustras introduce a mixed bag of new and established live acts from London and all around the world! hosted by resident monthly pianist Charly Lankester and compered by Zaid.
Friday 3rd July MELODY NELSON + REDTRACK + MOUTHWASH + ENL + THE LEGRAS + BRETT ALAIMO £6 Jezebels Lust present
Melody Nelson have earned the tag of London’s loudest band. This may well be true but the sonically overwhelming sound of Melody Nelson is cultivated through unbridled energy and passion for the music they make. Formed by Aidan O’Connell (vocals and guitar) and Israeli sign up runaway Kapi Rock (drums). The group were later joined by Seattle born Paul Martin on vocals and bass. The group are inspired by sonic pioneers such as Gainsbourg, Love, Bo Didley and My Bloody Valentine.
Standing out like a sore thumb in London’s music scene the group have opened for Pete Doherty, Seasick Steve and Razorlight and have played all over Europe. Melody Nelson bring you songs about confusion, longing and heartbreak played extremely well and at a suitably high volume.
www.myspace.com/melodynelsonuk
Saturday 4th July artists tbc + late show THE VAN CLEEF £6 Rucktion Records presents followed by The Johnny Clash Club
Sunday 5th July LILITHS ARMY + JENNIE SAUNDERS + THERE’LL BE AN INVESTIGATION + OPERATIVES + open mic £3 Enterprise Rehearsal Studios present - To book a slot, telephone 020 7379 1166 or call in at Enterprise Studios 1-6, Denmark Place, WC2 (directly behind the 12 Bar Club). Otherwise arrive at the 12 Bar Club at 5:30pm to book on the day. More info
Monday 6th July SIMONE WHITE £6
Simone White was born in Hawaii, and didn’t have shoes till she was four. Her family moved to California. Simone’s family is filled with artists, from her dad to her grandma who was a showgirl, a singer and a dancer on the stage. Her auntie wrote pop songs in the 50’s. Her mother was a belly dancer and a folk singer. Simone grew up moving every eight months or so and spent all her time in the woods or hiding under the table listening to philosophies. She left home and wandered around acting, photographing and writing. In Seattle Simone picked up the guitar, painted pictures and rolled down the stairs. She lived in London where she made little movies and photographed bands. Then she moved to New York and learned to finger pick and sing in her true voice. Then she “Followed my heart out west”
Simone White is back with her second album for Honest Jon's, after the acclaimed release two years ago of 'I Am The Man', which included the 'The Beep Beep Song' which was used in an Audi advert.
On this album - Yakiimo has a more pared-down, western sound. The mood is bitter-sweet and nostalgic, but spiced with longing, fantasy and hopefulness, musing in a daze (sometimes child-like) on lost love, lost innocence, lost years.
Marked by high and lonesome fiddle and some lovely guitar-picking, strikingly centre-stage are Simone's beautiful voice, and the magnificentsong-writing, with four new originals by her friends Frank Bango and Richy Vesecky, and seven by Simone herself. Hawaii born Simone White was a part of Damon Albarn's critically acclaimed 'Honest Jons Revue' which toured in July 2008 to the Barbican Center in London, Les Nuits Fourviere Festival in Lyon, and the Lincoln Center Festival in New York City.
www.myspace.com/simonewhite
Tuesday 7th July DREW NELSON £6
Every generation has its poets; the writers, musicians, and lyricists who capture the spirit and longings of their time. Those who give expression to our own personal memories and dreams as though they know us. They tell our stories, giving us the words we need to celebrate or let go. That is the soil in which singer/songwriter Drew Nelson has been toiling. Legendary songwriter John Gorka said “Drew's songs sound like the rest of us feel. His characters are anything but defeated. They are dazed, angry, amazed and climbing.”
Drew Nelson’s latest album, “Dusty Road to Beulah Land” marks a notable growth in his standing as a songwriter and musician. Each song brings another side of Drew to the forefront, expanding beyond his folk-singer roots to embrace wider genres.
Drew Nelson has the ability to write with conviction about the struggles of working people, the miner, the farmer, the steel plant worker, just trying to get by. Songs touch on his participation in Native American life and culture (“Grandmother Moon,” “Raindance”). The production is smart, and Nelson's voice is warm and weathered. His songs move like the river under ice. Drew Nelson is an authentic voice of community and renewal. Drew grew up in Michigan, but escaped the narrow confines of a small-town upbringing by joining the Navy and traveling the world. He came home with fresh eyes to appreciate the realities of life in America. These experiences provided insight and understanding that find an outlet in songs filled with discovery, revelation, and hope. Nelson is now expanding his love of music to the creation of the instruments he plays. He has just finished making his first guitar, and hopes to start a tradition of building and signing one a year to auction off for charity. In addition to giving back to us through his music, Nelson is involved in many community-based efforts to educate the next generation and make our world a better place to live.
"Drew Nelson is one of my favorite new artists. He is an excellent guitarist as well as an accomplished songwriter. His songs sound like the rest of us feel. After so many years at the mercy of the high and mighty his characters are anything but defeated. They are dazed, angry, amazed and climbing." - John Gorka /> "Every song bristles with sincerity, spirituality, and a keen insight about real life and real people that makes this the best acoustic singer-songwriter CD you'll probably hear this year" -John Sinkevics, The Grand Rapids Press
www.drewnelson.net
www.myspace.com/drewnelsonmusic
Wednesday 8th July MICHAEL G MOORE £6
Michael G Moore is a naturally talented, self taught modern piano player and singer. He has work to do, songs to record, and the music industry ship is getting ready to set sail with his friends and idols on board, and he doesn’t want to miss it. Sometimes he plays all the instruments himself, but here he comes live and so he will be bringing some fellow travellers to the stage with him.
www.myspace.com/michaelgmooremusic
Thursday 9th July KOOZIE JOHNS & THE SINNERSTAR COLLECTIVE + ALLEGRA SHOCK £6
Koozie Johns writes heartfelt songs delivered with a passion as if his life depended on it. There's an edge, there are rock 'n' roll love songs, a brush of country and a twist of folk.
The songs are real, he writes about faith 'n' hope, love 'n' pain, addictions and afflictions.
There's also a unique modern take on the sea shanty in which KJ and his band of weathered seadogs featuring Chris Musto, Paul Slack and Miro Snejdr manages to take you out across a dark sea of adventure and return you home safely knowing you'll never be quite the same again.
www.myspace.com/kooziejohnsofficial
www.myspace.com/sinnerstaruk
Vocalist/acoustic guitarist, Allegra Shock (aka Allegra Prosper) has a background which spans punk, poetic melodies, rock and roll and folk. Shock is alluring yet vulnerable, hard yet soft, with a unique voice she uses as an instrument and a guitar she meshes with her lyrics to paint pictures with words. Brought up in Northern California by musician/artist parents, Allegra travelled around with her father on tour and absorbed the influence of many styles of music. Rock and roll in the vein of Richards and Townsend…pop in the sense of Lennon/ McCartney and early soul/r&b… not to mention American and Irish folk music, blues, punk rock and the poets- Patti Smith, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Shane Mcgowan and of course Bob Dylan. Allegra is truly a lover of music and a lover of life.
www.myspace.com/allegrashock
Friday 10th July DUKE HARMONY + THE PENNY BLACK REMEDY + THE RAPSKALLIONS £6
Saturday 11th July WHEELS OF FORTUNE + SLY TONES + SHOTGUN HEART CLUB + SOUL HUSTLERS + after midnight JD SMITH £6 Bonnie & Clyde’s Renegade Rendezvous presents
Sunday 12th July YOUNG SING + THE TRILBEES + NADIA VON JACOBI + LAUREN JAMES + open mic £3 Enterprise Rehearsal Studios present - To book a slot, telephone 020 7379 1166 or call in at Enterprise Studios 1-6, Denmark Place, WC2 (directly behind the 12 Bar Club). Otherwise arrive at the 12 Bar Club at 5:30pm to book on the day. More info
Monday 13th July HEATHER CHRISTIAN + ERIN K + THE BIG FIBBERS + a late set from SERGEANT JOE BUZFUZ £5 Blang presents www.blang.co.uk
8:30 THE BIG FIBBERS - Unfeasible buffoonery from the best-loved dynamic duo on the London antifolk scene.
www.myspace.com/thebigfibbers
9:15 ERIN K - New Yorker based over here Erin K has been writing songs for less than 12 months and already has a setload of witty modern songs in post-Jeff Lewis/Kimya Dawson territory.
www.myspace.com/erinkmusic
10:00 HEATHER CHRISTIAN - A native Mississipian now based in Brooklyn Heather Christian is the daughter of a blues musician and a go-go dancer. A uniquely spine-tingling voice and spectral torch songs In minimal cabaret stylee. Listen to “New Things” on MySpace.
www.myspace.com/heatherchristian
10:45 SERGEANT JOE BUZFUZ - A bunch of new songs from Blang host Joe Murphy.
www.myspace.com/sergeantbuzfuz
Tuesday 14th July MICHELE FLYNN £6
Thursday 16th July DAVID CELIA + THE EASY PEELERS £6
As restorative as a cool fresh waterfall, anxiously awaited and heavily anticipated, David Celia’s self -produced “This Isn’t Here”, his follow- up to 2002’s Organica, was well worth the wait. Recorded between tours, the “pure musical escapism” (on Organica, NOW Magazine) IS here, as is the “excellent musicianship…elegant and melodic” (Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy) and the beautiful harmonies, all of which characterize David Celia.
A recent German review calls Celia “completely charmful… contemplative… wonderful atmosphere... you will like him immediately..like a warm embrace from a good friend” (rock e-zine, Berlin). “David Celia is one of the best talents to hit Merseyside from North America” (Alex McKechnie, Cavern Club, Liverpool).
While “This Isn’t Here” may be categorized as “roots-pop with hints of folk “ (and perhaps some country vibes and a little rockin’), David’s classicism manages to, naturally and effortlessly, cross genre’s and ages. Toddlers and Adults alike are charmed, and so are Lovers of Folk Music and fans of Pop Music. www.davidcelia.com
Friday 17th July VIVA LAS VEGAS + THE MOTHERS OF MEMPHIS + FATKAT + RESOLUTION 42 + THREE CHORD CRAIG £6 London Callin presents
Formed in '82 in SE London FatKat made their mark on the local scene becoming the house band at the tunnel club where they supported the likes of Stan Webb’s Chicken Shack, Tony McPhee’s Groundhogs, Wilko Johnson. FatKat became in demand for festivals such as the kent custom bike show and played all over, especially the medway towns. Recently they got back together to do a show and the reaction was such that they decided to play regularly again. They're better than ever and invariably produce shows of high-energy blues-rockin' boogie.
www.myspace.com/fatkatremorseless4
Saturday 18th July 1 STOP EXPERIENCE £5
1-STOP-EXPERIENCE is intelligent ska, creating topical concepts using ska & reggae as a backdrop to express each perception, dedicated to new ska mixed with old ska, dub reggae, deep dub reggae, latin, pop, Jazz and blues. The songs are penned by Jennie Matthias and friends. Jen is collaborating with Dave Barker and The Crabs Corporation, Skip McDonald, Adrian Sherwood, and Paget King, as well as Nick Welsh and The Crispy Horns, Steve Chalky White, Chico Chagas: Should you want to find out more about Jennie then please feel free to go to her personal page on www.myspace.com/redtreasure or if you are interested in checking the other band Jennie writes for then feel free to do so on www.myspace.com/thedancebrigade and if you wish to view Jennie's past works then Malc MC has created a Bellestars website and this shows off virtually everything Jennie has been involved with for 20 years. Please feel free to check it out here
Tuesday 21st July JOHN WATTS £6
John Watts has been described by a fellow artist as “a force of nature”. In the three decades of his career he has amassed a considerable body of creative work. His distinctive writing has steadily evolved against a variety of musical forms encompassing written word, poetry and humour. He has a distinguished catalogue of seventeen original albums with sales in excess of two million.
This self-confessed “follower of the troubadour tradition” was born in December 1954, into a family of singers. He progressed through school inspired musically by the late sixties Trojan catalogue and the great ‘maverick’ artists from Alex Harvey to Lou Reed, Captain Beefheart to David Bowie, Jake Thackery to James Brown. His childhood heroes were George Best and Pablo Picasso.
John was the mastermind of Fischer-Z, contemporaries of the Police and Talking Heads. He formed the band with Steve Skolnik at Brunel University in 1976. Arriving at a point where punk, art wave and reggae crossed over, they secured a record deal with UA in 1978 alongside the Buzzcocks, the Stranglers and Dr Feelgood. For the previous three years Watts had been studying clinical psychology and at the same time travelling up and down the country in an ailing dormobile van, playing the punk and new wave club circuit.
His forthcoming release Morethanmusic & Films (2009) – Thirteen songs with thirteen films and 100 commissioned songs packaged as artefacts, reinforces his reputation as “an artist in music and words.” Watts collaborated with Sam Walker and piano player Matthew Gest, Ray Charles’ producer Steve Forward and some remarkable musicians from Belgium’s Flat Earth Society big band. He has been presenting a series of gallery previews of films and artefacts across Europe.
For John Watts Morethanmusic is a movement, a way of thinking, a social network of like-minded creative people. His work serves as a stimulus and a catalyst to promote and encourage an interaction and cross-fertilization between artists, their work and their projects, creating opportunities and exposure for many diverse artistic projects.
Just to make things clear, ‘Morethanmusic & Films’ is a 13 track dvd/cd of music and films. “My 13 films illustrate the songs and feature my band, family and girlfriend set in the places I live.” – JW.
But John is also creating 100 special Morethanmusic Artefacts that you can commission from the site. These come with a song and artwork exclusively made for you.
Wednesday 22nd July STONES TO SAND £6
Stones to Sand formed in Summer of 2008. Brothers Mick and Lee have been writing and performing original acoustic music for years and joined up with drummer Anto in 2008, to form Stones to Sand. Stones to Sand bring a sound of contrasting vocals and gripping acoustic guitar, accompanied by bassy djemba and bongo beats to create a unique Stones to Sand sound that makes for great easy listening. A blend of soulful and poetic lyrics and melodies give their songs a real depth. Stones to Sand have recently recorded their demo at Fastlane Studios, and are enjoying gigging and performing across the Irish music scene.
www.myspace.com/stonestosand
Friday 24th July RAGE DC + 16 GUNS + THE HANGOVERS + TARGET ZERO £6 London Callin presents
Saturday 25th July THE BANNED + DAS SCHNITZ + DIRTY UGLY PUNK MONKEYS + LONDON PX £6 London Callin presents
Monday 27th July THE SAVAGE NOMADS
Tuesday 28th July OXYGEN PONIES + RANDI RUSSO + AMANDA RAY £6
The Oxygen Ponies are primarily the vehicle of singer/songwriter Paul Megna, an enigmatic, unpredicatble performer of rare emotional intensity. Like Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, Elliott Smith and other poets of despair, Megna's autobiographical songs are reflections on a life well-lived; melodic discourses interweaving man's struggle vs. society and man's struggle vs. his own animal nature. This uplifiting struggle for survival, hope, bliss, peace and ultimately redemption is what makes them so compelling. Megna's songs fight a constant battle, reaching unexpected crescendos and spiralling down on a tightrope of oblivion, yet they never lose their balance. When pushed to define The Oxygen Ponies, Megna describes it as 'intoxicating bedroom pop' or to quote Magnet Magazine "minor chord folk-pop for the end credits". Both are correct. With traces of Neil Young's On the Beach, Leonard Cohen's Songs of Love and Hate and echoes of Dylan, Jesus and Mary Chain and the Afghan Whigs - those labels certainly seems to fit.
www.theoxygenponies.com
Randi Russo has ended up on the wrong side of the tracks...at least when it comes to her guitar-playing. Her fingers ride and glide the rails of strings of a right-handed guitar played upside-down and backwards. In other words, this southpaw is not just taking a righty guitar and switching the strings around, but keeps the guitar as is and just flips it over, so that the bass strings are on the bottom. This style of playing is her foremost artistic muse: It allows her to experiment in an organic way, resulting in unique and interesting chords. Randi's singing style is as equally intense and beautiful as her guitar playing is edgy and unusual. The Village Voice has called her a “guitar goddess” and has said that, “her guitar playing is sweet when it needs to be, but nasty in all the right places.
All she needs is one gig opening up for someone like Cat Power and her fame is pretty much guaranteed."
here is a toughness and tenderness in Randi's songwriting and performances that has led to comparisons to fellow New Yorkers Lou Reed/Velvet Underground and Patti Smith. While pumping out gutsy songs with infectious melodies, she cuts deep with her poignant, incisive lyrics. After a few overseas tours and shows in the U.S., Randi earned a spot at the Milwaukee Summerfest in 2004, playing alongside main stage artists Crosby, Stills and Nash. She has shared bills with acts such as Kimya Dawson, Jeffrey Lewis, and Regina Spektor, and has also been on an Antifolk compilation along with cult hero Daniel Johnston.
Just like her first record, Solar Bipolar, critics have been praising her latest release, Shout Like a Lady, mostly commenting on her “provocative lyrics” (The Big Takeover) and “exceptional vocals” (babysue.com). Songs from this album have reached as high as #2 on several college radio stations around the country.
www.randirusso.com
Flipping a right-handed guitar upside down and playing it left-handed may help in the creation of an alternative sound, but in the case of songwriter Amanda Ray it is only one of many factors which make her work unique. Her intensely honest and emotional lyrics, minimalist playing style, and direct vocal style, allied to engaging melodies and approachable stage presence, all combine in her live performances in such a way as to explain why she is steadily building a strong “word of mouth” fanbase.
Her extraordinary debut album by English singer/songwriter Amanda Ray has already garnered favourable comparisons with the likes of Joni Mitchell and Janis Ian, not to mention Ray's own muse, the late Elliot Smith. Drenched in melody and melancholy, and stirringly produced by Jude Rawlins, this eponymous release has "instant classic" written all over it.
Dark, mysterious, fragile, existential… Amanda Ray’s haunting songs are imbued with a deep lyrical imagery and a passionate heart. They are delivered by Ray with a raw beauty that lands somewhere between Karen Dalton and Sandy Denny, although she is also capable of edging into the sheer emotional firepower of Janis Joplin or Stevie Nicks. The perfomances are gift-wrapped in Ray's own spectacularly delicate southpaw guitar picking, ensuring that these songs are literally possessed by pagan folk wisdom and heartbreaking confession.
www.myspace.com/amandarayuk
Wednesday 29th July LIZZY SPIT + NICK PYNN £6
Thursday 30th July acts tba £6 Hieronymous Bisch Bosch presents
Friday 31st July JIMMY & THE DESTROYERS + PERRY LANE SECT + more tbc £6 London Callin & Chog Town presents
