Friendly Fire, Herbal, Shoreditch

Down to Mullet-town on Thursday 24 July for a hip-hop/electro night in aid of the MINES ADVISORY GROUP (MAG). The Manchester-based landmine clearing group is rather more of a front-line/sustainable project than any Lady Di-fronted half-arsed initiative and has been doing good work in places like Cambodia, Angola and southern Lebanon. I found this out on the info-pack as we paid our money and a bit more when the doorstaff wisely exploited our half-cut cluelessness. Never mind, it's all for… etc, cliché.

You don't often expect such fund/awareness-raising gigs to be entertaining – people usually just turn up smug and satisfied at their activation of their consciences, before resuming their closed off group chat about 'Chelski' or their media firm's latest mess. Lucky then that this was lively. That can be attributed to THE HEADSHELL organisers, who roped in djs such as Mr Thing, Mat Carter and the Dexorcist. I also saw my mate, who was bemoaning Bang's magazine very-early drift into Q territory. An original idea that had about three issues to find its market.

No such concessions to commerce here though. Past midnight the hip-hop floor upstairs was packed and partying, while downstairs the less-rammed electro room was robot-rocking too. A Canadian girl next to us bemoaned the lack of hedonism, but I said that this atmosphere is pretty good for a Thursday night as people have one eye on work the next day. The set and setting obviously did the trick for me; didn’t seem to mind a very long wait at the wrong bus stop.

Two-north-London-gigs-in-one madness-midweeker

Only some of the above as I managed to catch a brace of up-and-coming live rock & pop acts on Wednesday. July 9. First, SIMPLE KID, a talented American whose ‘Truck on’ you may have heard of on TV ALREADY, even though he’s still at industry buzz stage. This is definitely an industry night out, and as such there was a twist to the proceedings. It was held at the Magic Circle in NW1’s grotty Stephenson Road, so pictures of swingin’ Paul Daniels and, more frequently, David Devant were rife. Industry is behind this man so the throng had to be accommodated in two sets. Thus it was in anticipation of set no#2 before we climbed the magical spiral staircase. And a good 30-minute act it was in the auditorium. He and his fellow guitarist, drummer and keyboard/fx man have a knack for catchy tunes that have recognisable roots: robotik pop/velvets in ‘Average Man’, glam in ‘I am Rock’, west coast in ‘The Commuter’ – all delivered through an energetic hillbilly-slacker-clued up crossover persona. In that may be a problem, because as although it’s fine to mimick genres/sound his mickey-taking of subject and general sly look at everything may let him down, as people look for earnest quality in this new rock age. Yet this knack of knocking out knowing but catchy tunes may see him do well.

Turn right, left and then a long walk up to the Barfly, for skinny, shouty dance-rockers CHIKINKI. Saw this lot at said same venue a while back, which either makes me a cool insider, hanger-on or parasitic twat d’industrie. I feel it’s the latter. Signed to Island, this Bristol group are about to blitz the usual market. Not too worried by the past and not too in awe of the new, god-I’m-going-to-sound-like-a-football-manager BUT this lot have promise too. More measured and more tight on repeat performance, they still deliver an impressive squiggly and chaotic sound full of dance-influenced bass rumbles, sonic Pollockings and pop hooks. As such, it could work on the new range of clubs coming through in UK cities realising you can mix it up a bit but maintain the rave/house atmosphere. Singer needs to develop act on a bit from Hives singer impersonations, though I didn’t tell him that when he came off the stage and postured past me and others. Look out for them, I’ve learned to after that incident.

One night in Berlin

Over the centuries, Berlin has been an inspiration for many: Christopher Isherwood kicked ‘Goodbye to Berlin’ off with the Cullian prescience of “I am a camera”. Nowadays it has one of the most vibrant dance (‘electronic’ if you want to use the German stereotype) music scenes in Europe. Like many places – most French cities, Munich, Ghent, Antwerp, The Hague, even Rotterdam, small labels and clubs get on with the business of pushing future music without any of the hype of the London goldfish bowl. Arriving and staying in East Berlin, my company for this musical odyssey was two lively Djs, Matt Styles and Lil Mark. The latter has recorded on Classic and Music for Freaks. They were to play at the well-respected house night VMF. But not before a barbecue at Waterfront, a pleasant outdoor courtyard bar. A delightful tuna steak was washed down with absinthe and Red Bull – an awful combination but a free one. Off to the club, the venue itself being a former bar used by top Communist party officials. Styles kicked things off, followed by Lil Mark – the two playing quite different strains of electronic dance music but both complementing one another. Lil Mark’s Chicago jacking style got me up on the dancefloor and brought a big smile to my face. Matt was to continue in a more electronic vein, while the finale saw the two of them sharing the honours.

Despite it being the weekend before the Love Parade trance monkey circus, many Berliners were not deterred from enjoying themselves. And by the end of the evening there was gratitude all-round for both Matt and Mark, who both gave 100 per cent Brian. The traditional warm German welcome? Definitely, so why don’t we and the Italian officials ditch those decades-old stereotypes? Berlin: a city still rough at the edges but high on energy and well worth a visit, so book a cheap flight and go.