Killer Combo: Yoga, Art, Music & Food

What better way to overcome the Monday evening malaise than a bit of art, a bit of yoga and a lot of food?

Well, that's exactly what the lovely Gabrielle has gone and done, holding a weekly class in a great space: the Eb & Flow Gallery. So last Monday, my yoga-licious pal Lew and I went to check it out.

Current Exhibition: Gemma Anderson's lovely etchings

And what a treat it was. The hour long class (for all levels) was nicely challenging, ending with a little meditation, accompanied by singing and a delicious supper from Trullo's Tim Siadatan.

Whilst the supper part's not a weekly occurrence the art, yoga and music is. So if you're looking for a pick-me-up after just another manic Monday, go get involved.

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Sofar Sounds

You may remember my waxing lyrical about the new music movement Sofar Sounds in a post some time ago. So it was with some excitement that I received my invite to another magical evening of music, this time in the home of a nice girl called Alex out in the depths of Stokey. 

And by the sounds of things, this movement is really taking off with last night being the 152nd event, the 153rd happening simultaneously in Manchester and the 154th kicking off in Mexico as our evening drew to a close. No mean feat. 

As always, the effervescent host, Ralph, welcomed us - encouraging us to listen with open minds to the acts who were set to perform. The audience listened like a cult to their leader.

Joe Innes & The Cavalcade

First up were Joe Innes & The Cavalcade, a nice looking line up with a babe on violin (I love bands with violins). Their lyrics were hilarious, the humour of front man Joe carried through the songs with the audience participation required for album title track The Frighteners having us howling to the moon.

Ali Warren

We were then treated to an impromptu performance from the angel-voiced Ali Warren. Bare footed and bearded, the sound that came out of this unassuming man was truly beautiful. He lulled us into a smiling revery.

Hedoniac

After a stretch (and another glass of rosé), the heavy metal band Hedoniacs were up. I have to say, heavy metal is perhaps the one music genre that I would make an effort to avoid listening to, but the pared back set that the band played last night was incredible - the shouting and screaming replaced with softly sung harmonies. 

Emily and the Woods

Another surprise treat followed, with the Emily of Emily and the Woods tugging on our heart strings with her husky, almost whispered, tones. Just a girl and her guitar, she was very sweet, playing both songs stood on tippy toes. 

Pearl and the Beard

The final act of the night was the Brooklyn born Pearl and the Beard - an amazing trio with a babe on cello (I love bands with cellos). I can't really describe how great they were - the combination of their voices in their faultless harmonies sending tingles down my spine. Their presence was just overwhelmingly 'feel good' with funny chatter between songs and their clear love of performing spreading smiles throughout the room. The encore only left us wanting more - I had no idea you could even do those things on a cello. I need to see these guys again. 

And so another amazing Sofar evening drew to an end and we traipsed back down from cloud 9.

Running on donations, Ralph's hat was filled with crisp notes - testament to how much we'd all enjoyed the night. 


I've told you once, I'll tell you again - get yourself signed up, you'll never look back.

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The See Hear Club

Three weeks ago (popping up for breath from a whole world of work pain), I finally made it down to the amazing Dalston Roof Park. 

With Brangelina amongst their patrons - this place is becoming one of the hottest rooftops in town, not least for the likes of The See Hear Club and their lovely nights of music and film.

Two weeks ago the club played host to the single launch of my much-loved Alpines, with a special set followed by their choice of film.

As the sun set, the audience settled down to Baz Luhrmann's Romeo & Juliet - the girls audibly sighing at Di Caprio's fresh faced beauty.

Tomorrow night sees Landshapes (aka Lulu and the Lampshades) take to the stage. Same set up: music and a movie. So simple, but so bloody good.

See their FB page for tickets, but be quick - they go fast.

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Queenie's Diamond Jubilee

Yippee! Thank you your Majesty for your 60 years of reign and the mega long weekend it affords us. 

Lightness of Being - Chris Levine, 2007. Currently on show as part of the The Queen: Art and Image exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery

London is coming to life this weekend and it feels like we're spoilt for choice in things to do and see in and around the city. Here's what's on my hit list, not all of it as patriotic as p'raps it should be...

Friday night I'm off to God Save the Clam, a big seafood cook up on a rooftop out East organised by Rock Lobsta & Pitt Cue Co. Tickets for Friday's clam bake are sadly already sold out, but they're open for lunch and dinner over most of the weekend so try your luck. With DJ sets and an inevitably fun vibe, you could even just head over to sip a drink and tap your feet at the Banshee cocktail bar.

Saturday, I'm BBQ-ing at my darling Rosie's but, if I wasn't otherwise engaged, I'd be right on board the Field Day bandwagon. As festivals go, it's a good'un and this year's line up looks sweet as (mate). There are still tickets going, and if you fancy making a festi-weekend of it, you can get a good joint-ticket price that'll get you into Sunday's The Apple Cart too.

Sunday's main event is obviously the river procession that will be taking place from 2-6pm. But if boat's aren't your thing, there's a whole load of other delights to take you from day to night, starting with Bourne & Hollingsworth's Her Majesty's Party in the lusciously leafy Bedford Square. With a whole lot of bunting and a swing dance or two, this will be a perfect quintessentially British way to spend the afternoon. This week's Fourth Wall will also be resurrecting itself in the square for Friday and Saturday night.

If you're after a more rough and ready affair, The Book Club will be hosting their own Jubilee Street party which, whilst the priority wristbands are out, they're saying they'll get everyone into. Could be fun for a quick knees up with the fab Guilty Pleasures DJ's on the decks. 

Later on, I think I might head to the Secretsundaze Jubilee Bank Holiday Special at the House Club & Terrace in Greenwich. A neat way to see the boats go by without the mad crowds that will inevitably line the riverbanks. 

Monday will be delightfully un-manic, a long lunch leading nicely into an evening of live music at the Cable Street Electric Open Mic. It seems an elusive event, but I'll give the goss once frequented. Sounds a bit Sofar Sounds. In a good way.

If you're still going, however, and looking to keep the party alive, check out Coppafeel's Festifeel. Curated by Fearne Cotton, it's happening at The Queen of Hoxton and has a pretty impressive line up (Lianne Las Havas has just been announced). All proceeds from tickets go towards the worthy work of the charity, ensuring early diagnosis of breast cancer.

This will definitely be going in my cupboard.

Tuesday is the day of rest, and it's home time for me to see my beautiful Mamie. Good thing she's French, think I may have had my fill of our right royal Britannia by then.

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Sofar Sounds

I spent yesterday evening in a nice man called Joe's front room, cross-legged on the floor with 30 other random folk (and my friend Claudi), listening to some amazing live music and drinking a can of G&T.

The genius idea of the charming Rafe, David and Rocky the musical movement Sofar Sounds is rapidly growing in notoriety. Tickets to its intimate and impressive invite-only gigs hosted in people's front rooms the world over are becoming more and more in demand - 600 people applying for last night's session in good ol' Joe's Clapton house.

But it's immediately clear why - welcomed into a warm embrace by a grinning Rafe, it's like arriving at an old friend's drinks party. Only this friend a) lives in a pretty sweet pad b) has a line up of four amazing up-and-coming bands for you to hear and c) has invited an eclectic group of only the most interesting of guests for you to meet. Nice.


And so, after meets and greets and a quick mosey around we sat, limbs intertwined and knees knocking with our neighbours' like school kids in assembly, ready for the show to begin. 

The Graphite Set

First up were The Graphite Set. The husky voiced Lilly a nice guy called Will on the trumpet captivating us with their folksy blues.

Melodica, Melody and Me

Melodica, Melody and Me were next, and we were in for another treat, the folksteppers from Brixton spinning the prettiest of tunes, with the lead singer's understated vocals making me fall a little bit in love with him. There was a nice reggae twang to their songs and the melodica got a big round of applause. My fave track was Ode to Victor Jara.

Spring Offensive

After a leg stretch and a quick flirt with the nice man to my right, Spring Offensive were up. A 5-piece guitar band from Oxford, their kookily swaying lead singer Lucas and preppy-dressed band were weirdly mesmerising. And my goodness were they good - the harmonies flawless and their considered lyrics neatly crafted. They reminded me of my much-loved Grizzly Bear - I shouldn't be surprised if we hear a fair bit more from them.

Jack Savoretti

Last, but certainly not least, Jack Savoretti was up. Having lost my heart once already, I lost it again - this guy is a hot PIECE. His rough, gravelly voice was a winner - bet you'll fancy him too: here.

The one rule of Sofar is that you don't leave before the end, but this was no issue - there was no dragging us away. One of the loveliest evenings I've had in a long while, I only hope I'll be invited back. In the meantime, there are four new bands on my need-to-go-and-see list.


Sign yourself up here and apply for some tickets - shotgun being your +1. 

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Babel

Hailed as 'the theatrical event of the year' it was with some trepidation that Em (dawg) and I headed to Islington's Caledonian Park for World Theatre's production of Babel last night. 

Welcomed by white-clothed cast members, we were straight in, and led through the winding paths of the park fizzing with expectation and crossing fingers for no rain. 


A variety of surreal scenes confronted us from a woman ironing up a tree to a man waltzing alone across an empty tennis court, played out in and around the foliage. 

The sound was impactful - A persistent beat overlaid with rhythmic breathing pulsing from somewhere out of sight, adding a hard-edged anticipation to our bemused wanderings. 

Ushered to the centre of the park, we found ourselves before the tower, around which a series of tents and stages had been set up. There was a real festival feel to the space - An incredible band kept up the magical feel, moving from husky-voiced blues to beat boxed garage with ease.  

Monologues were given from brightly lit bandstands, telling stories in all different languages.

The audience were spoilt for choice with things to see and do - encouraged to participate in the building of bamboo huts, or try a spot of knitting. As Em and I sat down to learn a lullaby in a cushioned tent, a sudden bang had us genuinely nervous and it was back to the tower again, where the play began.

I'm not entirely sure what happened after this... it was a little hard to follow, magnificent though it was in all it's musical and luminescent glory. The play itself was actually my least favourite part of the evening - the story told disjointedly, preferring drama to well written dialogue. A little read-up on Genesis' stories on the Tower of Babel would probably have helped. 


That's not to say, however, that I wasn't mesmerised. The choice of location, or indeed the raison d'être for the production was blindingly obvious - the tower looked phenomenal. Projected visuals were cleverly designed to work neatly with the structure - the clock face becoming a window out onto the crowd through which the baddies' eye peeped.

Whilst not the finest piece of theatre I've ever seen, the production is certainly an experience and has been filling my thoughts a fair bit today. With only 4 nights left, you'll have to be quick if you want to go, but I would. Definitely worth a view.

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Things I'd do if I were you...

Why do all the fun things always happen at once? I'm off to Morocco tomorrow for a week with my pretty Polly, but turns out there's a fair bit of fun going down in London town in the meantime...


Street Feast has got it's night market taking place tomorrow night in Shoreditch, with great food, art and cocktails. If you were sad to miss last week's StockMKT, this is the perfect op to get your foodie fill.

The fourth Land of Kings music and art festival is hitting up Dalston this weekend. Based on and around Kingsland high street, events will be happening in over 15 venues, from school halls to secret gardens. I'm most sad to be be missing Stoke Newington's International Airport's Live Art Speed Date - please go check it out for me.

I've been dying to check out The Big Red, ever since my friend Em (dawg) mentioned it to me a while back - top pizza joint on and around an old Routemaster bus, winner! And what better time to head down, than on Sunday (6th May) when they will be screening The Tunnel as part of the New X and Deptford Free Film Festival.


Tara Arts, the lovely South London based theatre company, are hosting a reading of a new play in progress, Reginald, on Friday 11th May. Written by EastEnders and Bend it like Beckham actor Shobu Kapoor, it will be read by the lovely Kris Marshall (Love Actually dude and star of the BT ads). The play consists of readings and interviews that look at the man behind the 1919 Amritsar massacre.

I like an early starting party and Fruit Palace's Rooftop event next Saturday (12th May) looks a good'un. Up on the roof of the Bussey Building, there'll be live acts and DJ's along with a nice bit of graffiti-time, so nab a ticket for a sun-downer and get there in good time, the views are meant to be ace.


This month's Wills-Moody jumble is happening on Sunday 13th May at The Lexington. I had a whale of a time when I went (see here) - with big bargain success.


After singing the praises of the delightful Wilton's Music Hall in my post on The Great Gatsby, I would urge you to head down there on Sunday evening (13th May) for Tea With Ruth. 'An evening of chat, songs and laughter' fundraiser in pirate costume - get your tickets quick.


And then I'm home again, hopefully mega bronzed and mega chulled, back to big-city-life. 

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Bringing D.I.S.C.O. back

A music genre that encourages incorporating claps into your moves, wearing as much glitter as your face can take and has you grinning like a teenage idiot, is surely no bad thing?

The term ‘discothèque’ was coined in Europe to describe the clubs that began playing disk music rather than live. But disco music as we know (and love) it really hit the big time in the late 60's/early 70's - starting underground within New York's LGBT community and spreading like wildfire to the rest of the world. 

The effervescent beats of disco live on today and last night found me on a GNO (Girl’s-Night-Out: so labelled by Tom and with Tom in attendance), shaking our things on the dance floor of KOKO to the magnificent Crazy P (the 'P' stands for penis, nice).

Those guys are just great: with a live show that is undeniably feel-good and songs that I would challenge anyone not to want to dance to. As the lead singer and only female member of the group, Danielle Moore, swayed in her semi-see-through white flared jumpsuit, the crowd went mad and I fell in love with her a little bit.

Also playing were Horse Meat Disco, another group that are driving the disco-dream. Sadly one too many Moscow Mules and far too many ‘rofl’s’ (Tom’s take on ‘what girls do on GNO’s’) meant I missed the best part of their set. No matter, with their weekly set on a Sunday evening at Eagle, it might just be the perfect way to overcome the Sunday-sleeps.

But today, it’s home for me to thank my mother for being such a good one. With the remnants of last night’s glitter twinkling in the corners of my eyes, I’ll be greeting her in a bit of a disco-daze – but she gets it, she was there when this all began.

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