HELL-o!
Hope you had a good weekend. Mine was very intense. Went to Brighton, saw Seachange and Cat on Form which was one of the best shows i've seen in months. Everything a gig should be. Heard a rumour Cat on Form turned down a £40k record deal last week. Probably true too. They don't like corporatism and bands getting fucked over. Not to mention funding whatever other activies the company get upto.
I also discovered, in my i'm-still-full-of-jack-daniels-24hrs-on state last night that thekoreans.com has a bunch of new tracks too. Only mentioned it cus i know a lot of you checked 'em out when I recommended them a few month back.
This weeks issue is totally and utterly packed as the music world wakes up again and I thought it was about time to start telling people about D-Frag again, so if you know anyone who'd like this, get them signed up, it's free for everyone, even people who work for Sony, they just need to mail: defrag-request@drownedinsound.com?subject=subscribe
Anyway, I've got weird cold sweats and one helluva week of gigs ahead (3 historic dis gigs, with the best unsigned and most important bands in the country!) so i better bugger off and get on with it. Have a great week, do something amazing...
Sean

M o n d a y
@ Scala: GUS GUS.... and their indie dance. www.gusgus.com
@ Union Chapel: THE SEA AND CAKE.... who i've heard the name around a lot but have to admit until getting an mp3 a minute ago, i didn't know what they were like. so, these "indie demi-gods" released their new album last weekcalled 'one bedroom' play their folky stuff for you, tonight.www.thrilljockey.com
@ Jazz Cafe: THA 4ORCE... is the deejay guy from Ali G www.bbemusic.com
@ The Monarch: CHIKINKI a lot of hype about this mental/genius lot from bristol http://www.chikinki.co.uk/

T u e s
@ Dublin Castle Drownedinsound.com + Club Fandago present: REDJETSON like joy division being raped at the drive-in www.redjetson.co.uk
+ FUCKING BEAUTIFUL swiss types, signed to warner in their homeland.
+ PLANS & APOLOGIES folkcore from derby www.plansandapologies.com
+ THE EDIBLE FIVE FOOT SMITHS arty-nutters from hull..... for full info and rundown on this show goto: www.drownedinsound.com/articles/5895.html

@ Mean Fiddler: INME + Biffy Clyro ...InME seem to the kidz band of the moment, with their nirvana wannabeness dressed up as Silverchair pretty girly singer and his vocal coaches and MOR metal posing... but they're introducing people to great new bands like Biffy Clyro. Read a review of what happened when the tour hit Manchester on Friday, here: http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/5947.html
@ Buffalo Bar www.artrocker.com: THE GRIPS as you'd expect from the AR-crew, tis more rNr!!

W e d s
@ Windmill www.drownedinsound.com : COLOUR OF FIRE *band of the moment* interviewed
+ SEACHANGE like spiritualized doing hardcore www.seachangemusic.co.uk
+ WINK french indie pop kidz

@ Catch 22: KERI-TEN-KATE did a dis show a while back, really good, early idlewild'ish.. Demo review
@ Dingwalls... LUCKY 7 + Cars As Weapons + Jerrybuilt + Appease + Texas Hold'Em.... this ones gonna be seriously good emo-punk!
@ Mean Fiddler: JAMES YORKSON + BIS + The Mountain Goats + Pink Grease... a www.roughtrade.com diverse/electic event
@ Metro Club www.artrocker.com THE CASANOVAS + Black Madonnas + The Divine Brown... seriously leather-clad RnR!!
@ The Underworld: TEN BENSON + International Jetset + Dog Bonfire ...this ones gonna be seriously noisy!
@ Jazz Cafe: FINGATHING... this ones gonna be seriously funky!
@ Bull'n'Gate: THE BLOOD GROUP + Malowski + Ciccone + Moonkat... and this ones gonna be indie-pop to start then get lowder!

T h u r s
@ The Garage www.drownedinsound.com: REUBEN new single 'Let's Stop Hanging Out' is released today, they're on Zane Lowe's gonzo tomorrow, his xfm single of the week, colin murrays single of the week and this is the last date of their drowned in sound tour!! www.wordsfromreuben.com
+ JARCREW cardiff electronica meets les savy fav www.jarcrew.com
+ ENGERICA nu-nutters, mocking americans and telling it like it is www.engerica.com
...the unsigned RAWK event of 2003, so far! I'm just a bit excited about this one :)

@ Bull'n'Gate Fierce Panda presents: WINNEBAGO DEAL we at DiS love this lot right now and you will too, trust us+ Phoenix Down + Agent Blue + X-Tigers
@ Ica: LAIKA and their moon-bathing music
@ Metro: BLACK BOX RECORDER ..the return of... + ERLAND OYE from a band you already know..
@ Arts Cafe: THE FUTUREHEADS i thought were pretty standard weezer loving chaps from sunderland when i saw them, lots of people seem to disagree, fools!
@ Buffalo Bar: PLASTIK do the indie-rock thing rather well. www.plastik.co.uk

F r i
@ Shepherds Bush Empire: The Delgados + AEREOGRAMME ...i'm not really that excited by Chemikal Underground bosses the Delgados but Aereogramme and their quiet-LOUD beared godliness is so damn special.
@ Monarch: PROJECT ABNER who rock it in a lost prophets covering boy hits car kinda way
@ Royal Festival Hall: JSBX (Jon Spencer Blues Explosion) + Solomon Burke + The Kills... noize vs old soul. interesting.
@ Ulu: ELECTRIC 6 who if you need to be told who they are go set yourself on fire and run around a disco or something. This is sold out, obviously.
@ Astoria: REEL BIG FISH really not that good. sold out too.
@ The Garage: EASYWORLD another sold out gig.
@ Brighton Freebutt: *secret'ish gig* 80's Matchbox... + MEANWHILE, BACK IN COMMUNIST RUSSIA info here

S a t
@ RoTa, weekly free www.roughtrade.com gig in Notting Hill Arts Club: SPY '51 "...Anticipate a heady brew of brash guitar-grabbing pop, slowly collapsing epics and much, much more besides." + SPECIAL NEEDS... "Sublime and scuzzy punk/pop/rock". + NEIL's CHILDREN "...fantastic psych populike-stones/electric prunes/the who/seeds etc. smart cover of paranoid too..." +THE CLING "... funky, punky 5-piece the cling, a head-on collision of early Roxy Music sleaze and fizzing, Strokes-esque attitude.".
@ Arts Cafe: FONDA 500.. one for you pop lovers!

S u n
@ The Marquee: Ozric Tentacles + Arthur Brown + Litmus + Greenhaus ...and people wonder why it's closing?

That'll do ya. Hopefully meet some of you reading this amid my 3-days of excess or in Brighton on Saturday or in a gutter in York after getting the wrong train on Sunday.

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