Live: Cherbourg @ Mad Ferret, Preston 12/06/09

Despite the venue being a small town pub, the atmosphere for the evening’s show is excellent. After the obligatory local bands The Agitator, Derek Meins’ and Robert Dylan Thomas’ new project, take to the stage. Right from the outset the duo amaze any new listeners present, making a fair few of them jump on walking through the doors. The ferocity of Meins’ onstage personality creates an enthralled silence that’s extremely refreshing. The Agitator fluctuate between the soulful and outright outrageous creating a stir amongst the ever growing audience.

Live: Slow Club @ ICA, London

It’s not often that you arrive at the venue and see the band you’ve come to see walking just a few steps ahead, guitars strapped on and using the same doors as you to get in.

OK, so I’ve arrived pretty late (“as per usual”, my friends will tell you) but Charles and Rebecca, better known as Slow Club, start their headline ICA show standing at the back of the hall, from where they launch into an acoustic, unamplified version of ‘Wild Blue Mile’, with their fans circled in reverential silence around them.

Free pianos across London in June and July

Have you ever spent hours with an infuriatingly playable tune occupying your skull, with no instrument upon which to sate your desires? Have you wasted hours desperately seeking out anything with playable keys, only to collapse in a heap, eventually crawling to your nearest Pimm’s distributor for liquid solace?