Gig Guide Monday 22nd April 2019

Monday 22nd
User Not Found – Leaf – 6pm
It’s the moment of your death. There’s a magic button. Do you delete your entire online legacy?
Or do you keep it – and leave the choice for someone else?
USER NOT FOUND is about our digital identities after we die. The show is performed in Leaf café: audience members receive a smartphone and a pair of headphones and are immersed in one man’s story as he’s faced with keeping or deleting his partner’s online existence. A story of contemporary grief unfolds through this intimate, funny performance that gently interrogates our need for connection.
https://www.unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk/whats-on/digital-legacy-19.html
 
Tuesday 23rd
Lowkey – 24 Kitchen Street – 7pm
As mentioned in previous gig guides, our pick here pits the back-from-hiatus Iraqi/British hiphop MC Lowkey (known for collaborations with socially conscious “black Shakespeare” Akala and fierce freestyles live on radio) against the opening backdrop of Farsi-speaking grime artist Tardast (of geographically disparate collective #Manteq). Lowkey returns to the live arena after time out to focus on studies and activism, while Tardast’s Persian-language flow over off-kilter experimental production provides a glimpse of what’s just around the corner in terms of contemporary world sonics of the rap genus. Also supporting will be London-based Eritrean rapper Awate, touring his own old skool hiphop flavoured and highly politicised recent record ‘Happiness’.
Skiddle.com/e/13459308
 
Furrow Collective – Philharmonic Music Room – 8pm
Again a highlight from earlier programmes, English/Scotch four-piece traditional music group Furrow Collective bring their interpretations of ancient songs from our island to a seated and attentive audience in this ideally intimate setting. As well as us being fans of the project here on the Popular Music Show, the Furrow Collective were awarded 'Best Group' at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2017.
Liverpoolphil.com/current-events/
 
Wednesday 24th
Stock Footage, Vice Moth – Kazimier Stockroom – 7:30pm
A rare re-union as Joe McLaughlin (of Kling Klang, The International, Part Chimp and several others) makes the return trip back to Liverpool (from NYC) for a brief spell including this reformation gig. Stock Footage is headed up by Joe and can only be described as a Liverpool underground garage rock super-group. Other members come from brilliant Merseyside-made projects such as Chinsniffer; Horsebast*rd; Zombina & the Skeletones; and a.P.A.t.T.; and Stock Footage’s shows are always a fairly OTT semi-theatrical anti-spectacle of the kind you’d expect to be dreamt up on the way back from a pub. Expect a slice of current affairs to be cut through with biting wit (previous outings have had frontman Golden Tony put through a T-Pain style autotuner, and used phone interview recordings of Paul Gascoigne as the basis for an entire set’s worth of music). Taking time out from their other commitments – such as celebrating the release of Stealing Sheep album number three, and kindly working closely with the programme in and out of Germanager guise – is Emily Lansely and Alex Germains as Vice Moth, an electronic improvised duo. Ben Duvall of Ex-Easter Island Head provides between-act tunes. Part comedy, part drama, all worth checking out in this new Kaz setting.
 
Thursday 25th
Dig Vinyl 5th birthday: Yammerer, Samurai Kip, Good Problems – Kazimier Garden / Stockroom – 6pm
Bido Lito is helping out local record shop Dig Viny celebrate their five years in the city centre in the throwing of this big old knees up. Indoors are three popping local acts: grunge pop LIPA grads Good Problems, local indie press darlings Samurai Kip, and a turbo charged Can/LCD Soundsystem hybrid in the form of a wild-man-fronted Yammerer. Outside there’s DJ sets from Melodic Distraction, Beers for Queers’ Linster Sangster, Nightdubbing and of course the taste-makers and –breakers at Dig Vinyl themselves. A suitably eclectic social for the broad-shoulder’d music emporium.
https://www.ticketquarter.co.uk/bidolito/online/default.asp
 
Friday 26th
Ali Shaheed Muhammad & Adrian Younge presents the Midnight Hour – 24 Kitchen Street – 7pm
In another moment of sure-fire hiphop legend appearances in our town, the teams responsible for putting Liverpool on the map in terms of these kinds of bookings – BamBamBam, Madnice Marauders, and those at 24KS itself – this time welcome A Tribe Called Quest’s production mastermind Ali Shaheen Muhammad, and fellow next-generation studio wizz Adrian Younge down for a night of jazzy, R’n’B inflected golden-age rap reminiscence. They’re accompanied on this tour by a nine-piece brass and string band to breathe new life into the already invigorated work together, including their acclaimed score for streaming hit Luke Cage.
skiddle.com/e/13483005/
 
Malena Zavala - Sound Basement - 7:30pm
Argentinian artist and producer influenced by psychedelic guitar players.

Saturday 27th
Nkisi, Bryn – Best Before – 10pm
Wunderkind upstarts Athe (deity-figure-influenced DJs and extreme music fans Nina Franklin and Lea Ben Said) have booked Congolese/Belgian ‘hard music’ maker Nkisi to play an extended set of her own gabba and doomcore inspired dark electronic music. Opening up the night is the city’s very own ‘Heavy Metal DJ’ and industrial grime music regurgitator, Bryn.
residentadvisor.net/events/1227617
 
DJ Sprinkles – 24 Kitchen Street – 10pm
Yet another exciting bit of programming from the in-house Wonder Pot stable, DJ Sprinkles is the stage alias of utterly intriguing dance music activist, public speaker and producer Terre Thaemlitz, known for their outspoken politicisation of the dancefloor as a rightfully and inherently queer space. Should prove a fascinating night of mixology, too, with a live set from Meine Nacht’s head honcho Breakwave and Daniel Ruane, who both recently celebrated the launch of a record label with the release of the latter’s debut dubplate. Part of Rise Liverpool – a city-wide program celebrating extraordinary female artists, thinkers and leaders.
skiddle.com/e/13501545
 
The Specials – Olympia – 7pm
Touring new LP 'Encore', the 2-tone Ska greats head to the illustrious Kensington theatre with The Tuts in tow.

Looking ahead: Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd June
Africa Oye – Sefton Park – 12:30pm onwards until 9:30pm
Certifiable hero of Jamaican music and a timely, poignant choice as Oye’s Windrush Day pick, Horace Andy headlines the weekend celebration of Afro-Saxon lineage in Liverpool. Other highlighted selections would have to include Sofiane Saidi & Mazalda – who have worked with PMS favourite Arab-world electronica producer Ammar 808 – alongside hugely celebrated Belize big band Garifuna Collective.
africaoye.com/festival/line-up/