Tim Horton’s Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival 2018 was recently held in the Nation’s capital. Having been in existence for a quarter century, the Festival has cultivated quite a following, drawing 200 teams from across North America. The sporting event hosts races in competitive, corporate, and community categories, and the Foundation raises funds to support local charitable organizations. The event is family […]

Birthdays is an underground venue in a bar in Dalston. Dalston is an area of London that seems to sport more mobile phone repair shops per head than any other part of the capital. It is real Eastenders country, although more grime than soap. Before the gig started, I had a chance to share a vodka and slimline with the […]

Gig in a shop. Not a bad idea. Thirty years ago today, I was the Assistant Manager of an Our Price Music branch, which was a national chain of record stores in the UK that got rid of vinyl in favour of CDs and then got rid of those in favour of VHS and mobile phones. No wonder it no […]

 Black Rebel Motorcycle Club was one of founding bands that revived the roots rock genre. Their style combines dirty blues riffs and tones that give a fervor for rebellion. The band has kept up with that theme since the their debut work in the late ’90s and has developed a dedicated fan base. And that’s who showed up for the […]

The O2 Academy in Islington was given over to Rock Against Violence – a charity fundraising gig on behalf of Solace Women’s Aid. The charity provides shelters and advice to women who are the victims of domestic abuse in the UK. It supports more than 10,000 women and children per year. The annual event is hosted by Roadkill Records – […]

Alexandra Palace was built in 1873 and is steeped in history. The huge arched building on top of a hill in North London looms over the neighborhood. Ally Pally was the place where the world’s first TV was transmitted, and it has been home to some epic gigs over recent years. With a capacity of nearly 11,000, the main hall […]

The Academic The Academic. Remember that name because I think you’ll be hearing a lot more from them next year (and we’ve already covered their music for some time). The fantastic Irish indie band performed the perfect set on Wednesday evening at Dingwalls in Camden, London. Opening with their latest single “Permanent Vacation”, they had the busy crowd singing along […]

The Union Chapel is found in the middle of a Georgian terrace of houses and set back from Islington’s busy Upper Street. The venue is as it appears – a church with high-arched ceilings, lofted galleries, stained glass windows, and ancient pews and pulpit. It has, however, an upstairs bar and a stage where the altar would have been. The […]

Regular readers will know me as an indie kid. If I was pushed to give you my favourite genre, I’d plump for indie-dance, so tonight’s three-band lineup, including the mighty Chk Chk Chk, was right up my street. Anyone who has walked along Camden High Street may have noticed The Electric Ballroom. The iconic North London venue sits between the […]

Ramona Gonzalez’s project as Nite Jewel would make a fascinating Doctoral thesis. Like many independent musicians, her initial works flew under the radar, but her breakthrough came with 2012’s One Second of Love, which saw the LA-based artist go from lo-fi to ’80s dance clubs. The album was positively received (the album remains a personal favorite), and Gonzalez became a […]

Been a busy couple of weeks for my camera and earplug combo. Here’s a sample of where I’ve been in and around London. Music is very much alive and thriving in our capital city. Everywhere you turn there’s a band waiting for my camera and cynical commentary. Hopefully this won’t disappoint. In alphabetical order: Desperate Journalist  The Dome, Tufnell Park, […]

Anyone who reads my stuff on The Revue will know I tend to cover smaller indie bands, usually in Victorian pubs. However, a trip to The Water Rats in London’s King’s Cross gave me something very different to chew on. The Water Rats is a historical building. Bob Dylan made his UK debut in 1962 here, and Oasis performed their […]

In the Summer, I got some business cards printed. I had to choose 10 photos from the 1000s I’ve taken to go on the back of them. One of those had to be October Drift. I “discovered” October Drift playing a support slot for Echobelly in June. I was one of only two photographers who had turned up early and […]

A bomb scare didn’t stop Mauno making an appearance in London’s Islington. I’m glad they braved the cordons. So I continue my tour of small venues in London. This time it was The Islington Pub, which, as you may have guessed, is another pre-war, red-brick pub with a trendy bar and a small music venue off to one side. The […]

Barns Courtney released his new LP today and celebrated by playing an intimate gig to a room full of adoring fans. Dingwall’s is a basement space in a red brick warehouse in the heart of Camden Market in London. While I was waiting for the support band, a 19-year old actor asked me about my camera and what I’d recommend. […]

Back in London’s Shoreditch. This time to Cargo for the LP launch event for Bite the Buffalo’s, Big Blind. Cargo is a venue set in three Victorian red brick railway arches. Previously a train workshop, the ghosts of its engineers still inhabit the vaulted halls, as does an actual stuffed lion in one of the bars. Tonight Bite the Buffalo […]

Two bands, gently pressed from the same mold, provided an evening of accessible indie/dream pop in the heart of Shoreditch. I seem to be spending more and more time in the trendy East End of London. The Lexington is another of those Victorian pubs with an expanse of craft beers on offer downstairs and a snug venue on the upper […]

The boxing ring had moved to a new warehouse for the latest in the series of Fluffer Pit Parties. As usual, the secret location was revealed shortly before I drove into East London. This time Fluffer Records had laid on the latest of their showcases at Hackney Downs Studios – a hidden away arts centre. I knew that Spring King, […]

Charly Bliss pitched up in London’s East End to play only their second ever non-US gig. The Old Blue Last pub is a real East End boozer. It’s a Victorian building on the corner of a cross-roads, and it has a tight upstairs venue that has seen most of the bands in “the scene” over the years. Tonight saw Charly […]

Alvvays – KOKO, Camden, London. 8th September 2017 Toronto-based Alvvays came to KOKO to play tribute to their new album, Antisocialites. KOKO is an old Victorian-style theatre with steeply banked levels and balconies overlooking a crowded dance floor. It’s gone through other incarnations (I used to go clubbing there when it was Camden Palace), and the opulent red and gold chamber […]