London Strange Fruit festival in November

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http://www.strangefruit.co.uk/festival

Anyone going?
Anything else happening in London between the 18th and 23rd of November that a couple of Stockholmers on holiday shouldn't miss?
Any tips on nice bars/pubs to hang out in?

― Hanna (Hanna), Monday, 27 October 2003 17:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Can say that website is enticing me in.
Or the name for that matter.

― Pete (Pete), Monday, 27 October 2003 17:20 (twenty-two years ago)

SPEARMINT come to me you lovely thing. I just found out about this myself this morning. I know that Starry is keen on the Momus and Baxendale day. I am way too un-indie these days to have heard/remembered anyone else on the SPEARMINT DAY (as I will be calling it).

I mean: Yes. Me. will be going.

― Alan (Alan), Monday, 27 October 2003 17:21 (twenty-two years ago)

The Momus/Baxendale/Printed Circuit/Freezepop/Jens Lekman day seems by far the best I think. You won't want to miss Jens Lekman. He's the best thing to come out of Sweden in ages.

I'm hoping Bearsuit will be good live. I like their singles a lot.

― Hanna (Hanna), Monday, 27 October 2003 17:43 (twenty-two years ago)

The address up there is a bit uncollaborative, try this instead:
http://www.strange-fruit.co.uk/festival/

― stefan zachrisson (stefan), Monday, 27 October 2003 17:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Well I for one will definitely be going to the Momus/Baxendale nighr, and also the Spearmint one too if I can get to west London twice in one week with the Northern Line as it is !

The Swedish lad Jens Lehmann, err, Lekman, sounds really cool.

― darren (darren), Monday, 27 October 2003 19:06 (twenty-two years ago)

Ally and I have booked our flights - we should be there the last two nights. Main attractions for me are the Lucksmiths, Free Loan Investments and ACTION BIKER who I saw once in Sweden and she was incredible. Regrettably (I think), I will not be able to take off enough time from work to see Momus.

― Madchen (Madchen), Monday, 27 October 2003 19:07 (twenty-two years ago)

printed circuit will be pretty good, unfortunately i am unavailable that night and cannot go

― charltonlido (gareth), Monday, 27 October 2003 19:07 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh neat! I'd love to go... Baxendale and Lucksmiths and Bearsuit and Freezepop and Printer Circuit and Spearmint and Airport Girl! Wow.

― phil-two (phil-two), Monday, 27 October 2003 19:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Madchen>>> Yeah, Action Biker is great! (When were you in Sweden? Where did you see her?)

― Hanna (Hanna), Monday, 27 October 2003 19:11 (twenty-two years ago)

The My Best Life Festival in 2002 - were you there?

― Madchen (Madchen), Monday, 27 October 2003 19:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah I was! It was fun! But rainy. How come you were there?

― Hanna (Hanna), Monday, 27 October 2003 19:14 (twenty-two years ago)

whoa, where's the Rip Taylor jokes?

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Monday, 27 October 2003 19:14 (twenty-two years ago)

hmmm, would like to go, but would only be able to make the Saturday.

― MarkH (MarkH), Monday, 27 October 2003 19:17 (twenty-two years ago)

The Clearlake night is very tempting, cos Fonda 500 are playing as well.. but it's a weeknight so doubt I be able to make the journey to London :(

― jellybean (jellybean), Monday, 27 October 2003 19:18 (twenty-two years ago)

Hanna, I will email you

― Madchen (Madchen), Monday, 27 October 2003 19:23 (twenty-two years ago)

How long till you know who comes back?

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Monday, 27 October 2003 19:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Spearmint! Lucksmiths!

Greatest. Festival. Ever.

― cis (cis), Monday, 27 October 2003 19:37 (twenty-two years ago)

freezepop are fun fun fun fun fun

― kephm, Monday, 27 October 2003 19:54 (twenty-two years ago)

me and Rener are going on the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

I'm wondering if this would be better treated as a Bowlie/Sinister meetup than an ILX one?

― DV (dirtyvicar), Monday, 27 October 2003 23:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Why do you keep mentioning Bowlie? No-one from Bowlie is grown-up enough to be on ILE.

― Mark C (Mark C), Monday, 27 October 2003 23:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Can you just gather a load of lame bands together over a few days and call it a festival now?

― jed (jed_e_3), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 00:29 (twenty-two years ago)

don't you fucking dare use it as a bowlie meetup you sick bastard.

*vom*

― chris richards, Tuesday, 28 October 2003 00:33 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm wondering if this would be better treated as a Bowlie/Sinister meetup than an ILX one?

code reference - it's a bit twee/wimpy indie-pop this Strange Fruit festival, let's network with the ultimate twee types forum - Sinister.

[I remember Bearsuit from a Peel session - amateur shambling quirky indie pap with funny dramatic vocals ;-) Sorry to gatecrash this thread indie-popsters]

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 00:41 (twenty-two years ago)

snark

― chris richards, Tuesday, 28 October 2003 02:11 (twenty-two years ago)

A wet fish of a fashion boy tried to persuade me that Baxendale was electroclash on sunday. I left his trendy clothes shop in favour of plywood furniture..

― Ed (dali), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 09:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Baxendale = world's second worst band, I may go along just to heckle them again.

Then again I may be poking my eyes out or something else preferable

― chris (chris), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 09:23 (twenty-two years ago)

(wonders who world's worst band is)

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 09:27 (twenty-two years ago)

*considers joining cabbage in a spot of Baxendale-heckling*

― robster (robster), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 09:35 (twenty-two years ago)

They are certainly an odd band. I actually think "Hanging Out With Her" is a great song - it's just a pity that the standard of all their other stuff is so much lower.

I've only seen them live once (RoTA, Notting Hill Arts Club, Decemeber 2000) and they were dreadful.

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 09:41 (twenty-two years ago)

worst band = Radiohead of course, duh!

― chris (chris), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 10:35 (twenty-two years ago)

It's all horribly unappealing (with maybe one exception) but if there's any concurrent boozing going on I'm up for that.

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 15:20 (twenty-two years ago)

I would be up for some drinking with my old London pals that weekend if they could be persuaded to go to a pub.

― Madchen (Madchen), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 15:22 (twenty-two years ago)

what does it signify that this came up on ILE and hasn't touched ILM at all?

― Alan (Alan), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 15:39 (twenty-two years ago)

That we are all good children who read the FAQ?

Unless you're a moderator and your question is an announcement, don't post it on both.

― Madchen (Madchen), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 15:53 (twenty-two years ago)

the linx does not work for me..!!

― cool kid of death, Tuesday, 28 October 2003 16:51 (twenty-two years ago)

cool kid: Try the link a little below Hanna's first message.

For the less whining among you here's a tip with the intent to arouse some enthusiasm, two links:

Jens Lekman (aka Rocky Dennis)
http://www.srvice.com/rockydennis.html

Action Biker
http://hem.passagen.se/actionbiker/index2.html

And those are two new Swedish artists playing Strange Fruit that the people going really, really shouldn't miss.

― stefan zachrisson (stefan), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 09:35 (twenty-two years ago)

I am actually planning on going to the BALLBOY day so I shall see you there Alang OH HOLD ON A MINUTE it's in Shepherds Bush??? This does not appeal to my late-night-travelling-hata. Hmmm.

― Sarah (starry), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 10:28 (twenty-two years ago)

Revive because we're leaving for London in a week!

If any of you do go to the festival, feel free to come say hi to me and Stefan. Just listen for foreign language and then target the 2 slightly more old-and-jaded-looking people in the midst of the Swedish teens.

― Hanna (Hanna), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 15:40 (twenty-two years ago)

Hanna & Stefan, right, got it. I'll be the seedy looking old-ish Irish bloke.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 15:44 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm going on the Saturday, Hanna - I shall look out for you and Stefan. If anyone knows of any good pubs in the Bush Hall area maybe we could have a pre-SF FAP.

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 15:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Haha, good pubs near the Bush Hall. You'll be lucky.

― Ricardo (RickyT), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 16:35 (twenty-two years ago)

OK, how about not dreadful pubs not too far away from Bush Hall?

i am keen for FAPping action as i haven't seen madchen and cooky for aaaages, and it is entirely my fault...

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 16:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Apologies for useless answer. Um, I really, honestly don't know. One of my major reasons for moving from Shepherd's Bush is the paucity of even non-terrible boozers there.

― Ricardo (RickyT), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 16:49 (twenty-two years ago)

I believe the big Wetherspoons (are it?) has been used before gigges there without too much pain.

― Sarah (starry), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 16:49 (twenty-two years ago)

What is the Askew Arms like - anyone know? It's on the Uxbridge Road but some website I saw mentioned it being full of trendy media types.

― Jerry the Nipper (Jerrynipper), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 16:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Is Bush Hall where the Chickfactor bash was last year? We found a semi-ok boozer to watch the footie in if I remember, although we had to tramp down a few side streets to get to it. My only real complaint was that the ladies' was too small to wriggle out of jeans and into a fancy black and white skirt. Pubs should think more about things like this. Sod yer bottles of white wine, it's clothes changing facilities and a big mirror that really make a pub girl-friendly.

Anyway, I can't remember the name of the pub, so I don't know why I'm going on about it. Ally and I will be in London from the evening of 20th (quite late though I think) until the afternoon of 24th and in Bush Hall for the nights of 21st and 22nd.

― Madchen (Madchen), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 16:59 (twenty-two years ago)

Also, new Strange Fruit night alert: Crimes Against Pop, this Saturday at Buffalo Bar - looks kinda cool, if the playlists on the site are anything to go by.

I shall hopefully be at Momus and The Lucksmiths, but am currently ticketless so we'll see eh?

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 17:15 (twenty-two years ago)

might go to CAP

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 17:17 (twenty-two years ago)

just a reminder that the all-~~lez~~women FAP was being scheduled for that saturday. anyway I'd be up for a saturday pre-gig booze. I can't rec anywhere up the Uxbridge road at all. The rub pub next to the shep bush empire is at besst tolerable but of a size for such gatherings.

D'ya think I'd need adv tix for the spearmingt day anyone?

― Alan (Alan), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 17:18 (twenty-two years ago)

A TEAM

In 2003 a crack DJ unit was sent to prison for crimes against pop they didn't commit.

These DJs promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the London music underground.

Today, still wanted by purveyors of dreary, generic, dismal music, they survive as DJ soldiers of fortune, playing pop, off-kilter indie, electronica and eclectica.

If you're sick of clubs where the music is stale, unoriginal, and impossible to dance to, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you should contact Crimes Against Pop.

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 17:18 (twenty-two years ago)

Alan, YES. 2/3rds of the tickets have been sold for that night.

― Ricardo (RickyT), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 17:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Blimey, press releases, eh?

― Ricardo (RickyT), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 17:20 (twenty-two years ago)

bah, bloody "handling fee" i bet, mutter grumble ticketweb mumble

― Alan (Alan), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 17:23 (twenty-two years ago)

it's only £1.20 Alan!

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 18:18 (twenty-two years ago)

off-kilter indie, electronica and eclectica
Hmm, I've seen that phrase somewhere before.

― Madchen (Madchen), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 19:42 (twenty-two years ago)

yep, I've got deja vu all over again

― chris (chris), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 21:47 (twenty-two years ago)

everybody say hello to the lucksmiths for me

― the surface noise (electricsound), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 23:07 (twenty-two years ago)

Dear christ, "pop" at an "indie" nite? Well blow me down with a be-wanked stoat. INSERT OVER COMPLEX AND INCOHERENT RANT HERE.

Oh I won't be going unless someone forces "substances" down me - it's true, I've even been to Slimelight that way so CAP couldn't be that bad oh hold on har har.

(Harsh?)

― Sarah (starry), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 23:13 (twenty-two years ago)

..they don't play futurepop at these "indie" nites ... VNV Nation, Covenant and Icon of Coil etc

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 23:18 (twenty-two years ago)

futurepop is another word for shitey goth trance then?

― Ricardo (RickyT), Tuesday, 11 November 2003 23:23 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah HOLD UP djm! Also Dj Martian I suspect you may not be unfamiliar with this "whitby" concept...

― Sarah (starry), Wednesday, 12 November 2003 00:54 (twenty-two years ago)

haha, takes one to know one!

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Wednesday, 12 November 2003 09:50 (twenty-two years ago)

Ooh, ooh, Club 8 are playing at the Chickfactor thing this year! Ally and I have also booked flights for that weekend, London friends.

― Madchen (Madchen), Wednesday, 12 November 2003 13:34 (twenty-two years ago)

now that I will be at. possibly

― chris (chris), Wednesday, 12 November 2003 13:43 (twenty-two years ago)

Are you not going Baxenheckling then, Chris?

― Madchen (Madchen), Wednesday, 12 November 2003 14:00 (twenty-two years ago)

nup, I'm having my teeth pulled out instead

― chris (chris), Wednesday, 12 November 2003 14:11 (twenty-two years ago)

are club 8 related to s club 8? if so i'm excited (not like that dan).

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Wednesday, 12 November 2003 15:07 (twenty-two years ago)

That Dan, he's so excitable.

― Madchen (Madchen), Wednesday, 12 November 2003 15:23 (twenty-two years ago)

i have a spare ticket now (well not actually delivered yet). anyone?

― Alan (Alan), Wednesday, 12 November 2003 16:08 (twenty-two years ago)

revive!

it's started. reports, anyone?

who's going tomorrow?

― MarkH (MarkH), Friday, 21 November 2003 21:52 (twenty-two years ago)

it suddenly occurred to me that interested parties will not be able to post on account of being there.

I'll be interested to hear what ppl thought of Thomas Truax.

― MarkH (MarkH), Friday, 21 November 2003 22:23 (twenty-two years ago)

I stayed in the bar for Thomas Truax but his yodelling ways could still be heard loud and clear. I also heard reports that Momus cried "AAAAARRRRR" before singing a sea shanty. Perhaps somebody who was there that night would like to confirm this.

Mark H, sorry you got led astray by Bobster. We should have taken better care of you. Also you may have been able to point us in the direction of the Spanish bar so we didn't have to suffer Bar 101. That was our punishment. That and walking from Marble Arch to New Oxford Street in the pouring rain. Sniffle.

Hanna, I didn't find you! There were Swedes everywhere. I did finally twig that Steve from Nottingham and Stevem from Harringay are not the same person though. Oops.

― Madchen (Madchen), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 10:56 (twenty-two years ago)

aw, i was gonna go just to further your confusion

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 11:08 (twenty-two years ago)

.I also heard reports that Momus cried "AAAAARRRRR" before singing a sea shanty.

A gay sea shanty. Jeez, people always leave off the interesting part.

PS: BBC1, 9pm Wednesday. Say no more, say no more.

― Momus (Momus), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 12:20 (twenty-two years ago)

I will report back eventually.

I failed to meet Hanna and Stefan... keeping an eye out for people who "looked Swedish" turned out to be an unsuccessful meetup plan.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 12:27 (twenty-two years ago)

For future reference:

― Momus (Momus), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 12:35 (twenty-two years ago)

cheers.

by the way, I was too *shy* to say hello to Momus. I was also worried he might be one of those people who gets really violent if people talk inconsequentially to him just before he goes onstage.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 13:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Haha!! See that bearded guy in the back in the picture? When we were leaving the café he tapped my shoulder and the following conversation took place:
- Excuse me, I have to ask, who is that man? [nodding towards Momus in the doorway]
- He's an artist.
- Oh, like a painter?
- No, he makes music. He's called Momus.
- I'll ask my daughter, maybe she's heard of him. He's fascinating, he looks like a u-boat captain!

We had the best time in London! Momus you were great. I also really enjoyed Ballboy, and I hadn't heard Vermont before but they were really good, the singer looked a bit like Harriet Wheeler and had a gorgeous dress. And Bearsuit were smashing. We missed Thomas Truax though.

But what's with the London closing hours??? Being thrown out of Bush Hall at 11 pm meant we had to go find crazy suburbian after parties, hang out in hotel bars and take expensive cab rides to clubs and dance wildly to Orange Juice, Bodines and Go-Betweens. Oh wait, all those things were great. THANK YOU London closing hours!

― Hanna (Hanna), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 13:16 (twenty-two years ago)

DV: To the contrary, you would have probably been offered a wee dram of Glenmorangie (yay for riders) and you would have met me into the bargain as well. Bad DV!

― suzy (suzy), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 13:18 (twenty-two years ago)

I am bad.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 13:22 (twenty-two years ago)

And I'm sorry I didn't get to meet any of you people. I think I might have run into Suzy very very briefly though, if you are the one in the temporary MomusResidence we stopped by?
I tried to look for ilx-type people, but then realised I don't know what ilx-type people look like. I guess I should have printed one of the picture threads and carried with me in my pocket.

― Hanna (Hanna), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 16:14 (twenty-two years ago)

this seemed to work for the many people who came up and said hello to me. Or maybe it was writing "ILX" on my forehead that did it. Or the clerical garb.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 17:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Speaking of garb, Mrs DV has excellent taste in skirts. And bad timing, hehe.

― Madchen (Madchen), Tuesday, 25 November 2003 21:06 (twenty-two years ago)

After my trip to the Winchester Club I warned Rener about the possibility of skirt holocaust at Strange Fruit. She would not listen.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 10:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Saturday was great! Even the bar not-finding fiasco at the end was fun in its way - what a random selection of people (who was the guy on the bus with the bottle of vodka?!). Glad I got to meet DV (finally!) and Rener.

Some ppl expressed surprise that i hadn't been to Bush Hall before. It's rather wonderful....MORE venues should have upstairs bars where yoou can watch bands from a distance. Bearsuit certainly sounded better from up there (NB this is not necessarily a -ve comment).

Sorry I didn't get to meet you Hanna - maybe some other time, are you in the UK long-term or have you returned to Swedeland?

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 10:28 (twenty-two years ago)

MarkH haha were you one of the 50-or-so drunken people flocking around that closed ex-toilet bar and then scattering all over the street and taking various buses to various locations? We finally ended up at some hotel bar that was open til 3am and had "toilet attendants" whatever the hell that is.

― Hanna (Hanna), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 11:10 (twenty-two years ago)

punchbags for members of Girls Aloud I believe.

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 11:13 (twenty-two years ago)

and yes I was one of those ppl. At least I now know that the 148 is the bus that goes from bush hall to both Marble Arch *and* Victoria -TWO places I can get back to Oxford from.

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 11:15 (twenty-two years ago)

there's someone who works here who looks *a lot* like Sarah Action Biker.

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 11:19 (twenty-two years ago)

Sarah Action Biker should be Miss Sweden!

― Hanna (Hanna), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 11:22 (twenty-two years ago)

I'd vote for her!

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 11:24 (twenty-two years ago)

I missed Action Biker! I am sad.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 13:15 (twenty-two years ago)

She was one of the best things and they sent her onstage at three minutes to seven, so lots of people missed her first song.

― Madchen (Madchen), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 15:45 (twenty-two years ago)

And they sold out of her seven inch, which I delayed buying because I didn't want to have to carry it round.

by the way, I liked meeting everyone I met, especially Mandee May, Stevie T., and Mark H, whom I met for the first time. I also met other people for the first time but they are from other bits of the internet. I think.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 18:36 (twenty-two years ago)

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London Strange Fruit festival in November - anyone going?