weJamming is london live

wejamming.com is your mini london guide to london gigs, london clubs, london theatre and london live sport

london's live music scene

london is a fantastic city for live music and clubs and while liverpool and manchester may be the source of much of britains amazing musical heritage, almost all the bands that have ever taken the world by storm have ultimately been lured by the bright lights and sheer diversity of london's gig scene. so whatever you're looking for you're bound to find something that will inspire and get you moving!

high on the list for atmosphere and accoustics are the shepherd's bush empire and the forum kentish town, who have had rufus wainwright (posing) and de la soul as recent visitors. moving up in terms of size are the hammersmith apollo (formerly the odeon and featured on dave pearce's intro to public enemies legendary it takes a nation of millions to hold us back) and nme favourite the brixton academy, both of which offer a step up in terms of capacity at the expense of the things that make the shepherd's bush empire and forum such favourites. but if you're lucky and you get the chance, check out the union chapel in islington, where you'll be close enough to whoever's playing it will be something of a religious experience!

experimental

whether you're into roots or reggae, indie or pop, there are venues of all shapes & sizes to cater for every taste you can imagine. and if you can't find a place that does, give them a shout. places like the rhythm factory in whitechapel and the luminaire in kilburn both have an open welcoming approach to new forms of musical experimentation. there are open mic nights at the barfly, cd remixing at plastic people, & a fusion of sound and vision at the ica - here's a quick glance of what you can find on the london live music scene.

indie rock

camden town is indie central with more live venues clustered into a postcode playing all kinds of indie rock & metal, from the nightly stages at the pub/venue dublin castle to gigs & nme club nights at koko and the essential step in all indie diaries - checking out the up and coming talent at the barfly. up north, the garage and it's little sister upstairs at the garage host indie rock and metal most nights, while the regular artrocker nights introduce up and coming indie hopefuls at the buffalo bar. down the northern line, the bedford in balham is a large pub with a dedicated section available for musicians most nights of the week.

r'n'b hip hop & dance

with r'n'b holding it's place in the mainstream in recent years, you're likely to see established artist such as craig david, destiny's child etc at the mainstream london venues. more experimental shows can be found at the jazz cafe in camden where a world influence mixes with intimate shows from big name artists, while cargo host anything and everything from hip hop/dance cross overs to leftfield world artists such as trinidadian poet roger robinson. also keep an eye out on the weJamming club listings for mc contests & events that take place at herbal, plastic people and the dj bars in brixton

jazz, roots & blues

london has a renowned world jazz scene and while you may not get the crowds or collection of artists at the new orleans mardi gras or montreal jazz festival, you can certainly see top jazz artists play at legendary jazz soho institution ronnie scott's, presenting jazz music of international standard. tickets cost between £20 & £25 (£10 student entry monday to wednesday). other venues include the pizza express jazz club at 10 dean street as well as the barbican and royal festival hall. the jazz cafe in camden is a bit of a misnomer though as you're more likely to hear hip hop & r'n'b there than jazz

roots & blues may not be as well represented but there are two excellent venues worth going along to - the 12 bar club just across from rays jazz cafe that hosts up to four bands a night 7 days a week, and the ain't nothing but blues bar that showcases live blues every night, with free entry on sundays and weekdays, a late license and an intimate up for it crowd!

world

the first place that used to come to mind when looking for visiting bands from far off places was spitz, but sadly the venue closed in 2007, though a spitz night takes place in various locations - see their website for details. it's also definitely worth checking out the gig listings for. other notable venues including the barbican with their diverse artistic policy and the royal festival hall on the south bank, while the borderline is highly regarded as the first stop for americana/alternative american country and often the first place such bands play in the uk courtesy of borderline's americana aficionado promoter, barry evans

clubbing in london

a visit to london wouldn't vbe complete without a visit to one of london's many nightspots and there is plenty to choose from. tourists will mostly head for one of the london west end clubs, though more savvy clubbers are likely to be found out over old street way. brixton and clapham also have some options for those south of the river and dj bars abound on both sides of the river, mainly round clapham down south and angel and farrigdon up north. whether it's house, r'n'b or drum and bass you're after, check out the london club guide to point you in the right direction - plus and profiles for top london clubs including fabric, herbal, ministry of sound and lots more. expect the freshest sounds in town: punk, funk, no wave, rock and roll, fucked up house, sleazy electro or mutant disco house - from plastic people. to fabric to neighbourhood to the end - shake it like a polaroid picture

house & techno

house comes alive at the weekend with fabric, turnmills, the end and ministry of sound all putting on house club nights on fridays saturdays or both often hosting the latest international djs swinging into town

but if the superclub scene is just too big for you there are also plenty of smaller and more intimate house nights to be lived such as neighbourhood in west london, the rhythm factory in whitechapel and the line of dj bars that snake up from angel to highbury corner.

r'n'b/hip hop/garage

soho is home to hip hop london club nights, with sunday night's indelible marker at soho institute madame jo jo's top dog on the good time night out stakes, having hosted the hip hop kings de la soul!

but hey, the rest of the week is cool too, with smoove at the ministry of sound kicking things off on fridays, metparties at nyt club and xtravagant at the academy islington holding the candle on saturdays and the listings for bar rumba always being worth a look through the week

reggae

london has always had a special relationship with reggae. bob marley had a couple of legendary gigs here back in the '70's (including the live version of woman no cry on multi million selling legend), the base for island records that helped bring reggae out of the carribbean plus the strong jamaican population in the capital means that reggae holds a special place in london.

some top nights include rodigan's reggae on wednesday nights at mass, brixton, tighten up's trojan records sponsored mix of reggae, ska, rocksteady, old-school-dancehall, roots & dub @ catch on the first saturday of each month, and the zinc fence residency plays @ soma two mondays of the month

indie

even though most of the bands that have made up indie, britpop and present have come from the regions, they've all pretty much had to spend time in london for exposure and there are a number of excellent club nights where you can hear anything and everything from panic to disco 2000 to some might say

if you're central and it's friday night then you might want to check out the queen is dead at the borderline, alan mcghee's friday night indie club that features some indie gems past & present and regularly hosts live bands picked by mr mcghee's a&r ear, while he's putting together shows at notting hill arts club on wednesday nights.

but if you're really looking to keep your indie options open, camden town is your destination with loads of indie venues most of whom are hosting indie bands every night.

club seal at the academy in islington is a new addition to the indie clubnight circuit, spinning everthing and anything indie, alternative or rock 3 out of 4 fridays and entry just £2-£4

there's the nme club night at koko on friday with a mix of nme dhs and guests spinning indie classics & hosting live acts, saturday night clubbing at the barfly, three live bands on stage at the pub with a stage dublin castle.

and when the weekend is over, there's always monday night's trash at the end club - where you can see where all the house heads get jiggy at the weekend to an indie rock 'n' roll soundtrack

you can check out london gig listings, club listings and the venue directory to find out what's going on this week

latin

if you're feelin blue the latin spirit will see you through and just because every night is party night, tuesday night is when you should be at guanabara, while the brazillian theme continues at the brazillian love affair hosted by notting hill arts club on various night during the month

d'n'b & breakbeats

wednesday night's nag nag nag at the ghetto, down an alleyway behind the atoria has built up a bit of a good time following and it's the place to be midweek nights.

bar rumba takes pole position on thursday night d'n'b with movement and all kinds of heavyweight djs and mcs directing the action on this long running big night out

for your weeklend fix it's time to head out east to old street. 333 fridays and saturdays showcase some new d'n'b beats amongst the house discs. sunday night sees herbal hosting the awesome dj grooverider on sunday night's grace & playing on a kick ass soundsystem with precision and clarity.

asian beats

the london scene for young asian music continues to grow - from the down to earth dj magazine top ten listed eastern drum and breaks night at herbal that features tabla fuelled breaks & more mellow abstract vibes to the exclusive monthly kuch kuch nights every last saturday playing movie favourites, eastern beats & bhangra @ the millenium club complete with asian style bureacracy - you need to be on the guest list to gain entry - but hey, keep smiling cos you're a star

chart & pop

ok, if you're looking for the latest chart hits and special drink deals with a dancefloor to boot. the leicester square/piccadilly circus area is where it's at and the place you're likely to meet tourists, office party workers out on the night and passer bys somehow lured into a night on the town.

probably the most obvious destination here as long as you could look at least 25 is tiger tiger, a three floor bar/club/restaurant for ladies & gentlemen. free entry before 10pm fridays and saturdays, sofas, a decent dancefloor and your change comes in silver trays where you can leave tips if you feel that way.

just round the corner on leicester square is the hippodrome, an old relic of a disco that has a slight old cinema theatre feel to it that hosted charlie chaplin back in the 1930's.

smaller and more informal to both of these venues is the zoo bar - a dj bar on the east side of leicester square

and if you're looking for something spontaneous and you've got a sense of adventure too you van always check out the buttoned down disco nights - a series of mystery club nights who's location can be determined by logging onto buttoneddowndisco.com - where not only will you find the top secret location but the chance to print off a flyer for free entry. how good is that?

london theatre & shows

london theatre guide - what's on this summer 2010

from west end musicals to shakespeare repertoire. From fringe to comedy and drama! London's theatres have something for you. Don't miss out on the chance to discover a little piece that's uniquely london - and a swift interval half in a nearby boozer. the most popular west end shows this year are mama mia, thriller and lion king. while if you've never had a chance, go check out some shakespeare at the globe theatre on the south bank or the open air theatre in regents park. you won't believe their the same stories you were trying to study back in english class as they're vividly and spectacularly brought to life. check out our london theatre guide for a list of this summers shows, links to london many theatres and more!

london live sport

kick off to the english premier league 2010-2011

4-4-2, gerrard & lampard, rooney's loss of form, it's drama end to end. whether it's arsenal, chelsea, fulham or spurs, find a football ground or a live sports bar in london near you. the new premier league seasons starts august 14th!

london accommodation

hotels

there are hundreds of hotels in london so a good place to start is to check out one of the comparison sites to suit your requirements - hotels in london go that extra yard in helping you find accommodation easily and getting your visit up and running with lots of useful london info.

hostels

international student house student accommodation and social club in central london offer student accommodation to visitors out of term, and there are also options of single and twin rooms at students-lodging and the lse if you're on a budget but not so keen on sharing a dorm, which you can quite happily do at the globetrotter inn at stamford brook west london and one of the youth hostel association hostels dotted across the city

flatshare

loot is the most commonly used service when you're looking for a houseshare, but with the limited space for descriptions, pictures etc websites such as spareroom and gumtree can give you more of a feel for a place before you pick up the phone or get on a bus. check out moveflat to

london transport

there are 5 principle airports in the london area - heathrow, gatwick, stansted, luton & city with heathrow being the closest to central london & stansted furthest out (around 30 miles).

if you're flying into one of london's airports you may want to check out your transport options to & from the city, particularly if you're coming & going at cheapest fare hours. ticket prices using thameslink from luton airport and the stansted express can be around £15 return, while the journey time on the gatwick express, heathrow express or new heathrow connect service can be half an hour less,
cheaper if you use the piccadilly line or slower gatwick trains.