Download the London Popfest 2009 guide (pdf) here.
SCHEDULE
Thursday 26 February @ Jamm (Brixton) – doors 8pm
Pelle Carlberg (Sweden)
The School
Pocketbooks
Let’s Whisper (US)
DJ: How Does It Feel to Be Loved?
Friday 27 February @ The Buffalo Bar (Islington) – doors 8pm
Tender Trap
Zipper (Spain)
Betty and the Werewolves
Allo, Darlin’ (with a full band!)
DJs: Fortuna Pop! and Cosy Den (Sweden)
Saturday 28 February @ The Macbeth (Hoxton) - doors 3pm
Comet Gain
Milky Wimpshake
Help Stamp Out Loneliness
(most of) The Smittens (US)
Liechtenstein (Sweden)
Action Biker (Sweden)
The Loves
Town Bike
The Pete Green Corporate Juggernaut
DJs: Spiral Scratch, Half My Heart Beats (Glasgow), WeePOP! and Fraction Discs (Sweden)
Sunday 1 March @ The Salmon and Compass – doors 1pm
Julian Henry (The Hit Parade) and Harvey Williams (playing songs by The Hit Parade and Another Sunny Day)
Gregory Webster (Razorcuts)
The Middle Ones
DJs: The Hangover Lounge (Tim, Ben, John)
Also, on Friday afternoon (2-6pm) we have two amazing films showing:
1234 and Slamptumentary
Roxy Bar & Screen (map)
128-132 Borough High Street
London SE1 1LB
1234, Dir. Giles Borg, London, Carson Films, 2008
Bespectacled cardigan-wearer Stevie (guitar, vocals) endures a job he despises and can’t get a girlfriend, but at least he has music. With his mate Neil (drums), he’s been kicking about in bands for a while, but it is not until the pair team up with Billy Dixon (guitar), a more experienced hand with drive and ambition, and Billy’s cute pal Emily (bass) that the possibility they might be on to something good suggests itself. With a demo to tout, Stevie beats a well-trodden path to record company doors, but finds he has to manage the tensions developing within the band while keeping his own aspirations in check.
There have been plenty of films about bands in the past, yet Giles Borg’s knowing, warm and witty film feels original and honest, the product of time spent in dives watching bands before anyone else has heard of them. A spirited, independent film about the spirit of independence, 1 2 3 4 revels in referencing The Yummy Fur, Prolapse and Comet Gain, as much as more obvious touchstones The Stooges, The Velvet Underground and the Pixies (the soundtrack is a killer, natch). Watch it here, so that in six months time when everyone’s raving about it, you can claim, “I saw it first”.
Slamptumentary, Dir. Nick Allot, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Slampt, 1995
AKA 1995: the year punk rock got fixed. Only 50 VHS copies ever existed, but now there’s an updated Slamptumentary including extra footage, a priceless document of the Slampt Underground Organisation, home of Kenickie and The Yummy Fur and one of the greatest DIY labels ever the world ever saw!
Remember, you’ll need a 4-day pass to attend Friday and Sunday and ensure entry to the film screenings and the pop quiz.
Here is who’s playing this year:
Action Biker (Sweden)
Allo, Darlin’
Betty and the Werewolves
Pelle Carlberg (Sweden)
Comet Gain
Help Stamp Out Loneliness
Julian Henry (The Hit Parade)
Let’s Whisper (US)
Liechtenstein (Sweden)
The Loves
The Middle Ones
Milky Wimpshake
Pocketbooks
The Pete Green Corporate Juggernaut
The School
(most of) The Smittens (US)
Tender Trap
Town Bike
Gregory Webster (Razorcuts)
Harvey Williams
Zipper (Spain)
