CHEAP MUSIC

Death Disco

Death Disco is the cheapest way for any music fan to feel right at home, in London. Hosted by Alan McGee, Death Disco happens every Wednesday night at the Notting Hill Arts Club, a venue as eclectic as the bands it books and the fans that attend. Not to mention that it’s free before 8 pm, and only a whopping £7 afterwards. Add that to the £2.10 for a bottle of the house beer, and you’re already saving money – well sort of.

The music lasts from 6pm to 2am with DJs spinning in between the bands sets. Usually you’ll hear recycled tracks from England’s own JAMC and Smiths; but you don’t show up for DJs at Death Disco, and the unique mix of bands makes up for any lack of DJ creativity. When you go from listening to a violin and acoustic rock quartet belting out dance and power-pop, to a hardcore-electro band, What Would Jesus Drive, closing with a cover of “The One That I Want” from the Grease soundtrack, you know you’re somewhere special.

The crowd is nothing less of a surprise. On any night amidst the bar keep’s friends and locals, there might be a horde of teenage German tourists, or even a gang of indie-rock mini Beatles, and everyone’s packed like sardines and shuffled together on the dim-lit dance floor. But if the live space gets two crowded, you can file across the room and pull up a chair in the lounge area where they host the R&B/Rap night YOYO – no worries, you can hear the music from every inch of the venue.

For any tourist in London for a month, or even a week, Death Disco is a night well spent. If you’ve got a love for music and a couple of quid you will easily become a fan over-night.

Notting Hill Arts Club
21 Notting Hill Gate
London W11 3JQ
Phone: 020 7460 4459
Tube: Notting Hill Gate
http://www.nottinghillartsclub.com/

Really Awful Poetry: Thursday Nights

My fellow music connoisseurs: if you dig the jams but can’t stand the over-priced pretense blighting the music scene, hop on board and let The Good Ship bring you back to the time when the beat still had you rocking, regardless of the performers’ image. Ditch your Dickinson anthology Thursday nights and come to Really Awful Poetry to enjoy some real tunes and a cheap drink served by your new friends behind the bar.

Aptly named as a satirical stab at the elitist hipster mentality, the Britihs venue prides itself on creating a humble, yet creative atmosphere. From the weary rock and roll purists, to the recovering show tunes addicts - whatever your sickness, this bar/club transmogrification will have any music lover kicking off his or her working shoes in no time, and all for under ten pounds.

From the moment you walk out of the tube station in Kilburn, you’ll be surrounded by the usual suspects: greasy take-away chains and the same pub you swore you just passed three seconds ago. A quick three-minute walk down Kilburn Street, however, and you’ll find The Good Ship painted on the side of a brick building; finally, an innovative light at the end of the stale ale, shish-kebab tunnel.

Inside, you’re bound to immediately find live music – an assortment of rock, indie, punk, and electronica – but if a band is in between sets, you can always bond with some strangers over your favorite album (that you’re sure to find in their one-hundred plus CD juke box). Or, if you prefer, grab a beer and head upstairs to the backstage loft to chat with band members or watch the next set while leaning on empty guitar cases.

Adding to this highly accessible, humble atmosphere, the bands play on ground floor of the venue and frequently take the one step it requires to get off the stage and dance with fans. This is a venue that screams yes to real ales, real people, and real fun, so sail off every Thursday night to enjoy honest musicianship and comradeship on no other voyager than this good ship. (5 pound cover charge.)

The Good Ship
289 Kilburn High Road
NW67JR London
(020) 7372 . 2544
http://thegoodshipinkilburn.blogspot.com

Lippi Quartet

When you want to hear a well-performed classical piece, you could pay quite a lot and take the tube to hear BBC Proms. Yet on a normal afternoon, you could also hear a commanding performance for free.

Situated in a short tunnel, a minute’s walk down from Shakespeare’s Globe, four string players, The Lippi Quartet, perform well-known music scores to the passing crowd. They are university students studying music in London and they play free of charge everyday from 3pm-6pm. An open cello case welcomes donations.

Composed of two violinists and two celloists, these musicians perform classical pieces such as from Mozart and Pachelbel. Their performance is clean and passionate, they are no amateurs. Their rendition of Pachelbel’s Canon is concert hall worthy.

Hearing them is easy. Walk over the Millennium Bridge and turn left at the end of the bridge or take the Tube to London Bridge and head west along the river. Keep walking until you hear music.

Shakespeare’s Globe
21 New Globe Walk
Bankside
London SE1
Tube: (North of Thames) Mansion House, Cannon Street, Blackfriars, St. Paul's or Bank. Walk over Millennium or Waterloo Bridge.
(South of Thames) London Bridge, Southwark, Waterloo.
http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/

SHOPPING AND MUSIC

Beyond Retro has done it: united vintage clothes with indie music, spawning an explosion of London’s hipster scene. Beyond Retro transforms itself every Saturday (late May through September) from vintage clothing shop to concert venue for its “Shop and Roll!” event, hosting a slew of up-and-comings in the music world.

The musical talent includes everything from electronic pop bands to bluesy funk singers. So while you browse through their endless selection of 50s style print frocks and vintage leather boots, you can listen to the cutting edge in music, a perfect combination of what’s old and what’s new.

The retro vibe of the clothes is complimented by the free weekly concerts at their East London location on Chesire Street, allowing you to shop and rock ‘til you drop at the same time. Their “Shop and Roll!” event begins on Saturdays between 3 and 4 pm (depending on when the band gets there) and the set generally lasts an hour. It’s worth the trip for the apparel alone, so the addition of wanna-be rock stars simply spikes its edgy appeal.

The concert at no charge matches the stores generally laid-back attitude and commitment to reasonable prices. While you don’t have to spend a dime if your only intention is to groove to new tunes, if you do find yourself lured in by a particularly shiny pair of pre-used purple biker pants, your wallet need not be alarmed.

So, whether you’re into dead people’s clothes, enjoy indie music, or just want to be one of East London’s beautiful people, Beyond Retro’s “Shop and Roll!” event has your answer for total immersion in this city’s fabulous hipster culture.

SHOPPING AND DANCING

Looking for an entertaining, eventful afternoon in London that won’t leave you reaching for your wallet? Most are, and it is possible to find. London’s street markets are a colorful place to pass the time, but there is always the fear of spending too much money, even if we make the empty promise, “I’ll just browse.” There is, however, a host of free events sprinkled throughout the lively and vibrant Spitalfields Market.

Spitalfields caters to all ages, although there is a youthful, hip energy about the marketplace, making it an ideal spot for young people. One entirely free event is The Tea Dance, which takes place every last Friday of the month. Spitalfield’s Tea Dance aims to bring back social dance in London and is ideal if you are looking for fun that has a taste of tradition. You can learn the foxtrot and the tango or show off your moves if you are a seasoned dancer as all ages and experiences are welcome.

The Tea Dance music is performed by the Covent Garden Dance Band, which is comprised of Opera House Orchestra members. The dance takes place in Crispin Place, which is fully covered and so the event goes on rain or shine. If it’s a sunny day, pack a picnic lunch to enjoy outdoors before the dance begins. After the dance, there is still an hour left before the market stalls close and so there is plenty of time to saunter through Spitalfields, and there is no entrance fee to walk among the vendors.

If on a tight budget, often the inclination is to breeze by these street markets because of the temptation to spend money. Ironically, it is places of commerce like Old Spitalfields Market that offer unique and not only cheap, but free events. So next time you think you don’t have the funds to enjoy the market, you are dead wrong. The Tea Dance at Spitalfields guarantees a lovely afternoon of tradition and dance that won’t cost you two pence.

Old Spitalfields Market
Crispin Place off Brushfield Street, E1
Tube: Liverpool Street
Every last Friday of the month, 1-3pm
Phone: 7957 216444
www.spitalfields.co.uk