The Stargreen blog thing

Thirty minutes and counting: tickets for the tenth LEEDS FESTIVAL go on sale here at 6.45pm

August 22-24

[ edit: sorry, we're now ALL SOLD OUT ]

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On sale now -

• 65 DAYS OF STATIC : one night of instrumental post-rock at INDIGO 2, Friday 11 April
• ANGIE STONE is at the FORUM, Wednesday 30 April
• CHARLOTTE HATHERLEY, former ASH guitarist: BAR ACADEMY ISLINGTON on Sunday 27 April
• NINE BELOW ZERO was originally formed in 1977, "by guitarist Dennis Greaves, who disillusioned with the hard rock direction of the band he was in decided to set up a proper blues band" (wikipedia). They're playing an acoustic set at the 100 CLUB, Friday 2 May
• THE METROS are at DINGWALLS (LOCK 17), Monday 19 May
• SHELBY LYNNE plays at ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL, Friday 19 September

And Friday 9am -

• EDDY GRANT at SHEPHERD'S BUSH EMPIRE, Friday 04 July
• NICKELBACK at WEMBLEY ARENA, Sunday 21 September
• SCOUTING FOR GIRLS extra day at SHEPHERD'S BUSH EMPIRE, Tuesday 27 May
• FOALS at BRIXTON ACADEMY, Thursday 16 October

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The trouble with trying to be funny about MADNESS is that all the obvious jokes are, well, obvious. Infectious two-tone ska pop punk, at the O2, 19th December, on sale now.

Also arriving on these shores, the B52s. Their first new album in 15 years, Funplex, was released on March 25th, and they'll be at the Roundhouse on 24th July.

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• You oughta know, ALANIS MORISSETTE is at BRIXTON ACADEMY on Thursday 19 June.
• BEN FOLDS - the singer-songwriter, not the origami expert - plays the SHEPHERD'S BUSH EMPIRE, Wednesday 25 June
• FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND : Welsh post-hardcore at KINGS COLLEGE, Wednesday 02 July
• JAY Z is at HYDE PARK, Thursday 03 July
• American prog rockers THE MARS VOLTA are at LONDON ROUNDHOUSE, Wednesday 16 July
• The RACONTEURS are at HAMMERSMITH APOLLO, Wednesday 14 May
• FANTA ESTELLE SWARAY at SHEPHERD'S BUSH EMPIRE, Thursday 12 June
• THE MAGNETIC FIELDS on sale now, at CADOGAN HALL Thursday 10 July
• DANIELA MERCURY at BRIXTON ACADEMY on sale now, Sunday 01 June

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"If MOTORHEAD moved in next to you, your lawn would die" - Lemmy's life goal. Bad news, perhaps, for neighbours of the Hammersmith Apollo, as the umlaut users will be there on 22nd November.

Tickets on sale Friday 9am.

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The four original members of DURAN DURAN: Simon LeBon, Nick Rhodes, Roger Taylor and John Taylor, are bringing their Red Carpet Massacre tour to the O2 on Thursday, 3 July.

Tickets on sale now.

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BLONDIE is a group - again. With most but not all of the original members ...

The Parallel Lines 30th Anniversary Tour comes to the Excel Centre in London, Monday 28th July. Tickets on sale now.

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All on sale tomorrow, or today, or recently:

• MICA PARIS LIVE at INDIGO 2, Sunday 11 May
• MY MORNING JACKET at FORUM, Tuesday 15 July
• SANDI THOM is at BUSH HALL on 30th June
• GIVE IT A NAME at ISLINGTON ACADEMY, Thursday 22 May
• THE MOODY BLUES at ROYAL ALBERT HALL, Wednesday 08 October
• THE YOUNG GODS at BORDERLINE, Tuesday 10 June

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The COURTEENERS - not to be confused with the COURTENEERS, which is a misspelling, or for that matter the 1970s punk band the CORTINAS or the 1970s family car the CORTINA - are a Manchester indie band.

The Shepherd's Bush Empire is a famous London music venue originally designed and built by Frank Matcham as the flagship of the "Empire" chain of variety theatres,

The two meet on Thursday, 23 October. Tickets on sale from 10am

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Indie rockers dEUS are "one of the most successful Belgian rock bands ever", if you believe Wikipedia. Not that that doesn't sound uncomfortably like damning with faint praise

Their new album Vantage Point ("easily the band's most accessible work in years") is released at the end of this month, and tickets for their FORUM gig on Wednesday 15 October are on sale 9am Wednesday

IDLEWILD say: "I'm not going to bother trying to describe what the new material sounds like, because I usually get it wrong, but it's all good stuff. You'll hear it if you come to one of the summer shows.". For example, to the 3rd July ULU gig, on sale now.

JAMIE LIDELL learnt xylophone and drums at primary school before writing a melodrama for music and voice which attracted the curious charge from the school of "playing with the devil". "I like the sheer vibration of singing", he says. He gets his buzz at SHEPHERD'S BUSH EMPIRE on Thursday 16 October.

CAMILLE, French singer, songwriter and "occasional actress", appears at the London Roundhouse on Sunday 19th October.

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Spring is finally here, and a young man's thoughts turn naturally towards ... open air festivals. Tickets for all of these are on sale now.

• BLOODSTOCK, the UK's largest independent heavy metal festival. Three days of diverse international heavy metal bands across three stages, a large selection of merchandise stalls, metal karaoke, campsite and a wide selection of food, bars and other refreshments. NIGHTWISH, DIMMU BORGIR, OPETH, HELLOWEEN and others: Catton Hall, 15-17 August.

• GET LOADED IN THE PARK: "indie-crazed rock" and "electro-jackin dance" (that's what they say, anyway) on Bank Holiday Sunday 24th August 2008. IGGY AND THE STOOGES, SUPERGRASS, GOGOL BORDELLO and more, on the fields of Clapham Common

• July 5th sees a music and comedy festival based on the cult MIGHTY BOOSH show. All happening at the Hop Farm

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London's BIGGEST and BEST outdoor dance event returns to Clapham Common for its fifth year as one of the UK's leading dance festivals on Bank Holiday Saturday 23rd August. Unrivalled by any other London-based outdoor festival and now firmly established on the UK summer festival circuit, SOUTH WEST FOUR is your one-way ticket to superstar DJ heaven, so ladies and gentlemen prepare yourself for our biggest and best line up to date...

Q: where can I get tickets
A: on this very site, from 9am Thursday

Q: are you sure about the 4wd people?
A: pretty sure

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Morrissey once called them "the best band in the world", but that was before they were famous. More recently, Q Magazine said "Tim Booth sounds like a singer reborn". JAMES new album Hey Ma is out now, and their 15th December gig at Brixton is onsale 10am Friday.

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JOHN MAYER in his blog recently refuted the New York Post's allegation that he "is so self-obsessed, he Googles himself every morning, and has been known to respond to online rumors just to clear the air". Which means he probably won't see this, but then, he probably doesn't need to buy tickets for his own gigs anyway. Brixton Academy, 27th June, on sale 9am Friday.

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• HOT CHIP at BRIXTON ACADEMY, Thursday and Friday 6-7 November
• MAGNETIC FIELDS at CADOGAN HALL, Friday 11 July
• THE STRANGLERS at SHEPHERD'S BUSH EMPIRE, Friday 14 November
• CREAMFIELDS at DARESBURY, HALTON., Saturday 23 August
• HAWKWIND at the ASTORIA, Tuesday 16 December
• MYSTERY JETS at the ASTORIA, Thursday 23 October

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• Irish National Lottery winners the SAW DOCTORS are at SHEPHERD'S BUSH EMPIRE, on Friday 05 December. "There has to be a dark side because there's a dark side to life. We see that, but we're kind of cynical optimists, I suppose."

• CLUTCH: metal at the ISLINGTON ACADEMY, Saturday 30 August. 'Personally I'd characterise a good proportion of their lyrics (the humorous ones) as "entertaining scifi/fantasy themed shaggy dog stories"', writes an anonymous Wikipedia contributor. Fair enough.

• Natalie Renee McIntyre (better known as MACY GRAY) appears at INDIGO 2, Thursday 31 July

• G LOVE (the G stands for "Good") and SPECIAL SAUCE at ELECTRIC BALLROOM, Tuesday 01 July

• Extra date for THE COURTEENERS: SHEPHERD'S BUSH EMPIRE, Friday 24 October

• GO WILD IN THE COUNTRY: snakes in the grass may not appeal, but how about Bjork, Soulwax, Foals, Pendulum, Battles, Hercules & Lova Affair, Sasha, 2manydjs, Danny Tenaglia, and Richie Hawtin on the stage? Saturday, 5 July

• TAKING BACK SUNDAY on THURSDAY. ASTORIA, 21 August

Plus day tickets for DOWNLOAD, HOOSIERS (on sale 9am), OMD (9am) and yet anoter night for ONE NIGHT ONLY

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