More information about all of the Circus acts and a printable timetable for Saturday!
Not only are LeftLion kind enough to give you Nottingham’s best magazine, website and podcasts all for nowt, but this weekend we’re putting on a FREE all-day festival bursting to buggery with some of the cities best bands, DJs, musicians, writers, graf artists and dead celebs. Not to mention a craft market, barbecues, several film crews and a live flashdance performance of Michael Jackson’s Thriller...
LeftLion Radio @ The Ropewalk
Hhymn (below) are a collaboration between two great songwriters who weave luscious melodies and gorgeous lyrics which, once experienced, will make you wonder how you’ve ever lived without hearing them. Ronika makes awesome electronic pop music; expect big, meaty, and bouncy ryhthms, peppered with a soulful and sassy swagger a-plenty. If you’ve not heard The Hum, you’re not the only one - the Circus Extravaganza will be the debut gig for this new band full of familiar faces. Shot through with seventies west coast rock, smooth grooves and honest songwriting, they’re perfect for a chilled-out Saturday afternoon set. Garrison calm things down with gorgeous alt-country Americana, while Notts hip-hop is fully represented by The Elementz, who will be offering up a heady musical combination of tunes that will make the floor vibrate, your head pound, and your body shake with a midnight set. Add DJ sets from the likes of Mark Del of We Love Nottingham Music fame, LeftLion favourites The Stiff Kittens and Eclectic’s Beatmasta Bill, and it makes for one exceptionally tasty line-up.
Alt:Lion @ The Running Horse and The Red Lion
The Running Horse got so into the spirit of the Circus Extravaganza that theybooked enough bands to cover two venues - so they took over the Red Lion too. The Swiines have a massive following across town – when you see their swagger, balls, and boundless energy, you’ll realise why. The Limits stitch together a patchwork quilt of unique melodic rock, full of heart, passion, and sweeping choruses, while Euler bring a sound dominated by twangy guitars and heart-on-the-sleeve passion. Green For Go (right) boil over with a vibrant mix of anger and frustration that comes from being politically aware, having a conscience, and wanting to do something with it. Union X, on the other hand, have RAWK flowing through their veins and a drummer with a mullet. The Hell I Am dare to be fun, dare to rock, and have the cheek of being rather good at both of them. The Beast and the Priest might sound like the title of some under the counter, dodgy VHS film, but they are actually an electrifying three-piece who play with such bluster they can literally knock your hat right off your head, while Dax are a band of whippersnappers with, youthful exuberence and untainted ambition. On a more acoustic note, Becky Syson is a wonderful singer songwriter who managers to conjure up luscious melodies from the ether. Andy Whittle knows his way around an acoustic guitar, as he fingerpicks strolling lines against a backdrop of classic folk storytelling. Steve Pinnock has been a mainstay on the local music scene for years, and his twitchy, world music influenced guitar playing is jaw-droppingly good. Matt Marriott is a guitar virtuoso whose fingers move across the frets faster than a load of mams from Mansfield after the last steak bake from Greggs. Nina Smith is brimming with confidence - once you listen to her sing and play guitar you are cast under her bewitching spell, as she spins out her elegant acoustic pop.
Write Lion @ Hand And Heart - upstairs in the Gallery from 4pm onwards
Our designated spoken word stage will include performances from a wide range of local literary figures. The Killing Jar author Nicola Monaghan (left) will be along to read extracts from her latest work and talk about being a writer in Nottingham, while Megan Taylor – author of dark coming of age story How we were Lost – will talk about this and her experiences of writing. Mike Wilson has written over 100 books of poetry, so will have plenty of material to draw upon. Aly Stoneman comes fresh from a performance at Leicester’s Summer Sundae with her mythical and romantic verse, while Marion Bell brings along her Poetry Devotion show. Rebecca Dakin is the author of The Girlfriend Experience and describes herself as more of a Bridget Jones than a Belle De Jour. Nottingham’s ‘Mr Sex’ will be making his spoken word debut, reciting the very cream of his sex toy reviews, letters sent to porn magazines (not by him) and extracts from his award-winning Todger Talk blog. There will also be sets from members of the Write Lion community and when there are no words left to say, there’ll be live music.
StuPod @ Seven
Too late to get on the bill at the Extravaganza? Fret not – just get yourself down to Seven nice and early and put yourself down for some Open Mic action (from 2-5.30pm), just before a wide spectrum of sound blesses your tabs. Rapunzel MAP (right) is that sweet, hypnotic voice you hear drifting down by the Market Square when you are heading home after a night out at 3am. Her indoor sets are a rare pleasure, so din’t miss out. Lisa DeVille is a veteran of the local scene after stints in bands like Black Vinyl Heart, but she’s going solo this time.
Dead Celebrities @ Shop
Expect all manner of arty goodness going on at Shop - including a live flash dance performance of Thriller, zombie face-painting, dead celebrity fancy dress and loads and loads of artistic eye candy – some of which will be for sale on the day. Don’t be surprised to find a film crew hovering about, too...
Cult Radio @ Moog
Hexadecimal, a resident DJ at Spectrum, will be bringing their delarious electro house to the extravaganza, followed by State of Rhymes (right) - a collaborative effort fronted by rapper XS:IF and combining live instruments and strutting rhymes to a wholesome organic vibe. While Predator Prey’s music is so lethal that it should come with a health warning. Add to this DJ sets from the Cult residents and Moog is set to go off into the early hours.
Podsesh @ The Falcon
There will be loads of live music in The Falcon - at the time of going to press they told us that legendary pianist Pete The Feet, famous throughout Notts for tickling the ivories with his toes, may make an appearance.
LeftLion Circus Extravaganza takes place across Canning Circus on Saturday 3 October 2009 from 2pm-2am. Entrance to all venues is free.
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