Gig Guide: 17th - 23rd august

Well I hope you find this week's gig review to be through the roof amazing due to last week's being AWOL...and if not for the fact that most of the shows are in Londontown (is this detrimental? i think not. it is the capital after all) it is a pretty bloody good lineup of the best artists of the moment. 4 cities, 2 countries, 1 venue twice, all American artists.....enjoy! Monday Port O'Brien & Papercuts - Night & Day, Manchester Port O'Brien of City Slang Records play this teeny venue tonight. Expect some sea shanty style folk singalongs with the likes of tracks such as "Stuck on a Boat", and the hugely popular self-released "All We Could Do Was Sing". Tuesday Grizzly Bear - Koko, London Brooklyn based 4 piece who are renowned for their folk-psychedelia sound. Creating grandiose noise they played with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in 2008 and are set to play with London's Philharmonic at the Barbican in October. See them at a sold out Koko tonight in their original line up. Wednesday Bill Callahan, Union Chapel, London American singer-songwriter formerly known as Smog has been recording for almost 20 years in a variety of guises. See him in beautiful Union Chapel tonight where he will be playing tracks from his latest release Sometimes I Wish I Were an Eagle. Thursday Animal Collective - Brixton Academy, London Giving birth to freak-folk their live shows are a kaleidescope of crazy psychedelic lights and techno-tribal beats. Animal Collective are a worthwhile spend: and although they're not everyones' cup of tea it seems that with them playing Brixton (having played to a sold out Koko in January) they are steadily getting more of us on their side. Friday Beach House & Vetiver - Union Chapel, Islington, London Atmospheric ambiance from double headliners; Baltimore's Beach House and San Fran's Vetiver. Their music sounds like it should be heard in a chapel and so tonight it is! Saturday Jeffrey Lewis - The Freebut, Brighton The embodiment of anti-folk Jeffrey Lewis and his band The Junkyard headline tonight down in Brighton. Incredibly insightful lyrics and crazy comic book accompaniments Lewis is always much more captivating and entertaining live than you think possible. Sunday Andrew Bird - HMV Picture House, Edinburgh Wonderful whistling troubadour who does indeed whistle like a canary! If you know Andrew Bird and have had the pleasure of already seeing him live then you know what it's all about: mindblowing, spellbinding, sickeningly talented one man band style pop symphonies looped over and created anew on stage. If you don't know Andrew Bird, go in blind...you really will not regret it. Trust me.