Riotous local rock band Fat White Family are to play Windmill Brixton on Wednesday in a surprise gig as part of Independent Venue Week. Windmill band booker Tim Perry tells us what else is in store at the Windmill over the next seven days.
All this week, the likes of Frank Turner, Laura Marling and Palma Violets will be playing venues much smaller than they usually play nowadays. At the Windmill (the only local venue invited to participate in the week), we have our own big surprise happening on Wednesday night – Fat White Family are playing! Tickets go on sale at 1pm today so get ready with your phone/computer…
Now in its second year, Independent Venue Week celebrates and publicises those small venues that give artists their first experience of playing live in front of an audience and places for music fans to get up close to artists that one day, may well be playing stadiums and festival main stages.
For instance, here at the Windmill we hosted The Vaccines first ever show and also the debut London show for The War On Drugs (way back in 2008!). Florence and The Machine, Fat White Family, Jamie T, Metronomy and The XX have all done shows here as well as cult figures such as Shonen Knife and Damo Suzuki. And of course hundreds of decent live bands from Brixton, the rest of south London and beyond who you’ve never heard of!!
Here’s what we have on during the week:
Mon 26 – “South London sensation” (The Guardian), Misty Miller kicks the week off for us with her first show of the year and with her full touring band. With an album coming out on Sony/Relentless later this year, 2015 looks like a huge year for this gritty songwriter. Support comes from new Brixton teens Shame who are creating a ncie buzz on the London scene, while the punky and humourous Shark Dentist open the night.
Tue 27 – Good. Sad. Happy. Bad. is a band you won’t have heard of but they do number a well-known underground artiste as their singer. It’s a low key gig in preparation for a big show later in the week, so that’s all we can tell you about them for now apart from the fact, they’re one of the best post-punk you’ll see this year.
Wed 28 – Our special guests on Wednesday are Fat White Family with support from Meatraffle. Tickets (which will fly out) are £10 and go on sale at 1pm!
Thur 29 – We’re still working on this one! Check our website for details.
Fri 30 – A great Friday night line-up of four bands for just £3, headlined by riffing Swedish-American pop rockers FEWS with three up and coming London bands – Lost Poets, Emperors of Rome and The Butterfly Wheel – in support.
Sat 31 – Dirty southern blues rockers from Ireland, Crow Black Chicken drop in on their UK tour with support from the like-minded Little Mammoths and eclectic Brixton-based reggae-rockers Raw Fire.
Sun 1 – Local promoters Worst Behaviour finish the week off for us with two emerging local artists in Jerkcurb (dreamy guitars) and Coby Sey (electronic). They’ll also be announcing some surprise guests on the day!
Supported by Arts Council England, Independent Venue Week brings together small venues along with breaking and established artists, promoters, labels, media, bloggers and taste-makers to host a nationwide series of gigs for a week between Monday 26th January and Sunday 1st February.
Written by Tim Perry
[…] local heroes Fat White Family due to play a sold night show next, the Windmill have certainly proved that independent venues are very much alive and […]