The Merc six date gig run will kick off on the 10 March running every two weeks until the 19 May from 7-9pm. Bands will play one hour sets each, with a support band of their choice to get things warmed up.
For your chance to win a pair of FREE tickets register by sending an email to music@merc.com with your NAME, AGE & PHONE NUMBER. Also state in the subject which band you would like to see. Gibson Guitar Studio address: Rathbone Street, London W1. Maximum of 150 free tickets per night.
The exclusive setting of the Gibson Guitar Studio has hosted intimate invite only gigs by artists such as Paul Weller, Kaiser Chiefs, Athlete, Feeder, Snow Patrol, Imelda May, The Temper Trap and The Boxer Rebellion to name a few.
*Maximum of two tickets per person.
The Merc Live series is being supported by Clash, Gibson and Tuborg.
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March 10th The View 8pm-9pm http://www.theviewareonfire.com/
Support: Where’s Strutter 7-8pm www.myspace.com/wherestrutter
Having been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2007 with their debut ‘Hats Off To The Buskers’ and then followed that up with their critically-acclaimed sophomore album ‘Which Bitch?’ in 2009, The View will release their anticipated third album ‘Bread And Circuses’ on Monday 14th March 2011.
Featuring the free download ‘Sunday,’ complete with a synth/drum machine opening that was made available in November to coincide with the band’s sold out UK tour as well as first single proper ‘Grace,’ a February 2011 raucous and anthemic tour-du-force that is sure to soundtrack the summer ahead, ‘Bread And Circuses’ promised to see The View back to their most gripping and exuberant best. Hear their new material first at Merc Live.
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March 24th – The Heartbreaks 8-9pm www.myspace.com/heartbreaksband
Support: The Bibelots 7pm-8pm www.myspace.com/thebibelots
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April 7th – The Moons 8-9pm www.myspace.com/themoonsofficial
Support: The Kinbeats 7pm-8pm www.myspace.com/thekinbeats
The Moons, a five piece from Northampton and Kettering, led by singer and guitarist Andy Crofts, with line-up completed by lead guitarist James Edward Bagshaw, bassist Adam Leeds, drummer Ben Gordelier and keyboardist Tom Warmsley, head a return to classic songwriting mixing Beatleish melodies and Kinksy guitars then feeding them through a Joe Meek and Jack Nitzsche paradigm. Their 2010 debut album Life On Earth made the indie Top 30 and spawned four contagious singles, Torn Between Two, Nightmare Day, Let It Go and Everyday Heroes. The band are currently recording their second album titled Tales Of The Unexpected which is being produced by Edwyn Collins at his West Heath Yard studio and is due for release in June on Edwyn Collins', Grace Maxwell's and James Endeacott's new label AED. It will be preceded with a single on the same label in May.
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21st April The Crookes www.myspace.com/thecrookesmusic
Support: Foreign Office www.myspace.com/theforeignoffice
The Crookes will be playing tracks from their debut album ‘Chasing After Ghosts’ which is being released on Fierce Panda on March 21st 2011.
The ghosts found in the paintings of the Parisian street artist whose work is washed away By The Seine, the memories of youth in I Remember Moonlight and the real-life Sheffield criminals of Laundry Murder, 1922. These songs and more make up the brilliant Chasing After Ghosts, an album that sees Sheffield’s The Crookes deliver on their early promise in 11 brilliantly lyrical tracks that form a bedroom symphony for a new generation of sensitive souls. It’s a romantic, stirring, heartbreaking indie pop album that resonates with the sound of love, loss and loneliness.
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May 5th Kill It Kid – 8-9pm www.myspace.com/killitkid
Support – Circus Town www.myspace.com/circustown
Fronted by the gorgeous two-part vocal harmonies of singers Chris Turpin (‘a man who sounds’ - according to NME – ‘like he’s been gargling glass for fun – in a good way’) and Stephanie Ward, the lyrical intimacy of the songs is rendered all the more powerful by the interplay between the pair, Turpin’s distinctive voice seemingly arriving from another time and place, while Ward’s softer, huskier tones make for the perfect foil. Buttressed with keys and slide guitar, Kill It Kid (named in honour of a Bline Wille
McTell record) blend delta blues and roots to striking effect, producing blistering rock’n’roll in one moment and a smoky film-noire ambience in the next, and the sound - drawing comparison with The Coral, Mumford & Sons and The Raconteurs with recognisable hints of Tom Waits, Frank Zappa and Zeppelin - has earnt them firm fans in the likes of Jonathan Ross, Dermot O’Leary and Radcliffe & Maconie
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May 19th The Rifles 8-9pm www.myspace.com/therifles
Support - Life in Film http://www.myspace.com/lifeinfilm
As endorsements for your band go, this ain't bad: "This nineteen year old kid lifted up his shirt and showed me a tattoo he'd just had done. It said 'The Rifles' with a big guitar going right across his back..." (Luke Crowther, Rifles guitarist). But this is better: "There's some good haircuts there." (Paul Weller, The Modfather)
Such high, and weird, acclaim is reflective of The Rifles' activities in the two years since their debut album. No Love Lost was released in the UK. They’ve touring their nuts off, getting their music out to the people in the style of their heroes The Clash and The Jam.
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