Crafternoon

So, everyone loves craft...yes? Well HSAH definitely does and to celebrate all things crafty we are involved in a crafternoon. On the 18th April at St Pancras Church Hall FairPensions and Crafty Creatures will be hosting their first ever Crafternoon. This is your chance to be wined (sadly, no alcohol will be given out of this event but there is a pub down the road!) and dined whilst creating a cloth creature. To do this you must bring an old t shirt or a (clean) pair of socks!

There is an entry fee and there will be a small charge for the cakes but all profits go to FairPensions. If you are wondering what the hell FairPensions is go to their website - www.fairpensions.org.uk

Keep up to date with Crafty Creatures here - http://thecraftycreatures.blogspot.com/ They are on Facebook too!

Zun Zun Egui

HSAH demands you to check out this band. They are by far the best thing she hs see this year!

Their myspace does not do them enough justice as the production on their tracks is awful and most are recorded, badly, at gigs. If they do come to you town they are definitely worth watching.
www.myspace.com/zunzunegui

More for Field Day!

Its shaping up to be an amazing festival as more are added to the line up.

New additions:
TOUMANI DIABATE / EROL ALKAN / FINAL FANTASY / FAKE BLOOD / AEROPLANE / S.C.U.M / FIRST AID KIT

And for full line up info go to www.fielddayfestivals.com

Having a Field Day

ANNOUNCES FIRST WAVE OF ARTISTS

FIELD DAY HEADLINERS MOGWAI
PLUS FOUR TET / JAMES YORKSTON / APES AND ANDROIDS / MALCOLM MIDDLETON / FENNESZ / ERRORS / DJ SKREAM
With many more to be announced soon…

SATURDAY 1st AUGUST 2009
VICTORIA PARK / LONDON / E9
TICKET PRICE: £29.50 + BF
TIME: 11.30 – 10.30PM
www.fielddayfestivals.com / www.seetickets.com / www.ticketweb.co.uk

On the Saturday 1st August Field Day returns to Victoria Park for its third annual summer extravaganza. Field Day will be one of this summer’s essential festivals and with early bird tickets already sold out, you need to be quick off the mark to snap up yours before this event sells out.

Kicking off proceedings for 2009, Field Day is ecstatic to announce Mogwai as their headline act. The critically acclaimed Scottish rock group, formed by Stuart Braithwaite and Dominic Aitchison in 1995, have since become one of the most influential and best known names in post-rock, they have curated the ATP Festival, sold out The Albert Hall, London and last year released their sixth album 'The Hawk Is Howling'.

Drawing on influences from Joy Division, Pink Floyd, The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and post-rock pioneers Slint, Mogwai are the masters of the soft/loud dynamic, as they create a wall of sound that reaches beyond the tumultuous guitars, discovering twinkling optimism in fragile instrumentation and sensitive synths. The lyric-free songs are awe-inspiring and yet accessible.

Domino Record’s amazing ambient electro wizard, Four Tet, will be returning to Field Day, after his mind-blowing performance at its inaugural event two years ago, to play his first live set in London in over a year. Four Tet will be playing new material as he mixes up gloriously rich synthesizer arpeggios; crisp clusters of disco percussion and melodic flourishes.

Former Arab Strap multi-instrumentalist Malcolm Middleton will also be making an appearance at this year’s Field Day. As part of the now-defunct Falkirk duo, he spent 11 years peddling seedy, sweaty tales of cheap booze, late nights and sexual perversion, and his burgeoning solo career seems to be running along the same thematic lines. Working with numerous luminaries from the Glasgow scene, it’s Malcolm and his songs, however, which are the stars here, confirming Middleton's status as one of the best songwriters of his generation.

With the release of his fourth album, ‘When The Haar Rolls In’, at the end of last year, the softly spoken James Yorkston adds a wonderfully folkish element to Field Day’s line up that will complement its village fete vibe. And adding a large slice of funk to this year’s event is Brooklyn’s eccentric party starters Apes and Androids. With famed live performances involving cheerleaders, giant silver skulls and Korean drum circles, this is a band you don’t want to miss.

Touted as natural successors to the mantle currently held by the likes of Battles, Hot Chip and LCD Soundsystem, Errors have been confirmed for a festival slot, plus Fennesz's pretty and melodic music, mixing bent instrumental pop, synth gurgles, white noise, ethereal vocal samples, serious Morricone vibes and much more will add to the spectacle, whilst Dubstep don DJ Skream will be laying down some deliciously jaw-wobbling bass.

Brought to you by London’s most adventurous and daring promoters - Eat Your Own Ears, Adventures In The Beetroot Field, Bugged Out! – Field Day will bring you the most cutting edge line up of bands and DJs in the 2009 Festival season. The heart of East London will be transformed into a Village Fete; 'Village Mentality', a Village Green area within the festival will supply the masses with some countrified fun and games away from sound systems and stages. Try your luck on the tombola, crack a few nuts on the coconut shy - or just sit on some haybales and stuff your face with homemade cake. Inspired by summer sports days and country fetes - Field Day's very own village green will host stalls and activities throughout the daytime, ranging from sack-racing, to whack-the-rat, Bowling for Bacon and lots more to be announced. Come along, have fun, eat baked goods, and as the country saying goes - "be like an ant in the days of summer”…

This summer Field Day will sprinkle a splash of magic over the East End as Victoria Park comes alive with leftfield music and an electric atmosphere. Keep your eyes peeled for future line up announcements and for the latest news visit – www.fielddayfestivals.com

EVENT INFORMATION:

FIELD DAY 2009
VICTORIA PARK, LONDON E9
SATURDAY 1ST AUGUST
11.30 – 10.30PM

PRICE - £29.50 + BOOKING FEE

AVAILABLE FROM:

SEE TICKETS
www.seetickets.com
0870 264 3333

TICKETWEB
www.ticketweb.co.uk
08444 771 000

January only means one thing....

With the new year one thing appear to be on people's mind and that is saving money. After a Christmas over eating, drinking and spending HSAH gives you her ultimate cheap guide.

Firstly - 241 Food offers.
We all love going out to eat. Its a very sociable activity that enables us to catch up with friends, gossip and share tales. It can be expensive but here are some handy 241 places to check out:
http://www.pizzaexpressoffers.co.uk/
If your a member of Fitness First you can get 241 throughout January at Zizzi. If you aren't a member, you can still get cheap deals here:
http://www.zizzioffers.co.uk/
Alternatively you can visit Time Outs website for up to date foodie offers:
http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/offers.html

Museums - January is the best time of the year to embrace culture. The majority of London's lovely museums and galleries are free and have fantastic deals on membership. If you have a spare day and are looking for something to do, then why not, take a stroll around the Tate Britain or wander around the fantastic V and A. HSAH loves the photographers Gallery, which has moved to a new and improved location just behind oxford st. It has a very good shop so definitely worht a visit.

Sales - In January almost every shop is forcing you to buy stuff as its strips its prices down to a bare minimum. The only problem that arises is sorting the shit from the special. Some good places to shop are as follows:
Fortnum and Mason
Apparently the Queen does her shopping at F and M. Some how I can't imagine old Queenie E pushing a trolley around Fortnum and Masons...although the imagine does delight HSAH. None the less this shop is amazing for good biscuits, cakes and random nick nacks. It is ultimately a more tasteful Harrods.

Other places to check out would be Magma, which is just off of 5 dials, The South Bank Centre Shop, Cath Kidson and, oh Reiss, which has the best value for money sale with up to 50% off of items.

HSAH will keep her eyes peeled for more exciting stuff and report back to the online community.

A Great Old Film

The other week HSAH was introduced to an amazing Film by Sonic Youth which some of you are probably aware of. This film is entitled The Year the Punk Broke and it follows Sonic Youth around on, what appears to be, a Europe festival tour. Its a video diary of their performances, footage of other great bands and back stage antics, which at times feel a bit surreal. Its definitely worth watching thought if you are a fan of 90s grunge!

This month we are loving...

HSAH feels its about time she tells you what she is loving and if this works well it may become a regular feature. Hopefully you will also like what HSAH suggests but if you don't it isn't really going to bother her too much.

1. Last FM radio player.
HSAH knows this is a bit of an old form of social networking now but it took her a while to actually recognise its beauty and, amongst other things, work out how to use it!

2. No Pain In Pop
This label come blog come social experiment is suggesting some rather interesting and releasing some uniquely unusual music right now and HSAH is loving it. Carry on the good work chaps.

3. Christmas
If there is a better excuse to over indulge please tell HSAH now...

4. Wavves
HSAH is getting very excited by this artist who makes really raw tracks with true punk aesthetics...none of that washed out green day bollocks.

5. Lo Mo Camera
So cheap, so effective. You can get a Lo Mo Camera on Ebay for about £25 and it allows you to take arty photos. HSAH particular fav is the lo mo that you can change the colour of the flash. Too cool for skool.