Live Music London

THE YURTS AT THE WESTBOURNE STUDIOS

The heads behind E.T.A., Winterwell and Disco Caviar will host an unforgettable and  ‘intents’ night at The Westbourne Studioson Friday 27th November.  The evening promises to be one of amazing music and visual displays.

There will be live performances from acclaimed duo, The Nextmen.  This pair took the legendary E.T.A. Carnival Party by storm and are well loved for their unique blend of dancehall, drum ‘n’ bass, instrumental and actual hip hop.  Other acts will include The Jinks, Cleen Boys, and E.T.A residents Adrian and Jimmy V.

Westbourne Studios will be transformed into a bohemian paradise by several huge yurts powered by Funktion 1, who will be supplying one of their best sound rigs alongside state of the art lighting and visuals.  Sealed off in the yurts from the stresses of the outside world, revellers can dance the night away until dawn.

Head down to The Westbourne Studios on Friday 27th November for a night so good it yurts!

THE YURTS AT THE WESTBOURNE STUDIOS
Under the Westway
The Westbourne Studios
242 Acklam Road,
London, W10 5JJ
Timings: 9pm-4am

On 19th November Tim Clement-Jones’ live music bill returned to the Parliamentary agenda:

http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2009-10/livemusic.html

If enacted, it would go a long way to meeting the recommendations of the all-party Culture, Media and Sport Committee. The bill proposes to exempt live music from entertainment licensing in bars and other premises up to 200-capacity, provided they are already licensed for the sale of alcohol, and similarly exempt schools and hospitals for audiences up to 200:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200809/ldbills/066/2009066.pdf

Originally published in July, it lapsed at the end of the Parliamentary year (like all private members bills awaiting 2nd or 3rd readings). But due to the determination of Lord Clement-Jones and Baroness Bonham-Carter (his proxy for the 1st reading of 19th November), the bill now stands a good chance of a full debate in the Lords early next year. This will dismay government spin doctors. They thought they had pulled a smart trick on 21st October by leaking the government’s apparent u-turn on an exemption for small gigs to the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/oct/21/police-law

Wider media coverage was suppressed. And, by creating the misleading impression that the long-running licensing controversy would probably be resolved before the general election, they hoped to secure a smooth ride for the government on this issue in the run-up to the general election. But the return of Lord Clement-Jones’ bill ensures that the controversy, and the government’s empty promises, will be exposed again in Parliament and in the press. Meanwhile the Chief Executive of UK Music, Feargal Sharkey, has again fiercely criticised the government’s misrepresentation of the latest licensing statistics. Writing for the Conservative blog ‘CulturePolitick’ he described as ‘ridiculous’ the DCMS claim that there has been an 11% rise in venues between 2007 and 2009: ‘DCMS… claim that the Licensing Act has actually delivered an 11% increase in live music from 2007-2009! I’ll try and put this rather kindly, it is shall I suggest, somewhat misleading if not bordering on the ridiculous. This estimate includes whole new ranges of venues like schools and hospitals, plus others not even licensed for live music so quite frankly shouldn’t count.’

http://www.culturepolitick.com/cms/2009/11/20/the-licensing-act-statistics-and-music/

Hamish Birchall