Preview: the week ahead (2nd - 8th Jul)

Trying not to post about the weather for once (how shit and brilliant can it be in one week?), the other note-worthy thing to mention is how brilliant all the gigs that J. and I went to were this week. Reviews to follow shortly. In the meantime, we will let you know where to spend your nights during the busiest week of July. And we don't mean fashion week.

Monday

Emperor X and William Nein at Schokoladen: Emperor X is the solo project of C.R. Mathen. He plays fluffy and poppy indie music somewhere between the Shins and Chad VanGaalen. William Nein, originally from London and apparently now residing in Berlin, plays more calm, sad and minimalistic singer songwriter music. I'm usually pretty picky about this, but he has a great voice and apparently also a feeling for great melodies and songs. Give him a try, you can listen to loads of his stuff on the bandcamp site linked above!

Tuesday

Japanther and Jimmy Trash at Marie Antoinette: Another chance for a wild Japanther party. See our previous review!

Wednesday

Screaming Females and Opa at Marie Antoinette: Again, not the first time this amazing band plays in Berlin. Go see them, but read our latest review and the one before that first!
Las Kellies at White Trash: Again, we've seen this girl group before and we liked it. The ladies know how to rock and entertain. A promising night and possibly one where you'll see me dance.

Thursday

Lee Ranaldo at Lido: After Thurston Moore graced the Volksbühne stage a while back, it's now time for this Sonic Youth comrade to perform in Berlin. The album is actually really good (yes, I was a little surprised). A "not to be missed" kinda night.
Julia Holter at .hbc: Another chance to see this Domino Recordings signee and new star on the electronic female experimental pop horizon. After she sold out Berghain's Kantine earlier in the year, chances of getting into this one will most likely be slim but if you can make it, all the better.

Friday

Allah-Las + Blousons Noir at White Trash: Allah-Las = psychedelic garage rock from California that sounds a lot like it was recorded in 1967. Pretty amazing.

Saturday

Mrs Conception at ExRotaprint Kantine: the ExRotaprint Kantine is an interesting project and art space in Wedding. They have a monthly combination of concerts (mostly something you could label free jazz somehow) and Indonesian food. Check this blog for more info, you can also find their website in the sidebar on the right. This time, Mrs Conception are going to release their new record, it's a trumpet/saxophone/double bass/drums band with Axel Dörner on trumpet. We have a review of him playing with the Ex last year, you can read it here.
Mikal Cronin at White Trash: When you enter Mikal Cronin on YouTube you get as many recommendations for Ty Segall as you do for the man Cronin. And that is about right. Not only have they released a record together and collaborate regularly, they do sound very similar, too. Both do punky garage rock with a lo-fi sound, a punk rock edge and singer-songwriter elements. I bet this will rock!

Saturday + Sunday

CocoRosie featuring Rajasthan Roots and TEZ at Heimathafen Neukölln: The two elf sisters that are CocoRosie are finally returning to Berlin; it's been long enough. They bring with them the Indian folk collective Rajasthan Roots, which should give these two experimental folk electronica nights at Heimathafen a special edge. Furthermore, they have one-man show TEZ with them for the entire tour. These nights will be pretty special and have been highly anticipated.